Symbols in Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House

Symbols in Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House Symbols of new beginnings for Nora In A Doll’s House the protagonist, Nora lives in a Victorian society where women are heavily controlled and treated as second-class citizens. The average Victorian women belonged to a stereotype that the women were required to stay home and clean, prepare meals and raise children. In marriage Victorian women lost ownership of their wages, all physical property, including land, and all other cash generated once married. The husband would represent both man and woman placing the husband in control of everything and that including the wife as if she was a piece of property. This was Nora before her new beginning. The playwright employs a variety of literary techniques and symbolism to convey the transition from a traditional Victorian woman to the image of her seen at the end of the play; an embittered yet sophisticated, intelligent, and newly empowered woman boldly escaping the infantilizing clutches of her old life. Amongst the symbols employed throughout the play many were one s in which represented a new beginning for Nora. From the point of act one she played the submissive, seemingly selfish, foolish wife refusing to acknowledge the strength that she was building. From the Christmas tree to the macaroons to the Tarantella to New Year’s day are very important symbols which are Nora’s loves, they are what helped her to obtain her new beginning, these symbols conveyed to the reader the beginning a new for her. Christmas is favored holiday for Nora, the level of happiness is exponential, but part of the reason why she is so happy is the joy that she has when playing the role of a wife and mother. The toys that she chose for her children suggests that she is fine with the status quo of Victorian society, girls being nurturing and growing up to be a homely wife and mother while boys grow up to be strong and powerful. Though during this stage her action of wanting to buy something for herself implies that she wants to make a decision for herself going against the status quo. At this point though unaware she starts to think of independence as if the thought of it was in the back of her mind. Though Torvald does not allow her to do so, the fact that Torvald will not trust her with money to buy herself a present demonstrates a major imbalance of power. We see her during the play ordering the Christmas tree and then decorating it, secretly acting independently an implication of growth of strength to be an independent woman growing, edging towards a new beginning. During Christmas Eve Nora believed her marriage to be one that had little to no issues. At the beginning of the second act, the tree has been stripped and the candles burned out; stage directions dictate that is should look â€Å"bedraggled†. This represents the end of Nora’s innocence and foreshadows the Helmer family’s eventual disintegration, the tree represents the family and its unity, the stripping of the tree foreshadows Nora stripping from the family unit and her becoming her own person and reaching her new beginning. She is starting to change significantly at this point. Though the first implication of a strength that was beginning to grow was in her little act of eating a macaroon. The macaroons was a treat that Torvald had forbidden Nora from eating. Nora claims that she â€Å"would never dream† of doing anything that Torvald did not want her to do, but this is disproved in the very opening of the play when Nora eats macaroons while she was alone in the living room. The macaroons come to represent Nora’s disobedience to Torvald, as this was her first act of disobedience seen by the audience. The macaroons show that Nora is the perfect little â€Å"pet† that Torvald views her to be. The macaroons function in the play was to demonstrate that although that some families and lives seem picture perfect, most of the time it is not true, as proven by Nora’s need to hide the bond and macaroons from Torvald. Ibsen’s use of symbolism in using such a minor pleasure impacts the story in a huge way by subtly showing the audience that Nora’s lifestyle is not as truthful, happy and dependent as it seems, an independent act can lead t o more and such implies her growing strength. After giving a tempestuous performance of the tarantella Nora asks that the macaroons be served at dinner, indicating a relationship between the macaroons and Nora’s inner passions, the tarantella and the macaroons can be said to be two of Nora’s loves which help to show the audience the truth of who she really is. The tarantella symbolizes a side of Nora that is fiery and passionate she could express her true nature in this dance. The Tarantella was a wild southern Italian dance, generally danced by a couple or line of couples. The dance was named after the tarantula spider, whose poisonous bite was mistakenly believed to cause tarantism, an uncontrollable urge for wild dancing. The cure prescribed by doctors was for the sufferer to dance to exhaustion. Pyscologists reason that the only form of expressing passion to its fullest, was the Tarantella. It is the fiery, passionate dance that allows Nora to drop the faà §ade of perfect mild-mannered Victorian wife it is the catalyst in which Nora is able to demonstrate a repressed side of herself, her true self. Ibsen’s placement of the Tarantella in the third act is an foreshadowing element which implies the breaking out of Nora. Her new beginning, is clearly seen in this dance something that is not controlled. Throughout the play Nora uses performances to please Torvald, and the tarantella is no exception; he admits that watching her perform makes him desire her. However this is only under controlled circumstances, and Torvald seems to enjoy that the performance impresses other people more than anything. But she can be only controlled to a certain point such can be said when Torvald was trying to give instructions â€Å"slow down†, trying to control her as he watched her practice before the actual event. Though this seems to be only done to please her husband with a performance, what drives her to perform is the underlying aspect that she can demonstrate her emotions to the fullest uncontrolled. New Years day is traditionally viewed as a new beginning and such can be said to be the Helmer family’s view, they are looking forward to this new beginning. Torvald starts a better paying job at the bank at which he works, Nora is almost free if not already free of her debt by New Years day. By the end of the play Nora has definitely made a new beginning for herself though not as expected; without her children and her husband. As the secret about the debt is found out by Torvald and she has reached an epiphany because of this that she â€Å"existed merely to perform tricks† blaming him and her father for treating her like a spoilt child and a plaything for their own entertainment. They wanted her to be ignorant and helpless, and thus far she has only tried to please them and in turn missing out on any opportunity to educate and improve herself. All the times she subtly rebelled or disobeyed or rather she was the one in control behind the scenes but now she is seen clearly, no more deception. Nora’s submissiveness to Torvald is no longer seen. She shows herself no longer as a child but as an adult woman these symbols that the author has employed has shown her development over time. Especially when Torvald fails to provide the strength that she needed, because of that she can truly say that she no longer loves him. Her realization that she wants to pursue her independence is not so much a transformation but an awakening to a strength that she had possessed all along and with this strength she can begin a new.

Essay --

INTRODUCTION Bitcoin is a firstly decentralized digital currency that is created and traded freely of any government or bank. The currency is produced through a computer database and it can be altered into cash after being deposited into virtual wallets. Bitcoin is developed by â€Å"Satoshi Nakamoto † in 3 January 2009 (5 years ago ). It is as an innovative payment network and a novel kind of money. It has big demand in United States , China and many European countries. Bitcoin is a system of owing and voluntarily transferring amounts of so called Bitcoin in a manner similar to online banking without dependence on central authority to retain account balances. Bitcoin is open-source; its design is public, nobody owns or controls Bitcoin and everyone can take part. Through many of its unique properties, Bitcoin allows exciting uses that could not be covered by any previous payment system History of Bitcoin The world's first decentralized currency. 2007 Satoshi Nakamoto. The legend According to legend, Satoshi Nakamoto arose functioning on the Bitcoin concept in 2007. While he is on record as living in Japan, it is speculated that Nakamoto may be a collective pseudonym for more than one person. August 15, 2008: An remarkable patent application... Neal Kin, Vladimir Oksman, and Charles Bry file an application for an encryption patent application. All three individuals deny a connection to Satoshi Nakamoto, the alleged originator of the Bitcoin concept. August 18, 2008 Bitcoin.org is registered: Bitcoin.org is taking place. The domain was recorded at anonymousspeech.com, a site that allows users to secretly register domain names and presently rece... ...ce Date Close Change 2014-03-12 $631.39 0.39% 2014-03-11 $628.95 0.50% 2014-03-10 $625.83 -1.16% 2014-03-09 $633.18 2.92% 2014-03-08 $615.24 -1.69% 2014-03-07 $625.83 -4.99% 2014-03-06 $658.72 -0.46% 2014-03-05 $661.79 -0.27% Trends: 1. Increasing adoption by both on-line and customary merchants 2. Increasing speed of innovation surrounding Bitcoin 3. Increasing public adoption 4. Increasing speculation of alternative currencies Conclusion: Bitcoin is a novel concept, but it’s in the process of being understood and accepted by a growing number of consumers, merchants, and investors around the world. As this process continues the the full picture to start using bitcoins are becoming more compelling. There is also increased investment in the sector and many new finance companies are offering more professional and consumer responsive solutions for everyday use.

Ontological Shift :: essays research papers

Ontological Shift   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Michael Heim’s essay â€Å"The Cyber Space Dialectic†, he discusses how our culture is going through an ontological shift fashioned by the Internet. Heim articulates his theory of what dialectic is and how this ontological shift is creating a new dialectic. The Internet is the main place today where people from all over the world exchange and communicate their ideas and feelings. The Internet is a new community in itself. The ontological shift into the cyberspace times will change the way we think, and the way we act; it will change our overall sense of being. These change that Heim calls an â€Å"ontological shift† has brought on questions about changing society. These are similar to the questions that Peter Drucker and Benjamin Barber brought up when they discussed about creating a new society. Will society benefit from this new society in which its central being is cyberspace? This is a serious question since we are living in the phase t hat is changing into the cyber world now. How will this change affect this new technologically inclined society?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We have all used the Internet to talk to other people, either using chat or emails. We converse with people with different backgrounds and cultures. When interacting with different types of people, it means that we are working in groups and collaborating. This is what the Internet is all about. Interacting with each other in new ways, and learning how to open yourself to other points of views and new ideas. In his essay Heim states, â€Å"Computer networks foster virtual communities that cut across geography time zones. Virtual community seems a cure-all for isolated people who complain about their isolation. Locked in metal boxes on urban freeways, a population enjoys socializing with fellow humans through computer networks†(Heim 374). As Heim explains in his essay, the Internet can bring together communities that are isolated from the rest of the world. It helps communities and different types of people communicate with each other. It creates the idea of group work through computer networks. This was also one theme in Barbers essay; Group work is what makes ideas carry through and productive. In Barber’s â€Å"Making Civil Society Real† he states, â€Å"Civic responsibility, being a partnership between government, civil society, and the private market necessarily depends on the active collaboration of political leaders, citizens and business people†(Barber 106). Our responsibility as a society is to collaborate our selves with all the groups that make this society function.

history :: essays research papers

Abstract This paper focuses on the history and science of hypnosis. The introduction discusses the origins of hypnosis that date back to pre-historic times and the first people to employ hypnotic-like methods to alter or change human behavior using the power of suggestion. A background and study of Franz Anton Mesmer, the man who most people associate with the beginning of hypnosis, is elaborated on throughout this paper. I will also discuss what hypnosis is, how it is used to explain human experiences, and how research does or does not support the theory of hypnosis. I will also give examples of how hypnosis is applied, why it’s used, and how it has been viewed in the past and present times. The History and Science of Hypnosis Introduction a brief history of the concept of hypnosis The science of hypnosis, remote from being a practice of modern times, is one that has been studied and pondered over since pre-historic times. The employment of hypnotic-like methods to alter human behavio r using the power of suggestion and repetitious incentives to rouse the mind or the spirits were used by numerous ancient civilizations (Baker, 1990, p. 51). These methods were usually associated with a confidence in magic and the occult, and the belief that these procedures were beyond human understanding. According to Baker (1990), priest-physicians of ancient Egypt induced sleep-like states in other people. This practice was also prominent in the sleep temples of classical Greece. In this case, worshippers attempted to conjure Hypnos, the god of sleep, who it was believed brought them prophetic dreams. Another example of the use of hypnotic-like methods dates back to 2600 BC in China, where Wang Tai, the father of Chinese Medicine, wrote of a â€Å"medical procedure that involved using incantations and mysterious passes of the hands over the patient that leaves no doubt about its hypnotic nature (Baker, 1990, p. 51). According to Baker (1990), the use of hypnotic-like techniques and procedures were mentioned in the Hindu Vera, written about 1500 BC, and the Ebers papyrus, which is known to be over 3,000 years old, narrates an expressive method extremely similar to the techniques modern hypnotherapists practice today. Although the practice of hypnosis appears to have begun during these pre-historic times, and there are many more accounts similar to the latter, the fact is that these people of different lands, thousands of years ago, may have known about the strange powers of hypnosis; that it appeared to be magic and it helped cure the sick, but these ancient people knew little about what hypnosis really was (Kennedy, 1979, p.

Radio and European History Essay

Radio broadcasting has been viewed by governmental agencies across the globe as a contributing medium that served its growing audience. Across the years, radio broadcasting has provided entertainment and information to a diverse audience from local to, regional and international reach in commercial, social or political atmospheres. Radio broadcasting, according to Godfrey (2006), is a primary source material and an information tool as it directly observes and relates relevant events. Along with photographic records, physical remains and oral sources, radio and television broadcasts are potent sources of unfiltered evidence closer to an event, as Godfrey added. The acquisition of specific details that try to retain the images of an event through an actual experience has led Puddington (2003) to believe that media has challenged the shape of history. The significant claims on the importance of radio broadcasting drives home the idea that its classification as a primary source of data may is its contribution to history. More importantly, this paper shall strive to prove how radio broadcasting shaped European History as it gears up a strong hypothetical contention that radio broadcasting had a definite role in the shaping of European integration. The age of airwaves begun after the series of discoveries that led to the invention of the wireless telegraph. It soon signaled the birth of the radio telegraph that allowed a wide range of sounds, music and human voice to be transmitted in a new technology in 1914 according to Godfrey. Historically, it was also a crucial time fraught with misunderstanding and strife that divided Europe into armed camps. World War I broke out with Germany leading the war for control in Europe. History would recall that as early as 1872, Germany had entertained plans to control the European region as it dominated European diplomacy while France remained isolated from the rest according to Viault(1990). An ongoing international crisis had threatened to move the European powers closer to the brink of war by the 1900’s. Still in the throes of hectic plans and preparation, Germany had to content itself with waiting for a few more years before striking a match to light the flames of war. Earlier on, Europe was in its creative prime as artistic activities catered to a romantic era of the 1800 and onwards, a little over a century before radio ruled technology. It was also a century of inventions and research that became a turning point for technology to prosper. Europe while in an age of development was politically stocked under a conservative rule which soon gave way to a movement effectively fighting for reform. While Britain’s royal and upper classes rejected political democracy, France also became very authoritarian that soon culminated in the 1848 revolution which Viault (1990) related. A growing powerful ideology of nationalism also promoted a disintegration of the Austrian empire in Central Europe that soon resulted to a few alliances among nations while contributing to reckless disintegration across the regions of Europe. In effect, Europe was in mindless turmoil and at a crossroads during a century rich with creative thought yet devoid of an amplified objective. At the onset of World War I, wireless transmission proved to be an invaluable tool to the military although they were quite wary of its potential use in espionage and mass propaganda. Indeed this was the actual case as Ireland and Britain were able to recruit young draftees for World War I following the RMS Lusitania’s bombing off the coast of Ireland on the way to Lverpool by a German U-boat (Reader’s Digest, 2003). As the United States courted the use of radio for home entertainment, BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) used the radio for news and entertainment with immediate plans to isolate it from political pressures as it battles with pay for radio entertainers as reported by the NY Times (Jun, 28, 1925). Radio broadcasting was also seen among countries in Europe as serving well in fostering good-will and amity among the nations of Europe and paving the way for unity as reported again in the NY Times (Jun 7, 1931). Such movement was instrumental in the recruitment of soldiers to serve in the allied force against Nazi Germany. In a specter of a growing 2nd World War brought about by rising Nazi Germany’s plan for domination, the radio technology was already seen as a tool in war efforts. At the outbreak of World War II, radio broadcasting reached the height of international worth as it carried news from the battlefront into the homes of listeners worldwide. Radio Commentator Edward Murrow had created sensations with eyewitness description of London during German bombing raids according to Godfrey (2006). Murrow had also reported on the Buchenwald Concentration Camps on April 11, 1945 according to Puddington (2003) which was instrumental in calling an end to the genocide. War was soon declared over the airwaves as Adolf Hitler set his conditions for war and genocide in Europe over Radio Hamburg in Viault (1990). The radio’s instrumental contribution to defeat the enemy camp of Hitler was made clear as allied camps tried to disrupt German military communications signals. Germany retaliated by jamming the signals and broadcast yet heavily lost amidst allied Europe’s hands. After the war, efforts to curb Russian communism was in the mainframe of Europe’s Radio Liberation programs that prayed for a Stalin and communist era to end. In the dark days of anti-Stalin struggle, the radio broadcast was again used as a weapon of psychological warfare according to Puddington (2003). Under a movement to free Europe from any communist rule after defeating Nazism, the Cold War between the US and USSR became a regional problem in Europe. Radio Free Europe (RFE) was established as a secretly American-funded station whose main objective was to spread the evils of communism. The Russians however weren’t quick to believe any evil broadcasts against their leader who defeated the evil Hitler and the Nazis as Puddington reasoned. By the 1970’s, Radio Liberty in Europe had ranked as the most influential international broadcast station with an impressive staff of exile writers and a growing Soviet audience in Puddington (2003). Stalin’s death in 1953 created a widening room for anti-communism ideas that had sacrificed the radio station and many of its staff and workers in the interest of international peace and harmony. Poland had once pleaded to abolish Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe in order to maintain diplomatic ties with Russia but other European countries opted for the propaganda movement against communism to remain heard. Shortwave broadcasts around the Czech Republic continued despite jamming from the Soviet communist regime. Likewise in West Germany, the country researched and studied the Soviet system of governance dedicated to the cause of freeing East Germany. Radio stations were tapped all around Europe as visible stars in an anti-communist sentiment. In a landscape of remembrance for the human efforts to attain peace and freedom, the advent of radio has ultimately provided an integral element in the unity and integration of Europe. Through radio broadcasting, information was disseminated across a wider population that became instrumental in creating an alliance among nations who desired for peace and freedom rather than dominion. The historical separation of European countries in the 19th century prior to the advent of radio technology was soon disbanded in an effort to create an alliance of nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights spoke of the right to receive and impart ideas and information regardless of frontiers. Radio broadcasting as the prevalent technology in an era fraught with wars and conflicts became a tool that united European nations to unite for a common cause of peace and freedom. Radio Broadcasting has therefore shaped the modern world’s history as a modern global tool that permitted countries to unite under a common goal for peace.

Less Is More

LESS IS BORE. INTRODUCTION HOW CAN ONE DESCRIBE AND ANALYSE AN ARTISTIC MOMENT WHILE IT IS GOING ON? SO IN CASE OF POSTMODERNISM, HISTORY OFFERS NO INSIGHT AS TO THE SCOPE OF THE MOMENT BECAUSE WE ARE IN IT’S MIDST. EXPLANATION â€Å"I NEVER KNEW ANYBODY . . . WHO FOUND LIFE SIMPLE. I THINK A LIFE OR A TIME LOOKS SIMPLE WHEN YOU LEAVE OUT THE DETAILS. † SAME WAS THE THINKING OF ROBERT CHARLES VENTURI WHEN HE TOSSED HIS FAMOUS QUOTE ‘’LESS IS BORE’’, WHICH PAVED THE WAY FOR POSTMODERNISM IN THIS MODERN WORLD.ACCORDING TO THE CONCEPT ‘’LESS IS BORE’’ IT DEFINES THAT POSTMODERNISM IS SO ELUSIVE BECAUSE IT IS A SET OF COMPLEX CONCEPTS AND ABSTRACT PREMISES, NOT ONE CENTRAL IDEA. IT IS ONE OF THE HARDEST PHILOSOPHICAL AND ARTISTIC MOVEMENTS TO DEFINE; HOWEVER, ITS MUCH FORM CAN BE FOUND IN VISUAL ART, LITERATURE AND ARCHITECTURE. THIS CONCEPT ADVOCATES EMBRASING â€Å"CONTRADICTION AND COMPLEXITY’’ IN ORDER TO CREATE VALID AND VITAL WORKS. ITS ARGUES ARCHITECTS TO LEAVE THE TENETS OF TRADITIONAL MODERNISM BEHIND IN PURSUIT OF â€Å"TRUTH IN ITS TOTALITY’’.THIS MEANS THAT POSTMODERNISM IS A COMPLEX SET OF TRUE NATURE OF ARCHITECTURE AND IT IS MORE REAL THAN OVERLY PLANNED, HYPPER-LOGICAL MODERNIST CONSTRUCTIONS. POSTMODERNISM BEGAN AS AN INTERNATIONAL STYLE IN AROUND 1950’S AND CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE ARCHITECTURE TILL THIS DAY. POSTMODERNITY IN ARCHITECTURE IS SAID TO BE HERALDED BY THE RETURN OF â€Å"WIT, ORNAMENT AND REFERANCE† TO THE ARCHITECTYRE IN RESPONCSE TO THE FORMULATION OF INTERNATIONAL STYLE OF MODERNISM.WITH THE START OF POSTMODERNISM THE FUNCTIONAL AND FORMALIZED SHAPES AND SPACES OF THE MODERIST STYLE ARE REPLACED BY DIVERSE AESTHETICS AND NEW WAYS OF VIEWING FAMILIAR STYLE AND SPACES AROUND. THE MODERNISM IS ROTTED IN MINIMAL AND TRUE USE OF MATERIAL BUT WE FIND A WHOLE ABSENCE OF ORNAMENTATION. BUT IN CASE OF POSTMODERNISM, THERE IS A STRO NG REJECTION OF STRICT RULES SET BY THE EARLY MODERNISTS AND THERE IS A PURSUIT OF SEEKING MEANING AND EXPRESSION IN THE USE OF BUILDING TECHNIQUES, FORM AND STYLISTIC REFRENCES.WHY ACCORDING TO ROBERT CHARLES VENTURI â€Å"LESS IS BORE† â€Å"THE IDEAL ART, THE NOBLEST OF ART COULD ONLY BE DONE BY WORKING WITH THE COMPLEXITIES OF LIFE, REFUSING TO SIMPLIFY, TO â€Å"OVERCOME† DOUBT. † EVERY WHERE EXCEPT IN ARCHITECTURE, COMPLEXITTY AND CONTRADICTION HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED, FROM GODEL’S PROFF OF ULTIMATE INCONSISTENCY IN MATHEMATICS TO ELIOT’S ANALYSIS OF DIFFICULT POETRY TILL JOSEPH ALBER’S DEFINATION OF THE PARADOXICAL QUALITY OF PAINTING. BUT LUCKLY VENTURI’S INFLUENCE SHOWS UP THE EMERGENCE OF WHOLLY NEW SITUATION IN ARCHITECTURE.HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE ARCHITECTURE CAME IN SUCH A TIME WHEN MODERNIST ARCHITECTS HAD ERRONEOUSLY ASSUMED THAT THEIR WORK WOULD EVENTULLY TAKE PLACE AS A CONGENIAL NEIGHBOR TO THE OTHER HISTORICAL STYLES. BUT VENTURIE’S AWARNESS TOWARDS THE VERSION OF CLASSICAL ELEMENTS OF DESIGN HELPED HIM TO INTRODUCE THE WORLD WITH â€Å"LESS IS BORE† CONCEPT. HE HAS MADE A SPECIAL ATTEMPT TO RELATE ARCHITECTURE TO OTHER THINGS, AND ALSO HE HAS SET A RELATION BETWEEN COMPLEXITY AND CONTRADICTION IN ARCHITECTURE. SO, THE POSTMODERNISM WELCOMES THE PROBLEMS AND EXPLOIT THE UNCERTAINTIES.IT EMBRACES CONTRADICTIONS AS WELL AS COMPLEXITY AND AIM FOR VITALITY AS WELL AS VALIDITY. WHILE MODERNISM REJECTS DEVINE MEANING, THE BEAUTY OF NATURE AND THE FOCUS ON THE HUMAN BODY, POSTMODERNISM WISHES TO BRING TO FRUIT IDEAS OF ENLIGHTMENT THAT MODERNISM REJECTS. MODERNISM HOLDS THAT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE IDEA OR OBJECT A WORD REPRESENTS, POSTMODERNISM HOLDS THAT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE ACTUAL WORD ITSELF. ART CAN BE SATISFACTORILY DESCRIBED ONLY WHEN IT IS UNDERSTOOD NOT TO FULFILL THE EXPECTATIONS WHICH IT AROUSES.SO WE MUST UNDERSTOOD THE NATURE OF ART, IT IS NECESSARY TO BEFORE FURTHER ANA LYZING COMPLEXITY AND CONTRADICTION IN ARCHITECTURE. ARCHITECTURE CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD AS ART UNTIL ART HAS BEEN UNDERSTOOD IN GENERAL. A MAJOR PROBLEM IN ART HAS BEEN A SUPPOSEDLY NECESSARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE WORK OF ART AND THE EXPERIENCE OF ART. LOOKING AT GRAPHIC DESIGN, THERE ARE NO â€Å"LAWS,† BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN IDEAS ABOUT SYSTEMS, RULES AND FORM. HOWEVER, IT SEEMS THAT MANY OF VENTURI'S PRINCIPLES WORK EFFECTIVELY IN A GRAPHIC DESIGN CONTEXT: VARIETY, INCLUSION, AND TENSION ARE ALL KEY COMPONENTS TO SUCCESSFUL AND COMPELLING WORKS.WHILE GRAPHIC DESIGN PROJECTS GENERALLY HAVE A MUCH SHORTER LIFE SPAN THAN ARCHITECTURAL WORKS, IT IS INTERESTING TO CONSIDER THE GRAPHIC LANDSCAPE IN REFERENCE TO THE CITY LANDSCAPE. AS VENTURI DISCUSSED THESE IDEAS IN RELATION TO BOTH THE SINGULAR BUILDING AND THE DYNAMIC, LIVING CITY, WE CAN ALSO THINK ABOUT OUR DESIGN WORK AS INDIVIDUAL ENTITIES AS WELL AS PARTS OF A WHOLE BY CONSIDERING HOW THEY FIT IN WITH BOTH CONTEMPORARY A ND HISTORIC EXAMPLES OF GRAPHIC DESIGN.CERTAINLY HIS IDEA OF REPURPOSING HISTORICAL OR TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS ALSO APPLIES TO ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN—POSTMODERNISM WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT THIS CONCEPT. LETS US TAKE THE EXAMPLE OF RESIDENCE IN CHESTNUT HILL, PA. , VENTURI AND RAUCH, 1962. THIS BUILDING RECOGNIZES COMPLEXITIES AND CONTRADICTIONS: IT IS BOTH COMPLEX AND SIMPLE, OPEN AND CLOSED, BIG AND LITTLE; SOME OF ITS ELEMENTS ARE GOOD ON ONE LEVEL AND BAD ON ANOTHER; ITS ORDER ACCOMMODATES THE GENERIC ELEMENTS OF THE HOUSE IN GENERAL, AND THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL ELEMENTS OF A HOUSE IN PARTICULAR.IT ACHIEVES THE DIFFICULT UNITY OF A MEDIUM NUMBER OF DIVERSE PARTS RATHER THAN THE EASY UNITY OF FEW OR MANY MOTIVAL PARTS. THE INSIDE SPACES, AS REPRESENTED IN PLAN AND SECTION, ARE COMPLEX AND DISTORTED IN THEIR SHAPES AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS. THEY CORRESPOND TO THE COMPLEXITIES INHERENT IN THE DOMESTIC PROGRAM AS WELL AS TO SOME WHIMSIES NOT INAPPROPRIATE TO AN INDIVIDUAL HOUSE. ON THE OTH ER HAND, THE OUTSIDE FORM–AS REPRESENTED BY THE PARAPETED WALL AND THE GABLE ROOF WHICH ENCLOSE THESE COMPLEXITIES AND DISTORTIONS IS SIMPLE AND CONSISTENT: IT REPRESENTS THIS HOUSE'S PUBLIC SCALE.THE FRONT, IN ITS CONVENTIONAL COMBINATIONS OF DOOR, WINDOWS, CHIMNEY AND GABLE, CREATES AN ALMOST SYMBOLIC IMAGE OF A HOUSE. SO, WE ALL MUST KNOW THAT POSTMODERNISM IS AN ART OF CREATING THE â€Å"ANOMALIES AND UNCERTAINTIES† THAT â€Å"GIVE VALIDITY TO ARCHITECTURE,† THE ARCHITECTURE MUST BE REACTING AGAINST SOMETHING. SO WHILE â€Å"THERE ARE NO FIXED LAWS,† ARCHITECTURE BENEFITS FROM SOME SENSE OF ORDER OR A SYSTEM SO THAT IT CAN REACT. BECAUSE SYSTEMS CANNOT ACCOMMODATE EVER CIRCUMSTANCE, ARCHITECTURE SHOULD STRIVE TO DEFY ORDER AND THE ALTERING OR BREAKING OF ORDER ENHANCES THE DEEPER MEANINGS OF THE ARCHITECTURE. Less Is More Less Is More Some say that short stories are pointless, who could possibly write a story in just 55 words and it make sense? Well it has been done and it works quite well! It takes an author of great skill to be able to put so much information into such a small piece of writing, to be able to fit in all the necessities. These authors have their own genre of writing. Some of these amazing authors include Lydia Davis, Margaret Atwood, and Terry L. Tilton. These are just a few of the outstanding brains behind some of the best short stories ever written.Not only do these authors use the lack of words in such a way to make the reader more involved in the outcome of the story, they also use fewer words to be more dramatic, and to leave you with questions. In the short story â€Å"That Settles Thatâ€Å", Terry L. Tilton uses 55 words to complete an entire story. Here it is, Tom was a handsome, fun-loving young man, albeit a bit drunk when he got into the argument with Sam, his roommate o f just two months. ‘You can’t. You can not write a short story in just 55 words, you idiot? ’ Sam shot him dead on the spot. Oh yes you can,’ Sam said, smiling. This story is outstanding! It shows how much can be said in just a few words and leaves so many blanks for the reader to fill in. Some may look at this as being lazy, to leave so much for the reader to figure out on their own, however, for someone to conduct a story in 55 words that make sense, that is total genus! These authors that create these masterpieces know that a lot of readers prefer to be more active as they read. They like to read between the lines, look underneath the text. Feature Article – Short Story  The Plane of the Sleeping BeautyThese readers are very common and the authors know this, they know that their target audience are those who feel as if they are included in the writing process, that they get to decide what people look like and what they wear. They like to have the ability to make these decisions based upon the surrounding text, the information that the author does give. Stories like this one, give the reader the chance to work their brains, not just read the plain text for face value. This is a huge reason that short stories are important, they let active readers give their brain the work out it needs! Happy Endings† by Margaret Atwood is very dramatic. This short story is all about different ways to write a happy ending, although these ways involve extraneous situations involving lives that do not end happily, and in the end, no matter what, the main characters end up dying. A short story has to be more dramatic, more thi ngs need to happen in a short amount of time so the reader doesn’t get all the extra information. Think about it as if it is a Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t get all the stuffing and mashed potatoes, just the turkey, that’s all you have time for!These writers know that they only have a short amount of space to write in everything that they need so they want the big meaty pieces in there so it makes a huge impact! Lydia Davis beautifully wrote â€Å"Letter to a Funeral Parlorâ€Å". This short story is a letter that someone composed about their father passing away and the funeral parlor using the word â€Å"Cremains† to describe him. Lyndia Davis says, â€Å"Then we were sitting there in our chairs in the living room trying not to weep in front of your representative who†¦ referred to [my father] as ‘the cremains’†.This shows Davis’ ability to pull at the readers heart strings and make a point. This is a wonderfully writte n piece and it does exactly what a short story should do! Not only does it use a lack of words to have the readers fill in the blanks themselves but she also writes in a dramatic way. She is very to the point. She also does the final thing that is conveyed within short stories, she leaves you with questions. This is an amazing thing to do, as it leaves the readers wondering. Sometimes there are sequels to short stories and other times it is just another way to get the reader more involved.This give the reader another chance to fill in the blanks. Like in the Letter to a Funeral Parlor, it does not speak of how the father dies, nor does it talk about where they are from or what the people look like. These are all questions the author leaves the readers with, to think about. Readers enjoy reading short stories because they are something different from novels. Some people don’t want to have a book that takes a week or longer to read, some people don’t have attention spans that will last through an entire book.Those people want something they can read in 30 seconds or a half hour depending on if it’s a short short or not. Just because someone is a reader who prefers to read something short does not make then any worse or a reader that someone who likes 1000 page novels. It is all in the preference of the reader. Reading a short story is a good idea for readers because it gives you more options of reading. They are there for the readers who like to figure things out on their own. Short stories are amazing to read.They always leave you with something to think about. These essays are difficult to construct because of the amount of information that needs to be in such a small piece of writing. That is why the authors that do create these pieces of work are to be applauded because not everyone can do it. In a short story the author lets the reader be an active reader, filling in all the extra blanks and details. Short story authors also use fewer w ords to be dramatic. The less space you have to write, the fewer useless details and things that you will have.Therefore, the whole content is the important meat. This makes it so that the points are not drawn out, it creates a more climactic piece of work. These authors also leave their readers with questions. This creates the ability to keep the readers intrigued. Short story authors are amazing at what they do, someone like Terry L. Tilton, who has the ability to write a story in 55 words, should be commended or what they do. Works Cited Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 9th ed. Boston: St Martins, 2008. Print. Works Cited Knight

Gilgamesh and Odyssey Essay

Gilgamesh is an ancient poem that significantly marked its name as somehow being the first major heroic narrative in the world literature. Fractions of this literature were discovered uniquely carved in tablets even before the Roman, Hebrew and Greek civilization appeared. Gilgamesh depicts a unique and propinquity story of Gilgamesh and his companion Enkidu that transcribed a complex and moving gist of bonds of friendship, of the pursuit for prominence and of the enduring and timeless attempt to escape death, of which considered to be the common fate of humankind. On the other hand, Odyssey, an epic story by Homer, is concerned on the idyllic events proceeded after a war and mainly on the significant return of the heroes who survived the war. The main subject of this written epic work somehow focus on the enduring, drawn-out return of one of the heroes named Odysseus of Ithaca, whose fate is to amble in unknown seas for ten years before he returned to his rocky kingdom. This paper will provide detailed and comprehensive comparison between the two main characters from both epics Gilgamesh and Odyssey. Motivation, goals, self-control, pride, outside influences, behaviors and personal and social relationships will serve as points of comparison being grasped in this paper. Motivation and Goals Gilgamesh, as described in the transcription, was provided with bizarre and astonishing strength, courage, and beauty by his divine and great creator. He is portrayed to be more of a god than a man. These characteristics of him profoundly surpass all circumstances all throughout his journey, a journey that significantly paved the greatest aspiration that probably mankind would have wanted – how to escape the universal fate of the human race. Simply, Gilgamesh wanted to run away from death and have eternal life. One of the tablets inscribed the mere dialogue between Gilgamesh and Utanapishtim (The Distant One). Utanapishtim is descriptively the wisest man who ever lived. Gilgamesh’s search for eternal life led him to ask Utanapishtim the greatest question, how to escape the universal fate of mankind? On a tablet transcribing such meeting, Gilgamesh apparently questions Utanapishtim of how did the latter join the ranks of the gods and find eternal life, though Gilgamesh described him not different; physically indifferent and yet his eart drained of battle spirit. And as response to the wondering question of Gilgamesh, Utanapishtim told him the â€Å"story of the flood†. Utanapishtim profoundly stated that he was commanded to build a boat to save everyone from the wrath of a devastating flood made by a god named Enlil, the chief god living on earth to wipe out human race. This story somehow illustrates events similar to the biblical script â€Å"Noah’s Ark†. The punishment to human race by Enlil gave Utanapishtim the opportunity to have eternal life. Gilgamesh’s greatest achievement though was bringing back to the human race this untold and unknown story. Gilgamesh, by some means, got hold of a plant that can likely grant rebirth to those who eats it, but unfortunately, a serpent stole it from him. With greater wisdom, Gilgamesh returned to Uruk knowing that only the gods are immortal. The goal of seeking immortality is what made both Gilgamesh and Odysseus, from Homer’s epic Odyssey, distinct and divergent with each other. Unlike Gilgamesh, whose goal is to seek and find answers on how to become immortal, Odysseus’s goal, on the hand, is merely the fact that he wants to find his way back home after a long and bloody war. During his voyage towards home, several temptations tested his mental qualities and physical endurance. Circe offered him the Lotus flower that endows forgetfulness of home and family. The greatest temptation however is offered by the goddess Calypso, whom he spent his seven years with – immortality. Instead of accepting such promising offer of immortality, he somehow denied such and still chooses the human conditions in spite of struggles, difficulties, disappointments and even its foreseeable death. Odysseus’s motivational force that drives his willingness to go back home is his wife, Penelope. Self-control Gilgamesh was first described as a king without self-control, rash and violent. People of Uruk, his kingdom, often complained about his absence of self-control towards oppressiveness to the Sumerian gods. Due to this aggressiveness, the gods created Enkidu as counterweight to Gilgamesh. But surprisingly, both Gilgamesh and Enkidu became best of friends; they fought together in every battles and wars, and found in each other the true companion they both sought. In an event where both took an adventure to seek universal fame and immortality pictures out the harsh and uncontrollable oppression to the gods overwhelmingly end the curtain to Enkidu. Enkidu’s death and his continuous and sole journey to seek immortality cause personal transformation. This change and transformation broaden his perception towards greater acceptance and recognition of reality and man’s mortality. On the other hand, Odysseus has extreme sense of self-control. Within the epic story, his remarkable self-control was described and admired. Again, during his adventures on the voyage home, his mental abilities and his physical endurance were tested. Instances occurred that tempted him to descend from his struggle towards home. A Lotus flower is said to suggest forgetfulness of home and family. Circe, goddess of magic, offered a pleasant life in the island of Lotus eaters. In the Phaeacia, he once offered the love and marriage of a young princess. Calypso is an immortal goddess whom Odysseus spent his life with for seven years offered the most significant and most tempting proposal, which probably all of mankind cannot resist. Calypso offered eternal life for Odysseus that will make him immortal. But all of these temptations were single-handedly denied by Odysseus as he preferred more to be mortal and be human amidst varied struggles, disappointments and the predictable end called death. Self-control might be a struggle for every man, but if every man has the drive to hold on to their will and embrace limitation, it will never be too late or too impossible to resist and deny any temptations. Pride The story of Gilgamesh started out as depiction of his arrogance of power. Because of his extraordinary capabilities endowed to him by his divine creator, his egotism of power endangered the relationship between mankind and the Summerian gods. To end Gilgamesh’s arrogance and injustices, gods then created Enkidu. His arrogance and pride concerning his power and unusual capabilities were continuously tested all throughout their journey in quest of rejuvenation of life and immortality. But then again, as mentioned earlier the previous section, after Enkidu’s death changed his perception not only towards man’s mortality but also the perception of one-self. One of the most significant limitations that Odysseus possesses is his pride which Odysseus had much. Part of the story somehow depicted Odysseus’s pride, particularly on the Cyclops’ island. When Odysseus and his men escaped safely from the island, Odysseus surprisingly brags and boasts about his exploit. Cyclops heard him and tossed huge rocks into the ship and some almost sing the ship. Effect of circumstances surrounding the character There are several external influences that bounds and affects the transformation of the once-known arrogant and violent king of Uruk. Due to the egoistic personality of Gilgamesh, it resulted to the discontentment and complaints from his people in which Summerian God interfered. The effect of these external events somehow paved a new path towards the overall impacts of Gilgamesh’s journey that led to his transformation from an arrogant king to a more unselfish and wisdom-filled individual. Another circumstance that greatly affected the character is the death of his supposed and destined enemy, Enkidu. Enkidu was a god-like mortal created by the gods intended to end Gilgamesh’s injustices and arrogance. Both somehow became friends and found a true and deep bond of friendship with each other. Death of his friend allowed him to solely seek answers for mankind’s immortality, which led him to his astonishment that there should no more battle to be fought and needs answers not surpassing violent circumstances. His continuous journey to seek answer guided him to Unatapishtim, the Divine One who could answer Gilgamesh’s wonderings, and which that this Divine One is blessed with immortality and abundance from the gods. Their conversation drew in new and significant events of the Divine One that gave him unending mortality. This occurrence surprisingly influenced and changed Gilgamesh’s perception on man’s mortality and broadens his acceptance to reality. Odysseus’s journey back home from the Trojan War somehow had endowed circumstances that might affect his own beliefs and characteristics. For example, when tempted by different immortal goddesses, most especially on the offering by Calypso to have everlasting and unending existence, he still grasps tightly to his humanity and instead chose to be human than immortal. His faith and dedication somehow proved that every obstacles and disappointments can be surpassed if he is optimistic enough to exceed and outdo every ounce of it. Behaviors In the beginning of the story, Gilgamesh’s subservient behavior is steered by his own self-contentment and self-sufficiency. Arrogant, violent, harsh, and no self-control are self-seeking behaviors and characteristics being affixed to the king, in which all these opened doors to discontentment and dissatisfaction from people. Gilgamesh’s behavior guided him to destruction. This ego-centric manner blinded Gilgamesh from reality that his conscious tried to make him see. For an instance, Gilgamesh tried to strike down on Ishtar during their second adventure to Cedar Forest with Enkidu. Ishtar cannot handle Gilgamesh’s harsh rejection and provoked to send the Bull of Heaven against the people of Uruk. Although they succeeded, it brought terrible damage to his kingdom and brought about the painful death of Enkidu. Unlike Gilgamesh, who is depicted as ego-centric individual, Odysseus has the contrast of this characteristic. Odysseus is optimistic and altruistic as he struggles not only for his own survival during the war, but also for his shipmate’s personal survival. Odysseus is described having versatility which either way compliments his physical strength and courage in battle, skills he showed during the war at Troy. These behaviors somehow resulted from his eagerness to return home to his wife and from his perseverance to preserve and finish the heroic reputation and dignity that he won in war at Troy. The same scene that illustrated Odysseus pride also depicts his care and being concerned to his fellow shipmates. After Cyclops threw boulders to the ship, Odysseus hastily gave his identity to Cyclops and the latter called Poseidon, his father, to punish Odysseus who brought harm to him. That incident hurt Odysseus more than losing his fellow men. This showed Odysseus’s heed towards his fellow shipmen. Personal and Social Relationships The Gilgamesh poem depicted not only ancient Mesopotamian myths and legends, but also endowed diverse and complex relationships and dealings between people involved in the epic story, particularly the main character, Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh’s relationship towards his people as a king is somehow in deep and shaky condition. There have been misunderstandings and lack of sense of unity between the king and its people that hindering a kingdom to flourish due to Gilgamesh’s disturbing and arrogant means of ruling Uruk. Another unstable relationship is with Gilgamesh and the Summerian gods. Gilgamesh tends to oppress the gods which led to the creation of Enkidu. Although Enkidu was created as a counterweight of Gilgamesh, unpredictably, both became friends. Relationship between the king and the supposed enemy is probably the most light and happy relationship made by Gilgamesh. They think of each other as brothers and a true companion in which their common journey indeed deepened their brotherly bond and friendship. There are also different relationship built all throughout the story between Odysseus and other characters in the epic. Again, he built a strong and deep bond and camaraderie with his fellow men. He even risked himself just to keep other from falling in the hands of Cyclops. Odysseus somehow has heart of gold for those who treasure him and appreciate him from his doings. His relationship with his wife, Penelope, also is as strong and sturdy as a diamond which no one can break even through rough and long times of being away from each other. To show his commitment and love to his wife, he even tricks his wife’s suitors and disguised himself as beggar.