Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Punishment And The Abolition Of Imprisonment - 1650 Words

Imprisonment records a conviction and detains the offender within jail for an assigned amount of time. The offender completely is removed of any freedom or liberty and placed under high security and regulation. However, statistics of the rise in imprisonment have risen arguments about its ineffectiveness stating offenders have not been rehabilitated or recovered after their imprisonment. To an extent, imprisonment is unsuccessful in preventing reoffending or assisting the offender’s progress to recovery and adaptation into society. Elements of sentencing purposes, prison circumstances and culture, and whether the abolishment of imprisonment would be beneficial underlines imprisonment still plays a crucial role in the criminal justice system (Humphreys, 2006, pp.119-120). In order to be effective imprisonment like other sanctions, seeks to accomplish all purposes of criminal sanctions. Section 5 (1) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic.) features the aims of sanctions; punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, denunciation and protection. When deciding a sentence suitable to the crime committed, a judge has to consider all these aims and purposes. Punishment exists for society to acknowledge there is retribution to unlawful acts and for the satisfaction of society and the state who have been wronged. This also prevents the victim feeling that they have not been compensated for their damages and from desiring to seek revenge themselves. Deterrence is the aim to establish theShow MoreRelated Capital Punishment Essay: Its Fair and Effective964 Words   |  4 PagesCapital Punishment - Its Fair and Effective   Ã‚  Ã‚   Confronting head-on two of the most prominent objections to the death penalty is the object of this paper: Is the death penalty a miscarriage of justice? And Does it Deter Crime?    Its a miscarraige of justice. In a survey Professors Hugo Adam Bedau and Michael Radelet found that 7000 persons were executed in the United States between 1900 and 1985 and that 35 were innocent of capital crimes (1). Among the innocents they list Sacco andRead More Against the Death Penalty Essay1533 Words   |  7 Pagesis the cold blooded killing of a human being in the name of ‘justice’. In 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; in Articles 3 and 5 it states that â€Å"no one shall be subjected to cruel or degrading punishment and everyone has the right to life and liberty†. The death penalty violates both of these fundamental rights. The United Nations Rights Commission (UNHRC) has passed a resolution calling for all nations that continue executionsRead MoreCapital Punishment : The Death Penalty965 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to the definition of Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online (2016), capital punishment, generally known as death penalty, is the ‘execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense . In short, it is a legally sanctioned and administered punishment for capital criminals by forfeiture of life. To this date, bounded by four influential international protocols that proclaim the abolition and forbid the reintroduction of death penalty, more than half of theRead MoreDeath Of The 19th Century947 Words   |  4 PagesVictoria’s most infamous criminals, which included; Russell Street Bomber Craig Minogue, 1920’s gangster Squizzy Taylor, Hoddle Street gunman Julian Knight and Mark ‘Chopper’ Reid. Pentridge Prisons history emphasizes the changes in crime, offending and punishment over its period of operation. By the end of the 20th century, Australia was less violent in comparison to the end of the 18th and 19th centuries. Crimes that have reoccurred during this period include, homicides, assault, theft, burglary, rapeRead MoreThe Abolition of Capital Punishment in Australia1014 Words   |  5 Pagesexecution in Australia in 1967 of Ronald Ryan and the abolition of capital punishment in Australia in 1973 imprisonment has been the only option as a sanction for murder. A survey conducted in 2009 demonstrated that a clear majority of Australians (64%) believed that imprisonment should be the punishment for murder as opposed to 23% stating the death penalty should be used and 13% did not wish to comment. The death penalty is not an effective punishment for all cases and there has not been any solid evidenceRead MoreWorking Class Forged Through Violence. W.E.B. Du Bois Challenges1598 Words   |  7 Pagesworking class. Bloodshed is what allowed slaved to enter the working class. During the Civil War, slaves joined the Northern troops to changed the narrative of war and battled for freedom. The direct result of this triumph was the 13th Amendment, the abolition of slavery. Shortly after, confederate followers created agencies with the intention of suppressing freedom amongst Black people. Organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan are responsible for a considerable amount of African American deaths, and areRead MoreAn Examination of Capital Punishment Essay1389 Words   |  6 PagesCapital punishment also known as the death penalty is when a person who has been convicted by the court of law can be sentenced to death. This occurs when a defendant is being tried with a criminal offense; such as the conscious murder of a peace officer on active duty, or a federal agent. This punishment has been a constant debate throughout our history. People claim it to be unjust or a cruel and unusual punishment, while another part of our population claims that this consequence is not use d enoughRead More Failures of Capital Punishment Essay786 Words   |  4 PagesFailures of Capital Punishment Is the death penalty a just way of punishing those who commit a horrible crime? The answer to that depends on the standpoint of an individual. Fox Butterfield of the New York Times notices that â€Å"In the view of some, the failure to enforce the death penalty reflects and enduring ambivalence about the capital punishment. Others say that the death penalty opponents have found ways to triumph over the public will to carry out executions.† In a capitalistic standpointRead MorePersuasive Essay On Capital Punishment1723 Words   |  7 PagesCapital punishment is a form of execution sanctioned by the government as a form of punishment to the capital law offenders by the death penalty. The kind of criminal offenses that punishment is through death is the capital offenses to which include treason, genocide, espionage, murder, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This kind of sentence majorly aims at the major heinous crimes. This type of the penalty is majorly carried out th rough various means depending on the country in question.Read MoreEssay on Capital Punishment Should Be Abolished1108 Words   |  5 PagesCapital Punishment Should be Abolished Evidence suggests that the death penalty does not deter people from committing crimes. It is a cruel and cold blooded form of punishment and there have been instances where innocent people were sentenced to death and later found to be innocent. The most common methods of execution are hanging and shooting. Countries like the U.S. use electrocution, gas chambers and lethal injections to dispose of the convicted. Some countries, like the U.S., have tried

Monday, December 23, 2019

Gandhi s Early Self Identification - 1690 Words

Early days Mahatma Gandhi was the primary leader of India’s independence movement and also the architect of a form of non-violent civil disobedience that would influence the world. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Gandhi, was born to Putlibai on October 2nd, 1869 in Porabandar,India. His father, Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi served as the Diwan chief minister of Porbandar state. The Indian classics, especially the stories of and king Harishchandra, had a great impact on Gandhi in his childhood. Gandhi s early self-identification with truth and love as supreme values is traceable to these epic characters. On 21 January 1879, Mohandas entered the local district school in Rajkot, not far from his home. At school, he was†¦show more content†¦Mavji Dave, a brahmin priest and family friend, advised Gandhi that he should qualify as a barrister in London, after which he would be certain to achieve the diwanship. Initially, Putlibai did not want her youngest son to leave India and travel across the ocean, thereby losing his caste according to believes at that time. But somehow Gandhi convinced and got the permission to leave. On 10 August 1888, Gandhi left Porbandar for Bombay (Mumbai). Upon arrival in the port, he was met by the head of the Modh Bania community, who had known Gandhi s family for a while. Having learned of Gandhi s plans, he and other elder s warned Gandhi that he would be excommunicated if he did not remain in India. Gandhi did not change his intentions to leave for England, therefore being daclared and outcast. While in London his mother died, but his family kept the news from him. South Africa Gandhi was 24 when he arrived in South Africa in 1893 to work as a legal representative for the Muslim Indian Traders based in the city of Pretoria. He spent 21 years in South Africa, where he developed his political views, ethics and political leadership skills. Indians in South Africa included wealthy Muslims, who employed Gandhi as a lawyer, and impoverished Hindu indentured labourers with very limited rights. He believed that he understood India better by getting to know and leading Indians in South Africa. He faced several challenges in South Africa. He majorly faced theShow MoreRelatedQuetext. About Faq Contact. Early Days Mahatma Gandhi Was1353 Words   |  6 PagesContact Early days Mahatma Gandhi was the primary leader of India’s independence movement and also the architect of a form of non-violent civil disobedience that would influence the world. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Gandhi, was born to Putlibai on October 2nd, 1869 in Porabandar,India. His father, Karamchand Uttamchand Gandhi served as the Diwan chief minister of Porbandar state. The Indian classics, especially the stories of and king Harishchandra, had a great impact on Gandhi inRead MoreCivil Disobedience : An Important Part Of Society1712 Words   |  7 Pagesthe idea that there should be no reason that people of a different color should have to sit in the back or give up their seats for white people. The black segregation laws were not justified, due to the main argument for racism being the historian s fallacy that racial difference and intolerance was allowed in American history and should be allowed now. This relates to the idea that democratic governments are obligated to make ethical and moral laws to protect and keep in best interest the safetyRead MoreThe First Stage Of Erik Erikson s Theory Centers Essay2017 Words   |  9 PagesThe first stage of Erik Erikson s theory centers around the infant s basic needs being met by the parents. The infant depends on the parents, especially the mother, for food, sustenance, and comfort. The child s relative understanding of world and society come from the parents and their interaction with the child. If the parents expose the child to warmth, regularity, and dependable affection, the infant s view of the world will be one of trust. Should the parents fail to provide a secure environmentRead MoreIndian Independence Movement and Goa Liberation Movement5513 Words   |  23 PagesThe  Goa liberation movement  was a movement that sought to end the 451 years of  Portuguese  colonial rule in Goa, India. The liberation movement gained mass momentum in the early 20th century (galvanizing be tween 1940-1961), and continued to build on the smaller scale revolts and uprisings of the preceding century. The struggle was conducted both within Goa and externally, and was characterized by a range of tactics including non-violent demonstrations, revolutionary methods and diplomatic effortsRead MoreTransactional and Transformational Leadership2111 Words   |  9 Pagesor by verifying that it is consistent with organizational policies, rule or practices 5. Reciprocity- The leader appeals based on feeling of debt (based on past favors) to the leader Key Directional Ideas of Transactional Leadership By Marcus S. Robinson 1.Clear boundaries - having clearly defined boundaries between role and function, technical process, span of control, decision rights, and domains of influence allow transactional leaders to control and manage interactions to drive desiredRead MoreTransactional and Transformational Leadership2126 Words   |  9 Pagesit, or by verifying that it is consistent with organizational policies, rule or practices 5. Reciprocity- The leader appeals based on feeling of debt (based on past favors) to the leader Key Directional Ideas of Transactional Leadership By Marcus S. Robinson 1.Clear boundaries - having clearly defined boundaries between role and function, technical process, span of control, decision rights, and domains of influence allow transactional leaders to control and manage interactions to drive desiredRead MoreUniversity Education Commission6592 Words   |  27 Pagesinto the political struggle. They did not consistently or continuously participate in struggles, but a general temper of revolt against political servitude and desire to struggle for national liberation became widespread. The personality of Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. C. R. Das, the Prime Minister, Maulana Azad, Mr. Subhas Rose and others also powerfully affected the imagination of young students. Teachers for various reasons were not able to take an active part in the political struggle and to some extentRead MoreThe Immigration Act Of 1965 Essay1886 Words   |  8 Pages1900s, in search of economic opportunity. Mostly to work in the farmlands (Indians). The number of Indians migrating to America annually is becoming significantly larger than before because of the modification to the Immigration Act of 1965. In the 1980’s, a second wave of Indian immigrants emerged averaging 20,000 Indians migrating to America annually; these immigrants were mostly young men and wives seeking for a better life in America. 19% arrived prior to 1980, 18% arrived between 1980 and 1989, 27%Read MoreOrganisation Behavior at Spicejet5088 Words   |  21 PagesBoeing 737-800 / 737-900ER aircraft are backed by cutting edge technology and infrastructure to ensure the highest standards in safety and operating efficiency. Spicejet airlines India has its hubs at Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Indira Gandhi international airport and Bangalore Airport. On July 15, 2008 Billionaire Wilbur Ross suggested he would invest $80 million (about Rs 345 crore) in the low cost airline. The board of directors of SpiceJet accepted an offer in-principle from the US-basedRead MoreEssay about Phd Comprehensive Exam. in Leadership15004 Words   |  61 Pageshave to deal with, then philosophical worries about ontology and epistemology are an irrelevance† (Hughes Sharrock,1997). Naval navigators, or naval pilots, for centuries had difficulty determining their exact location on the water. The identification of a landmark on the shore provided a point of reference was usually sufficient but of limited value in the shifting vastness of the ocean. When it became important to precisely locate a ships position, a single point of reference was simply

Sunday, December 15, 2019

An Inspector Calls Free Essays

Though the girl subject to this as they find out ay not have actually died, this changes some Of the group’s views which results in a family backlash. However, if Eva Smith, Daisy Rent and the girl who came to the Brimley women’s council were all the same girl, and she subsequently died because of their actions, which character was the least responsible for her death? The first person to experience the effortless wrath of the inspector is Mr. Bribing, who is easily recognizable as the most stubborn of the lot. We will write a custom essay sample on An Inspector Calls or any similar topic only for you Order Now Instantly he tries to intimidate the inspector by rather cockily stating his past and present positions such as his time as Lord Mayor as well as his continued place on the Bench. Unlike many people Mr. Geol. stays calm and even emerges as the most dominate figure in the room almost immediately with ease. After Bribing notices this he begins to show a bit more intolerance or ‘impatience’ as it says in the stage directions. Mr. Burbling part in the death is effectively starting off a chain reaction. Eva was a worker in his factory at a time when the lower class were beginning to speak out about the cruelties of their lives and their work. The suffragettes were a growing voice since 1903 when they were formed. Trade unions were growing increasingly large with strikes happening thick and fast, with two years before being ebbed as ‘the great unrest’. Thus when the girl came asking for a couple shillings more a week she was instantly rejected along. After ‘a week or two’ on strike all the workers on strike were allowed to return apart from a few ringleaders, of course one of these was Miss Smith. I believe this makes him one of the least responsible as he followed the general course of action that almost every other factory owner would have at that time. Although many people would still highlight and abhor his complete lack of remorse he consistently shows throughout the play, showing no consideration to anyone rower down the ladder of class. This is proven almost every time he opens his mouth; statements such as ‘a man has to look after himself’ and ‘I still can’t accept any responsibility, with the latter coming just after he found out his part in it all. Even though it used to be him near the bottom. The next victim of the inspector is the sweet Sheila Bribing. As she only entered the room as Geol. was moving away from Brisling’s time in the spotlight she only learned little of the detail that had actually been disclosed. But still she showed great sorrow towards the tragedy. This builds up an image of Sheila that allows the audience to be much more forgiving when her role comes to light. When Mr. Geol. carries on his story telling we find out that Eva very fortunately takes advantage of the spreading influenza to grab a job at a high up the market clothes shop, Milliards. With secrecy he shows Sheila the photo of her and instantly its effect is evident, causing her to give ‘a half stifled sob’ and scatter out of the room. Her father while he may feel her actions are immature, takes this opportunity to have a much wanted dig at the informant. Once again attempting to make him feel uncomfortable and under pressure, this like before is unsuccessful. When Sheila re-enters the room it is explained that how she caused the girl to lose her job in a very UN-necessary manner. Wink very few people would see this as terrible and unforgiving, whereas most, like myself, would view this as provoked bad luck. Meaning we understand her errors but also believe the timing overlooks that. This is because as she puts it she was already in a ‘furious temper beforehand and adding to this it’s never pleasing to be proven wrong (especially by your mother). So Eva unluckily faced the brunt of Sheila’s own immaturity and momentary selfishness b y eyeing fired, leading her to go in search of a new life. Thirdly is Gerald. Though his part is much different to the rest as he didn’t affect her life for the worst. The inspector tells us how becoming Daisy Rent is Eve’s fresh start, but when hearing this name Gerald is clearly shocked. So much so that his fiancee begins quizzing him on her before he’s even admitted to anything. With only a visual answer she finds out how last summer when Mr. Croft was apparently too busy (with work) to spend much time with her, was actually a cover-up. Consequently turning Gerald from charming fiance to the audience’s villain. That nickname, however, does not last long. His actions towards her prove he has a lot more respect for the opposite sex then many people of his grade. More evidence is he tells us how it wasn’t intentional for her to end up his mistress nonetheless he did gracefully accept that it was inevitable. Most likely because she was young, ‘pretty’ and ‘warm-hearted’. Soon his friend was returning home and it had to end, but this time she left in a better place. Even though he was having an affair which enforces that he can’t respect women to a huge extent, it is still clear he did only have good intentions in his heart. Taking this into consideration I still think this makes him the least responsible as he did actually re-instate happiness into her increasingly torrid life. Next in the play but last in the real time events IS Mrs. Bribing. Ever since her introduction to the conversation (and often argument) she has been closed-mined like her husband but this completely opposite to their children. This is much in line with the common perception of the older ages and the younger ages. The older one being how they are Often stubborn, especially if they have been caught out or proven wrong, causing them to effuse themselves the ability to learn from they’re mistakes. Whereas Sheila and Eric accept and even exaggerate their responsibility which makes them the subject of patronizing from their parents, such as being told numerous times to ‘keep quiet’ and referring Sheila’s behavior as ‘like an hysterical child’. Mrs. Burbling faults were perhaps the most influential as she turned the UN-named girl away at by far the most important time. Eva pretending her name was Mrs. Bribing almost confirmed her fate. As older women of the time’s tendency to hold grudges was Omni-present here. The real Mrs. Bribing scribed this as ‘a piece of gross impertinence’, impertinence being possibly Sibyl’s favorite word to describe people she believes to be beneath her (which is almost everyone). This altogether gives no opportunity for anyone to speak positively about her in any manner. Sybil constantly adds to her already very pessimistic persona by egocentric comments throughout the play. After being proven guilty she comes out with ‘l accept no blame at all’, deliberately evading the truth like she continues to do for the rest of the play. She tries to make herself seem more innocent than everyone else – but in fact everything he says is based on her desire to avoid anything which is ‘offensive’ to her social sensibility. Her twisted morals and her missing compunction which led to an innocent girl’s death makes me believe she is more responsible for Eve’s death. Lastly Eric who is not all the man his parents believe him to be. As for 2 years he has been ‘steadily drinking’ unbeknown to his parents. Throughout the play he is shown as a weak, foolish, and thoughtless youth with his part in the loss of life coming down to character-flaws. Though at least it is clear he genuinely grief-stricken with the death as when he finds out his mother laded a huge role in the death he almost breaks down. Partly because it was the death of her own grandchild and partly because he is mortified by the fact she could have made a difference but chose not to. With Eric you can so nearly synthesis but his lack of responsibility ruins that. For example when he admits to stealing money to support Eva you can acknowledge the attempted act of kindness but then you have to condemn the cowardly way in which it was carried out. Regardless of this Rise penitence is to be respected, also his errors were not out of wickedness, but from his own attributes. How to cite An Inspector Calls, Papers An Inspector Calls Free Essays string(30) " she had become his mistress\." John Boynton Priestley was born in 1894 and died in 1984. He was famous for contemplating science, philosophy and writing many plays which displayed his Socialist views which advocates a socialist viewpoint since it is about caring for everyone and not just the wealthy. ‘An Inspector Calls’ is one of these. We will write a custom essay sample on An Inspector Calls or any similar topic only for you Order Now The play is about a wealthy upper-middle class family, the Birling’s, and how their views on living have changed since a visit from an Inspector. The main characters of ‘An Inspector Calls’ are the Birlings’, Inspector Goole, Gerald Croft and Eva Smith/Daisy Renton. The main characters in the play are: Arthur Birling is a successful businessman; his wife, Sybil, is very pretentious; and their unusual son, Eric, is an alcoholic. Eric’s sister, Sheila has recently got engaged to Gerald Croft, a gentleman of a slightly higher social class then the Birlings’; which makes the Birlings’ feel somewhat inferior. Society in 1912 was very appalling, poor people were outworked and underpaid and were treated as servants. The working class were victims of this and it was still hard for the middle class. It was only better for the upper class, the nobles and the factory workers. ‘You ought to like this port, Gerald. As a matter of fact, Finchey told me this is the port your father buys’. This shows us the family is high in society as in 1912, port was only available to those who had money to buy it, also it shows that Mr Birling is trying to flatter Gerald as he feels inferior Priestley uses the Birlings’ to show us that even if you’re rich you can still be wrong. Priestley is saying that people in society wasn’t always aware of the whole picture, normally the upper class. Rose-tinted glasses’ is what Priestley describes the Birlings’ as wearing; he is saying rich people only see what they want to see. Priestley wanted us to know each other and be members of one body, caring for one another and support each other as is the socialist views. Around the time the play was written, 87% of the country’s wealth belonged to only 5% of people, leaving 13% of the country’s wealth to 95% of people. This means that most of the world population were poor. Priestley uses lots of dramatic irony as, the audience know more then the actual characters on stage. For example, ‘Titanic †¦ forty-six thousand eight hundred tons†¦ five days †¦ unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’. Priestley uses this quote to show that Mr Birling is rich and thinks he knows everything. Here dramatic irony is used as we know that the Titanic sunk in 1912 which shows that what Mr Birling says is meant to be viewed as ludicrous. Also, Priestley uses Inspector Goole to expose weaknesses and wickedness of all the characters, whilst being interrogated by the Inspector, lots of lies were revealed and deceit was shown. Many of these characters are hypocritical and lie to themselves, by showing the personalities among the characters; Priestley also gets the audience to question their own behaviour and how they treat each other in society. Arthur Birling demonstrates weakness and wickedness. He shows iniquity as he treats Eva Smith/Daisy Renton very badly. Whilst Eva/Daisy was working for Birling, she asked for a higher pay, Birling said no then sacked her for going on a protest. ‘They were all rather restless, and suddenly they decided to ask for more money’. Birling sacked her for many reasons like being the leader of the protest. He refuses to believe that Eva/Daisy had a valid point and just fired her without a thought of the consequences. Birling is also a weak character. His weakness is power. Mr Birling’s narrow minded and assertive beliefs and his greed for money added to the death of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton as he used his power – his authority, class and wealth – to force Eva Smith to leave, making her redundant and unable to provide for herself. Mr Birling and the Inspector are always fighting for power. They are constantly interrupting each other, ‘Birling (cutting in) †¦ Inspector (cutting in, massively). Mr. Birling likes to think of himself as a hard-working, upper class citizen who does nothing wrong. However, we see throughout the play that he is very devious and arrogant. He does what he thinks is good work. He doesn’t help others but still expects of the knighthood. Sheila Birling is again both weak and wicked at times although she changes as she embraces. She is wicked because she got Eva Smith/Daisy Renton sacked from her job in Milwards. Sheila got Eva/Daisy sacked because she was trying something on and thought Eva/Daisy was laughing at her. I was looking at myself in the mirror I caught sight of her smiling at the assistant. I was furious with her’. Sheila lied to the manager that Eva/Daisy was impertinent. She believed Eva/Daisy wasn’t showing her the respect she deserved. Sheila also shows weakness, when she finds out that she could be involved with Eva/Daisy’s death, Sheila falls apart, ‘Sheila (almost breaking down) †¦ I’m desperately sorry’. When Sheila realises what she done could’ve made Eva/Daisy commit suicide, she feels so ashamed of it, ‘I behaved badly too. I know I did, I’m ashamed of it’. Another weakness of Sheila’s is that she is jealous of Eva/Daisy’s attractiveness because being jealous is something most people can admit to or we can all imagine being envious of someone, here Priestley is asking the audience to question their own actions more closely, would we have gone over the top and got Eva/Daisy sacked merely because she was in a bad mood caused by jealousy? Gerald Croft is the son of Sir George Croft of Croft’s Ltd, a competitor of Birling Co. At the night that the Inspector calls, Gerald Croft was celebrating his engagement to Sheila Birling. During he’s interrogation with the Inspector; it is revealed that Gerald had secretly known Eva Smith/Daisy Renton in which she had become his mistress. You read "An Inspector Calls" in category "Essay examples" Gerald stated that he was â€Å"the most important person in her life†, before ending their relationship. Sheila praises Gerald for his honesty and showing Eva/Daisy some sympathy, although he is shown as a gutless and inconsiderate man for taking advantage of a vulnerable woman. Gerald is a weak character. Gerald shows weakness and deceitfulness when he gives in and admits to having an affair with Eva/Daisy. Gerald knows that the affair was wrong as he told Sheila he was busy. ‘I’d been very busy at the works all that that time’. He also shows weakness by rescuing the Daisy when she was in trouble, when he ended the affair it left Eva Smith/Daisy Renton more distraught than when he first met her and probably felt used too. Gerald used and exploited Eva/Daisy. Gerald is engaged to Sheila Birling, a women of a class similar to his but has slept with Eva Smith/Daisy Renton, a women of the lower class. He just used her for sex and would never intend to date or marry Eva/Daisy. Mrs Birling, Sybil, shows weakness and wickedness. She shows wickedness as when Eva/Daisy got pregnant she went to a counselling meeting which Mrs. Birling worked at to get help, but she turned her down because she said her name was, Mrs Birling, and Sybil found this ‘a piece of gross impertinence-quite deliberate’. This can be seen at weakness. Mrs. Birling knew she had the power and used it in a wrong way. Eva/Daisy wanted help and because she used the name Mrs. Birling, the real Mrs. Birling turned her down and sent her away. The real Mrs. Birling is wrong and misunderstood because there are other people in world that have the same forenames and surnames. The fact that Eva/Daisy used the name Mrs Birling is because of the hypocrisy of the upper classes, she though it would give her a veneer of responsibility. Mrs. Birling is one of the honest characters; she admits she knew Eva/Daisy, turned her down, prejudiced against her and did nothing to help her. Bearing in mind, she doesn’t believe that she has done wrong. Her deceit is presented by her being two faced as she lies to herself. She says that ‘†¦ the father of the child who is responsible’, she also doesn’t want to believe that her son drove Eva/Daisy to suicide. Sybil is a snob. Someone who will set rules for herself and upper-middle class, but still deny the same rights for â€Å"girls of that sort† as she refers to Eva Smith. This shows that Mrs Birling had a hypocritical view about society. Eric Birling is obviously a weak character; he has a weakness for alcohol. He is an alcoholic who became deceitful about it because he hides it from his parents. Priestley uses a character like Eric as he says that we should be more aware and care for people that are most vulnerable, like Eric with his addiction. His parents ignore the fact that their son has a problem. Like Gerald, Eric met Eva/Daisy in The Palace bar. When he knew that she was going to have a baby and saw that she had no money, and stole from his family, to keep her stable. ‘She refused to take anymore†¦ ’. Another weakness that Eric has is that he believes his own mother kill his child and her grandchild. ‘(nearly at breaking point)†¦ – my child – your own grandchild†¦ ’ Eric is also wicked as he exploits Eva/Daisy and uses her for sex, something which he wouldn’t do to a girl of his social class. Priestley uses Inspector Goole as a tool; he is used to make each character realise what their responsibilities are and how they’ve had an impact on others, like Eva/Daisy. The Inspector is used as a dramatic device to represent the characters consciences; he uncovers all the lies and secret that they hide. The Inspector is a very clever person, he doesn’t give the person he’s interrogating all he knows, he drip feeds it to them and lets the characters have a chance to confess. Eva Smith/Daisy Renton is an unseen working class woman who the Inspector claims had committed suicide whilst she was pregnant with Eric Birling’s baby. She had been mistreated by each member of the Birling’s family and Gerald Croft. From what the characters have been saying, Eva/Daisy was a â€Å"pretty† woman with soft brown hair and big dark brown eyes. Gerald also confirms that Eva/Daisy had no family and must work to support herself. Each character had commented on Eva/Daisy’s beauty, it affects both Gerald and Eric. Eric sexually exploited her. Sheila commented unsympathetically on how Eva/Daisy looked when she tried on the dress that Sheila liked and looked better. It seemed that Sheila was threatened by Eva/Daisy’s beauty. Eva/Daisy is seen as a decorous woman as she refuses to accept the stolen money from Eric, despite her financial situation. Eva/Daisy appears to be a victim of her class, and is judged by the female characters for not acting appropriately for her class. Sheila imagines that Eva laughed at her and did not act respectfully towards her and so punishes her by having her fired. Sybil also disapproves of Eva for appearing proud and for being â€Å"impertinent† rather than being humble and grateful to her. Eva Smith/Daisy Renton is a weak and possibly the weakest character because she is in a weak position where she needs help whereas the other characters al use and exploits her revealing their wicked side. Priestley uses a range of ages to show how each generation react to what they have done. It’s funny because the elder generation don’t accept that they were part of Eva/Daisy’s death, whereas the younger ones do. Nearer the end of the play, the Inspector last speech could encourage the characters and the audience, how to live the rest of their life. Would they finish it caring for one another, like the message of the play is or carry on living like the Birling’s were, not caring for anyone but themselves. Basically, Priestley wrote this play to show ‘we are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. This is part of the last speech that the Inspector informed the Birlings’. This reveals his socialist views and asks us to turn against the capitalist viewpoint which is about profit rather than people. In conclusion to the play, I think that all the characters except for Eva/Daisy are the wicked characters of the play. They have all contributed to Eva/Daisy’s death and have used their power and this led her to her death. In this play the weakest character is Eva/Daisy as she is in a weak position and all of the other characters used and exploited her. How to cite An Inspector Calls, Essay examples

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Self-Disclosure to Improve Interpersonal Relations and Future Personal

Question: What isInterpersonal Relations and how to improve them? Answer: Introduction Interpersonal relationships play a huge role in any relationship whether personal or professional thus making it important for each person to develop a positiveapproach linked to self-disclosure. Self-disclosureinvolves the approach and methods which a person uses to convey a massage or inform others regarding their feelings. Self-disclosure also plays a huge role towards informing other people regarding ones personality, attention and interest towards certain jobs. But while many people may consider their method or style of self-disclosure to be negative,its important to understand the habit CAN be changes if one is willing to look back and identify the problems so as to make the required changes in the future. Reviewing Your Past Self-Disclosure Technique To make changes to ones habits,its important to take a walk back inones history and identify your own weaknesses. Each person knows their weaknesses very well and can only make changes to the weakness only once they accept they have the weakness. Its also very important to take independent feedback from friends, family and professional around you since they will have noticed other interpersonal relationship habits which may also require to be changed. For my case I had and may still have several negative interpersonal habits but themajority of the weakness in my personality and interpersonal relationship habits was linked to lack of self-confidence. This resulted in developing several negative habits when dealing with other people such as the inability to look at them directly in the face, the inability to speak load clearly and the development of antisocial habits (Cozby, 1973). Each of these habits has had a devastating effect on my past life but I have also had several positive habits which have plays a big role towards reversing the negative to become positive over time. The craving to continue learning has helped me learn a wide variety of skills which will ultimately help me in the future. The Present and Transition Period As mentioned earlier changes are only possible when one wants to make them so its important to review ones habits so as to identify aspects which require the change.The lack of confidence had been developed in me from a young age by my elder sibling who resulted in developing the lack of confidence. As I grew older I began realizing I had the ability to learn and perfect skill very quickly but never had a chance to exploit them so I decided to make a major change in life. This change comes in the form of simply shunning negative influences around me and concentrating only on the positive contributors. The change meant that I suddenly was capable of exploiting my mind by learning and changing many negative habits and improving on the positive ones. I also extracted myself from a negative atmosphere and was suddenlyamong people who had not direct interest linked to me and was communicating just out of friendship.Thats when I began collecting important insight from friends and professio nalsregarding some negative interpersonal relationship habits. The avoidance of eye contact was a major concern as it immediately sent out the massage that I lack competence and confidence in myself. Lack of confidence had resulted in me being unable to look people in the eye and would look down due to not being sure I was capable of delivering positive results (Derlaga,, 1987). This led me to experience major complication during interviews where human resource managers would notice the lack of confidence and competence on my behalf and reject my application.Action had to be taken and is happened after visiting a psychiatrist who also noticed the problem and provided medication to help relax my mind. That was the beginning of the revelation in my life where I have constantly persevered to improve myself over the years. Future Personality Targets and Aims Nowthat I have clearedmy mind and identified important negative aspects of my interpersonal relationshiphabits, I am better able to improve on the weaknesses. Although many interpersonal relationship habits changes have been experienced, I continue to hold on to some which remain embedded to my mind. The important aspect linked to improving this weakness is that I know regarding the weakness and constantly working towards eliminating it. I continue to experience serious complication linked to mixing with certain individuals and especially neighbours and continue to find myself discussing personal information within the professional setting. I also have noticed I tend to lose interest with work fast and mainly looking to secure a new job to satisfy my unquenchable thirst to learn something new. Thishas resulted in me joining and losing jobs quickly with my longest job lasting just 2 years. These are major negative interpersonal relationships habits I continue to have but hope to change them over time and as I gainmore experience.Interpersonal relationship can altered over time as long as the individual has the will power to recognise the weakness and desire the changes to happen. Conclusion As the global business and employment markets grow ever increasingly competitive its important for each profession to consider developing the interpersonal relationship as well as their personality. This would help increase the number of opportunities the individual secures during their career (Johnson, 1972). Developing a positive interpersonal relationship also results in building better professional ties which ultimately lead the individual to developing a successful career. This occurs due to the person being able to discuss ideas and plans professionally with the concerned people. Many people lack the required interpersonal relationship approaches linked to business and professions thus resulting in many failing to maintain their positions at work. In many situations professionals are also unable to separate their personal goals and ambitions from their professional goals result in many over-expecting from the employer. This leads them to experience serious managerial complicati ons at work where the individual is constantly to clashing with their co-workers and managers. Each of these aspects requires to be closely observed so as to improve each person interpersonal relations and improve their personality as well as professionalism. References: Johnson, D. W. (1972). Reaching Out: Interpersonal Effectiveness and Self-Actualization. Derlaga, V. J., Berg, J. H. (Eds.). (1987).Self-disclosure: Theory, research and therapy. Springer. Cozby, P. C. (1973). Self-disclosure: a literature review.Psychological bulletin,79(2), 73.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Symbolisms in ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’ Essay Example

Symbolisms in ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’ Paper Lots of symbolism has used by Robert Frost in this poem. Although the poem itself is written on a very typical, iambic and rhythmic approach using simple language that can easily be understand, there are lots of hidden messages enclosed on every words, lines, stanzas and even to its title itself which has to be interpreted in order for the poem as well as the poet to be understood. Thus, his symbolism, which adds more spice to the poem, has been a help in analyzing its meaning. The title ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’ was a thought-provoking message which could predict that someone has saying goodbye to his life when he was undergoing through the worst time. Perhaps, the life that he was trying to saying goodbye with or to have its stopping period was a life that is full of misery and agony. The first stanza alone covered four symbolisms in which after interpreting those them could help identify the real meaning of the poem. Firstly, the woods here suggest life. The speaker in this poem tried to figure out whom life it was after all, although he said he thinks he knew who it was. We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolisms in ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’ specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolisms in ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’ specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Symbolisms in ‘Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening’ specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Life may have different meanings, and that was the very reason why Robert Frost wanted to write it in plural form –woods. Secondly, the house of the woods’ owner might depict God or the giver of life. The tone of speaker offered the connotation that God doesn’t see him while he was staring at the life he provided. Thirdly, it was the village. Probably, village was the representation of heaven. Frost did not mention that the village was snowy or freezing as well as the house. God in heaven, as everybody believes, would never experience such upheaval. The last symbol was the snow. The snow represented storm or blizzard, a cold natural phenomenon, or perhaps an unpredicted but anticipated natural catastrophe that can freeze one’s life. Again on the second stanza laid four symbolisms, the little horse, farmhouse, frozen lake, and the darkest evening of the year. To the little horse, it might speak as a voice of the speaker’s conscience. It was written as little because one’s conscience never took proud over the consciousness but not as littlest because it would never be littlest to the point that one could see it as insignificant. The farmhouse suggested point of recognition to the presence of the speaker’s conscience, probably located in his heart where the speaker does not always referring to. Frozen lake might offer a clear picture of death. Lake with its deep and wide characteristic is as frightening as death. Frozen can also be seen literally as lifeless or immovable. The darkest evening of the year although it was written figuratively indicated hopelessness, helplessness and powerlessness. At certain moment, the speaker confidently admitted that he was undergoing through his roughest time. Third stanza covered symbolisms formed on different sounds such as harness bells, easy wind, and downy flake. The harness bell of the horse denoted murmuring of the conscience. It’s as if the shaking sound of the bell tried to awaken the speaker about the stopping thinking in the midst of such heavy snowfall. Easy wind offered calmness and lightness of the speaker’ burden in his heart or perhaps denoted a peace of mind while downy flake suggests tears falling. Such peace of mind might be experience only if one lets his tears flow because it is the best way to lighten up the heart’s load. In the first two lines of the last stanza, which said that ‘the woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep,’ (Frost, 1011) one could predict that the tone of the speaker here tried to figure out the bad and the good memories collected all through his whole existence. Those memories might be though some were somewhat upsetting, all of it could be meaningful and hard to forget. However, he still has no option but to do what he has to do just like performing the promise that he once said. Two last two stanza was identical. Robert Frost made this very ending as dramatic as it looked like. Having that style would make the readers think that the speaker still followed his heart’s desire to just do the stopping by the woods on a snowy evening which means to pause for quite sometime with the life he is living while it still on its darkest and gloomiest period. The speaker here realized not to just cut his journey as he has so many miles to go before he went asleep. Lastly, the poem although can be perceived its tone as very depressing all throughout just like a suicide note, the ending still portrayed a positive outcome and contentment. R E F E R E N C E S Ciardi, John. â€Å"Robert Frost: The Way to the Poem. † Robert Frost: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. James M. Cox. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1962. 21-30. Frost, Robert. â€Å" Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening. † Literature and Its Writers. A compact Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 4th Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. 2007. 1010-1011. Jeffers, Susan, and Robert Frost. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. New York: Penguin, 2001.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Gulf of Tonkin essays

Gulf of Tonkin essays Was President Johnson's decision for retaliatory acts against North Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin incidents justified? Or an even better question to ask is, did both incidents ever really happen? To answer these questions its necessary to look at some of the historical background of the region. For much of Vietnam's history it has been under foreign rule, primarily by the Chinese. In 1860, France began its domination of the area and had, by the late 19th century, had several colonies in a number of regions around the Gulf of Tonkin. During WWII, the Japanese government took control of much of the area and set up a puppet regime that was eventually forced out by the Vietnamese at the end of 1945. After WWII and until 1955, France fought hard to regain their former territories in the region, their effort was wasted. The French were finally defeated at Dien Bien Phu on the 8th of May 1954 by the communist general Vo Nguyen Giap. The communist regime set up its headquarters in Hanoi under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Many North Vietnamese left the country and fled south where the self-proclaimed president, Ngo Dinh Diem had formed the Republic of Vietnam. In the 1950's, the United States began to send troops to Vietnam, during the following 25-year period; the war would c reate some of the strongest tensions in US history. Almost 3 million US men and women were sent thousands of miles to fight for what was a questionable cause. In total, it is estimated that over 2 million people on both sides were killed. On August 2, 1964, three North Vietnamese patrol boats attack the American destroyer U.S.S. Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin ten miles off the coast of North Vietnam. They fire three torpedoes and machine-guns, with no resulting causalities. U.S. Navy fighters from the carrier Ticonderoga, attack the patrol boats, sinking one and damaging the other two. At the White House, it is Sunday morning (twelve hours b...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Polar bear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Polar bear - Essay Example The polar bear have adaptive mechanisms that enable them to survive in circumpolar Arctic region. The environments in these regions are extremely cold and have both ice and water. These areas are also referred to us ice pack habitats. The species have thick fur which enables their survivability in such region. In addition, the polar bears are excellent in swimming. The female polar bears become sexually mature at the age of five years while the males obtain sexual maturity at around six years. During the mating seasons, normally between March and June, males and females congregate at the habitat suitable for seal hunting. There is usually stiff competition for the breading female. It is followed by multiple males that have to fight among themselves. The strongest on e chases others away and succeeds in mating the female. The polar bears feed on seals, especially the seal fat. They hunt ringed and bearded seals. The ringed seals are not as difficult to get as the bearded seals. They are easily accessible and can easily be hunted by young and female bears. In case of a good hunt the species extract blubber from the seals to leave the carcass for scavengers such as ravens and arctic foxes (WWF 10). There are series of unregulated shipping in the polar region. Such activities often result in oil spills that that the polar bears. The oil spills also deplete seals which are the foods of the polar bears. The climatic changes which trigger the increase in temperature, the precipitation and salinity are estimated to have drastic impacts on the physiological processes of the species. Both reproduction and survivability of polar bear will be significantly affected. In this instance, the rate of population of the polar bears will go down because the pregnancy rates will fall. Similarly, only few polar bears will be able to survive the season that high temperatures have melted the ice. The change in the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Critic's response to William Faulkner's literary canon Research Paper

Critic's response to William Faulkner's literary canon - Research Paper Example Prior to his death in 1962, William Faulkner had written various novels including the Hamlet (1940), the Town (1957), and the Mansion (1959) (Educational Broadcasting Corporation 1). These novels address various topics including civil war, social conflicts, and cultural displacement among other topics. Subject to addressing controversial topics, William Faulkners Literary Canon faces many critics. Indeed, many critics and readers could not understand William Faulkners Literary Canon in his entire life. However, in the modern literature, many critics and readers recognize William as a prominent author in American literary history. William Faulkner was a modernist writer who explored the themes of isolation and cultural displacement that prevailed in America in the 1920s and 30s. Although the literary critics and public have in time appreciated the significance of William Faulkners works and their audacity in terms of both form and content, very few literary critics have managed to analyze Faulkner’s literary production in terms of working-class aspects that are prominent in his works (Bucaria 1). In addressing his most prominent works that include the Hamlet (1940), the Town (1957), and the Mansion (1959), we can establish that William Faulkners Literary Canon depicts the use of a tragic tone (Educational Broadcasting Corporation 1). Indeed, it is clear that William Faulkners Literary Canon manifests a mixture of tragedy and comedy. William inherited the use of comic sense in writing as used by earlier writers. Notably, the three novels noted above define the tragicomic chronicle of the Snopes Trilogy that establishes the effect of the Snopes Trilogy on Yoknapatawpha County (Educational Broadcasting Corporation 1). These works faced numerous criticisms. Indeed, upon his death, the New York Times asserted, "Mr. Faulkners writings showed an obsession

Monday, November 18, 2019

Learning from successful people or failure Essay

Learning from successful people or failure - Essay Example In addition, a person who yearns to learn should either learn from the experiences successful people or learn through failures. From the on-start, I would argue that both methods of learning are important depending on the prevailing situation. Learning from personal failures is paramount in some situations. For example, in school, we are taught various concepts and theories that are important for us to understand and probably apply them in our future career or somewhere in life. In such a scenario making mistakes resulting to examination failures can have a bigger lesson compared to learning from those who have been successful. This mode of learning helps us to experience the reality of what our capacity was at the time of the failure and forge a way forward that will facilitate improvement. In addition, when a student gets a concept wrong, they are curious to know what was expected of them. In contrary, other people’s experience may not teach that. People have very different personalities; the path taken by a successful person to achieve what they have achieved may be quite different from the one that another person will use. This means that to some extent success is personality customized. Though an individual ma y take a path taken by a successful person, chances of failure cannot lack. Learning from the success of others is a very important aspect. Actually, every individual should yearn to learn from others more than learning from their personal failures. This is because personal failures are likely to expose an individual to some bitterness as well as trauma that may be hard to recover. However, some circumstances will require individuals to make mistakes so that they can learn. Firstly, personal failures can expose us to danger. It is better to follow what someone else did and became successful instead of trying a new route unless the route is shorter and convenient. However, this is mainly dominant in research. In most of the areas in life,

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Why Stravinskys Rite Of Spring Is Revolutionary

Why Stravinskys Rite Of Spring Is Revolutionary The Rite of Spring is famously and perhaps infamously regarded as one of the most major turning points in the history of Western music. Furthermore, the notoriously catastrophic reception at the premià ¨re of Stravinskys 1912 composition has now come to be appreciated as an historical phenomenon in its own right of unmatched and, in all likelihood, unmatchable proportions. The social climate capable of spawning outrage of such violent and uncouth physical embodiment as evidenced in the theatre in Paris that fateful day of 29 May, 1913, betrays at its core an undercurrent of volatility which reaches its talons well beyond the scope of aesthetic opinion and pleasurable diversion into something much more sinister. The Rite of Spring sparked a revolution which may be considered truly political in nature; a sociological confrontation which elicited spontaneous combustion in the music world and from which point, nothing would ever be the same. The following study will expound upon the nat ure of this revolution and collate a survey of possible reasons for its extraordinary and unprecedented sociological impact. The Rite of Spring was the third in a triptych of ballets by Igor Stravinsky for Sergei Diaghilevs itinerant company the Ballets Russes, an initiative which travelled the continent to perform and met with particular success in Paris as the result of the citys large Russian exile population and its rooting in Neonationalistic Russian themes. The Rites predecessors The Firebird (1910) and Petrouchka (1911) achieved near unanimous positivity and celebrated critical acclaim. The Rite was written over the course of several months in late 1912 but the rehearsal season was considerably extended due to its choreographic complexity, not to mention the comparable inexperience of the young dancer-choreographer, Nijinsky, for whom the piece was intended as a primary collaborator. Although having presented the composition in its pianistic form to a veritable plethora of notable artistic and musical minds in the leadup to its orchestrally staged debut, Stravinsky is nonetheless purported to have had no indication whatsoever, nor reason to remotely conceive that the presentation of The Rite might provoke the scandal and outcry that ensued. Modris Eksteins provides a particularly colourful and somewhat exhaustive account of the circumstances of its premiere. In terms of historical data, reports from the premiere are conflicting, confused and wildly varying. Witnesses tell of catcalls, hissing, and a battery of screams; of howling, whistling, spitting, slapping and punching. The police were called and at least forty of the offending protesters were forcibly evicted, this doing little to lull those remaining, who continued their commotion. By all accounts, the performance elicited no less than a seismic response which has retrospectively become a thing of legend. The socio-cultural context of Paris at the time is of much import in setting the scene for such an upstanding brouhaha. Programmes being rehearsed and billed contemporary to The Rites premiere included Ravels Daphnis et Chloe and Debussys Jeux. The ballet audience was largely contingent on the lavish snobbery of both high society and the intelligentsia, comprising predominantly wealthy patrons with a desire for elegance and enchantment, and altogether typical of the common lightweight perceptions of French taste. Although exotica themes were very much in Parisian vogue, the passions and political motivations of Russia could hardly but remain distant in every respect. Enormous media hype surrounded The Rites premiere and in an effort to garner an underlying core of support, Diaghilev ensured a generous distribution of free tickets to his loyal supporters. The particularities of the newly unveiled layout of the Thà ©Ãƒ ¢tre des Champs-Élysà ©es held that this ring-in cheersquad, albeit a guaranteed endorsement, was situated in an area of the auditorium central to the masses, essentially circled by the opposing faction. Such provocative positioning of the Russians in itself was perhaps enough to instigate a brawl in the first place. With such explosive jeering and cheering, it is of exceptional logistical importance that according to numerous accounts, Stravinskys music was completely drowned out by the audience reaction. With the 100-piece orchestra inaudible, dancers have been said to have relied exclusively on Nijinsky shouting counts from the prompt. Whether this pertained to the metric complexity of the composition or the pervading inability to hear it remains questionable but either way, it was certainly the case. The abstract and absurd quality of a company dancing their euphoric tribal sacrifice to a chorus of insults and abuse was perhaps a telling premonition of the Dada sentiment which succeeded the event several years later. The lights in the auditorium were fully turned on but the noise continued and I remember Mlle. Piltz (the chosen maiden) executing her strange dance of religious hysteria on a stage dimmed by the blazing light in the auditorium, seemingly to the accompaniment of the disjointed ravings of a mob of angry men and women. If in fact the orchestra was itself inaudible, it follows in point that the public outrage expressed so vehemently at The Rites premià ¨re was not a response to the pitches, rhythms, structures and instrumental colourings of Stravinskys music, however bold his innovations, but to something else entirely. The inward turned feet and graceless jumping and pumping gestures of the dancers were certainly denounced as bad taste and grotesque caricature, with witnesses suggesting such blasphemy to the elevated art of ballet was received as a direct insult to the integrity of the cultivated audience. But while representing somewhat of an innovation in dance style, the propulsion for such outrage seems more deeply rooted in the commentary of stylistic change on the nature and sociological function of the arts, and the implications of this change in structuring socio-economic factions. As expressed so concisely by Ekstein, Is there not sufficient evidence to suggest that the trouble was caused more by warring factions in the audience, by their expectations, their prejudices, their preconceptions about art, than by the work itself? The Nature of Revolution Thus it can be seen that Stravinskys Rite of Spring generated a series of revolutions at various levels. I have taken the term revolution to refer both to an upheaval of policy which breaks radically from the past, as well as to the cyclic implication of the word revolution, the continual and somewhat meditative return to a point, each time with new outlook. In musical terms, The Rite brought a repudiation of the post-Romantic and Impressionistic ideals which permeated the Parisian scene. The typical French soundworld cut clearly by Debussy, Saint-Saà «ns, Ravel, Massenet, Faurà ©; but notably never adopted nor remotely assimilated by Stravinsky, was in this case so thoroughly replaced by the primacy of clustered chordal rhythms, uncharacteristic harmonic motivation, and intervallic asymmetry in melodic structures that the French government was effectively overthrown. Despite much retrospective dispute to be discussed in due course, the programmatic genesis of The Rite was an imagined prehistoric ritual of a sacrificial virgin dancing herself to death to entice the gods of the seasons. It is implicit that although a fabricated mythology, the essence is of a tribal Russian character. Thus not only does the work posses a haunting, if not definitively terrifying spiritual presence of extraordinary power, but makes a simultaneous nationalistic statement in doing so which can simply not avoid political implication due to the aggression with which it is asserted. The combination of such pounding rhythmic impetus and the breadth of the chords with which this ruthless impetuosity so compulsively drummed sends out the message of its all-encompassing rule in an urgent, brutal S.O.S. The combination of relentless rhythm and hard-edged, dissonant chordal units has the tendency to give a sense of impulse associated with violence. Heavy and ultimately colourist ic percussion, brass and winds were featured, these being associated with outdoor, warring instrumental forces. However, as undoubtedly evidenced by ethnological studies, actions which may appear ferocious within a cultivated urban setting may hold completely different meaning within their own cultural context. That which we may observe as savage or defensive may in fact resonate with ecstasy and/or tribal belonging. A notable example of this is the distinct absence of clarity surrounding the nature of the virgins sacrifice; whether this pertains to a giving of her life or of her maidenhood. Either way, the surrender carries mixed emotions in its duality of horror with martyrdom, and equally for the Western listener, in its voyeuristic presentation. The mammoth scope and intensity of The Rite of Spring, dwarfing humanity and quashing everything in its path, is bigger than Paris, bigger than Christianity, bigger than social class structure, pearls and silks. The tribe is bigger than the individual. The Rite of Spring is bigger than artistic divertimento, The Rite of Spring is essentially bigger than the arts itself. Musical Modernism The Rite is widely considered to be the primary hallmark example of Modernism in music. It was praised and acclaimed primarily for its rhythmic innovation and asymmetry. The work is an informed but conscious reaction against the Germanic Romantic realism, French Impressionism and the generic urban industrialist mentalities which pervaded the compositional climate at the turn of the century. At the same time, through the recently discovered inclusion of abstracted folksong transcriptions, The Rite was a nod to Nationalistic tendencies, now on the rise with thanks to technological developments both in travel and the recording industry. This reactionary stance brought about by Modernism heralded the beginning of the current period of compositional production which encourages a multiplicity of styles for a multiplicity of audience tastes. Serialism and minimalism might coexist in the same cities; likewise Expressionism and Impressionism just across the border from each other. The major musical innovation of The Rite of Spring was a new and absolute denial of expectation in terms of meter and harmony. At the most basic level, Stravinsky instigated a complete regeneration of the conventions of functional pitch and rhythm in Western music. The works critical condemnation by Taruskin as anti-symphonic is certainly true in Schenkerian terms, in that pitch polarities in the scalic sense were radically abandoned: the leading note no longer led, the supertonic, subdominant and submediant no longer sought the triad. The same pertained to beat hierarchies within the bar and even the dominance of the downbeat. Established polarities and gravities which had evolved in due course over the history of Western music were at once relegated to something of the past. Instead, this music relaxed into a new and ultimately organic creation of expectation, allowing the music to breathe in every respect, through pause and rest, pace and weight, singing its strange new laments at whim of a deeper soul rather than stickytaped haphazardly onto someone elses framework. This is not to say that the concept of polarities became obsolete. To the contrary, organic weight and depth became the natural new order. Gravity and innate direction was now established through a more abstract tool of arched melodic contouring, essentially through patterning and figuration; if not in the primary melodic voice, then in the accompanying section. Whether or not the base of these arch structures held pitch significance to a tonicized, home or bassline pedal became irrelevant, as the weight of the fall was enough in itself to establish a root. In the works Introduction this is repeatedly evident: firstly in the clarinet section at Figure 1, bassoons after 3, flutes leading into Figure 7, etcetera. It is important to note that while harmonic motivations were annulled, homophonic motions continued to exist, primarily doing so in a polytonal setting: for example, intervallic relations at Figure 94 in The Mysterious Circles of the Young Girls, where the clarinets and later, first violin section, move languidly together at the 7th. As for rhythm, The Rite is perhaps most widely acclaimed for its eradication of meter as a polar tool and the subsequent introduction of the use of time signatures purely for organizational purposes. Its constantly shifting meters to the point of seasickness have retained their power of obscurity even to the present day. It has been mentioned that the undisputed reign of the downbeat had already been questioned. In Dance of the Adolescent Girls, the accentuation patterns in the string opening at Figure 13 are as good as anti-metric. Although the famous bassoon solo exists in somewhat of a dreamscape beyond the scope of meter, the weight of the downbows at the start of the second movement function effectively as a transition which is equally free of metric form. Melodic phrases are grouped into threes and fives, the bass at Figure 28, for example, delineating a broad 6/8+6/8 within a context where others are playing superficially in the notated meter of 2/4, but not within any kind of phrase arrangement sympathetic to the 3-bar base cushion. It follows that such freedom opens the floodgates for polymeters, and equally, polytonalities to coexist in true equality. A notational innovation particular to Stravinsky is the beaming of groups of notes such as quavers as they sound metrically, rather than the way they would ordinarily fit into a given duple or compound metric frame. This notational peculiarity makes the polymeters easy to identify from a visual standpoint. Structurally, much debate has ensued about the architecture of The Rite of Spring. The majority of critics of the period observed its construction as a series of independent dances in an almost Cubist-style pastiche. This reading supported the genesis of the work in the ballet tradition. The most vocal of these was Taruskin, who identified static blocks progressing, if at all, through repetition, alternation, and above all, sheer inertial accumulation Each chord or motif was so fixed that even transposition let alone transformation or transition were inconceivable. Such ideology has been recently challenged by the favoured notion of organic evolution at a more cellular level, essentially posing the possibility of through-composition. It seems natural and essentially implicit that the The Rite, by nature of its seasonal programmatic ties, should undergo a process of careful growth, cocooning and rebirth over of its visceral half hour in the ear. Revolutions of Appraisal The Rite of Spring also enjoyed what one might consider a series of revolutions of appraisal. Following the calamity of its original balletic premià ¨re, Stravinsky was quick to denounce the works tie to the stage so that it might exist independently in the concert hall in and of itself. It is no secret that he was disappointed in the product of Nijinsky and disenchanted with the production as a whole. Obviously there were also significant financial advantages to the works availability in concert version and this undoubtedly also played a role in its redefinition. Thus The Rites interdisciplinary conception was staunchly and quite strangely abandoned in favor of its musical construction insomuch as Stravinsky giving, over the course of his life, many dramatically differing accounts of factual events in an effort to disguise or distort the nature of its compositional origins. This somewhat mechanistic dissociation of the work towards an abstract, absolute and/or autonomous entity, wh ether or not it could possibly exist as such with its particular strength of character, was a telling precursor to Stravinskys Neoclassical mindset, a purging and reinvention of something heavy with baggage but which might then live on in its cleansed form. It is an inexplicable curiosity that in what van den Toorn describes as a complete reversal of the riot that had gone before, the 1914 premià ¨re performance of The Rite on the concert platform was an absolute unequivocal success; so much so that Stravinsky himself was hoisted to the shoulders of a few bystanders [and] led triumphantly from the hall of the Casino de Paris by an exuberant crowd of admirers. A further revolution in the works appreciation took place in the late 1960s based on the rediscovery of sketches, source materials and other evidence. Apparently this revisionist revival was equally enjoyed by the composer himself, who appeared equally interested to revisit the works origins in what was casually designated a r evisionist revival. As an aside, it is a curious multiplicity to note that the French version of the works title, Le Sacre du Printemps, identifies directly the character of the chosen maiden, Le sacre being the sacrificed one in question. In translation to The Rite, the work takes on a more holistic quality of process, ceremony and celebration. While originally conceived as a staged piece, the work is universally acknowledged for its complete bonding with dramatic vision, its honesty and rawness, unique in comparison with Stravinskys other work which is often heavy with satire and irony. In transferral to the concert platform, the intensity of the drama is so strong as to be able to hold its own even without an interdisciplinary accompaniment. The Rite is an existing and ultimately monumental fatalistic presence which, more surely than ever, needs no frame, no theatrical artifice. This is a work which seems perhaps more aptly suited to the genre of ceremonial theatre than to the stage or even the platf orm. Thus, the many revolutions, both instigated and undergone by Stravinskys Rite of Spring. The works historical evolution over the course of the 20th century as a pivotal compositional cornerstone has become modern-day folklore of its own, and of mammoth proportions; rousing freedom and preaching the Great Sacrifice for the sake of seasonal rebirth and newness of thought in a constantly revolving artistic climate.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Hamlet Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Comedy lightens the mood, progresses the plot, and provides a necessary reprieve from the suspense of the play. Comedic relief commands a vital role in the William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. In order to maintain the audience’s interest, an author inserts puns and other comedic vices to enhance their work. Shakespeare constantly introduces characters to allay the strain on the audience from past events in the plot. This comedic relief usually contains a hidden meaning or message that augments the plot. In the play Hamlet Osric, Polonius, and the Gravedigger are used as these conduits of humor. The character Osric relieves much of the tension built from the proceeding acts. His interjection in this tragedy culminates with Hamlet and Laertes’ fighting sequences. Hamlet manipulates this character by exploiting his obedience to royalty when he states, â€Å"Put your bonnet to his right use, ‘tis for the head† (V.ii.101). Osric replies, â€Å"I thank your lordship, it is very hot† (V.ii.102). Hamlet then responds â€Å"No, believe me, ‘tis very cold; the wind is north- / erly† (V.ii.103). Hamlet persists with this ruse, constantly pressuring Osric to remove and replace his hat. This scene mitigates the stress from the graveyard scuffle and leads into Hamlet and Laertes’ duel. Shakespeare further uses Osric to express his personal opinion on the class structure of the present society. William Shakespeare criticizes the new wealthy merchant class, prevalent in the Elizabethan era, through Hamlet and Osric’s dialogue. Hamlet ridicules Osric and his social standing in an aside to Horatio, â€Å"Let a beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall / Stand at the King’s men† (V.ii.95-96). Hamlet implies that any fool with money can gain entran... ...nteractions with the Gravedigger. Although this character has a relatively small role, he has an enormous impact on the course of the play. Comedic relief plays a vital role in any tragedy or suspenseful play: It serves as a stark contrast to the harsh reality being presented throughout the story. In the tragedy Hamlet by William Shakespeare, comedy is utilized to distract the audience from the dramatic course of events. The theatrical plot also progresses with the comedic relief inserted in the play. Shakespeare brilliantly develops his characters in a comedic way that continues the plot and eases his spectators. If writers chose not to offset tragedy with comedy, the story would simply be too depressing to entertain the vast audiences. Therefore, it is fair to surmise that without comedic relief, Hamlet may not have been the iconic story it has become. Hamlet Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare Comedy lightens the mood, progresses the plot, and provides a necessary reprieve from the suspense of the play. Comedic relief commands a vital role in the William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet. In order to maintain the audience’s interest, an author inserts puns and other comedic vices to enhance their work. Shakespeare constantly introduces characters to allay the strain on the audience from past events in the plot. This comedic relief usually contains a hidden meaning or message that augments the plot. In the play Hamlet Osric, Polonius, and the Gravedigger are used as these conduits of humor. The character Osric relieves much of the tension built from the proceeding acts. His interjection in this tragedy culminates with Hamlet and Laertes’ fighting sequences. Hamlet manipulates this character by exploiting his obedience to royalty when he states, â€Å"Put your bonnet to his right use, ‘tis for the head† (V.ii.101). Osric replies, â€Å"I thank your lordship, it is very hot† (V.ii.102). Hamlet then responds â€Å"No, believe me, ‘tis very cold; the wind is north- / erly† (V.ii.103). Hamlet persists with this ruse, constantly pressuring Osric to remove and replace his hat. This scene mitigates the stress from the graveyard scuffle and leads into Hamlet and Laertes’ duel. Shakespeare further uses Osric to express his personal opinion on the class structure of the present society. William Shakespeare criticizes the new wealthy merchant class, prevalent in the Elizabethan era, through Hamlet and Osric’s dialogue. Hamlet ridicules Osric and his social standing in an aside to Horatio, â€Å"Let a beast be lord of beasts, and his crib shall / Stand at the King’s men† (V.ii.95-96). Hamlet implies that any fool with money can gain entran... ...nteractions with the Gravedigger. Although this character has a relatively small role, he has an enormous impact on the course of the play. Comedic relief plays a vital role in any tragedy or suspenseful play: It serves as a stark contrast to the harsh reality being presented throughout the story. In the tragedy Hamlet by William Shakespeare, comedy is utilized to distract the audience from the dramatic course of events. The theatrical plot also progresses with the comedic relief inserted in the play. Shakespeare brilliantly develops his characters in a comedic way that continues the plot and eases his spectators. If writers chose not to offset tragedy with comedy, the story would simply be too depressing to entertain the vast audiences. Therefore, it is fair to surmise that without comedic relief, Hamlet may not have been the iconic story it has become.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Impact of Peers and School in Middle Childhood Essay

Middle childhood is a stage in growth where the members age between six and twelve years. Sigmund Freud defines this as the latency stage where aggressive and sexual urges are introverted. Others theorists have highlighted this stage as very crucial in the development of personality, cognitive skills, inter-personal relationships and motivation. Furthermore, it is at this growth stage that peers and school have great impacts, either positive or negative, to the individual. Schools do promote the children’s competence and self-esteem since they are enthusiastic to learn and work. This enthusiasm plays a great role since it acts as a motivating factor. Due to their development in competence in social and interpersonal relationships as aforesaid, they also undergo an experience in peer orientation. If they interact with the best peers, they create a strong foundation for future adult rapports that will be healthy. The diverse relationships may lead to increased violence in schools, drug use, depression and eating disorders that negatively affect the students in the upper elementary education (Blume & Zembar, 2007). In schools, the children also learn and develop interests in other co-curricular activities such as sports, arts and music. However, as they grow, the necessary skills for achieving success in academics tend to become more sophisticated. Those who overcome these challenges end up being academic conquerors but those who are overwhelmed perform poorly in the subsequent years. One’s family at this growth stage also plays an important role especially in socialization. The parents, for instance, have the responsibility to make negotiation with the socialization agents on behalf of the child. This kind of socialization that is family-based is directly linked with the child’s deviance, either in the current life or in the future. It may lead to the child indulging in alcoholism, aggression or delinquency. However, through various reinforcement and disciplinary methodologies, the parents teach their middle-aged children on the behaviors to adopt and those to refrain from (Collins, 1984). Academically, parents motivate their children to be performers. This influences them to embrace reading and more often than not, require them to come out directly from school.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Oroonko or the Royal Slave Essay

Oroonko or the Royal Slave tells a story about the life of a man captured and sold into slavery and some of the adventures his life encompassed. Oroonko was the grandson to the King of Coramantien. He possessed a very rare and unique magnificence that all admired. Oroonko was brought up learning and living the life of an honorable soldier and prince. He was well educated and well-liked far and wide by all who knew him. Oroonko became acquainted and quickly fell in love with his mentor’s daughter, Imoinda. They soon decided to be joined as husband and wife. According to the customs of their time, Oroonko’s grandfather, the King of Coramantien, was to be allowed the opportunity to bless the union before anything became official. The king had heard of Imoinda’s beauty and instead of blessing their union, the king took Imoinda for himself. This very greatly disgraced Oroonko. With the passing of time, the love Oroonko held in his heart for Imoinda did not fade. He desperately wanted to be with Imoinda and was eventually afforded the chance. The jealous and ever-suspicious king discovered Imoinda and Oroonko together and became very angry. The penalty for treasonous acts, as this was most certainly considered, was death. Oroonko was able to escape, but Imoinda was not. The king, unable to put such a beauty as Imoinda to death, instead sold her to a slave trader to be shipped off to America to become a slave. Death would have been preferable to Imoinda and she begged for it, but the king wanted nothing to do with her any longer. Selling Imoinda into slavery was kept an absolute secret from Oroonko. The king knew if Oroonko ever learned what had really happened to Imoinda, his rage would be unequaled. And so it was assumed by all that Imoinda was, in fact, put to death for her treachery. At this point, the king felt it necessary to make his peace with Oroonko. He realized and wanted to repent of the disgrace he brought upon his grandson. He also felt extremely guilty about his decision to sell Imoinda into slavery, but again, that was not widely known. Oroonko conceded no revenge would be taken on his part against the king. Time passed and in the course of this time Oroonko became a highly decorated and popular war general and hero. Forever longing in his heart for Imoinda, Oroonko resigned to live the life he was born to live – the life of a nobleman. It was to happen after a particularly successful battle, Oroonko came home to a celebration. At this celebration, there was a ship’s captain who was familiar to Oroonko and they spent some time together. Oroonko was aware that this particular captain was a slave trader, but had no reason to distrust him or hold animosity against him. Unjustly so, as it would turn out, since this captain deceived Oroonko into a tour of his ship and then shackled him to the ship and set sail for America to be sold into slavery. The captain continued in his deception while on the voyage and convinced Oroonko that he and his men would be let go at the next port. Oroonko had not encountered dishonesty as was present in the heart of the captain before, so he suspected nothing and trusted the captain to keep his word. When they arrived on land, Oroonko and his men were at once sold to the highest bidder and sent off to be slaves. Oroonko worked for a short while and then heard of a woman of great beauty who was also a slave. He soon found Imoinda and they were married. Oroonko lived as a slave, but was restless to regain his freedom. He frequently spoke to his owner and pleaded for this and was put off time and again for one reason or another. He was given promise after promise or release to no avail. Oroonko soon realized exactly how dishonorable the slave owners were. With only a little effort, Oroonko called together the slaves from all around and when they had gathered, he convinced them they were being treated unfairly and should leave their cruel and uncaring owners to find a better life somewhere else. With his eloquence and affirming manner, Oroonko was able to sway them that even the evils of the wilderness could be overcome with enough conviction and team work. Regardless of the hardships facing a journey of such proportion, losing your life fighting was more honorable than being treated like animals. Unfortunately, the revolt did not take the slaves far. Their trail was easily discovered and it was not long before they were caught and surrendered. The terms of the surrender Oroonko struck with the slave owners who had caught them included fairness and avoidance of retribution or retaliation against the group who had attempted escape. However, disregarding the word given at the surrender, the slave owners marched their slaves back to their respective plantations and they were all punished. Oroonko, however, was taken to a post, tied securely, and severely lashed. There was barely any life left in him when the evil slave owners were finished. Oroonko made up his mind that he would one day seek revenge against such untrustworthy, wicked, and dishonorable men. While the end of the story tells that this plan was not brought to fruition, Oroonko left this world a legend. He held his honor to his dying breath. The story of Oroonko is an excellent anti-slavery argument. Through the story, the reader is allowed a glimpse of a man who could have very easily been from any race or station in life. Oroonko was well educated. He was taken in and taught by the best of the best. Many slave owners, in those days, believed slaves were nothing but unintelligent, low-life heathens, but Oroonko was none of these. Oroonko may not have believed in the same religion or faith as the slave owners, but his beliefs were just as important and essential as theirs. The slave owners judged without considering the differences that existed between their very unique cultures. For example, Oroonko and Imoinda came from a country where wives were expected to give honor to their husbands. Imoinda pleaded with Oroonko to take her life as an alternative to living without him by her side. She considered being killed by someone so noble as Oroonko was far superior than living as a slave. The slave owners and white men would not and did not understand this logic. By their standards, Oroonko was a vile and murderous heathen. Slavery abruptly stole men, women, and children from their place of origin and flung them into a life of degradation and submission. They were required to work for little to nothing by way of payment and treated as no better than dogs. Oroonko spoke of them being whipped at the end of the day. It made no difference if you had done well or poorly, all slaves were whipped. The â€Å"gods† these slave owners prayed to and had faith in was a puzzling deity to Oroonko. His faith in his gods was built on very different standards, and Oroonko believed so strongly in these gods, there was no questioning how others should be treated and how one should conduct themselves in all situations. Everyone deserved to be treated with honor and respect. The faith of the slave owners came into question several times. Oroonko was unable to understand how these people could on any level of decency treat anyone the way the slaves were treated. While it remained unsaid, Oroonko must have certainly felt as though all were created different, but equal. Not all slave owners were cruel in their treatment of slaves. Oroonko befriended several compassionate men along the way. The narrator of the novel happened to be one of these men. While remaining benevolent in spirit, these men did own slaves and were hesitant, if not downright unwilling, to grant them their freedom. None of the men and women sold into slavery deserved the life they were forced to lead. The white men who bought them did not consider the lives they left behind. These were real people with real lives and real customs and real traditions. The religion practiced – on whatever level – by the white slave owners was not the only way to believe. The simple belief they held that they were right did not by any means make that a truth. The Negroes held their own beliefs, and right or wrong according to someone else’s standards, they had every right to believe however they chose. Oroonko was a prince and more than likely more educated than many of the slave owner’s themselves, and yet was treated with contempt and disrespect. With his breeding and the instruction he had received, Oroonko knew in his head and in his heart that treating anyone in such a manner was unreasonable and outrageous. In the end, despite the best efforts of the slave owners, Oroonko died as he had lived with his honor and dignity.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Sima de los Huesos, a Key to Human Evolution

Sima de los Huesos, a Key to Human Evolution The Sima de los Huesos (Pit of Bones in Spanish and typically abbreviated as SH) is a lower Paleolithic site, one of several important sections of the Cueva Mayor-Cueva del Silo cave system of the Sierra de Atapuerca in north-central Spain. With a total of at least 28 individual hominid fossils now firmly dated to 430,000 years old, SH is the largest and oldest collection of human remains yet discovered. Site Context The bone pit at Sima de los Huesos is at the bottom of the cave, beneath an abrupt vertical shaft measuring between 2-4 meters (6.5-13 feet) in diameter, and located about .5 kilometers (~1/3 of a mile) in from the Cueva Mayor entrance. That shaft extends downward approximately 13 m (42.5 ft), ending just above the Rampa (Ramp), a 9 m (30 ft) long linear chamber inclined about 32 degrees. At the foot of that ramp is deposit called the Sima de los Huesos, a smoothly oblong chamber measuring 8x4 m (26x13 ft) with irregular ceiling heights between 1-2 m (3-6.5 ft). In the roof of the eastern side of the SH chamber is another vertical shaft, which extends upwards some 5 m (16 ft) to where it is blocked by cave collapse. Human and Animal Bones The sites archaeological deposits include a bone-bearing breccia, mixed with many large fallen blocks of limestone and mud deposits. The bones are mainly composed of at least 166 Middle Pleistocene cave bears (Ursus deningeri) and at least 28 individual humans, represented by more than 6,500 bone fragments including over 500 teeth alone. Other identified animals in the pit include extinct forms of Panthera leo (lion), Felis silvestris (wildcat), Canis lupus (grey wolf), Vulpes vulpes (red fox), and Lynx pardina splaea (Pardel lynx). Relatively few of the animal and human bones are articulated; some of the bones have tooth marks from where carnivores have chewed on them. The current interpretation of how the site came to be is that all the animals and humans fell into the pit from a higher chamber and were trapped and unable to get out. The stratigraphy and layout of the bone deposit suggest  the humans were somehow deposited in the cave before the bears and other carnivores. It is also possible- given the large amount of mud in the pit- that all the bones arrived in this low place in the cave through a series of mudflows. A third and quite controversial hypothesis is that the accumulation of human remains might be the result of mortuary practices (see the discussion of Carbonell and Mosquera below). The Humans A central question for the SH site has been and continues to be who were they? Were they Neanderthal, Denisovan, Early Modern Human, some mixture we havent yet recognized? With the fossil remains of 28 individuals who all lived and died about 430,000 years ago, the SH site has the potential to teach us a great deal about human evolution and how these three populations intersected in the past. Comparisons of nine human skulls and numerous cranial fragments representing at least 13 individuals were first reported in 1997 (Arsuaga et a.). A large variety in cranial capacity and other characteristics were detailed in the publications, but in 1997, the site was thought to be about 300,000 years old, and these scholars concluded that the Sima de los Huesos population was evolutionarily related to Neanderthals as a sister group, and could best fit into the then-refined species of Homo heidelbergensis. That theory was supported by results from a somewhat controversial method redating the site to 530,000 years ago (Bischoff and colleagues, see details below). But in 2012, paleontologist Chris Stringer argued that the 530,000-year-old dates were too old, and, based on morphological attributes, the SH fossils represented an archaic form of Neanderthal, rather than H. heidelbergensis. The latest data (Arsuago et al 2014) answers some of Stringers hesitations. Mitochondrial DNA at SH Research on the cave bear bones reported by Dabney and colleagues revealed that, astonishingly, mitochondrial DNA had been preserved at the site, much older than any other found to date anywhere. Additional investigations on the human remains from SH reported by Meyer and colleagues  redated the site to closer to 400,000 years ago. These studies also supply the surprising notion that the SH population shares some DNA with the  Denisovans, rather than the Neanderthals they look like (and, of course, we dont really know what a Denisovan looks like yet). Arsuaga and colleagues reported a study of 17 complete skulls from SH, agreeing with Stringer that, because of numerous Neanderthal-like characteristics of the crania and mandibles, the population does not fit the  H. heidelbergensis  classification. But the population is, according to the authors, significantly different from other groups such as those at Ceprano and  Arago  caves, and from other Neanderthals, and Arsuaga and colleagues now argue that a separate taxon should be considered for the SH fossils. Sima de los Huesos is now dated to 430,000 years ago, and that places it close to the age predicted for when the split in hominid species creating the Neanderthal and Denisovan lineages occurred. The SH fossils are thus central to the investigations concerning how that might have happened, and what our evolutionary history might be. Sima de los Huesos, a Purposeful Burial Mortality profiles (Bermudez de Castro and colleagues) of the SH population show a high representation of adolescents and prime-age adults  and a low percentage of adults between 20 and 40 years of age. Only one individual was under 10 at the time of death, and none were over 40-45 years old. Thats confusing, because, while 50% of the bones were gnaw-marked, they were in fairly good condition: statistically, say the scholars, there should be more children. Carbonell and Mosquera (2006) argued that Sima de los Huesos represents a purposeful burial, based partly on the recovery of a single quartzite  Acheulean handaxe  (Mode 2) and the complete lack of lithic waste or other habitation waste at all. If they are correct, and they are currently in the minority, Sima de los Huesos would be the earliest example of purposeful human burials known to date, by ~200,000 years or so. Evidence suggesting that at least one of the individuals in the pit died as a result of interpersonal violence was reported in 2015 (Sala et al. 2015). Cranium 17 has multiple impact fractures which occurred near the moment of death, and scholars believe this individual was dead at the time s/he was dropped into the shaft. Sala et al. argue that placing cadavers into the pit was indeed a social practice of the community.   Dating Sima de lost Huesos Uranium-series and Electron Spin Resonance dating of the human fossils reported in 1997 indicated a minimum age of about 200,000 and a probable age of greater than 300,000 years ago, which roughly matched the age of the mammals. In 2007, Bischoff and colleagues reported that a high-precision thermal-ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) analysis defines the minimum of deposits age as 530,000 years ago. This date led researchers to postulate that the SH hominids were at the beginning of the  Neanderthal  evolutionary lineage, rather than a contemporary, related sister group. However, in 2012, paleontologist Chris Stringer argued that, based on morphological attributes, the SH fossils represent an archaic form of Neanderthal, rather than  H. heidelbergensis, and that the 530,000-year-old date is too old. In 2014, excavators Arsuaga et al reported new dates from a suite of different dating techniques, including Uranium series (U-series) dating of speleothems, thermally transferred  optically stimulated luminescence  (TT-OSL) and post-infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR-IR) dating of sedimentary quartz and feldspar grains, electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of sedimentary quartz, combined ESR/U-series dating of fossil teeth, paleomagnetic analysis of sediments, and biostratigraphy. Dates from most of these techniques clustered around 430,000 years ago. Archaeology The first human fossils were discovered in 1976, by T. Torres, and the first excavations within this unit were conducted by the Sierra de Atapuerca Pleistocene site group under the direction of E. Aguirre. In 1990, this program was undertaken by J. L. Arsuaga, J. M. Bermudez de Castro, and E. Carbonell. Sources Arsuaga JL, Martà ­nez I, Gracia A, Carretero JM, Lorenzo C, Garcà ­a N, and Ortega AI. 1997.  Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). The site.  Journal of Human Evolution  33(2–3):109-127. Arsuaga JL, Martà ­nez, Gracia A, and Lorenzo C. 1997a.  The Sima de los Huesos crania (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). A comparative study.  Journal of Human Evolution  33(2–3):219-281. 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