The Handmaid s Tale Are Men And Blame - 850 Words

The Handmaid’s Tale: Are Men to Blame? Women have been domesticated by men since the beginning of time. This role was given to women changing substantially as the years have gone by. It is still true that today there is a battle for equality of the sexes, and this novel by Margaret Atwood displays the harsh reality we continue to face in this male dominant society. Interestingly enough, this was written and published in the 80s and is still relevant today. Some believe that it is perfectly fine to not have equality amongst all let alone equality for women. Atwood’s use of men gives them power over women but they are not to blame for this mistreatment of the opposite sex. The Handmaid’s Tale gives a clear picture of what could happen to our society if women are continued to be seen as voiceless sex objects. It only takes one person to realize that what is occurring is wrong and it takes men and women both to stop the nonsense. Men in the story like T he Commander and Nick realize the wrongness, giving the women some hope. The concern for Offred the Commander displays proves not all men are evil or to blame in Gilead. The Commander is in no way the savior of the novel; however, he is Offred’s only hope. The society has already set rules no matter how horrible they are it is the law and he is a part of the hierarchy. If Commander went against his own council he would need allies to dispute the â€Å"handmaid issue.† Men are not willing to step up defendingShow MoreRelatedHandmaids tale1446 Words   |  6 Pages3rd, 2013 Hierarchy in The HandMaid s Tale Margaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale is a interesting novel that will have you confused but also have you bitting your nails with intrigue. So many questions might go in your head, at the same time; Atwood wrote this novel so her readers can have curiosity, even after reading the last word of the last paragraph of the last page of the book. One of the main topics of this novel is the effect on society when a women s fate is taken away from and replacedRead MoreIs Today s Society Becoming A Dystopian World?1313 Words   |  6 Pagesa dystopian world? Both the novels 1984 by George Orwell and The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood provide warnings of how each author sees certain problems in society leading to dystopian states. Civilizations are forced to live by rules and for certain purposes to ensure the governments own goals and aspirations, but arise for different reasons. Atwood is concerned with political groups and aspects of feminism; The Handmaids Tale illustrates how decl ining birth rates could lead to a state whereRead MoreMargaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale Essay1309 Words   |  6 Pagesthe class that ends up being oppressed. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, this is exactly the case, and the oppressed caste is the handmaids. The United States has been transformed into The Republic of Gilead. This change was stimulated by the increase in rape and violence against women, as well as the dropping fertility rates. The story begins with a handmaid named Offred. She has been assigned the job of a handmaid because she is one of the few women who are still fertile. Offred works inRead MoreThe Handmaid s Tale And Brave New World1448 Words   |  6 PagesAlthough The Handmaid’s Tale by Margret Atwood and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley involve different stories, the societies portrayed in these two dystopic novels lack the basic freedoms needed for a society to function properly. These novels present an individual whose fr eedom has been stripped away by a government that controls all aspects of their life -knowledge, individuality, relationships with others- in order to maintain stability in a fragile society. The Handmaid s Tale studies our human natureRead MoreThe Sexual Exploitation Of Women Is Made Clear From The Work Of Atwood, Rossetti And Chaucer3015 Words   |  13 Pagesexploitation towards women is made clear from the work of Atwood, Rossetti and Chaucer. It mostly entails men taking advantage of women for their own personal gains. For example for pleasure, or to affirm the dominance they have upon the woman. At the time in which Rossetti and Chaucer were writing, women had their role, and the male would become the dominant figure. In The Handmaids Tale,the male figure overpowers the woman and becomes obsessed with the idea that women are able to reproduce. WithinRead MoreAnalysis : The Handmaid s Tale 1853 Words   |  8 PagesHandmaid’s Tale, is highly considered as a stimulati ng work of feminist dystopian fiction that examines the themes of fertility, rebellion, manipulation of power and love. All of these themes play an essential role in displaying the dehumanizing impacts of patriarchy on women and address the way in which society may be in the future. Fertility is believed to be vital for the future in Gilead because nobody is able to give birth to babies and it is the only source of power of the Handmaids. â€Å"There isRead MoreRelationship Between Men and Women: Jane Eyre and The Handmaids Tale1775 Words   |  8 Pagessubjugation of women by men in nineteenth-century Western culture, Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale explores the consequences of a reversal of women’s rights by men. This twentieth-century tradition of dystopian novels is a possible influence, with classics like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and George Orwell’s 1984 standing prominence. The pessimism associated with novels of this genre—where society is presented as frightening and restrictive—exposes the gender inequality between men and women to be deleteriousRead MoreAnalysis Of Margaret Atwood s The Great Gatsby Essay2646 Words   |  11 Pagesa world like this, and one is able to see this toughness througho ut the book and memories from Offred’s life. In Arnold’s Future Tense: Making History in The Handmaid’s Tale he describes the women life Offred extremely well when he says â€Å"In Gilead, women have been framed. Framed by their red robes and wide wimples, the handmaids are clearly visible, marked and delimited by their social status. For the wearer within the frame, the wimples serve as blinders; to look through them is to see only straightRead MoreMargaret Atwood s The Handmaid Tale3177 Words   |  13 PagesThe substantial measures that Gilead takes to achieve perfection results in a dystopian society instead of a utopian one. The dystopian society has detrimental effects on the women of Gilead, both emotionally and physically. In the novel, The handmaids tale, by Margaret Atwood, the author utilizes the setting of the novel and its characters to communicate the themes of oppression and control over the female population of Gilead. Setting Atwood’s main focus for this book is to create a dystopianRead MoreThe Worlds Of The Last Man Essay2207 Words   |  9 PagesIn the worlds of The Last Man by Marry Shelly and A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, the lives of the survivors of the apocalypse are thrown into chaos. In The Last Man, the people of England are driven out of their native home by the plague and forced into the desolate wasteland that is Europe. In A Handmaid’s Tale, Gilead society has torn Offred away from her past life and severed all her connections to it. In these troubled times, characters turn to religion either by force or their own free

Rape Culture Attitudes and Assessments Essay - 1713 Words

Rape, it seems to be an uncomfortable word for most people to hear or talk about. Whether it’s just embarrassing or a sore subject most people just don’t like to talk about it. There is a certain stigma that surrounds rape and that is the main source of the problem. There is rape culture in this country that leads men and women in this country to believe that in certain situations rape is okay. Whether she was â€Å"dressed like she was asking for it† or was passed out drunk, these are not excuses for rape. I believe that if people were more educated about rape and there were harsher punishments for rapists that this would become less of a problem in the United States and worldwide. There is a long history of rape culture and movements to end†¦show more content†¦These statistics are part of what make up the rape culture. Other studies show similar beliefs about the rape culture and victim blaming. â€Å"†¦would not directly blame the victim for he r assault but expressed the belief that women put themselves in bad situations by dressing a certain way, drinking alcohol, or demonstrating other behaviors such as flirting† (McMahon,2011). These perceptions mean that men think that it is partly the victims fault when she is sexually assaulted. This thought process needs to change. Rape started before the mini skirt was invented. â€Å"Rape is called the most underreported violent crime in America. In a large national survey of American women, only 16% of the rapes, approximately one out of every six, had ever been reported to the police.† (aardvarc.org) Another issue that goes along with rape culture is the fact that it is not reported very often. This is usually, from my knowledge of volunteering at a rape crisis center, because the victim is embarrassed, is scared of retaliation from the rapist, or is emotionally traumatized by the experience. This causes an issue for the victim as well as other members of society. When a rape is not reported the rapist is left free to assault someone else, or even the victim again. To say that only one out of every six victim’s reports being raped leaves five rapists enabled to assault others. The History ofShow MoreRelatedCriminal Justice Systems And Its Effect On Parole Board1711 Words   |  7 PagesVictoria criminal justice systems , are designed to regulate members’ attitudes in the society, implement law and order, and to bring those offenders who commit crimes before the court of justice. In the assessment paper, observation was conducted through a range of scholarly research/ newspaper reports, articles, The age, Herald Sun, Victorian General news wires. Critical analysis , was also conducted to different issues, thus; Victorian government tougher sentencing on crimes to implementRead MoreSexual Assault At The West Chester University Of Pennsylvania984 Words   |  4 Pagesconsulting conducted a Climate Assessment on West Chester University in September of 2010, a section of the results focused on sexual assault on students. According to the report seven people who reported a sexual assault to the university described their reactions to the universities response. Two students shared the way they felt the response was inappropriate or poor. One described that they felt the suspension for one semester was not an appropriate response to an admitted rape, that public safety lostRead MoreCelie Reflection1103 Words   |  5 PagesCelie, a poor, uneducated, fourteen-year-old black girl living in rustic Georgia in the mid 1900s who despite the odds survives extreme abuse. The movie is narrated by Celie who starts writing letters to God because her stepfather Alphonso beats and rapes her, impregnating Celie twice. Once she delivers h e immediately takes the children and places them for adoption. They are taken in by a local minister and his wife who lives in town. Alphonso warns her that if she tells anyone it would kill her sickRead MoreThe Concept of Sociological Perspective of Deviance Essays1127 Words   |  5 PagesThe concept of Sociological Perspective of Deviance also known as â€Å"rule-breaking† behavior or â€Å"counter culture† can be defined as culture norms, values, and morals which shape the social acceptance of individuals or group through their actions or â€Å"unmoral or illegal† behavior. In order to gain a better understanding of Sociological Perspective of Deviance it is important to understand the broad consensus of behavior and its place in society. Situational deviance pertains to a group who engagesRead MoreRape Culture Essay2011 Words   |  9 PagesRape culture Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as women ask for it, and women secretly enjoy rape, from a historical perspective, lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in todays world. Men are usually in power positions, and women are seen as passive. This socializationRead MoreCounselor Ethics and Responsibilities1367 Words   |  6 Pagesspeaking from my own personal experience. As a woman, it’s hard to decide to get an abortion but there are a lot of reasons as to why a woman may get the procedure done. For instance, a 19-year-old rape victim came to me for help because she wants to get an abortion and wants my help changing her parents’ attitude towards her wanting the procedure done. The ethical issue that I would have to consider while trying to con sider on how I am going to counsel this client is trying to persuade her parents’ toRead MoreThe Csi Effect On Crime1657 Words   |  7 Pagesexplored in models that measured the predisposition to convict without scientific evidence in murder and rape cases. According to Baskin and Sommers, the studied murder cases revealed that crime-show-viewing habits were related significantly to a willingness to convict without scientific evidence. To determine this, respondents were asked how likely they were to convict a defendant in a murder and rape trial without scientific evidence, and they were also asked about the number of hours per week thatRead MoreChildren With Autism Spectrum Disorder956 Words   |  4 Pagesbehaviors (p. 281). One of the doctors in the study stated: The future of these children is very scary. These children look cute when they are young, but when they grow up, there would be so many problems. Studies in the US show that these children even rape their sisters. You see, they are not aware about their behaviors, so they might take off their clothes and masturbate in front of strangers. It is crazy isn t it? They are an extreme burden for the family (p. 281). Doctors in Vietnam seem to haveRead MoreThe Reality Behind Muslim Terrorism Essay1387 Words   |  6 Pageseffects of a static 1400-year old Islamic ideology: Muslim Inbreeding: Impacts on intelligence, sanity, health and society. Muslims in the Middle East were slaughtering each other long before the West foolishly involved itself in trying to change cultures. Remove Gadhafi and Saddam and what you now see is what lay below the surface. Religion is only one aspect of Islam, it is an ideology. 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The Three Little Pigs What really happened Essay Example For Students

The Three Little Pigs What really happened Essay You may have heard of the three little pigs, but, its a fake and heres the true story. There was a mummy pig, a daddy pig and three little pigs. The three little pigs mum said to them Youre old enough to live on your own now, so go away! And with that, she kicked them out the house! The little pigs walked in silence for a bit because they were shocked about what had just happened but finally the eldest little pig shouted at the others Lets play hide and seek! YEAH! squealed the youngest little pig. No. said the middle little pig firmly Im going to build my house first. Suit yourself. Replied the eldest little pig snottily. The eldest little pig and the youngest little pig ran off to play hide and seek while the middle little pig set off for a builders yard. The middle little pig walked for a week to get to the builders yard and when he got there he asked the first builder he saw, Can I have some bricks to build my house with please? Course you can. Replied the builder merrily Thank-you! sang the middle little pig. The middle little pig skipped all the way to where he was going to build his home singing, Im going to build a home, Im going to build a home! He walked for a week and then set about building his home but what he didnt know was that there was a builders yard only a days walk from where he was, so the other two little pigs had built a very big, grand house, made of the finest bricks and were now living together. Whilst all this was happening over on the other side of the forest William Wolf was very upset because his granny was dying and then he would have no one left in his wolfie world. He was holding her paw this very moment when she said William, go catch your granny one last decent meal before she dies. Oh, yes of course granny I I Ill go catch us something nice to eat shall I. Stuttered William. So he set out to find his granny a nice meal, so when he came to this very posh looking house he knocked on the door and shouted, What animal lives in here? the reply came Two little pigs do not live here! Well would one of you like to be a last meal for my dying granny? shouted back William. Ummmmmmmmm, not really no! whimpered the eldest little pig. Oh, what a shame. Came the disappointed answer from William I guess Ill have to huff and puff and blow your house down! Good luck! sniggered the youngest little pig. William huffed and he puffed but nothing was working, then an idea struck him, Ill climb down their chimney. Im going to climb down your chimney now! said William smugly! We dont have a chimney! hooted the two little pigs with laughter. Oh damn thought William and after that he walked away to find a middle little pig with a half built house. Well what have we got here William thought to himself. The middle little pig was aware of the wolfs presence and he jumped inside his half built house and screamed Dont come any closer because Ill never let you in, not on the hairs of my chinny chin chin! William just rolled around with laughter and eventually jumped inside the house and growled, Ive got you now little pig! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! screamed the middle little pig. William killed him and shoved the little pig in a bag he found lying on the floor. .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 , .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .postImageUrl , .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 , .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097:hover , .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097:visited , .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097:active { border:0!important; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097:active , .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097 .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u42ba15010a1f35cdec7cd853f13a9097:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Interview With The Vampire EssayWilliam trotted back and as he went past the eldest and the youngest little pigs house he taunted, Ive killed your brother doo dah, doo dah! And ran off laughing. Oh our poor brother. Sniffed the youngest little pig. He should have come and lived with us, then he would still be alive. Said the eldest little pig in a huff. Dont be so insensitive, he didnt know there was a wolf around. Snapped the youngest little pig. Meanwhile William had just got home and discovered his granny had been shot while he was out and was crying so loud it sounded like howling. I shouldnt have gone out. Snivelled William. And later he started to tuck into some bacon and sausage kebabs after a toast to his dearest granny, completely forgetting the two little pigs that were now moaning about, Why is life so unfair? So always, boys and girls, play before work, stick with friends and you might save lives! Not

Ode to the West Wind free essay sample

?Ode to the West Wind is a poem addressed to the west wind. It is personified both as a Destroyer and a Preserver. It is seen as a great power of nature that destroys in order to create, that kills the unhealthy and the decaying to make way for the new and the fresh. The personification of the west wind as an enchanter, as a wild spirit is characteristic of Shelleys poetry. Shelleys personification of the west wind can be called myth poesies, another kind of metaphor. The poem is divided into five stanzas or parts. Each part consists of 14 lines. The rhyming scheme is aba, bcb, cdc, ded; and a rhyming concept at the end. Sub Topics 1. Stanza 1 2. Stanza 2 3. Stanza 3 4. Stanza 4 5. Stanza 5 Stanza 1 Back to Top The poet addresses the west wind as Wild and the Breath of Autumns Being. It is a powerful force which drives the dead leaves which are yellow, black, pale and hectic red, to distant places like ghosts from an enchanter. The west wind carries winged seeds to their dark wintery beds underground which remain there till the west winds sister in the spring season blows and these seeds then blossom into sweet, scented flowers. The earth then will be alive with these living lives or colours and scents or fragrances. In this way the west wind acts both as a Destroyer and Preserver. Stanza 2 Back to Top The Shelley describes the powerful effect of the west wind in the sky. The west wind brakes away the Clouds like earths decaying leaves from the boughs of Heaven. After being plucked, these assume the fierce posture of black rain and hail. These rain clouds are compared to the outspread hair covering the sky from its horizon to its zenith. The wildness and confusion in the sky is compared to some fierce Maenad, the worshipper of Bacchus, the Greek God of wine. Maenad worships god in a frenzied fashion, uplifting her hair like tangled clouds. These indicate the approaching storm. The West Wind becomes a dirge (funeral song) which is being sung for the dying year. The night becomes a vast tomb where vapours have been built like arches and will soon come down as rain and hail. Stanza 3 Back to Top The west wind blows over the blue Mediterranean sea which has been described as a vast sleepy snake, which dreams of old civilization (palaces and towers) rich in flowers and vegetation. The sea sees old palaces and towers in sleep, which quiver when the west wind blows. Both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic seas are affected by the West Wind. The Atlantics surface gets cut into chasms to make way for the West Wind and the vegetation below the surface trembles in fear at the force of the west wind. Stanza 4 Back to Top The West Wind now becomes a personal force. The poet says that if he were a dead leaf, a swift cloud, a wave, he could experience the West Winds power and its strength. In his childhood, the poet had the power and strength and could probably out speed the west wind, but now he (the poet) no longer has the strength as he has been weakened by the problem, and burdens of life and he is no longer tame less,, swift and proud as he used to be in his childhood. He is blushing as he has fallen on the thorns of life meaning he is facing many problems/crisis in his life which has drawn away all his strength and power; and he is now looking up to the west wind, requesting him for his help. Stanza 5 Back to Top Despair and trauma which the poet is experiencing now gives way to a new hope. Shelly offers himself to the west wind in the same way as the sky, the ocean and the forests do. He asks the west wind to be the musician who can take out a deep autumnal tone from him and maker harmoniums music from him in the forest. The poet offers himself to the west wind to be used as a lyre for this purpose. The music thus produced may be sad but sweet. The poet then goes on to compare himself to an unextinguished fireplace with ashes and sparks meaning that the poet still has some unburnt power in him. He requests the west wind to spread this power like it spreads ashes and sparks among mankind. The poet ends with the hope that the west wind will carry the poets words over the entire universe and be the trumpet of his prophecy. Winter is symbolic of despair, coldness and death; but spring gives hope to new life, birth beauty and colour. If there is despair now, hope is very close by so the poet says if winter comes, can spring be far behind. If there is despair and hopelessness now, there is hope and optimism close at hand. Summary In the first stanza, the speaker stands before an ancient Grecian urn and addresses it. He is preoccupied with its depiction of pictures frozen in time. It is the â€Å"still unravish’d bride of quietness,† the â€Å"foster-child of silence and slow time. † He also describes the urn as a â€Å"historian† that can tell a story. He wonders about the figures on the side of the urn and asks what legend they depict and from where they come. He looks at a picture that seems to depict a group of men pursuing a group of women and wonders what their story could be: â€Å"What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? / What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy? † In the second stanza, the speaker looks at another picture on the urn, this time of a young man playing a pipe, lying with his lover beneath a glade of trees. The speaker says that the piper’s â€Å"unheard† melodies are sweeter than mortal melodies because they are unaffected by time. He tells the youth that, though he can never kiss his lover because he is frozen in time, he should not grieve, because her beauty will never fade. In the third stanza, he looks at the trees surrounding the lovers and feels happy that they will never shed their leaves. He is happy for the piper because his songs will be â€Å"for ever new,† and happy that the love of the boy and the girl will last forever, unlike mortal love, which lapses into â€Å"breathing human passion† and eventually vanishes, leaving behind only a â€Å"burning forehead, and a parching tongue. † In the fourth stanza, the speaker examines another picture on the urn, this one of a group of villagers leading a heifer to be sacrificed. He wonders where they are going (â€Å"To what green altar, O mysterious priest †) and from where they have come. He imagines their little town, empty of all its citizens, and tells it that its streets will â€Å"for evermore† be silent, for those who have left it, frozen on the urn, will never return. In the final stanza, the speaker again addresses the urn itself, saying that it, like Eternity, â€Å"doth tease us out of thought. † He thinks that when his generation is long dead, the urn will remain, telling future generations its enigmatic lesson: â€Å"Beauty is truth, truth beauty. † The speaker says that that is the only thing the urn knows and the only thing it needs to know. Form â€Å"Ode on a Grecian Urn† follows the same ode-stanza structure as the â€Å"Ode on Melancholy,† though it varies more the rhyme scheme of the last three lines of each stanza. Each of the five stanzas in â€Å"Grecian Urn† is ten lines long, metered in a relatively precise iambic pentameter, and divided into a two part rhyme scheme, the last three lines of which are variable. The first seven lines of each stanza follow an ABABCDE rhyme scheme, but the second occurrences of the CDE sounds do not follow the same order. In stanza one, lines seven through ten are rhymed DCE; in stanza two, CED; in stanzas three and four, CDE; and in stanza five, DCE, just as in stanza one. As in other odes (especially â€Å"Autumn† and â€Å"Melancholy†), the two-part rhyme scheme (the first part made of AB rhymes, the second of CDE rhymes) creates the sense of a two-part thematic structure as well. The first four lines of each stanza roughly define the subject of the stanza, and the last six roughly explicate or develop it. (As in other odes, this is only a general rule, true of some stanzas more than others; stanzas such as the fifth do not connect rhyme scheme and thematic structure closely at all. ) Themes If the â€Å"Ode to a Nightingale† portrays Keats’s speaker’s engagement with the fluid expressiveness of music, the â€Å"Ode on a Grecian Urn† portrays his attempt to engage with the static immobility of sculpture. The Grecian urn, passed down through countless centuries to the time of the speaker’s viewing, exists outside of time in the human sense—it does not age, it does not die, and indeed it is alien to all such concepts. In the speaker’s meditation, this creates an intriguing paradox for the human figures carved into the side of the urn: They are free from time, but they are simultaneously frozen in time. They do not have to confront aging and death (their love is â€Å"for ever young†), but neither can they have experience (the youth can never kiss the maiden; the figures in the procession can never return to their homes). The speaker attempts three times to engage with scenes carved into the urn; each time he asks different questions of it. In the first stanza, he examines the picture of the â€Å"mad pursuit† and wonders what actual story lies behind the picture: â€Å"What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? † Of course, the urn can never tell him the whos, whats, whens, and wheres of the stories it depicts, and the speaker is forced to abandon this line of questioning. In the second and third stanzas, he examines the picture of the piper playing to his lover beneath the trees. Here, the speaker tries to imagine what the experience of the figures on the urn must be like; he tries to identify with them. He is tempted by their escape from temporality and attracted to the eternal newness of the piper’s unheard song and the eternally unchanging beauty of his lover. He thinks that their love is â€Å"far above† all transient human passion, which, in its sexual expression, inevitably leads to an abatement of intensity—when passion is satisfied, all that remains is a wearied physicality: a sorrowful heart, a â€Å"burning forehead,† and a â€Å"parching tongue. † His recollection of these conditions seems to remind the speaker that he is inescapably subject to them, and he abandons his attempt to identify with the figures on the urn. In the fourth stanza, the speaker attempts to think about the figures on the urn as though they were experiencing human time, imagining that their procession has an origin (the â€Å"little town†) and a destination (the â€Å"green altar†). But all he can think is that the town will forever be deserted: If these people have left their origin, they will never return to it. In this sense he confronts head-on the limits of static art; if it is impossible to learn from the urn the whos and wheres of the â€Å"real story† in the first stanza, it is impossible ever to know the origin and the destination of the figures on the urn in the fourth. It is true that the speaker shows a certain kind of progress in his successive attempts to engage with the urn. His idle curiosity in the first attempt gives way to a more deeply felt identification in the second, and in the third, the speaker leaves his own concerns behind and thinks of the processional purely on its own terms, thinking of the â€Å"little town† with a real and generous feeling. But each attempt ultimately ends in failure. The third attempt fails simply because there is nothing more to say—once the speaker confronts the silence and eternal emptiness of the little town, he has reached the limit of static art; on this subject, at least, there is nothing more the urn can tell him. In the final stanza, the speaker presents the conclusions drawn from his three attempts to engage with the urn. He is overwhelmed by its existence outside of temporal change, with its ability to â€Å"tease† him â€Å"out of thought / As doth eternity. † If human life is a succession of â€Å"hungry generations,† as the speaker suggests in â€Å"Nightingale,† the urn is a separate and self-contained world. It can be a â€Å"friend to man,† as the speaker says, but it cannot be mortal; the kind of aesthetic connection the speaker experiences with the urn is ultimately insufficient to human life. The final two lines, in which the speaker imagines the urn speaking its message to mankind—†Beauty is truth, truth beauty,† have proved among the most difficult to interpret in the Keats canon. After the urn utters the enigmatic phrase â€Å"Beauty is truth, truth beauty,† no one can say for sure who â€Å"speaks† the conclusion, â€Å"that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. † It could be the speaker addressing the urn, and it could be the urn addressing mankind. If it is the speaker addressing the urn, then it would seem to indicate his awareness of its limitations: The urn may not need to know anything beyond the equation of beauty and truth, but the complications of human life make it impossible for such a simple and self-contained phrase to express sufficiently anything about necessary human knowledge. If it is the urn addressing mankind, then the phrase has rather the weight of an important lesson, as though beyond all the complications of human life, all human beings need to know on earth is that beauty and truth are one and the same. It is largely a matter of personal interpretation which reading to accept. MORE HELP The Raven Summary: The unnamed narrator is wearily perusing an old book one bleak December night when he hears a tapping at the door to his room. He tells himself that it is merely a visitor, and he awaits tomorrow because he cannot find release in his sorrow over the death ofLenore. The rustling curtains frighten him, but he decides that it must be some late visitor and, going to the door, he asks for forgiveness from the visitor because he had been napping. However, when he opens the door, he sees and hears nothing except the word Lenore, an echo of his own words. Returning to his room, he again hears a tapping and reasons that it was probably the wind outside his window. When he opens the window, however, a raven enters and promptly perches upon a bust of Pallas above his door. Its grave appearance amuses the narrator, who asks it for its names. The raven responds, Nevermore. He does not understand the reply, but the raven says nothing else until the narrator predicts aloud that it will leave him tomorrow like the rest of his friends. Then the bird again says, Nevermore. Startled, the narrator says that the raven must have learned this word from some unfortunate owner whose ill luck caused him to repeat the word frequently. Smiling, the narrator sits in front of the ominous raven to ponder about the meaning of its word. The raven continues to stare at him, as the narrator sits in the chair that Lenore will never again occupy. He then feels that angels have approached, and angrily calls the raven an evil prophet. He asks if there is respite in Gilead and if he will again see Lenore in Heaven, but the raven only responds, Nevermore. In a fury, the narrator demands that the raven go back into the night and leave him alone again, but the raven says, Nevermore, and it does not leave the bust of Pallas. The narrator feels that his soul will nevermore leave the ravens shadow. Analysis: The Raven is the most famous of Poes poems, notable for its melodic and dramatic qualities. The meter of the poem is mostly trochaic octameter, with eight stressed-unstressed two-syllable feet per lines. Combined with the predominating ABCBBB end rhyme scheme and the frequent use of internal rhyme, the trochaic octameter and the refrain of nothing more and nevermore give the poem a musical lilt when read aloud. Poe also emphasizes the O sound in words such as Lenore and nevermore in order to underline the melancholy and lonely sound of the poem and to establish the overall atmosphere. Finally, the repetition of nevermore gives a circular sense to the poem and contributes to what Poe termed the unity of effect, where each word and line adds to the larger meaning of the poem. The unnamed narrator appears in a typically Gothic setting with a lonely apartment, a dying fire, and a bleak December night while wearily studying his books in an attempt to distract himself from his troubles. He thinks occasionally of Lenore but is generally able to control his emotions, although the effort required to do so tires him and makes his words equally slow and outwardly pacified. However, over the course of the narrative, the protagonist becomes more and more agitated both in mind and in action, a progression that he demonstrates through his rationalizations and eventually through his increasingly exclamation-ridden monologue. In every stanza near the end, however, his exclamations are punctuated by the calm desolation of the sentence Quoth the Raven, Nevermore,' reflecting the despair of his soul. Like a number of Poes poems such as Ulalume and Annabel Lee, The Raven refers to an agonized protagonists memories of a deceased woman. Through poetry, Lenores premature death is implicitly made aesthetic, and the narrator is unable to free himself of his reliance upon her memory. He asks the raven if there is balm in Gilead and therefore spiritual salvation, or if Lenore truly exists in the afterlife, but the raven confirms his worst suspicions by rejecting his supplications. The fear of death or of oblivion informs much of Poes writing, and The Raven is one of his bleakest publications because it provides such a definitively negative answer. By contrast, when Poe uses the name Lenore in a similar situation in the poem Lenore, the protagonistGuy de Vere concludes that he need not cry in his mourning because he is confident that he will meet Lenore in heaven. Poes choice of a raven as the bearer of ill news is appropriate for a number of reasons. Originally, Poe sought only a dumb beast that was capable of producing human-like sounds without understanding the words meaning, and he claimed that earlier conceptions of The Raven included the use of a parrot. In this sense, the raven is important because it allows the narrator to be both the deliverer and interpreter of the sinister message, without the existence of a blatantly supernatural intervention. At the same time, the ravens black feather have traditionally been considered a magical sign of ill omen, and Poe may also be referring to Norse mythology, where the god Odin had two ravens named Hugin and Munin, which respectively meant thought and memory. The narrator is a student and thus follows Hugin, but Munin continually interrupts his thoughts and in this case takes a physical form by landing on the bust of Pallas, which alludes to Athena, the Greek goddess of learning. Due to the late hour of the poems setting and to the narrators mental turmoil, the poem calls the narrators reliability into question. At first the narrator attempts to give his experiences a rational explanation, but by the end of the poem, he has ceased to give the raven any interpretation beyond that which he invents in his own head. The raven thus serves as a fragment of his soul and as the animal equivalent of Psyche in the poem Ulalume. Each figure represents its respective characters subconscious that instinctively understands his need to obsess and to mourn. As in Ulalume, the protagonist is unable to avoid the recollection of his beloved, but whereas Psyche of Ulalume sought to prevent the unearthing of painful memories, the raven actively stimulates his thoughts of Lenore, and he effectively causes his own fate through the medium of a non-sentient animal. r. Heideggers Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne 68 Members Following Summary Themes Analysis More Summary (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition) Print PDF Cite Dr. Heidegger invites to his study four elderly friends to engage in an experiment. Three are men: Mr. Medbourne, Colonel Killigrew, and Mr. Gascoigne; the fourth is a woman, the Widow Clara Wycherly. The study is a dusty, old-fashioned room replete with a skeleton in the closet, a bust of Hippocrates, books and bookcases, and a portrait of Sylvia Ward, who died fifty-five years before the night of the experiment on the eve of marriage to the doctor after swallowing one of his prescriptions. The doctor shows his guests a faded rose that she gave him those many years before, and places it in a vase containing liquid from the waters of the region in Florida where the Fountain of Youth is located, sent to him by a friend. The rose revives and the doctor pours some of the liquid from the vase into four champagne glasses for his friends. They drink and shed their years, showing signs of intoxication. Dr. Heidegger suggests to them that they allow their experience in life to guide them in virtue and wisdom when they gain a second chance at youth. As they drink, their inhibitions vanish. Colonel Killigrew takes interest in the widow’s charms and flatters her; Mr. Gascoigne waxes eloquent in periods of a sort dear to politicians; Mr. Medbourne projects a plan to supply the East Indies with ice by means of whales harnessed to icebergs. Dr. Heidegger does not take part in the rejuvenating experiment; he witnesses their antics with gravity. Young again, they laugh at their quaint clothes, showing contempt for the traits of old age that they have shed. Finally, the widow asks the doctor to dance with her, but he pleads old age and rheumatism. The three other guests seek to join her in dance, and in the ensuing riot, the table with the vase of the Water of Youth and rose overturns. The liquid reaches a dying butterfly, reviving it so that it flies to rest on Dr. Heidegger’s white hair. The rose fades; the guests show their age again. The doctor states that he is glad not to have partaken of the liquid; he has learned that this unnatural return to youth was no occasion for satisfaction. His guests, however, undaunted, determine to sally forth in search of the Fountain of Youth in order to drink from it three times a day. Dr. Heideggers E Analysis of I Sit and Look Out by Walt Whitman I sit and look out† by Walt Whitman echoes all miseries and atrocities of life that rose to the surface in the wake of capitalism. 19th century witnessed a sea change in the lives of people as rat race for materialistic possession became more prominent and principles were relegated, concerns and emotions were sidelined from inside of human beings. The poet pen pictures such a sad tale of human life by attempting to pose as onlooker who watches everything but does nothing to alter situations. In this analysis of â€Å"I Sit and look out â€Å"by Walt Whitman, the capitalization of the verb â€Å"sit†denotes the action of an onlooker. It is also symbolic of the speaker who sits idle and shows no sign to do anything. His constant position is also indicative of his complacent confinement which is miles away from suffering multitudes. On the other hand, the idea of â€Å"I Sit and look out† is expressed through the term look out that speaks of his own position which is safe and secure, away from the sufferings of the mundane world. In ‘I sit and look out† by Walt Whitman, the usage of free verses is abundant which serves to denote a never changing situation. All throughout the poem, the poet keeps an undermined toned of pessimism and paints an apocalyptic imagery that hits the readers as they progress in the poem. â€Å"I Sit and look out â€Å"by Walt Whitman is also a fine instance of the author’s disillusionment with the world that is evident through the first two lines of the poem and it continues to the point where he exclaims; â€Å"I SIT and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all oppression and shame; I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men, at anguish with themselves, remorseful after deeds done; I see, in low life, the mother misused by her children, dying, neglected, gaunt, desperate; I see the wife misused by her husband-I see the treacherous seducer of young women; The poem is more of a study of this dystopian world where oppression and shame rule the roost of the society. The theme of â€Å"I Sit and look out â€Å"draws upon an image of seclusion as the poet feels that he is located and placed at an altitude that is way higher and away from the episodes of sufferings and misery. The paroxysmal sobs of youth stifled in World War, having an albatr oss around their neck is an imagery that speaks of their remorseful actions. Walt Whitman talks about children who have taken advantage of their own mothers and now she lies all alone distressed, her solitude beckons her children every moment. The poet speaks of a distressed time where wives are put to misuse by their husbands, cheated, abused and tortured. The husbands are pen pictured as â€Å"callous lovers’ who picks up young women and deceives them without a shade of remorse or guilt. The theme of â€Å"I sit and look out†points at the jealousy of the human race among themselves, unrequited love that is seemingly impossible to hide. The angst and the anxiety of the poet, the fear and the tension that rumbles up the poet’s mind while he sits comfortably in his place is an awakening call for the readers to rise up and take a step in altering the situation. Walt Whitman’s agony and meanness are justly defined in the lines; â€Å"I observe a famine at sea, I observe the sailors casting lots who shall be killd to preserve the lives of the rest, I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon laborers, the poor, and upon Negroes, and the likes; All theseall the meanness and agony without end I sitting look out upon,See, hear, and am silent. â€Å" The poet seeks to demarcate emotions in his poemby introducing camouflage to pertain jealousy and unrequited love behind the mask of smiles and affability. The ego is hosted and the sufferings are subdued and the speaker is never at rest although he doesn’t move from his position. Perhaps, the process of being an onlooker is more painful than being the victim. In other words, the poet calls one and all to rise and do what is right to free themselves from the shackles of pain and liberation and pacify their ego. It is the onlooker who sits silent through the dangerous aftermaths of war, the deaths of millions and autocracy that causes dents within the state. He has to bear the pain as he beholds the sight of prisoners-tortured and tormented-the most terrible byproduct of wars and battles fought. The pen picturisation is horrific, where sailors are thrown into the sea to fight the waves and survive to the shores. The poor workers, the Negros are subjected to slavery in the hands of the capitalist world where nothing prevails but oppression and penury. â€Å"I Sit and look out ‘transforms itself to be a worthy satire of troubled times where agony and not beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. It’s good to know: Walt Whitman has been claimed as Americas first poet of democracy, a title meant to reflect his ability to write in a singularly American character Whitmans poetry has been set to music by a large number of composers; indeed it has been suggested his poetry has been set to music more than any other American poet except for Emily Dickinson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The story revolves around the life of Sophie, a teenager, who, like others of her age, is filled with fantasies and desires. She comes from a poor financial background, but hopes to be sophisticated in the future. Sophie dreams of owning a boutique one day ot being an actress or fashion designer, but her friend Jansie believes that both of them are earmarked for the biscuit factory. Jansie, who is more realistic, tries to pull Sophie to reality, but in vain. Sophie lives in a small house with her parents and brothers, Geoff and little Derek. Though she voices her feelings and desires, her parents belittle her, because they, unlike her, are more mature and has known the harsh realities of life. Sophie finds a sort of fascination for her elder brother Geoff, who, in her opinion, is tall, strong and handsome but reserved. She envies his silence and often wonders about his thoughts and areas of his life that she doesnt know about. The centre of this story is that Sophie fantasises about Danny Casey, an Irish football player, whom she had seen playing in innumerable matches. She makes up a story about how she met him in the streets and tells this to Geoff. Geoff, who is more sensible than Sophie, does not really believe her, even if she wants to. It seems an unlikely incident for Sophie to meet the prodigy in their street, but where Sophie describes the meeting inall her details, he begins to hope that it could be true. She tells him that Danny has promised to meet her somewhere again. Sophie gets so pulled into the story she made that she herself begins to believe that its true. She waits for the Irish player, but obviously, he never arrives. Then, she makes her way home, wondering how her brother would be disappointed on knowing that Danny Casey never showed up. However, Sophie still fantasises about her hero, unperturbed. The whole story is about unrealistic dreams and how we love to indulge in them knowing all the while that they have little possibility of coming true. But some, like Sophie, gets too involved in them and actually act on them. This is when disappointment makes its entrance into life. The story seem to hint at you that it is okay to dream, but dream with limits. This is actual reality and do not believe too much in movies and novels where the characters miraculously over come their challenges. This is a pessimistic way of looking at things, but sadly it is the true reality. Unless you are impossibly ambitious, hardworking, and have loads of patience and perseverance, such dreams are best to be kept under lock and key unless you like the taste of bitter disappointment A kind and humble shoemaker called Simon goes out one day to purchase sheep-skins in order to sew a winter coat for his wife and himself to share. Usually the little money, which Simon earned would be spent to feed his wife and children. Simon decided that in order to afford the skins he must go on a collection to receive the five roubles and twenty kopeks owed to him by his customers. As he heads out to collect the money he also borrows a three-rouble note from his wifes money box. While going on his collection he only manages to receive twenty kopeks rather than the full amount. Feeling disheartened by this Simon rashly spends the twenty kopeks on vodka and starts to head back home. On his way home he rants to himself about the little he can do with twenty kopeks besides spend it on alcohol and that the winter cold is bearable without a sheep-skin coat. While approaching a holy shrine, Simon stops and notices something pale looking leaning against it. He peers harder and distinguishes that it is a naked man who appears poor of health. At first he is suspicious and fears that the man has no good intentions if he is left in such a state. He proceeds to pass the man until he feels that for a second the man lifted his head and looked toward him. Simon debates what to do in his mind and feels shameful for his disregard and heads back to help the man. Simon gives the articles of clothing he can and wraps around the stranger. He aids him as they both walk toward Simons home. Though they walk together side by side, the stranger barely speaks and when Simon asks how he was left in that situation the only answers the man would give was: I may not tell and God has punished me. Meanwhile Simons wife Matrena debates whether or not to bake more bread for the nights meal so that there is enough for the following mornings breakfast. She decides that the loaf of bread that they have left would be ample enough to last till the following morning. As she sees Simon approaching the door she is angered to see him with a strange man who is wrapped in Simons clothing. Matrena immediately expresses her displeasure with Simon, accusing him and his strange companions to be drunkards and harassing Simon for not returning with the sheep-skin needed to make a new coat. Once the tension settles down she bids that the stranger sits down and has dinner with them. After seeing the stranger take bites at the bread she placed for him on his plate, she began to felt pity and showed so in her face. When the stranger noticed this his grim expression lit up immediately and he smiled for one brief moment. After hearing the story from the stranger how Simon had kindly robed the stranger after seeing him in his naked state Matrena grabbed more of their old clothing and gave it to Simon. The following morning Simon addresses the

Discussion Looking Ahead Essay Example

Discussion: Looking Ahead Essay The author has sacrificed indulging in the intricacies of the actual methods in an attempt to get a more holistic view of sleepiness and its measurement by contemplating such issues as; 1) what sleepiness actually is, and 2) how researchers interpretations of their findings relate to their view of sleep function. As stated at the start and has hopefully become evident from our exploration of the phenomenon, there appears to be much discordance over what exactly researchers investigating sleepiness are actually measuring. Let us make a first pass at refining our working definition, based on what we have observed thus far. It is apparent that sleepiness is multidimensional the behavioural components. The MWT provides an example of this: it has been criticised for lacking ecological validity due to inability to account for/predict all the situational factors that influence his/her ability to stay awake, i.e. stimulation in environment, motivation, circadian rhythm, time of day etc. We are dealing with constructs that are limited in their predictor value This is not to undermine the usefulness of refining our understanding of the situational factors affecting the relationship between sleepiness and wakefulness. Our understanding of the behavioural dimensions of sleepiness (i.e. of optional sleepiness) is undoubtedly increasing as the emphasis on these in research endeavours continues to increase and progress. We will write a custom essay sample on Discussion: Looking Ahead specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Discussion: Looking Ahead specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Discussion: Looking Ahead specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It has been purported that when technological advances permit us to look inside the brain at sufficient detail (i.e. at the cellular level), then perhaps we will be able to get closer to the root of our answer glial cells might hold the key (Horne, 2001). But until then, there is still much progress to be made in our understanding of the behavioural correlates of this cellular activity that promote or inhibit sleepiness and/or wakefulness Driving: alcohol (Horne et al, 2003), counteracting sleepiness with an energy drink (Reyner Horne, 2002) and early morning sleepiness with caffeine (Reyner Horne, 2000), (educating drivers about the dangers of driving when sleepiness detected (Horne, 2002) = conclusion? + also, Horne, 2001- guidelines for road safety policies), drivers perception of sleepiness- in support of subjective measures (Reyner Horne, 1998), Because ultimately we are not endowed with a mechanism to over-ride profound sleepiness, it is of utmost importance that the wider public receive proper education vis-à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½-vis the putative factors affecting sleepiness and how these can be best counteracted, but more importantly, recognised and acknowledged. References T. and Gillberg, M. Subjective and objective sleepiness in the active individual. International Journal of Neuroscience, 1990, 52: 29-37. (KSS)  Alexander, C., Blagrove, M. and Horne, J. A. Subject motivation and the multiple sleep latency test. Sleep Research, 1991, 20: 403-?. (MSLT)

Robert E Lees Civil War Battles

Robert E Lee's Civil War Battles Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia from 1862 to the Civil Wars end. In this role, he was arguably the most significant general of the Civil War. His ability to gain the most from his commanders and men allowed the Confederacy to maintain its defiance of the north against increasing odds. Lee was the principal commander in several Civil War battles. Battle of Cheat Mountain, September 12-15, 1861 This was the first battle where General Lee led Confederate troops in the Civil War, serving under Brigadier General Albert Rust. He fought against Brigadier General Joseph Reynolds entrenchments at the top of Cheat Mountain in western Virginia. Federal resistance was fierce, and Lee eventually called off the attack. He was recalled to Richmond on October 30, achieving few results in western Virginia. This was a Union victory. Battles of Seven Days, June 25-July 1, 1862 On June 1, 1862, Lee was given command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Between  June 25th to July 1st, 1862, he led his troops into seven battles, collectively called the Battles of Seven Days.   Oak Grove: The Union army attacked in a swampy area. When darkness descended, the Union army retreated. The results of this battle were inconclusive.Beaver Dam Creek or Mechanicsville: Robert E. Lee pushed against General McClellans right flank. The Union army was able to hold back the attackers with heavy casualties. However, the arrival of Stonewall Jacksons troops meant that the Union position was pushed back. Nonetheless, this was a Union victory.  Gaines  Mill: Lee led his troops against a fortified Union position north of the Chickahominy River. The Confederates were eventually able to push the Union soldiers back across the river, resulting in a Confederate victory.  Garnetts and Goldings Farms: Confederate Major General John B. Magruder under Lees command fought against the Union line that was stationed south of the Chickahominy River while Lee was fighting at Gaines Mill. The results of this fighting were inconclusive.  Savages Station and Allens Farm: Both these bat tles occurred on June 29, 1862, the fourth day of fighting during the Seven Days Battles. The Union was  retreating after deciding not to advance on Richmond. Robert E. Lee sent his forces after the Union troops,  and they met in battle. However, the results of both of these battles were inconclusive. Glendale/White Oak Swamp: These two battles occurred as the Union troops were retreating. Stonewall Jacksons troops were kept tied up in the battle at White Oak Swamp, while the rest of the army tried to stop the retreat at Glendale. In the end, the battle was inconclusive.  Malvern Hill: The Confederates under Lee tried unsuccessfully to attack the Unions fortified position on top of Malvern Hill. Confederate losses were high.  McClellan withdrew to the James River, ending the Peninsula Campaign. This was a Union victory. Second Battle of Bull Run, Manassas, August 25-27, 1862 The most decisive battle of the Northern Virginia Campaign, troops led by Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet were able to score a huge win for the Confederacy.   Battle of  South Mountain, September 14, 1862 This battle occurred as part of the Maryland Campaign. The Union army was able to take over Lees position on South Mountain. However, McClellan failed to pursue Lees devastated army on the 15th, which meant Lee had time to regroup at Sharpsburg.   Battle of Antietam, September 16-18, 1862 McClellan finally met with Lees troops on the 16th. The bloodiest day of battle during the Civil War occurred on September 17th. The Federal troops had a huge advantage in numbers, but  Lee continued to fight with all his forces. He was able to hold off the federal advance while his troops retreated across the Potomac to Virginia. The results were inconclusive, though strategically important for the Union army.   Battle of  Fredericksburg, December 11-15, 1862 Union Major General Ambrose Burnside tried to take Fredericksburg. The Confederates occupied the surrounding heights. They repelled numerous attacks. Burnside decided in the end to retreat. This was a Confederate victory.   Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30-May 6, 1863 Considered by many to be Lees greatest victory, he marched his troops to meet the federal troops who were trying to advance on the Confederate position. The Union force led by Major General Joseph Hooker decided to form a defense at Chancellorsville. Stonewall Jackson led his troops against the exposed Federal left flank, decisively crushing the enemy. In the end, the Union line broke and they retreated. Lee lost one of his most able generals when Jackson was killed by friendly fire. This was a Confederate victory. Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863 In the Battle of Gettysburg, Lee attempted a full assault against the Union forces led by Major General George Meade. Fighting was fierce on both sides. However, the Union army was able to repulse the Confederates. This was a key Union victory. Battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864 The Battle of the Wilderness was the first of  General Ulysses S. Grants offensive into Northern Virginia during the Overland Campaign. Fighting was fierce,  but the results were inconclusive. Grant, however, did not retreat.   Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, May 8-21, 1864 Grant and Meade tried to continue their march to Richmond in the Overland Campaign but were stopped at Spotsylvania Courthouse. Over the next two weeks, a number of battles occurred, resulting in 30,000 total casualties. The results were inconclusive, but Grant was able to continue his march to Richmond. Overland Campaign, May 31-June 12, 1864 The Union Army under Grant continued to make their advance in the Overland Campaign. They made headway to Cold Harbor. However, on June 2, both armies were on the field of battle stretching seven miles. Grant ordered an attack that resulted in a rout for his men. He eventually left the field of battle, choosing to approach Richmond through the less well-defended town of  Petersburg. This was a Confederate victory. Battle of  Deep Bottom, August 13-20, 1864 The Union Army crossed the James River at Deep Bottom to start threatening Richmond. They were unsuccessful, however, as Confederate counterattacks drove them out. They eventually retreated back to the other side of the James River. Battle of Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865 General Robert E. Lee attempted at Appomattox Court House to escape the Union troops and head towards Lynchburg, where supplies were waiting. However, Union reinforcements made this impossible. Lee surrendered to Grant.

Program Enhancement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Program Enhancement - Essay Example The goal of the IAP is to â€Å"reduce recidivism among high-risk parolees by providing carefully targeted services and counseling to youthful offenders throughout correctional supervision, prerelease, community reentry, and community supervision† (National Institute of Justice, 1998). According to The Center for Delinquency and Crime Policy Studies, the IAP is based on five underlying principles for reintegration for juveniles. These five principles are â€Å"(a) preparing youth for progressively increased responsibility and freedom in the community, (b) facilitating youth-community interaction and involvement, (c) working with both the offender and community support systems on qualities needed for constructive interaction and the youths’ successful return to the community, (d) developing new resources and supports where needed, and (e) monitoring and testing the youth’s and the community’s ability to work productively together† (The Center for Del inquency and Crime Policy Studies, n.d.). The IAP was effective specifically in Colorado, one of the states which initially tested the program. The effectiveness of the IAP in Colorado can be attributed to the strong administrative support backed up by a well-trained and committed staff who developed programs centered on a team approach (Wiebush, Wagner, McNulty, Wang, & Le, 2005). In the case of Nevada, another state which tested the program, it was effective in giving the youth intensive community services. The design of the transition structure is noteworthy. One shortcoming of the IAP in Nevada was the high turnover of the liaison position; thus, hampering the coordination between IAP and the community provider networks, which facilitated the transition strategies (Wiebush, et al., 2005). Another problem which beset the program was the lack of involvement of the families of the juvenile. To enhance the effectiveness of the IAP it is suggested that parental involvement should be

Stat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Stat - Essay Example This is mainly due to obesity, which results in Type 2 Diabetes, as we will see ahead. The reason I have decided to research on this topic was because Diabetes has become a global problem and it develops various complications in patients with time. According to a report there are about 2.9 million patients suffering from Diabetes and if a similar trend follows, it might hit 5 million by 2050. (Diabetes UK 2012) I have used the Internet as the main source of my research. I have taken statistical data from various sites that illustrate how Diabetes is persistently rising at an alarming rate all across the globe. I have then added a graph to show that how controlling this situation could make a difference in the future of the patients. I have assured to use credible sources to make my research accurate. Also, it is related to statistical data about a medicine related subject and I have taken the data from online reports of the Diabetes organizations. The figures they have are directly taken from the hospitals and doctors records. Therefore, I am sure that all the information is genuine. The graph above shows that rate at which Diabetes is rising four times the increase in rate of all the different types of Cancers combined. Between 2006 and 2007, Diabetes was rising at around 3.8 percent and this rate increased to 5.4 during 2009 and 2010; whereas, the rate of increase in Cancer was 0.9 percent and rose to about 1.3 percent as shown above. We can clearly compute that the difference in rise in rate for Diabetes was 1.6 (5.4-3.8) while for Cancer the rate was 0.4 (1.3-0.9), which is four times higher. Therefore, the slope of the chart for Diabetes is four times steeper than the slope for all the Cancers combined. The charts above show the increase in the number of people with Diabetes in 2000 compared to the estimates predicted for 2030. It is visible that in

Analysis of Mobile Commerce Market in Hong Kong Essay

Analysis of Mobile Commerce Market in Hong Kong - Essay Example The report presents a review of Hong Kong mobile commerce markets together with areas where work has been undertaken to introduce new services and products for potential customers. It is noted, however, that the paper does not differentiate among the actions that have already been taken by mobile service providers in Hong Kong market, and the ones that are recommended by the authors in this report. There is no separate section to provide recommendations for improving the overall state of affairs. Even in the conclusion section of the paper, it is evident that the authors have made no efforts to provide any recommendation. The entire conclusion is a brief summary of the contents above it. No future grounds have been identified for the Hong Kong mobile commerce market and that causes the report to be just a compilation of facts (unconfirmed, as these are not referenced at many places in the text). It is difficult to establish the utility of such a report since it does not serve a great deal of useful purpose to audience in general, except to provide a summary of current market situation and industry trend in the Hong Kong mobile commerce market industry. The study presents some very interesting facts have been provided like WAP enabled mobiles, stock and news through mobile phones, credit card transactions and other interesting and knowledge enhancement uses of the mobile commerce technology. This provides a comprehensive insight into the mobile commerce industry and builds a foundation for developing feasibility analysis of market potential for m-commerce in Hong Kong markets.

Importance of Narrative in CGI Films

Importance of Narrative in CGI Films This essay will look at the importance of narrative in two CG animated films which are Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Hironobu Sakaguchi, 2001) and The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004). The essay focuses specifically on the narrative and the spectacle of the films and how through the cinematic medium, they help each other to deliver a visual story across to the audience. The essay will discuss if a solid storyline is needed for a successful feature length animated film or are the animated films just a platform for spectacular imagery. This essay will discuss topics such as the different narrative theories and how the majority of contemporary films have a similar narrative structure, how films have become more sophisticated in terms of raw video footage being just one element necessary to complete a single shot in a film. It will also discuss modern film techniques and how it can help the story being told. The essay will first focus on the various theories of narrative and a brief history of the spectacle of cinema before moving on to the analysis of my chosen case studies. People have been communicating since the day they have been born. From gossiping, bed time stories to little white lies people have been subconsciously or consciously telling stories in some form of a narrative structure. By this I do not mean that all human discourse takes the form of a true story itself but the elements of the basic narrative structure such as having, a beginning, middle and an end are present. Vast majority of mainstream films have the classic three stage act structure of the 19th century stage melodrama, set-up, conflict and resolution as the basic linear structure.â€Å"†¦time is experienced as linear (past-present-future).† From starting to read this essay to the end time has passed. Narratives that have manifested itself into other forms of medium more or less have a tendency to follow this fact. Dreams, flashbacks, characters or a narrator reciting earlier events or future events which are due to happen are eccentric elements of breaking up the linear time format. Hence the arrangement of the plot being the story or as described by the Russian formalist, Viktor Shklovsky, fibula (story) and syuzhet (plot). A prominent example of this is in such films as The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995) or Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000) where the plot and story are quite different, the story not being presented chronologically. Narration, the plot’s way of distributing story information in order to achieve specific effects. Narration is the moment by moment process that guides us in building the story out of the plot. Re-arranging the plot of narratives can be a powerful technique as it can easily create suspense, curiosity, fear, satisfaction, motivation to know more of the situation. Film as a narrative medium, more or less does have closure of story or events, as in the end order is established, stability has been restored. In other words restoring the balance, a theory concluded by Tzvetan Todorov, a Bulgarian structuralist. Todorov reported that the majority of narratives have the same structure, i.e: in a linear storyline, initially all the forces are in balance (equilibrium) and by some event or another the forces are disturbed and majority of the storyline involving around further complications of the initial situation at hand and eventually the balance being restored in the end, even though this balance is not the same as it was at the start of the narrative. When speaking of events happening or that have already happened to disturb the equilibrium, I am referring to character driven and event driven plots or moments. Major film blockbusters tend to follow this pattern with a high tendency of closure with the notion of appealing to the mass audience. This concept of commercial aesthetics may or may not be frowned upon by directors, producers or the script writers but I can comfortably agree with the fact that major film studios highly consider what will or wont appeal to the audience, how much funding they are willing to provide, generating revenues, running time, sequels and prequels and this greatly effects the quality of the storytelling and spectacle of the films, thus the director’s or producer’s true vision of the film not being fulfilled. There are many theorists in different fields of study who have studied to devise logical ways of thinking about narratives. The main theorists I have looked at are Carl G. Jung, a Swiss physiatrist who studied Archetypes and their influences in western storytelling, Claude Là ©vi-Strauss, a French anthropologist studied that narratives were made up of binary oppositions and that key terms in narratives had differences. Joseph Campbell, an American professor studied mythology and religion. His works have been published in a book, ‘Hero With A Thousand Faces.’ He described the term monomyth, an idea which he outlined some archetypal patterns that he realised. He focuses on the role of the hero and the various events that the hero can go through. Gustav Freytag, a German critic suggested a method for representing and analysing plots through a simple diagram of a triangle. The triangle highlighted the setup, conflict and resolution of conventional narrative structures. Starting from the left side (setup), going up the triangle would suggest the apex of the crisis (conflict) and falling back down to the end of the story or the equilibrium being restored (resolution). Meanwhile going across the bottom of the triangle would be the time passing by in relation to the events in the story. This triangle is an adaptation of Aristotle’s work on narrative structures. Aristotle’s work has been collected together into a book called The Poetics which is a series of lectures and workings, which essentially sums up that â€Å"there are causes and effects that occur over time.† Tzvetan Todorov and Viktor Shklovsky I have mentioned before as theorists in narrative and finally Vladimir Propp. They all came to the conclusion of their own theories of narrative however, it will be most useful to concentrate on two particular theorists whose works compliments each others quite well. †¦all conventional films are characterized by the same narrative structure by the work of Tzvetan Todorov and Vladimir Propp. The majority of mainstream films have a similar narrative structure and the works of Todorov and Propp are evidently clear within these narratives. Vladimir Propp, a Russian critic and folklorist analysed many folk tales to see if they shared any common attributes and structures. He concluded that there are eight main characters such as ‘the dispatcher’ or ‘the donor’ and that there are 31 narrative functions such as ‘villain is punished’ or ‘the hero is pursued.’ His analysis also mentioned that not all these are evident in all narratives. Todorov and Propps theories have been influential in modern narratives and work fluently with my chosen case studies and I will apply their theories in more detail later. One last person worth mentioning is Christopher Booker, an English journalist who published the book, ‘The Seven Basic Plots.’ This book outlines that all narratives fall into one of the seven various forms of storytelling. These plots are overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy and rebirth. These plots all had alternative darker versions, except for tragedy which already is the dark version. Furthermore two new plots were added outside this list, rebellion against the one and mystery. Both my case studies fall under the plot, overcoming the monster which I will briefly look at later when analysing my case studies. â€Å"The pleasure of looking – scopophilia has been central to cinema since the beginning† Film is a visual storytelling medium. More people are keen on using their eyes to visualise the story as the audience willingly lose suspension of disbelief, sitting in a film theatre staring at a flat wall for two hours as the story unfolds before their eyes. Before I discuss some of the contemporary film techniques of storytelling I will briefly focus on the ‘cinema of attractions’ an expression used to describe the early cinema by film historian Tom Gunning. As technology began to evolve over the 20th century, the moving image was born. People were overwhelmed by this form of medium and what technology could do thereafter. It was all about the ‘wow’ factor, the look of the film. Since most films during this time were unedited sequences of footage, the narrative was not an important issue. Film makers were more fascinated with the possibilities of this particular medium and capturing the ‘real’ and what they could do with it. There were people like the Lumiere Brothers (Auguste Marie (1862-1954) and Louis Jean (1864-1948)) who successfully captured the ‘real-life’ imitation of film. One famous example is the short film called LArrivà ©e dun train en gare de la Ciotat (1895). When this film was shown people were so shocked and in fear that the train was going to run them down they fled the theatre. This was a turning point in film history as the Lumiere Brothers inspired so many other film makers. One particular other magician turned film maker was Georges Melies (1861-1938). He was another French film pioneer who made over a thousand films, the most memorable ones being Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon, 1902). His views on film making was not to mimic ‘real-life’ but to explore other possibilities, using the camera to subvert what the camera sees into abstractness or creating illusions. He discovered the dissolve effect by chance when his equipment jammed. He explored the ‘magical’ possibilities of the camera and other techniques such as split screen techniques and stop motion photography. He was a pioneer in cinematic special effects and also a film maker who inspired the likes of Jan Svankmajer, Terry Gilliam, etc. Films made during this period were only a couple of minutes long and over the years up until the present films have got longer, in the nineties being an hour and a half but now the average running time is at least two hours, which I definitely support the idea of, since we at least as the audience will be getting our moneys worth. This is not to say that quantity is more essential than quality but I would like to argue the fact that film producers and directors are adding extra running time to enhance the narrative, by adding sub plots or developing characters to improve the story or explain situations or events clearly and not to extend the running time so the spectacle can be the main attraction, even though Hollywood has a tendency to refer to its films as motion pictures rather than film. This can be a signal that Hollywood is faithful to the spectacle of the moving image. A new cinema of attractions has risen, particularly within action genres, where plot and story are of less importance than the spectacle. This can be true since the action genre relies on the spectacle to deliver the film. The action genre is an area where the narrative is simply a platform for spectacle where the audience can sit back, relax and enjoy the film visually, instead of participating in the story and working out clues and problem solving the story. It is more or less the dominant element, meaning in days to come we will remember the ‘spectacle’ but might fail to remember what actually happened. Furthermore I think films in theory have to have at least a sequence where the narrative is disrupted and spectacle takes over, such as a car chase or a well choreographed fight scene. In theory the ‘cinema of attractions’ still exist to this day with the huge cinema screens with surround sounds and films still offering the spectacle as the attraction. In Russia during the Soviet Union (1920’s) spectacle was still the attraction but besides that, editing of films was also used to draw the audiences attention. Editing created powerful effects on the spectators. One particular example I would like to mention is the famous Odessa steps sequence from Sergei Eisenstein’s, Battleship Potemkin (USSR, 1925). This well known sequence is where the army restores order among the sailors and civilians of Odessa. He used a ‘montage’ type of editing to create a pulsating attraction after attraction to intensify the feeling and effect. The point I am trying to make here is that spectacle can be a potent technique in storytelling without the strong element of narrative. Editing has evolved over the years and has become an art form in itself. It can be used to clarify events, establish a location and to build up tension and emotions. Editing itself is a unique process of shots being composed together to maximise the dramatic effect of the story. It combines the mise en scene of the shot along with all the rest to make sense of the film. It is how information can be held back to the director’s content, what to reveal and what not to the audience. Filmmakers are editing in specific ways or cutting more shots out of the final film recently since the audience’s sophistication grows. This can also be referred to as restricted and unrestricted narrative. Restricted narrative is when we have limited information as to what is going on, we only know what the characters know, being it false information or not. We are told information from a first person perspective, as if we are in the films ourselves within that space. Unrestricted narrative is where we are told everything, we know things that the protagonists don’t as in a third person perspective. Editing shots in a way that one shot transitions into another giving the sense of a smooth, flowing edit is called continuity editing. This is a technique where a seamless edit takes place, this can be helpful as it can interpolate the audience into the physical space where the action is taking place. But some narratives shots require the edits to be visible to achieve a particular effect such as the Odessa steps sequence as mentioned before. In continuity editing there is rule known as the 180degrees rule. This rule takes place seamlessly also within the film. When two characters are talking, the action is shot on one specific side of the characters, being the one side or the other and the camera being placed anywhere on that side. This is just to clarify which direction the characters are facing and to establish the space in which they are in. This rule can be used for close-ups for intimate conversations and happenings or far out as we look on as spectators. Another important aspect of storytelling is mise en scene. This is a term given to describe everything involved within that particular shot. It is everything that makes up the frame, i.e: actors, dialogue, the music, diegetic material, cinematography, cg elements or as Richard Maltby describes, â€Å" arrangement of screen space as a meaningful organisation of elements† Lev Manovich a professor in visual arts, wrote an article among many, but one that I found particularly interesting was on Digital Cinema and he quotes, â€Å"Cinema is the art of the index; it is an attempt to make art out of a footprint.† He states the fact that contemporary cinema has become a platform where film-makers can edit and simulate real world actions through different forms and techniques such as CGI. Cinema has evolved from movies being mostly live footage to contemporary digital cinema where the live footage in film has become little or used as a basis for experimentation, 3d manipulation, etc. The fact that he used the expression ‘an attempt to make art out of a footprint’ in reference to raw video is an indication as how it is used as a ground element for the CG to build upon and to manipulate it until all the elements are finalised to complete the shot. How did cinema arrive at using animation in its projects? I am going to try to explain this as short and briefly as possible. Cinema was born when the moving image was created, a sequence of images, footage or hand drawn, which theoretically is animation, since a series of images give the illusion of movement, hence animation. Film makers took this new format and made films in the tendency of the ‘Lumiere style’ or the ‘Melies style’ as mentioned before, adding animation as a supplement. As technology developed, the future made digital cinema possible incorporating animation and special effects as the main essence of films while live recording was used as the basis or even reference, â€Å"hence, the production becomes just the 1st stage of post-production.† Manual construction and animation of images gave birth to cinema and slipped into the marginsonly to re-appear as the foundation of digital cinema. The history of the moving image thus makes a full circle. Born from animation, cinema pushed animation to its boundary, only to become one particular case of animation in the end. These contemporary film techniques and processes which I have just discussed are clearly evident in the two films of my choice. The first film I want to examine is Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The film is the first photorealistic computer generated film ever to be made as all the cast are life like computer generated characters. The film is set in the future and it focuses on Dr. Aki Ross and her finding of the eighth spirit, in doing so will erase the alien phantom spirits from earth who have more or less taken over the world and left a barren like wasteland. The film follows a linear narrative structure and even though the film shares the same title as the computer games it bears no reference or relation to any of the stories in the computer games. Todorov suggests that conventional narratives are structured in five stages and this film’s narrative structure seamlessly integrates within those five stages. The first stage is clearly the equilibrium, however the film starts off with an already unbalanced state, which is the world has been laid waste to an alien race. The second and third stages, is the equilibrium being disturbed by some event and the recognition of this disturbance, which also has already happened before the story has begun, in being that the aliens have crashed on planet earth, and the human population reacting to this by evacuating to gigantic like plane hangers cities around the world which are protected by some sort of special field against the threat. The majority of the film is in reference to stage four which is trying to repair the unbalance, meaning Dr. Aki Ross with the help of a special task force unit trying to find the remaining spirits. The story finishes off in the fifth and final stage where the balance is restored in the end and the alien race eradicated from earth. Final fantasy also bears a resemblance to Christopher Bookers work and his theories of the seven plots, specifically ‘overcoming the monster’. The phantoms are the great and mysterious evil which the world has fallen to. The source of threat is the phantoms. The hero is Dr Aki Ross who is armed with the seven spirits and with the help of the scientist Dr Sid, they set out to travel to the source of the evil and with some amount of struggling, finding the last spirit and finally by discovering the eighth spirit the monstrous entity is destroyed. The threat has been lifted and the world has been saved with the loss of her companions. Looking at the film, the sense of photorealistic spectacle can help intensify and value the story better particularly the scenes of the phantoms. To clarify this notion in the scene where Dr Aki Ross is having her dreams of the phantoms charging towards her, I would find it quite difficult and would feel emotionless if the CGI was ‘unrealistic’ to say the least, you wouldn’t feel threatened because they didn’t look real or menacing enough. As a serious science fiction film the visual look can help communicate the narrative across at some points in the story by making the scenes more authentic and grittier. To be honest that is the only positive aspect I can mention about the look of the film. But on the other hand a point worth mentioning is the fact that the digital actors were quite emotionless. This lead to the notion that they were artificial. In traditional animation, the facial features and body movements are extremely vivid. The motions are slightly exaggerated to give the illusion of life and personality so the movement can blend from one frame to another and that is why films that are made by pixar are so rich in character because their animators have strong backgrounds in traditional animation. Nonetheless Final Fantasy strived for life like replicas of real human people. The films photorealistic look with the serious live action feel can also be considered as its weakness. While they did look amazingly real their emotions and actions were lifeless which lead to the fact that they were artificial characters. The characters had no chemistry with each other on screen, an example is the love/romantic scene with Dr Aki Ross and Captain Gray Edwards, I did not feel like they genuinely liked each other, it was not shown successfully with their reactions or on their faces. This brings me to my next point. My initial reaction to the life like characters was mostly surprised and mesmerised. But striving for the human believability of the characters solely on the look was not enough. Maybe if the characters were created for a still image in a magazine for example it would have been suffice. But for a motion picture, the digital characters felt strange and eerie. This might be down to the fact that, the photorealism in an animated feature film was a first but I would like to believe it was down to a theory hypothesised by a Japanese roboticist, by the name of Dr. Masahiro Mori. His theory was that the more human like a robot becomes or looks like, people are fascinated by it, but when the robot borderlines human likeness the natural response by people is negative. People focus on that negativity. The human like robot is considered odd and bizarre and leads to the feeling of strangeness within the viewer. This theory was named ‘The Uncanny Valley.â₠¬â„¢ Imagine a perfectly human-looking face that suddenly grimaces or smiles in a non-human way†¦ Its profoundly disturbing when something blurs the line between human and non-human. I myself, think the story was not strong enough for the film, it does not hold up to the magnificent CGI. I personally thought it failed to articulate the plot well. It is why I think the film was a let down. Some questions were left unanswered. Why were the alien phantoms a threat to the human race? Why were the alien phantoms fighting each other on their home planet in Dr Aki Ross’s dreams? Why did their home planet explode? Some of these questions, answered would have given us as the audience a better understanding of the plot. The narrative was simply a platform for spectacular imagery. When I watched the film for the first time I suspended disbelief on the visual realism, I was attracted to how believable the characters and environments were. I was conscious to the excellent CGI being shown the whole time. In the future looking back at this film, people will remember this film and automatically think of how brilliantly photorealistic the animation was, how life like the characters were and how new and ever evolving technology made this possible. My next case study is another feature length animation made by the incredibly talented people at pixar studios. Pixar have been making animated feature length films and short films for over 10 years now and each one has been more successful than the previous one. The Incredibles is a computer generated film that is not photo realistic. It does have that classic pixar look, heavily stylized with human attributes. It is arguably, one of my favourite animated films mainly because it is not just the typical comedy from pixar. It does have its comedic moments but what sets this apart from any other animated film especially from the studio of pixar is that it is darker and has some form of violence. It feels like a live action film. It has moved away from the cute, lovely characters from previous pixar films. I liked this notion because it mainly appeals to a much wider audience. The narrative structure does follow Todorov’s linear theory of equilibrium but I would like to apply Propp’s theory of character types with Gustav Freytag’s Triangle. The story film begins with an equilibrium, superheroes exist, living amongst normal people saving the world and keeping peace and order in society. Problems begin to evolve as the main ‘Hero’ Mr Incredible is being sued for injuring the same civilian he just saved moments before. One thing leads to another and all superheroes have been forced to live normal lives under a superhero witness protection program. Thus the balances have been disturbed and according to Freytag’s Triangle the density of the problems are growing as time goes on and as the story makes its way up the triangle. The hero by temptation has been called into action by the ‘villain’ into using his powers. The hero without knowing what he is doing has willingly helped the villain in his master plans and when Mr Incredible realises what he has done he is inevitably captured. His family are now on their way to release him. This is the peak of the crisis or triangle as all the problems are laid bare and the tension has built up, we know what Syndromes (villain) intensions are. The climax or the solving of the problems are to follow next as we climb down the triangle, as the family of superheroes solve the problems one by one. The family now together try to find a way to stop Syndromes plans and save the world, restoring the balance in the end and the story coming to an appropriate closure of the current events. I say appropriate closure because the films ending is more or less an open possibility for a sequel or maybe more. I loved the narrative as it has a bond’esque feel about it, saving the world from a mad man. I was easily and simply able to establish who the heroes and villains were and the fact that the story had a suitable closure as all the loose ends of the story were tied up. Examining the narrative overall I can safely say that the relatively straightforward narrative fits Freytag’s triangle perfectly in view of the fact that all the problems that grew were resolved in the end. I would like to mention the beginning of the film was a parody to the 1950/1960’s U.S superhero comics and films. The likeness is significant in the terms that the film begins in the past and works its way to the present day and when the superhero’s lived alongside average citizens and the fact that the look of the film mimicked the same style of news reporting when the superheroes over the world were being sued. In addition the stylised characters with the large upper torso, broad shoulders, square jaw and smaller than average legs evidently represented by Mr Incredible were mimics of the 1950/1960’s U.S superheroes. This parody worked well as it gave the film authenticity and it felt that time had moved on within the film to the present day. Even though the characters were not photorealistic, the animation sold the concept that they were real. The exaggerated motions like I mentioned before convinced me that these artificial characters had feelings and they genuinely exist. This was quite an achievement for pixar, as cg characters before The Incredibles, whether in television adverts, cartoons or short animated films have not been quite rigid but lacked that sense of energy and dynamic in them. This can raise the question, is animation only successful with non-human or non-realistic characters? This question in itself is worth another essay, to be studied accurately, but in short I would like to think not, since there have been films that have major success such as The Incredibles clearly, Toy Story 12 also made by people at pixar studios, Shrek 12 by Dreamworks Animations and feature length films which include ‘CG doubles’ of their live counterparts. Again the theory of ‘The Uncanny Valley’ comes into play as successful films of non-realistic characters maybe down to the fact that people find it strange when CG characters end up looking ‘too real’ on screen. The appearance of the film was simplistic, almost approaching a ‘minimalist’ look and stylised but not over done as to steal the limelight of the narrative. The narrative is the dominant element within this film as I believe that the spectacle supported but did not dominate the narrative. On watching this film I was drawn into the story, what was going to happen next, it was engaging and I wanted to know more. I felt that an actual story was told to me, that I was watching the events unfold from a third person view within the film, that I was successfully entertained. On first time round watching the film I was not thinking how that was made. The film will be remembered for its entertaining, excellent storytelling factor, a film the whole family can watch. All feature animated films that have been produced by the pixar studios have had massive success. I think of pixar as any other major film studio emphasising on telling an entertaining narrative but telling it through a specific medium of film. Films such as the Toy Story series, Finding Nemo, Shrek series, Ice Age series and Madagascar all have had major success due to the strong narrative element running through the film. All films are non photo-realistic as the spectacle supports and is just the platform for story. It is kind of ironic that a photorealistic character felt unconvincing in Final Fantasy but felt realistic in The Incredibles even though the creators of Final Fantasy were aiming for realism. It proves my point of the fact that intending to achieve realism will only go so far without the narrative, vigour or the personality behind it. Narrative is compulsory in giving spectacle depth and more over ‘life’ so it will become believable and to work and blend as one as a feature length animated film. So is story and plot less significant in feature length animation then spectacle? I think not. I strongly disagree with the fact that spectacle is more vital than narrative primarily because of the apparent reason that the whole idea of feature films is to tell a story. The public go to cinemas to be entertained for two hours. They set out to be enthralled by a story, that is what a ‘film’ is, a narrative in by which the spectacle helps to communicate the information across. As CG effects get more complicated the audiences want more than spectacle, they yearn to be motivated by other means rather than to watch a sequence of frames. To lose the sense of reality and be mesmerised into a fictional world of wonderful computer generated characters and environments. I believe that full feature animation is just another medium of spectacle that stories can be told through, that narrative is essential for a successful CGI animation, as only recently due to new software and powerful hardware more and more CGI feature films are being made and it is technically quite a new process as filming the real has been done for a while. There is of course the excuse of the cinema to show off how the latest technology can create spectacular imagery and special effects, and show off new film and CG techniques. I also agree that spectacle can sometimes enhance the narrative being told, by exotic scenery and sets that would be impossible to manually build on location, or unrealistic physical attributes such as walking on water or punching holes in walls. The visual storytelling medium has changed, evolved for better or worse due to commercial