Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Free Essays on T-score Statistics

Introduction Technological advances in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) have provided a â€Å"voice† to many people through various devices. This voice has been hypothesized to provide greater benefit then traditional communication board or word processing programs. However augmentative communication devices have not traditionally been used with children who are autistic. Various studies have estimated that 25% to 61% of children with autism remain essentially non speaking (Weitz, Dexter, & Moore, 1997). Children with autism have been subjected to many different treatment approaches to the disorder. In fact, when one reviews the literature, there appears to be as many different treatments as there are individuals with autism. Children with autism are subjected to an enormous variety of educational and therapeutic interventions (Heflin & Simson, 1998). One particularly promising, beneficial tool for learners in general and for persons with developmental disabilities is computer technology. Use of computers for communication and learning may provide consistency, motivation, opportunities for independence, and individualized instruction ( Heimann, Nelson, Tjus, & Gillberg, 1995). However, computer technology is rarely used by individuals with autism. Why are individuals with autism typically not given the opportunity to use computer technology? Is it because the deficits in autism are not amenable with computer technology as in contrast to cerebral palsy a motor-speech impairment? This notion is too weakly supported in the literature to be used as a rationale for not introducing computer technology to individuals with autism. To not give individuals with autism access to computer technology may be ill advised in light of the success of computer based methods in promoting communicational gains in individuals with other developmental disabilities such as mental retardation (Romski &Sevcik, 1993). The research does... Free Essays on T-score Statistics Free Essays on T-score Statistics Introduction Technological advances in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) have provided a â€Å"voice† to many people through various devices. This voice has been hypothesized to provide greater benefit then traditional communication board or word processing programs. However augmentative communication devices have not traditionally been used with children who are autistic. Various studies have estimated that 25% to 61% of children with autism remain essentially non speaking (Weitz, Dexter, & Moore, 1997). Children with autism have been subjected to many different treatment approaches to the disorder. In fact, when one reviews the literature, there appears to be as many different treatments as there are individuals with autism. Children with autism are subjected to an enormous variety of educational and therapeutic interventions (Heflin & Simson, 1998). One particularly promising, beneficial tool for learners in general and for persons with developmental disabilities is computer technology. Use of computers for communication and learning may provide consistency, motivation, opportunities for independence, and individualized instruction ( Heimann, Nelson, Tjus, & Gillberg, 1995). However, computer technology is rarely used by individuals with autism. Why are individuals with autism typically not given the opportunity to use computer technology? Is it because the deficits in autism are not amenable with computer technology as in contrast to cerebral palsy a motor-speech impairment? This notion is too weakly supported in the literature to be used as a rationale for not introducing computer technology to individuals with autism. To not give individuals with autism access to computer technology may be ill advised in light of the success of computer based methods in promoting communicational gains in individuals with other developmental disabilities such as mental retardation (Romski &Sevcik, 1993). The research does...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Caesar, Kaiser, and Czar

Caesar, Kaiser, and Czar Caesar, Kaiser, and Czar Caesar, Kaiser, and Czar By Maeve Maddox To begin with, Caesar was a family name. Now, in various forms, it is a generic term for ruler or emperor. In Roman naming practice, a newborn child was given three names (tria nomina). The praenomen was a name like Lucius or Marcus. The second name was the name of the tribe, clan, or gens, such as the Julii or Cornelii. The third name was the cognomen, a nickname that distinguished one branch of a gens from another. Sometimes an adult would adopt a fourth name called an agnomen. This was a nickname he had earned himself. Caesar was the cognomen of the family to which the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar was born. Its origin has been explained in various ways: The cognomen Caesar originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by caesarian section (from the Latin verb to cut, caedo, caedere, cecidi, caesum).[5] The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations: that the first Caesar had a thick head of hair (Latin caesaries); that he had bright grey eyes (Latin oculis caesiis); or that he killed an elephant (caesai in Moorish) in battle.[6] Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favoured this interpretation of his name.[7] (Wikipeda) Julius Caesar himself had a receding hairline so another possible explanation is that his family may have carried the gene of male pattern baldness and the nickname Caesar (hairy) was ironic. When Julius Caesar was killed, his nephew, whom he adopted as his heir, took the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus. The Octavianus was his birth name so he kept it. Later on the Senate gave him the agnomen Augustus. Thats the name by which he is known as the first Emperor of Rome. Augustus and his first four successors were related by blood so they all more or less had the right to the name Caesar. After the death of Nero, however, the Empire was up for grabs. In the chaotic year of the four emperors that followed Neros death, the name Caesar became a synonym for ruler. Galba was the first to assume it as a title. (He got to use it for about seven months.) So famous was the title Caesar that it found its way into all the European languages. It was probably the first Latin word adopted by the Germanic languages to which English belongs. The Romans pronounced the word with a hard c and thats how it came into the Germanic languages. If it hadnt been for the immense influence of Norse and French on English during the Middle Ages, the modern English word for caesar would have developed into something like coser. During the time of the close relationship between the English and the Danes, however, the English replaced their own word with the Norse keiser (cayser, kaiser). Then, after the Norman Conquest, when French became the language of the ruling classes in Engand, the French word, with its soft c pronunciation, became the preferred form. Later on, the word Kaiser came into English again, this time as the title of the German rulers. The word Czar, which English speakers use to refer to the Russian emperors, entered the Russian language as Tsar, the Old Slavic version of Caesar: tsesari. The spelling Czar is a respelling of the Russian word with the letters of the Latin alphabet. The spelling with cz was common in European languages because that was how it was spelled the first time it appeared in a European book in 1549, but the French adopted the spelling tsar in the 19th century and the London Times prefers it. In German it is spelled Zar. In the U.S. the word czar is now used to refer to anyone who is in a position of some kind of control. Ex. Drug Czar (either a powerful drug dealer OR a government official supposed to combat drug trafficking); Education Czar. Little Caesar (1931) is the title of an historically significant film in which Edward G. Robinson played a gangster and defined the cinematic crime genre. Such is the continuing charisma of the word that it continues to be used to suggest power and grandeur. The words association with food is probably owing to its Italian origin. (Ex. Little Caesars Pizza.) A Caesars Salad, however, has nothing to do with the late dictator. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the salad is named for Cesar Cardini, a restaurant owner in Tijuana, Mexico who is said to have served the first one in about 1924. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"50 Idioms About Roads and PathsApostrophe with Plural Possessive Nouns

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Business Week 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Week 2 - Essay Example There is no use for a research problem that cannot be done. Precision in words used is at the core of a good research statement, with the problem being expressed in the initial few words. Editing of writing includes careful choice of words, clarity of expression, expression of thoughts in full with minimal word use, use of a thesaurus, maintaining short sentences, and rewriting as often as required with alertness for modification. (1). The first additional benefit that a thorough is that it boosts confidence through several factors. These factors include enhanced knowledge on the subject and the understanding that there have been others who have demonstrated interest in the topic by the investment of time, effort and resources in studying it. Another benefit is that it reveals sources of data that may not have crossed the mind. An example of this is that in going through articles on the subject the literary references provide additional sources that may not have been considered. Among the difficult areas of a research are the methodological and design issues. A third benefit of a thorough review of existing literature is that the manner in which similar studies handled these issues could be the means to resolving methodical and design issues. 3. Sometimes students believe that taking the time to prepare a complete and carefully designed research proposal is something to be preached, but not really practiced. Identify at least two different problems related to research design that are commonly encountered when doing research. For each problem, explain how a complete and detailed research proposal would help the researcher avoid the problem? Employing improper data collection tools and the lack of application to ethical issues are two commonly occurring problems related to research design. There are several data collection tools like questionnaires, interviews, and the like,

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Global health priorities Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global health priorities - Coursework Example This spreading dissatisfaction will certainly hamper hospital administration as it attempts to implement solutions to the nursing shortage (Buchan and  Aiken 2010). The current global nursing shortage will also increase a gap between current healthcare administration solutions and efforts nurses believe hospital administrators are making. Prioritized solutions on the medical staff’s list will differ more with those on the hospital administration’s list. This difference will occur in spite of research attempts to understand and close this gap. One way to entice future students to consider nursing professions is to prioritize personal time over compensation as nurses today value personal time more than pay (Buchan and  Aiken 2010). Dynamism at work and home is another solution, as students would not want to spend more time in one role over the other. Future nursing students can be told of almost assured promotions in the profession that leads to an emerging superclass of hospital workers. Incorporated personal and professional lives are aspects of future nursing that students can learn about and admire because they lower the stress of overseeing one’s professional and personal life (Buchan and  Aiken

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Human Nature of Prejudice Essay Example for Free

The Human Nature of Prejudice Essay Many people in society today have the mindset that being prejudice is wrong, especially as it relates to skin color and ethnicity. Social Psychology and Human Nature book describes prejudice as â€Å"an act of a wicked culture† (Roy F. Baumeister, Brad J. Bushman p. 402). Jim Cole’s description is: â€Å"Prejudices will be dealt with here as a single set of dynamics that function to dehumanize people who are identifiably different in some way from the people whose perceptions are limited by the dysfunction we call prejudice (Cole p1  ¶2). † This means that there dysfunctions in childhood structure and it has limited the person take on the world because of a certain disbelief. If taught wrong, you become more prejudice at the more dislike you see in your life growing up because these are your own perceptions on the society. However, being prejudice makes since because it is an acquired behavior. Prejudice does not always mean a person disliking or â€Å"hating† another person, or disliking someone because of their favorite color, height or weight, religious beliefs, etc. Most often times, people do not take notice that prejudice is happening to them until it is about race. If a person has a problem with someone else because they are not the same; different is seemingly fine. We all have problems, problems that can be solved with rehabilitation, some with great medicines and treatments, and others with just life. Some of our problems come from our past childhood. The way we are living and the choices we make could cause a problem; no matter what the situation is we face problems every day. Prejudice is what kind of problem we need to be aware of: socially, mentally, physically, and or most cases, for example, Dennis Rodman’s, psychologically. The problem arises when prejudice is carried out in aggression or when it is used to make people feel uncomfortable. As children, we are born into this world with many cultures already present. There are many things people are born to know. Then there are things that are learned and taught to us from our parents and society. For the most part, many children start off liking everything and everyone that does not physically harm them. It is understood that children do not learn and change behaviors themselves, and that culture influences personality, behavior, and the way in which children respond to those things and people that surround them. In my perspective, the way children learn right from wrong is the whole culture aspect existence. For example, children are indoors more with their family. Children adapt to their parents’ lifestyles, their views, values and beliefs, and their personalities. They learn quickly thus behaviors become a set way. Growing up, children learn how their parents respond to society, neighbors, political views, and even criminal situations. For example, children who commit crime or involve themselves in criminal activities are taught or learned this from somewhere like watching television, playing video games, or simply observing the behavior among family, friends, and loved ones. Richard Trembley said, â€Å"even though children are the most violent and aggressive human beings, they cannot express their anger and aggression because they may be too weak to do so† (p24). Trembley’s discovery on children at a daycare facility revealed that â€Å"25% of the interactions among children involve physical aggression† (p24). This proves that children can be born with natural aggression or be taught aggression. For instance, if you take a child’s toy their first instinct is to cry out of anger or hit you. Both crying and hitting are forms of outward aggression especially if a child throws a tantrum or â€Å"go bananas†. Chapter 10 of the text says this is called, â€Å"nature says go and culture says stop’ (p300). As children grow and mature, they learn how to control their aggression. Growing older force children to make choices and adjustments to the bad behaviors taught and learned earlier in childhood. As children begin to expose themselves to others, they quickly begin to learn from others they encounter. They learn about different cultures and different behavior other than their own or what they are familiar with. Assumptions and conclusions about people are analyzed, measured, and weighed out and behaviors begin to form. Case in point, a young girl dislikes men growing up because she experienced her father mistreating her mom with cheating, cursing, and fighting or simply no man was around in her life to learn positive things about. The girl sees a picture of her father and her mother would tell her that he is a bad man. Now, this becomes the girl’s maxim causing her to freak out or cry even meeting her mom’s new boyfriend. Even with other men, the girl would be hesitant and freak out because she has been brainwashed by her mother men are always trying to hurt or betray you. This probably would take a girl much longer to like men outside of a girl that have had a different experience being around positive men. As illustrated in the text, â€Å"prejudice is a negative feeling toward an individual based on his or her membership to a particular group† (p393). In the above example, the girl’s reaction to seeing men has become a negative feeling especially towards the particular male group. In today’s society, when a person hears the word prejudice, they automatically think racism when in fact it is something completely different. Although it is happening everywhere including in our schools systems, many do not notice that being prejudice is becoming a growing issue. In schools today, teenagers form many groups called jocks, nerds, popular kids, and thugs. Students who are athletic seem to have many favors and higher social ranks than other students. These students get recognition and are always lifted up as being higher than others. Others, such as nerds, are often picked at because of their ability to learn and excel higher than others and often looked down upon by the rest of the students. They usually never get in trouble and dress awkward to other students. The popular kids seem to be liked by everyone. They wear the best clothes and have the most friends. They seem to be everywhere and always involved in many activities. Then there are the thugs, who dress different, speak different, and display negative and hostile behavior almost in every situation possible as part of their expression and culture. All seem to have something unique that makes them very different but as a teenager there can be challenges. Teenagers tend to not like things and people that are different unless they have been taught otherwise. For example, when a child or teenager is moved constantly from foster home to foster home, there are many resentment and bad feelings inside the child. To connect with a family, children have to learn and figure a way to connect with a new family and build a bond just to get along with the family until they are taken away from that family. This seems harsh but it is reality. The experience teenagers feel every time they come across something different triggers that lashing out behavior. Trust, this is a persona feeling. Even though children may start off aggressive, children are brought up liking everything, but by socializing agents, they are taught to reject certain groups. Therefore, the jocks will dislike the nerds because of social and physical intimidation and the popular kids and thugs may dislike each other because of social power and self-centeredness thus creating bullying and a hostile environment in the school system. The bullying creates problem because negative feelings now have created negative actions, which turns into physical aggression, now discrimination occurs. Discrimination is â€Å"unequal treatment of different people based on the groups or categories to which they belong† (p393). The discrimination stage comes after the prejudice takes place. Many people see this stage as being worse than prejudice because this stage is where violence occurs like bullying, verbal aggression, emotional aggression, and physical aggression. As of 2009, 28 percent of kids 12 through 18 are subjected to this violence in school (DeVoe, Murphy). When a child is young, behavior can be influenced. Parents have the ability to discipline and chastise and correct bad behaviors but some children do not fully understand right from wrong. They tend to have differences with one another because of their lack of understanding. But when a child becomes a teenager, behavior is more difficult to change because views are set and so are their behaviors. The older a child becomes the more their decisions become their own. My parents would say, â€Å"The ball is in their court and their actions will reap with consequences. † Prejudice is not formed overnight. Children do not go to bed one night and wake the next morning with prejudice. There must be things or people to influence their beliefs. Some would argue the media, parenting, or a harsh experience is the blame. Whatever the case, prejudice form opinions before facts are known. To change prejudices, it is very important to change the social and media situations and the at-home dynamics that influence our children. Prejudice has been getting worse over the years now that technology is on the rise. There is one form known as cyber bullying. Cyber bullying refers to bullying or discrimination through communication technologies, methods such as mobile phone text messages, emails, phone calls, internet chat rooms, and instant messaging. They are often driven by anger, payback or frustration and this comes from again the intimidation this person may have with someone from a different social group. Kids are receiving these hurtful text messages and emails because the bully got their number from Facebook mobile. Social psychology is the scientific study of how people affect and are affected by others (3). We affect people just ask much as people affect us. These bullies don’t understand that they can bring about long term effects on the very people that they discriminated against and also, themselves. This affects them both physically and psychologically. Solutions to this are simple. The book explains an idea called the contact hypothesis. It says that maybe if two members from different groups were to meet more often, it would decrease racial tension and eventually reduce prejudice. Without the common interactions between the groups on a personal level, the prejudice increases. The interactions must be forced in order for it to have an effect. Psychologists are thinking if push to large conflicting groups together, over time the will little to no conflict. For example, two scientists conducted an experiment on new freshman college students. White and black college students were assigned either a black or a white roommate to live with for the year. These decisions were made by a flip of a coin so that it is a random selection. The results showed that at first some of the students where disgruntled about living in an interracial dorm room, conversely, the feeling of prejudice decreased dramatically by the end of the semester. The students needed time to adjust to their racially opposite roommate (Shook and Fazio 1). This study proves that change can affect us in a large way. In a way so shifting that the nature feeling of being disgruntled occurs. What humans fail to realize is that our ideas and decisions are chosen for us when we are young, however when we are older we began to make our own decisions: how we hang out with, our political preference, and what type of people we are. Society influences all of the above. If we want something, we can have it with hard work. This study takes the freedom of choice away and plants the student in a situation where you have to use what you have learned to handle it. As humans, we dislike change especially when it comes to a very large change such as living with the one race and culture all your life until now having to flip sides and live with someone who is completely different. This is why a person being prejudice is understandable. The big problem with society is the fear of the unknown because we are calm and content with the things that familiar to us. However, when change occurs our minds alert us that something is wrong. This is what creates the thought of being prejudice. You mind does not like what you see so your brain leads you to dislike that certain thing. This makes sense because culture is leading us to like everyone, but our society is leading us in a different. Not saying that everyone is prejudice but some things that a person does, says, or looks like that we just do not like. We are allowed to we are human it is in our blood to dislike. For example, in the Old Testament, â€Å"God divided humanity into two groups, the Jews and Gentiles. God made the Jews holy and he claimed the Jews to be his kingdom of priests† (Ephesians 2:14). However, in our human nature, the Jews because too proud of their role and picked on and despised the Jews. This is similar to the jocks, nerds, popular students, and thug situations going on in the schools. Still, even in biblical times, people were being prejudice of those less fortunate that they are. This supports my claim on how prejudice makes sense because we were created to be prejudice by our Creator. Additionally, to understand prejudice is to know the dynamics around it. Jim Cole, in his article, ask two questions, â€Å"Would you rather live in a land where discrimination is illegal, or would you rather live in a land where no one has the desire to discriminate† (p1)? These are both good questions. Cole explains this below: â€Å"To have a better grasp of how prejudices function we need to look at how we have learned prejudices. There are many stereotypes we learn as children. We do not test these and many times we do not have the opportunity to test them. We learn them as facts and behave as if they are the truth. Then, later in life, when situations come up, we behave automatically out of these earlier stereotyped learnings. This type of learning is not easily accessible for discussion or awareness, but it simply stays with us for later effortless, seemingly automatic application, since the learning is not tested and not challenged, it is not evaluated and not likely to be changed† (p1,  ¶5). Thus, giving people time and attention to adjust their behavior and make better decisions at the right time. This claim supports the idea that as children we learn ideas and certain behaviors and put them into action. Through life experiences, learning is put into action and consequences follows. As Cole illustrates in his article, there is a base of mixture of your childhood learning and what behaviors you have are reevaluated from society. The new way a person perceives the world is different because now they have made their own perception on how things operate psychologically. A mind can become more susceptible and prejudices can be eliminated all the while the behavior responses stays intact. In conclusion, prejudice is something that humans choose to do, but we do not do it on purpose. It comes from our childhood teachings about how to interact with society. This called social psychology. This is what my studying. Social psychology is the study on how our thoughts, feelings, actions, and behaviors are influenced by other people. We need people to survive. Without other people in society, a human would be another animal in the environment. Without people in our life to show us what is right and wrong we will be much disoriented people. Dennis Rodman is great example of the need for people in life. Throughout his life he showed Americans things that we thought were inhuman, but it was normal to him; the way he talked and thought, the way he dressed, and especially the things he did. Dennis Rodman lost his father at a young age. He always was a little weird. People made fun of him. When he was asked â€Å"is your dad the reason why you have a problem†, he responded the same way, â€Å"Some man bought me into this world, but that doesn’t mean I have a problem. † His mother never really had time to work with him and teach him about the real life. She was always working and his older siblings were there just as babysitters. Yes, there was discipline when needed but other than that he basically learned on his own or what he experienced. This style of childhood is what began his early sign of psychological issues. Everyone has a father and if we don’t ever see our father for 30+ years, then we should not be exempted from having a father. This is messing with Freud’s modern concept of physiology, the basis of human nature, one father, and one mother. Rodman is famous for his aggressive manners, many piercings, tattoos, and lively, multi-colored hair. This has to do with his child life with no father. According to Freud, Rodman was trapped in the phallic stage of psychosexual development. Since he had no father, he tended to cling to his mother more; since his mother constantly pushed him away he became very sick in the mind. Thus, creating the situation where he is unsure about his sexuality. Dennis Rodman was a person who didn’t know he liked or wanted out of life do he couldn’t have a specific prejudice toward anything. This supports the claim because Dennis Rodman was a person who did not have the correct people in his life to guide him; so when he was faced with a situation like his first sexual encounter with a woman, he found it as unpleasant because he probably never had the â€Å"sex talk† that most children have with their parents when they hit puberty. He claimed he was bisexual and that he was going to marry himself. He could not understand exactly what a good behavior was and that is why he acted the way he did. Dennis Rodman’s life and personality could really have many different reasons and different approaches that could all be explain thoroughly, but to me, I think that his childhood and played an enormous role in determining his character and the nature of person that is he. Rodman once said that â€Å"Relationships and athletes don’t mix†, with a different set of parents Dennis Rodman would be a 10 times better man that he is today. We know that we are the only things that can help us survive. Dennis Rodman is a good example of how we need people as direction to learn the certain things in life need to live in today’s society. He had no prejudice and because of it he did things from different cultures to see who he was. As humans we need to know who we are to be able to defend ourselves and our culture. When we know our culture is being threatened by another culture we tend to dislike those people; this why most black people are so combative with white people because they feel like they have history to protect and a race to stand up for. We fail to realize that society has turned the page in history and is now accepting of all types of people, or at least forced to by laws and regulations. I feel like some blacks are living in the past and they have not taken a looking into the present. The only thing to blame is the childhood. How they were raised and what they were exposed to is what molds them into who they are today. I think that being prejudiced can be fixed with simple education; not only informing the child about their culture but teach ways of other cultures and telling them the difference. This way the child can express any area of dislike and the lifetime thought of prejudice can possibly be refrained. The difference cannot be negative or it will solve anything and the child may still become prejudice, but now it’s a younger age. That is not the aim. The aim is allow the child to see later on in life and already have a saving knowledge about what they may see. In closing, being prejudice is not just something we do on our own, but it is an acquired behavior instilled in us when we are children. Works Cited Baumeister, Roy F. , and Brad J. Bushman. Social Psychology and Human Nature. Second Edtion. Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2012. Culture Society. How to Overcome Prejudice. EHow. Demand Media, 18 Sept. 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. Cole, Jim. Understanding Prejudice. Beyond Prejudice, n. d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Rodman, D. (2012). Dennis rodman official page. Retrieved from http://www. dennisrodman. com/main DeVoe, Jill, Christina Murphy, and (ED) National Center for Education Statistics. Student Reports of Bullying and Cyber-Bullying: Results from the 2009 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Web Tables. NCES 2011-336. National Center for Education Statistics (2011): ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. New International Version. Ephesians 2:14. Trans. The Bible, n. d. Web. 19 Dec. 2012. Schamotta, Justin. The Development of Prejudice. EHow. Demand Media, 06 June 2011. Web. 18 Dec. 2012. Shook, Natalie J. , and Russell H. Fazio. Result Filters. National Center for Biotechnology Information. U. S. National Library of Medicine, 2008. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Macbeths Incredible Lady :: Free Macbeth Essays

Macbeth's Incredible Lady      In William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth there are two main characters, one of which is more believable than the other. Lady Macbeth is not as lifelike or realistic as her husband. In this essay we shall explore her character. In "Macbeth as the Imitation of an Action" Francis Fergusson specifies the fears within Lady Macbeth:   I do not need to remind you of the great scenes preceding the murder, in which Macbeth and his Lady pull themselves together for their desperate effort. If you think over these scenes, you will notice that the Macbeths understand the action which begins here as a competition and a stunt, against reason and against nature. Lady Macbeth fears her husband's human nature, as well as her own female nature, and therefore she fears the light of reason and the common dayllight world. As for Macbeth, he knows from the first that he is engaged in an irrational stunt: "I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself / And falls on the other." In this sequence there is also the theme of outwitting or transcending time, an aspect of nature's order as we know it: catching up the consequences, jumping the life to come, and the like. (108) Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare interpret the character of Lady Macbeth: Lady Macbeth is of a finer and more delicate nature. Having fixed her eye upon the end - the attainment for her husband of Duncan's crown - she accepts the inevitable means; she nerves herself for the terrible night's work by artificial stimulants; yet she cannot strike the sleeping king who resembles her father. Having sustained her weaker husband, her own strength gives way; and in sleep, when her will cannot control her thoughts, she is piteously afflicted by the memory of one stain of blood upon her little hand.   (792) In "Memoranda: Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth," Sarah Siddons comments on the Lady's cold manner: [Macbeth] announces the King's approach; and she, insensible it should seem to all the perils which he has encountered in battle, and to all the happiness of his safe return to her, -- for not one kind word of greeting or congratulations does she offer, -- is so entirely swallowed up by the horrible design, which has probably been suggested to her by his letters, as to have forgotten both the one and the other.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Main Character Of The Novel Essay

Throughout the book, we see that George Elliot has a distinct pre-occupation and interest with presenting the working class rural community in an authentic light. She writes the book as a social anthropologist, studying the more primitive community of the time. She has a large amount of sympathy towards the poor, although she herself was not a member of the working class. Using the story as a vehicle she aims to expose the plight and indignity of the poor in Victorian England, it was her main motive. Therefore, her focus throughout the book is in fact village life; in this case a fictional village named Raveloe. Focusing on the villagers, their attitudes and their way of life acts as a way of also commenting socially and politically on the injustices they face. Raveloe can easily be regarded as the main character as without it, the narrative following Silas has little significance. The village shapes the narrative, being responsible for most of the major areas of interest in the tale. All the individual characters provide interest and together form the character of the town, from characters such as Dunsey to Dolly. The story begins with a sympathetic description of the ‘honest folk’ of Raveloe. Our first real source of interest in the novel comes from the villager’s hostile reaction to Silas. We are initially told about Silas through the eyes of the villagers. Elliot echoes the villagers process of thought and way of speech throughout the novel, namely at the beginning. The sound of Silas’ loom is described as ‘questionable’ and he is said to have a ‘dreadful stare’. She is mimicking the mannerisms and phraseology of Raveloe as a whole and its reaction to the unknown. Silas’ mechanical method of working on the loom is seen as un-natural by the villagers, who can only judge him on their own experiences, centred round farming and agriculture. Due to this unfamiliarity, they see even pitiful attributes as sinister. His bad eyesight is thought of as a ‘stare’. This reaction of the village acts just as a reaction of a human character. It is typical of the village to think this way. In this respect then, the village can be regarded as any other character would. It has attributes and a predictable nature. It is these collective attributes of the community that make Raveloe one character, with which Silas’ relationships revolve. His relationships and connections with the characters of the community provide the most significant points of interest in the novel. Initially, there is the theft of his gold by Dunsey, then his integration into the community with the help of Dolly and later his confrontation with Godfrey over the fate of Eppie. Dolly represents the warmer, caring part of the Raveloe community, opposite to William Dane, the bitter symbol of Silas’ past. She is described to ‘seek the sadder and more serious elements of life and pasture her mind upon them’. Dolly seems to almost gain sustenance from helping those in need, in this case Silas. She helps him with the upbringing of Eppie, offering clothes and her own time. She fulfils her found role in the community. Although she can be seen as the prime example of the village’s moral capability, such sentiments are seen universally. When Silas informs the villagers of his lost gold, the villagers group together in order to help him. By entering ‘The Rainbow’, Silas enters the hub of the village community, beginning the process of his integration. After seeing the authenticity and depth of Silas’ grief, any former rumours disappear as the villagers begin to relate him to themselves, seeming anxious to help. The event acts as a rare source of excitement, as the villagers become incapable of distinguishing reality from imagination, fabricating information concerning a pedlar ‘with ear-rings’. However this all represents a symptomatic characteristic of the village – a concern to help others. The villagers’ reaction concerning the pedlar, is an indication of another key characteristic of Raveloe – a belief in superstition. Although the villagers provide lengthy descriptions of this so called thief, we know that no such character even exists. It is an example of how, in such close cut communities, little matters, true or false, can be embellished, escalating into common belief, leading to the creation of new superstitions. Silas is initially associated with the devil and spirit worship. These suspicions are only heightened by his apparent skill with herbal remedies, his strange cataleptic fits, as well as his past home, ‘North’ard’, where wizards, magic and folklore were associated. However his evident massive bereavement following the loss of his gold dispels any former rumours. Much of this superstition originates from the villagers discussions in the ‘Rainbow’, an important focus of the novel. This can be seen in the tale of ‘Cliff’s Holiday’, a well known rehearsed tale. Mr Macey, the apparent head of this specific social community, describes how a tailor, known as Cliff, had tried to ‘ride the tailor’ out of his son, attempting rising up the class system by making a gentleman out of his son. The story however ends with the son dying, and Cliff following him soon after. The story entails much superstition, mentioning ‘old Harry’, a euphemism for the devil, suggesting this unnatural desire to climb the class system was responsible for the death of the boy. The villagers, opposite to Cliff, are in fact very accepting of what they have been given. They feel content with what God has given them. Their pre-occupation is not to rise out of poverty but to merely co-operate with each other in order to make it bearable. This is seen in Dolly’s clear desire to help anyone in need, or at least to do the best she can. None of the villagers seem to complain about their conditions. They support Silas and each other. Another example of this is in Aarons desire to help Silas later on in the novel with his garden. He has no qualms about working in his spare time, he sees it as simply a decent thing to do. These sentiments would largely be a result of his mother, Dolly, and the way she brought him up. The meetings in the Rainbow are an important aspect of the social nature of Raveloe. Like going to Church, it is a social function. This religious aspect of Raveloe is alien to Silas due to his origins of the non-conformist Lantern Yard. He knows nothing of churches, only chapels. This complete lack of knowledge somewhat isolates him from the community; he does not go to church. However Dolly, is adamant that Eppie shall be brought up in the Raveloe faith and at the same time, introduces Silas back into religion. Both the working class are present in such functions as well as the gentry. The gentry are represented by the Cass family. The squire sees himself above the other members of the community, only becoming involved with them at festive, social occasions, such as the new-year party at the Red House. They are differentiated from the poor and, unlike Dolly, Mr Macey or any other members of the lower class community, represent little more than themselves. The Cass family are one of the villagers’ topics of discussion. They perceptively see the faults of the upper class just as they see faults in the lower classes. They take a specific disliking to Dunstan, due to his lack of respect of anyone, especially those below him. Godfrey is also seen as weak, Mr Macey describing him as a ‘slack baked pie’, commenting on his moral flaws. The primitive but nevertheless logical philosophy of, those who do well are rewarded while those who don’t suffer, is apparently proven in both cases. Dunstan ends up dying due his greed, while, although it is unknown to them, because of his rejection of Eppie, Godfrey is seemingly punished by Nancy being unable to conceive. Silas’ innocence on the other hand, is eventually rewarded. He is blessed with Eppie, who changes his life. These conclusions follow the villager’s moral code, maintaining justice. Categorically speaking, the village has a variety of overall attributes and a predictable nature so therefore can be described as a character. Furthermore, being the main focus of the novel, we can go on to suggest it is the main character. We are more aware of the values and nature of Raveloe as a whole than any specific character – even Silas. All the main events of the novel are shaped by the village. Each personality of each character represents a different aspect of the village as a whole. These individual characters amount to create one, main character which dictates the narrative and plot of the novel. Elliot’s concentration on her depictions of the village, indicate that she desired it to be the main focus. Obviously Silas is important, however, it is the events that unfold around him in Raveloe that really influence the direction of the novel.