Forgivenesses of sins Essay

Pardoners were supposed to issue papal indulgences (forgivenesses of sins) in exchange for alms money, which was to be given to the sick, poor, or another worthy cause. But many pardoners were out-and-out frauds, selling worthless pieces of paper, and even legitimate ones often kept more than their share of the proceeds. This Pardoner is from Rouncivalle, a London hospital well known for the number of illegal pardons connected with it. Most pardoners, like this one, claimed to have come â€Å"straight from the court of Rome,† with a bagful of pardons â€Å"al hoot† off the presses, though of course our Pardoner hasn’t set foot outside England. NOTE: Fake pardoners claimed they could do almost anything for the right sum of money, even remove an excommunication. Despite widespread abuses, though, there still were plenty of people gullible enough to believe in a pardoner’s â€Å"powers. † There’s something suspect in the fact that the Pardoner sings â€Å"Come hither, love, to me,† to the Summoner, who accompanies him in a strong bass voice. Some see more than a hint of sexual perversion in this young man who has thin locks of yellow hair that he wears without a hood because he thinks it’s the latest style. His small voice and the fact that he has no beard, â€Å"ne never sholde [would] have,† leads Chaucer to suspect â€Å"he were a gelding or a mare†Ã¢â‚¬â€œa eunuch or effeminate man. NOTE: Scientific opinion of the day believed that thin hair represented poor blood, effeminacy, and deception, while glaring eyes like the Pardoner’s indicated folly, gluttony, and drunkenness. Chaucer’s audience would catch the references just as we would instantly see the significance of a villain in a black cape and with a black moustache. As if the description weren’t bad enough, the Pardoner tricks people into buying phony relics of saints, such as a pillowcase that he says was â€Å"Our Lady’s veil,† or a piece of sail allegedly belonging to St. Peter. No wonder he makes more money in a day than the poor Parson does in two months. Ironically, Chaucer calls him â€Å"a noble eccesiaste,† since he can sing a church lesson beautifully–for money, of course. His tale is right in character: he tells what the pilgrims say they want to hear. He says he bases his sermons on money being the root of all evil (he ought to know). But he admits he’s not a moral man, although he can tell a moral tale. In his tale about three rowdies, he ironically delivers a sermon against gluttony and other sins. Afterwards, the Host lights into the Pardoner’s hypocrisy with such force that the Pardoner is speechless with anger. Chaucer is probably the earliest English poet you’re likely to read. A first glance at the original Middle English of the Canterbury Tales, with all those strange-looking words, might be enough to tempt you to slam the book shut, either in disgust or in terror at having to learn it all. But take a closer look and examine some of the words. You’ll see that many aren’t any harder to understand than when some people, trying to be â€Å"olde†-fashioned, write shoppe instead of shop. (Chaucer’s English is in fact where this idea originated. ) Try to get a dual-language edition of the Canterbury Tales, in which the Middle English original is printed on one side of the page and modern English on the other. When you’ve gotten some practice reading the original words and checking against the modern English, you’ll find that the rhythm of Chaucer’s poetry gets easier to understand. Why is it called â€Å"Middle English†? Simply because it’s at the midpoint between the ancient language spoken by the Anglo-Saxons of England and the English we speak today. In fact, you might feel grateful that you’re reading Chaucer instead of the poetry of some of his fellow fourteenth-century poets, because Chaucer’s dialect–the Middle English spoken in London–is the language that evolved into our English, while the dialects the other poets used died out. Imagine trying to read something written in a hillbilly drawl or in a Scottish brogue; standard English, even if it’s not what we speak all the time, is easier to read. Even if Chaucer had never written a word, it makes sense that the speech of London, the hub of English society, should develop into the standard English that eventually came over on the Mayflower. But Chaucer gave a great boost to the prestige of English, as Shakespeare did later on. It’s partly because of Chaucer’s terrific (though unintentional) public relations job that the poet John Dryden, three hundred years later, called him â€Å"the father of English literature. † There is a robust flavor to Chaucer’s language that we can’t get in a translation, no matter how good it is. You won’t be able to get the nuances of all the old words. But after a while you’ll almost be able to hear the pilgrims chatting away. The opening of the General Prologue bursts with spring, with new life, and shows that Chaucer is both similar to and different from his poetic predecessors. He uses many images of spring that would be familiar to a medievel audience: the April showers (familiar to us too) â€Å"piercing† March’s dryness, the â€Å"licour† in each plant’s â€Å"vein,† the breezes â€Å"inspiring† the crops. It’s short, but enough of a description to give us a sense of waking up to new and exciting events. Even the birds sleep with â€Å"open eyes† because of the rising sap. Then, instead of moving from the conventional spring setting to a description of courtly romantic or heroic deeds, as his audience might expect, he draws us into a very down-to-earth world. Spring isn’t romance; it’s the time of year â€Å"when people long to go on pilgrimages. † We can all identify with the feeling of â€Å"spring fever,† when we want to travel and shake off the winter doldrums. What’s more, in case we or Chaucer’s listeners are expecting a conventional medieval description of moral allegorical types–Greed, Love, Fortune, etc. –or battles, we’re in for a shock. Other poets presented characters for moral purposes or to embody ideals such as courtly love. But Chaucer doesn’t deal in types, whether religious or courtly, but in portraits of real people. He even ignores the unwritten rule of the time that, if you’re describing someone, you start at the top, very orderly, and work down. Chaucer will start with someone’s beard, then hat, boots, tone of voice, and finally his political opinions! (That’s just a partial description of the Merchant. ) He’s not reporting for a moral purpose, but out of love of life and the people around him. Imagine that you’re minding your own business in a wayside tavern and in burst 29 people representing every facet of society. For Chaucer, that meant the nobility, embodied in the Knight and Squire; the church, in the form of the Prioress, Monk, and others; agriculture (the Plowman); and the emerging middle class (the Merchant, Franklin and tradesmen). Rather than shy away from this motley crew, Chaucer the narrator (who is not the same, remember, as Chaucer the poet) befriends and describes them, inserting his own opinions freely.

Othello as a Tragic Hero Essay

One of the most obvious focal point of disagreement about Othello is whether Othello was a tragic hero or not according to the classic conception of a tragic hero; whether his characterization, personal attributes make him fall into the domain of Aristotelian concept of tragic hero; Whether or not he possessed a tragic flaw. To Swinburne, Othello was â€Å"the noblest man of man’s making†. (Swinburne)But T. S. Eliot, on the other hand spoke unfavorably of his â€Å"cheering himself up†, (153) and came out with a celebrated critical term â€Å"Bovarysme†. Robert H.  Heilman (1956) comes very close to restating the Eliot position when he says; â€Å"Othello is the least heroic of Shakespeare’s tragic heroes. † (p. 166) The identification of Othello’s hamartia differs from reader to reader and from critic to critic. Some critics are of the view that excessive Egotism and self-confidence of Othello remain the main cause of his tragedy. He harbors unjustified suspicions against Desdemona. He had a trustful nature and he is thorough in his trust of Iago. (Bradley, 1965. p. 213. Jealousy overpowers him and he lacks self-control. It is hardly likely that even a combination of all these would be equal to what Aristotle considered to be a serious hamartia, and he exhibited any of the failing mentioned above. It would hardly be logical to say that the Othello was punished for crime in the yes of the divine. Another view is that the present failings of Othello may be taken to means that he was he was always like that, and his tragedy comes due some inherent or innate unsoundness in his character. However we get no indication of this in the play. The conception of the tragic hero that we gather from Aristotle’s Poetics is that he is a highly esteemed and prosperous man who falls into misfortune because of some serious hamartia i. e. tragic flaw. Aristotle gives the example of Oedipus and Thyestes, which means that according to him, it was Oedipus’ hamartia that was directly responsible for his fall. Although the meaning of hamartia is far from certain, its most frequent applications is in the sense of false moral judgment, or even purely intellectual errors. Among Greeks no sharp distinction between the two existed. It is generally believed that according to Aristotle the hamartia off Oedipus consists in some moral faults and it has been tried to identify various moral faults in Oedipus. Othello also possessed these moral flaw and his tragedy only comes due to these moral flaws, So according to Aristotelian conception, Othello is a tragic hero as he is a larger than life character and has tragic flaws that bring his destruction. Distinguished Professor Butcher has identified four possible range of meaning of Aristotle‘s Hamartia i. . tragic flaw. The foremost of these connotations is an error due to unavoidable ignorance of circumstances whereas an error caused by unawareness of conditions that might have been identified and for that reason to some extent morally blameworthy is another manifestation of the sense in which the term hamartia was used by Aristotle. The third sense is â€Å"A fault or error where the act is conscious and intentional, but not deliberate. Such acts are committed in anger or passion. Where as fourth one is â€Å"A fault of character distinct, on the one hand, from an isolated error, and, on the other, from the vice which has its seat in the depraved will†¦a flaw of character that is not tainted with a vicious purpose. † This essay will try to analyze all these manifestation of tragic flaws present in the character of Othello to manifest that he was a tragic hero. The character of Othello possesses an aura of personality that makes him distinguished as well naive and unrefined as compared with other characters in the play and other Shakespearean protagonists. That is the sole reason that why he fell a prey to Iago’s plot. Iago told Roderigo, â€Å"O, sir, content you. I follow him [Othello] to serve my turn upon him â€Å"(I, i lines 38-9). Iago explains that only follow Othello to certain extent. A rudimentary supposition is that as the murder of Othello’s wife Desdemona is the result of deceitfulness of Iago, so himself remained a victim to the evil genius of Iago. Othello’s wrath was a product of his impulsiveness, the inherent flaw in his character, but that was utilized and triggered by the machination of Iago. The offense of Iago – to conspire the demise of the Moor – is worse since it is embedded in a shrewd mind with organized attempt whereas the wrongdoing of Othello was the result of his naivete. He was blindfolded by a thorn in the heart and mind. But his sin can not be justified only on this ground as there were various methods to check the blameworthiness. However, it can be illustrated that Othello permitted himself to be influenced by Iago’s proposition of the unfaithfulness of Desdemona. Iago only provides a justification that was needed by Othello. Some critics are of the view that Desdemona’s murder is an outcome of Othello’s excessive arrogance and his impulsiveness to decision-making. A. C. Bradley ponders over the dispositions and nature of Othello and says in this regard; â€Å"The sources of danger in this character are revealed but too clearly by the story. In the first place, Othello’s mind, for all its poetry, is very simple. He is not observant. His nature tends outward. He is quite free from introspection, and is not given to reflection. Emotion excites his imagination, but it confuses and dulls his intellect. On this side he is the very opposite of Hamlet, with whom, however, he shares a great openness and trustfulness of nature. In addition, he has little experience of the corrupt products of civilised life, and is ignorant of European women. † (p. 217) Despite this major flaw, he possessed some distinct personality traits. His has the capacity to build positive and reciprocal relationships and to take a number of steps to persuade. He possesses the capability to tailor an approach to appeal to the needs of a particular audience and an example of this relationship building is his genuine companionship with Iago. But again this trait of Othello is used against him as Iago takes advantage of his trust and design more evil plots against him. Although Othello possesses some evil propensities but he is capable of preventing these base and evil instincts to dominate him. In order to locate the degree and gravity of his sins, his motives fro his evil actions must be taken into consideration. It can be argued that his sins are product of weak mental faculties and some inherent flaws in his character. It was further enhanced by the manipulation of Iago instead of his pride. His action of murdering Desdemona was also not due to deficiency of confidence as he was a strong leader as manifested by his ability to command military and various other states affairs. But his leadership does not mean that he was forfeited against personal fantasies and whims of imagination. Othello’s basic dilemma was that he was in a totally new socio-cultural milieu. He was in a new city with a new bride who was graceful and young. Furthermore, Othello was in deep love with her does not know her well. He was uncertain about Desdemona decision to select him as her husband, and can only comprehend one clarification, â€Å"She lov’d me for the dangers I had pass’d. † (I,iii,167) He is aware of the prevailing environment of prejudice and bias in Venice and without doubt must inquire why Desdemona would against her own norms and values and associate white Venetians by marrying an outsider. All these added suspicion in his minds before Iago begins his conniving plot. Although Desdemona was an epitome of love and care for her, but his preconceived notions cannot enable him to believe in her love unreservedly. His response to his skeptic mind is to put Desdemona on a pedestal, making her an â€Å"emblem of purity and trustworthiness† ‘Tis not to make me jealous/ To say my wife Is fair, feeds well, loves company, Is free of speech, sings, plays, and dances well. / Where virtue Is, these are more virtuous. Nor from mine own weak merits will I draw/ The smallest fear or doubt of her revolt, For she had eyes, and chose me. (3. 3. 180) Othello arrived at the conclusion that Desdemona’s consideration and virtue only capacitated her to feel affection for the unlovable — an unstable culmination originating from his low self-worth. When Iago cast away this fictitious idealism with his evil designs, he is merely strengthening what Othello considers profoundly to be thoroughly possible i. e. that Desdemona could love another man. Iago is on hand to verify Othello’s primary doubts: Ay, there’s the point! as (to be bold with you)/ Not to affect many proposed matches/ Of her own clime, complexion, and degree, / Whereto we see in all things nature tends †¦ Her will, recoiling to her better judgement,/ May fall to match you with her country forms, / And happily repent. (3. 3. 228) So all these facts, arguments and supported evidence clearly manifest that Othello was a lager than life character and his tragic flaw contributes toward his tragedy. It is both an amalgam of self-infliction and circumstances beyond his control. He is a noble character but when things go wrong and pressures builds up, Othello’s inadequacies are revealed like the cracks in the dam. This makes him a tragic hero according to very conception of Aristotle. A. C. Bradley refutes the point of view that Othello was not noble and has no characteristics of a tragic hero. He is of the view; This character is so noble, Othello’s feelings and actions follow so inevitably from it and from the forces brought to bear on it, and his sufferings are so heart-rending, that he stirs, I believe, in most readers a passion of mingled love and pity which they feel for no other hero in Shakespeare, and to which not even Mr Swinburne can do more than justice. Yet there are some critics and not a few readers who cherish a grudge against him. They do not merely think that in the later stages of his temptation he showed a certain obtuseness, and that, to speak pedantically, he acted with unjustifiable precipitance and violence; no one, I suppose, denies that. (p. 221)

Political Theory # 2 Essays

Political Theory # 2 Essays Political Theory # 2 Essay Political Theory # 2 Essay In John Locke’s work entitled, â€Å"Second Treatise†, he articulated that, â€Å"The state of nature has a law of nature to govern it, which obliges everyone; and reason, which is that law, teaches all mankind who will but consult it, that, being all equal and independent, no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions† (Colie, 1968). The aforementioned statement is where the problem came from. Actually, the alteration of John Locke’s term â€Å"possessions or property† into â€Å"pursuit of happiness† by Jefferson has strong ground/basis (Colie, 1968). Explaining further, this is because due to the fact that, when John Locke utilizes the term â€Å"possession or property†, he does not only refer to the tangible objects that individuals own, for instance, house and lot, cars, Xbox, laptops etc, instead he also took into consideration a much broader application, which now actually incl udes â€Å"life and liberty† (Curtis, 1981). Since John Locke did not only refer to concrete or physical objects like life and liberty, then Jefferson translated in into the term â€Å"happiness† (Curtis, 1981). Jefferson articulated it that way to be able to convey the message that he and John Locke were not only speaking about material things, they were also referring to those â€Å"essential things† which may bring about happiness in the long run (Curtis, 1981). For individuals to have a clearer and better understanding of the aforementioned, it should be mentioned where this is actually rooted from. John Locke was actually talking about the state of nature here in his magnificent work known as the â€Å"Second Treatise† (Curtis, 1981). He was saying that the state of nature is where men are after the â€Å"state of perfect freedom, state of equality, state governed by rationality, as well as a, state of liberty† which further explained and made simple by Jefferson by saying â€Å"pursuit of happiness† (Curtis, 1981). Health In addition to that, the word, â€Å"health† has been removed by Jefferson simply because when he stated, â€Å"to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness† (Curtis, 1981). It is very clear that the term life already entails health since it is a smaller topic or aspect which is covered by life (Curtis, 1981). It is done to avoid redundancy and eventually confusion (Curtis, 1981).

Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island for Study

Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island for Study Not only is Robert Louis Stevensons ​Treasure Island  one of the most popular childrens books in history, its had a major influence on popular culture portrayals of 19th-century pirates. It tells the story of young Jim Hawkins, cabin boy on a ship bound for an island where the treasure is believed buried. He encounters pirates who seek to overthrow the ships officers in a mutiny. Published as a series in the magazine Young Folks between 1881 and 1882, Treasure Island is notable as a childrens book because of the moral ambiguity of many of its main characters; the good guys are sometimes not so good, and its most memorable character, Long John Silver, is a classic anti-hero. The story has captured imaginations for more than a hundred years and has been adapted for film and television more than 50 times.​​ Questions for Study and Discussion Why do you think Jim goes on the journey as a cabin boy?How does Robert Louis Stevenson reveal the characters motivations in Treasure Island?Knowing that this was a serialized story when it was first published, do you have a sense of whether Stevenson plotted out the entire story before writing, or do you think he changed elements of the plot as he wrote each individual section?What are some symbols in Treasure Island?Is Jim Hawkins consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character?What about ​Long John Silverare his actions consistent?How easily can you identify with Jims feelings? Do you think this portrayal of a young boy seems dated, or does it stand the test of time?If this novel were written in present day, what details would have to change?Discuss how Long John Silver is or is not a father figure to Jim.Which of the characters surprises you the most?Does the story end the way you expected?How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken p lace anywhere else? Besides Jim Hawkins mother, there are very few women in Treasure Island. Do you think this is important to the plot?What would a sequel to this novel have looked like? Would it be possible to continue the story?

Marketing assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Marketing assignment - Essay Example In my case, I relate value proposition to Starbucks coffee. Starbucks is the largest coffee house company in the world and has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington D.C and many outlets all over the world. Starbucks sells among other drinks, coffee. My critical selection process of Starbucks coffee is dependent on its mode of preparation, the energy content of the Starbucks coffee drink, the chemical content, the taste, colour, environment, standard of quality, smell, availability of the drink, and the refreshing nature of the Starbucks coffee. Apart from other external factors that may affect my choice for Starbucks coffee like climate, my selection of Starbucks coffee relies on its mode of preparation. Indeed, the preparation of Starbucks coffee takes place in real time and I can actually from the preparation process on how I can prepare my own cup of coffee at home. The mode of preparation is fast and clean thus enticing me to buy. In addition, Starbucks coffee is highly nutritious for my health and thus relevant to my use. More so, although Starbucks coffee has some elements of caffeine, the levels are quite low and suitable for my consumption. Indeed, the caffeine in Starbucks coffee serves my alertness and relaxation thus motivating to buy. Furthermore, Starbucks coffee has a sweet taste that is unique in all its outlets. Actually, all Starbucks outlets sells universal brand of coffee and hence its originality that drives me to purchase. At the same time, the colour of Starbucks coffee is also unique and there are no chances of fake products. Moreover, the price of Starbucks coffee is also a motivator since it is affordable to me and hence my cause to buy. I take Starbucks coffee in the most relaxing and quite environment. All Starbucks outlets situate at quite environments that equally plays some cool music in the background. With such an offer, I find myself buying it most frequently. It is worth noting that

New Turkish Cinema Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7750 words

New Turkish Cinema - Dissertation Example This dissertation discusses the New Turkish Cinema, that is much more than a resurrection of the Turkish film industry after a long dark period. The New Turkish Cinema is also an era of greater creative freedom as a result of the relaxation of Turkey’s censorship laws. The long dark period also provided the New Turkish Cinema filmmakers with a dearth of political and social material from which to work with once the film renaissance begun in the 1990s. As demonstrated throughout this dissertation, the New Turkish Cinema did not hesitate to exploit these experiences of the Turks once film production escalated again in the 1990s. The New Turkish Cinema offers a rare and instructive inspection of the experiences of Turkey’s ordinary and traditionally oppressed citizens in both contemporary Turkey and during the politically and socially turbulent times of the dark ages of Turkey’s film industry. Thus as Turkey itself breaks from tradition in terms of political and dis course, so does Turkey’s film industry. For the most part, the political explorations of the New Turkish Cinema are reproducing the experiences of the politically oppressed. As demonstrated in this dissertation, audiences have seen first-hand the realities of the objectification of women in a largely patriarchal society. Audiences have also seen first-hand the experiences of the official discriminatory policies against the Armenians, the Greeks and other non-Muslim identities. In the final analysis, the New Turkish Cinema can be described as a new Turkish reality.

Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty Thesis Proposal

Theology of Redemption and the Christian Liberty - Thesis Proposal Example The paper tells that in the course of the storey of humanity, persons, regardless of time and place, have been plagued by three important concerns. The first concern is ‘where did I come from?’ while the second question is ‘what is happening now?’ and finally the third concern is ‘what will happen to me in the future?. In effect, in this continuum of questions, uncertainty marks each query. As such, humanity’s quest for answers to these issues, often gnat at their being, because most wants to remove the dread and anguish towards the unknown future as they have trekked the masked past and the uncertain present. In this regard, all types of religion try to assuage the trepidation and angst of the future by unveiling the future, â€Å"practically all religions have developed a way of looking into the future†. This knowledge they impart in order to help humanity take the path that will help them avoid grief and uncertainty. In this context, C hristianity bears witness to the truism that â€Å"God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times he has spoken definitively to us through his Son†. Through the Son, Christianity affirms the key truth of faith â€Å"Yes, God so love the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life†. In light of this, the research will be dealing with one of the most important aspect of Christian faith – Redemption in connection with Christian liberty. Background of the Study The contemporary period is marked by radical changes that continuously transform not only society, but also the way humanity perceived life, meaning, relationship and human nature (Ortega-Villasenor, 2004). The continued deconstruction of traditional values, norms, interpretations, meanings and beliefs should empower humanity to be freed from the limits of the insti tutions and structures permeating the world of man (Johnson 12). Some of these radical changes include globalization, rapid developments and advancements in science and technology and the increasing challenge of global environmental challenge. Globalization is the breaking of the barriers in trade among nations, paving for a freer movements of goods, services, people, capital and even values, traditions and way of life (Coatsworth 38). This is dynamic in view of the fact that it does not only affect the economic life and structures of the global society, but its influence pervades almost all facets of human encounters in the modern period, thus, making globalization one of the most powerful vector of change in the modern period (Suarez-Orozco and Qin-Hilliard 25). In the same manner, rapid advancements and developments in science and technology re-structure the arena where people encounter, interact and undertake actions. In this regard, the contemporary human condition is character ised by the interconnection and continued interrelation between the human-social dimension and information- computer technological advancements. Thus, existing socio-technological systems are the venue for â€Å"the interaction between society’s complex infrastructures and human behaviour. Within this concept, society itself and most of its substructures are complex socio-technical systems† (Stranks, 100). Meanwhile, biomedical innovations have created the condition wherein extension of human life span has been achieved as medicine has become capable of curing and preventing number of diseases (Ehni and Marckmann 985). This has created the attribute known as super-mediatic world. This means that the world is right on the tip of our fingers. One push of buttons, things are done, connections are made and communications are relayed. Finally, the environmental concerns that plague the period refer not only to the depletion of earth’s natural resources and the piling up of by-products or