The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - Essay Example There are many reasons as to why the notion that Bilbo’s decision to go on the adventure was not due to peer pressure but one which was associated with his inner most desires being put forward. It is easy to believe that people never change, however while some might believe that others put faith in the notion that if given an opportunity everyone changes. As far as J.R.R Tolkien’s character Bilbo Baggins is concerned, an alteration of this character that undergoes significant changes is evident to the reader. The truth of the matter is that the true nature of an individual is brought to the surface when he is put under several tests. These tests for Bilbo were the adventures he undertakes. So we might say that this transformation might have been insightful but these characteristics, brave, resourceful and adventurous were always who Bilbo Baggins was. These hidden characteristics were a big part of why Bilbo Baggins decided to undertake this journey in order to find himself. His boring monotonous yet comfortable life and his forthright denial were just based on the forced perception of the Hobbits as creatures who were not at all adventurous or brave or prone to taking risks. Where society believed he was a coward he managed to prove them wrong in the way we see Bilbo fight the great spider by using his little sword. We see how slaying the great monster made Bilbo realize that without anyone else’s help he had managed to overcome a great hurdle. This independence and bravery were his defining characteristics as he had gloriously prevailed as the victor despite the enormity of his opponent. He now managed to see himself as the person Gandalf was known he was when he had extended to him the invitation to embark on the adventure. There are other reasons which would explain why Bilbo was so against the idea of going on the adventure when Gandalf had initially asked him. It had little to do with the Hobbit really wanted but

Just and Unjust Ruler in Plato's Republic Article

Just and Unjust Ruler in Plato's Republic - Article Example It covers the questions about nature and about human and the soul of the human, and the cognition, and about the socio-political system, and the language, and art, sculpture, painting, music, eloquence, and education. The socio-political philosophy of Plato, his theory of politics, is an integral part of Plato’s philosophy. The world of ideas is an ontological framework and the semantic context of world affairs and phenomena, according to Plato’s idealism, therefore, the idea emerges as guidelines, standards, model and an example of organizing. The socio-political issues are reflected in several works by Plato: â€Å"Republic†, â€Å"Laws† and â€Å"Politics†. In these works he discusses the model of ideal and the best state, according to the philosopher; it is a perfect reflection of the essence, the implementation of the ideas of the world. Highlighting the project of an ideal, just state, Plato speaks about the connection of the cosmos as a whole, the state, and the individual human soul. The three principles of human souls are rational, violent and lusting. These principles are very similar to the state three beginning - deliberative, protective and business and the latter correspond to the three classes - the rulers, warriors, and producers (craftsmen and farmers). (Marinoff,2000) â€Å"What is justice?† - Plato asked in his most famous work â€Å"Republic†. In this dialogue, he describes a dinner at the house of the merchant with the presence of Socrates and several other characters. From time to time Socrates interferes into a conversation, and the company agrees that there is no reason to discuss the notion of justice without regard to society. Socrates then begins to describe his idea of a just society. The early dialogues by Plato in which Socrates is present, usually contain the ideas of Socrates. In the middle and later dialogues, there is some transformation, and the ideas uttered by Socrates belong to Plato. â€Å"

Race in america Essay Example for Free

Race in america Essay At the turn of the last century, WEB Dubois wrote, â€Å"The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line, the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea. Every study has come to the same conclusion that biologically, there are no races, yet the social construction of race as a category is alive and well today. The classification system, which radicalized different groups typifying them according to their skin color and/or other defining features has a long history. With the advent of colonialism, racism underpinned the different and negative valuations attached to skin color. The racism of today is much more subtle and is no longer the blatant discrimination based on the color or your skin. It exists within the institutions of our society. It is the combination of government, corporate and media institutional racism that is largely responsible for the inequities of today. Unfortunately, these divisions impact the way in which we live our life and how we advance socially. Race has always been a complicated subject and is inevitable. Although we have made tremendous strides to dismantle the foundations of racism, it is clear and evident that racism still persists within the institutions of our society. I believe that America is one of greatest countries on the earth and it is a land of opportunity for everyone. The American dream is alive and well and many people of all races have had tremendous success. With these positives in place, it is no wonder why there have been so many incredible achievements by African Americans in the 21st century to include the obvious the first black president. Over the years there has been much success in trying to dismantle discrimination against different races. By the time the modern civil rights movement arose during the mid-20th century, subjugation had prospered for nearly three hundred years. It was precisely this legalized subjugation that was the major target of the modern civil rights movement. Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954; Rosa Parks sat down in a Montgomery bus in 1955; the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom took place in 1963; and in an exhilarating five year period, three federal laws were passed-the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968-that taken together established a legal framework for racial justice. Over intense, opposition, the civil rights movement had succeeded, by 1968, in dismantling the legal structure of Jim Crow laws and replacing it with a legal structure designed to ensure equality and dismiss discrimination on all levels. Although these laws were very successful, you will still find racism within the institutions of our society. This â€Å"institutional racism† impacts every aspect of life in the 21st century from schooling to employment. It forms an invisible barrier that is hard to comprehend among all ethnic groups. Racism in our institutions can enter in every part of a persons life and make it extremely difficult to advance socially, financially or politically. What is even worse is that racism does not just affect individuals; it affects entire communities and has an affect African American progress in the 21st century. These divisions in society create a whole cycle. If you don’t get the same job opportunities, you cannot afford the same education as some others, which lead to poor decisions because you don’t know any better. It is not because they are inferior; it is because they do not have the same opportunities because of racial prejudice. Racism is present in government bodies, private business corporations, and universities. Redlining is a clear example of how institutional racism is present in our society. The ability of Banks, mega-corporations, and major financial institutions top pick winners and losers has setup a system of vast inequality between poor black communities and the middle class. Many of these private businesses use redlining to systematically shut minorities out of business opportunities, healthy food choices and banking options. Another example of how we see race in our society today is through college admissions. One of the first things we are asked to fill out in our applications is what race we are. Affirmative action has been created that takes factors such as race, gender, religion, into consideration in order to benefit an unrepresented group in education. This policy has been taken place in order to counter the effects of past discrimination. Although this seems like a good policy to equalize educational opportunity, it can also presents controversies on how different races are treated. For example, Abigail Fisher a white Texan was denied admissions into the University of Texas while less qualified Latinos and African Americans were accepted. University of Michigans college applications you automatically receive 20 points out of 100 if your black. The policies presented in the institutions of our society clearly present how race discrimination is still evident in our society. Because we have been so ingrained with racial differences it is hard to escape, we need to be willing to hold equal values for everyone in order to truly see change. As another major institution in society, the media plays a critical role in racial discrimination. They provide us with definitions about who we are as a nation; they reinforce our values and norms; they give us concrete examples of what happens to those who transgress these norms; and most importantly, they perpetuate certain ways of seeing the world and peoples within that world. Racism has been evident in media for quite some time and has influenced many people. Birth of the Nation by D. W. Griffith was one of the many ways that displayed African Americans as inferior. The film featured two themes in which suggested that the KKK had been responsible for quelling the unrest in the South after the civil war, and that African Americans were the cause of all the problems in the United States. â€Å"Griffith seared images of degraded images into the minds of millions. A whole new generation of consumers of American mass media was fed the same old stereotypes of shape images of African Americans† (Lee Baker). Even as it did back then, the media still plays an important role in reinforcing our thoughts about racial inferiority. Today the Media have divided the working class and stereotyped young African-American males as gangsters or drug dealers. As a result of such treatment, the media have crushed youths prospects for future employment and advancement. The media have focused on the negative aspects of the black community (e. g.engaging in drug use, criminal activity, welfare abuse) while maintaining the cycle of poverty that the elite wants. Because we have been brainwashed by racism in media for so long, it has affected the way we view people today and has created divisions in our society in the 21st century. The 21st Century has brought about many attempted changes in society. There is legislation against discrimination in its many forms. Affirmative action has been used as an attempt to ensure individuals are given equal opportunity for employment, housing, and other types of advancement. Television shows have changed format and characters to seek political correctness. Nevertheless, society cleverly and subtly maintains its separate views of the races. With this the racism in the institutions in our society such as the in the media or education, makes it extremely difficult for certain people to advance in life. There will always be those who will fight for change while others resist, seeking to maintain the status quo. But overall there can still be no improvement unless many individuals work together for equality.

The Aims Of Writing A Literature Review Education Essay

The Aims Of Writing A Literature Review Education Essay What is review of the literature? A literature review is a write-up that aims to review the critical aspects of current knowledge on a particular topic. Its an account of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. Most often associated with science-oriented literature, such as a thesis, the literature review usually precedes a research proposal, methodology and results section. The purpose is to bring the reader up to date with current literature on a topic and form the basis for future research that may be needed in the area. A good literature review is characterized by: a logical flow of ideas; current and relevant references with consistent, appropriate referencing style; proper use of terminology; and an unbiased and comprehensive view of the previous research on the topic. It is not just a descriptive list of the material available, or a set of summaries. Besides enlarging your knowledge about the topic, writing a literature review lets you gain and demonstrate skills in two areas Information seeking: the ability to scan the literature efficiently, using manual or computerized methods, to identify a set of useful articles and books Critical appraisal: the ability to apply principles of analysis to identify unbiased and valid studies. A literature review must do these things Be organized around and related directly to the thesis or research question you are developing Synthesize results into a summary of what is and is not known Identify areas of controversy in the literature Formulate questions that need further research A literature review is a piece of discursive prose, not a list describing or summarizing one piece of literature after another. Its usually a bad sign to see every paragraph beginning with the name of a researcher. Instead, organize the literature review into sections that present themes or identify trends, including relevant theory. You are not trying to list all the material published, but to synthesize and evaluate it according to the guiding concept of your thesis or research question If you are writing an annotated bibliography, you may need to summarize each item briefly, but should still follow through themes and concepts and do some critical assessment of material. Use an overall introduction and conclusion to state the scope of your coverage and to formulate the question, problem, or concept your chosen material illuminates. Usually you will have the option of grouping items into sections-this helps you indicate comparisons and relationships. You may be able to write a paragraph or so to introduce the focus of each section How to do a literature search? Defining the topic In order to begin your literature review you must first define your research question. What is the purpose? What does it mean? What are the key words? Are there other words which could be used, such as synonyms, variations in spelling? What do you already know about the topic? What is the scope? Compiling a list of keywords Analyzing the topic of an essay question or research topic usually involves making a list of keywords or phrases. You will need to include all the key concepts or ideas contained within the essay or research question. It might be useful to include alternative ways of phrasing and expressing concepts and ideas. Think about both general terms and very specific terms for broadening and narrowing your search. The keyword or phrase is the basic unit of any search. You may find it helpful to consult subject dictionaries and encyclopedias, or a textbook glossary for the common terminology of the subject area. The use of an index and/or thesaurus is also advisable to establish the useful terms. Identifying Resources Information is available in a number of formats. It is important for you to understand the significance of various formats so that you know what will best suit your information requirements. Books Reference Materials Journals Conference Papers Dissertations Internet Indexes/Abstracts Printed Electronic Databases Government publications Thesis Putting tables and figures If you found the table or figure in a source, or if you developed the information in the table or figure from a source other than your own primary research, you must cite the full source just below the table or figure, and again include the full source in your list of references at the end of the thesis. Table number and headline is always mentioned on top of the table. Figure number and headline is mentioned at bottom of the figure. The source reference below the figure/table should be in a smaller font, in a bracket, in italics. Like this: Table 4: Numbers Unemployed in Co. Roscommon, 2000 2004 Electoral District Male Age range Female Age range Total (Source: Jones, D. 2004. Impact of unemployment in rural areas of Connacht 2000 2004. Dublin: Folens, p. 56.) Figure 4: Air Supply in Burma (June 1944 to April 1945) (Source: Jones, D. 2004. Environmental Concerns. Dublin: Folens, p. 56.) 2. Bibliography Formats Each citation in a bibliography has to describe a resource in enough detail that someone can go to a library (or out on the net, or to a bookstore), and see it for themselves. Imagine going to a bookshop and saying, Hi. I need that book on World War II. You know, the one that mentions Hitler? Thats why the specifics-formats, titles, authors, dates, etc.- are important. Writing the assessment: What do I need to reference? When you are writing your assessment, be sure to type in reference information as you add in the ideas of other authors. This will save you time and will ensure that you reference all sources properly. Whenever you use someone elses ideas or words, you must put in a reference. The only exception to this rule is when the information you have read somewhere is common knowledge or public domain information. For example, you would not need to include a reference if you stated in an assignment that Shakespeare wrote plays and sonnets in Elizabethan times. You must always reference the following (i) Direct quotations this is when you copy another authors material word-for-word. You should show the reader that it is a direct quote by placing the material in inverted commas. Traditionally, double inverted commas have been used () but it is now acceptable, and preferable to use single inverted commas (). Sometimes it is difficult to avoid the direct quotation as the authors words may precisely describe the point you are trying to make. However, do try to avoid the overuse of direct quotations; try to paraphrase the authors work where possible. Please note that when you use direct quotations, you must reproduce the authors words exactly, including all spelling, capitalisation, punctuation, and errors. You may show the reader that you recognise an error and that you are correctly quoting the author by placing the term sic in brackets after the error. (ii) Paraphrasing this is when you take another authors ideas and put them into your own words. You are still copying someone elses work, so you must reference it. You do not need to use inverted commas when you paraphrase, but you must clearly show the reader the original source of your information. 1. INTERNET RESOURCES In the easy-come, easy -go world of the free internet, dates and addresses are particularly important. Two dates are required: the date that the material was published or updated, and the date on which you actually used it. The address, or URL, of the site must be complete. This means including the access-mode identifier (e.g., http, ftp, gopher, telnet, news) as well as the path and file names. The address should also be enclosed in angle brackets . For an entire web site the bibliographic form is : Author or Creator of site. Title of Site. Date of site. . Date you used the site. The entry will look like this: Hsu, David. Chemicol Periodic Table. 2005. . September 6, 2007. For an article within a web site the bibliographic form is : Author of article. Title of Article. Title of Site. Date of site. . Date you used the site. The entry will look like this: U.S. Department of State. Sudan. Background Notes. March, 2007. . September 10, 2007. For online newspaper magazine articles , the bibliographic form is Author of Article. Title of Article. Title of Magazine or Newspaper. Complete date. . Date you used the site. The entry will look like this: Jamieson, Alastair. Chinas Toy Story Turns Nasty After New Recall. The Scotsman. September 6, 2007. . September 12, 2007. 2. â‚ ¬Ã‚  REGULAR BOOKS A regular book usually has just one author, and comes in just one volume. The bibliographic form is Author. Title. Place: Publisher, Date. The entry will look like this: Hammond, Jeff. Real Men Work in the Pits: A Life in NASCAR Racing. PA: Rodale, 2005. When there are two authors, the bibliographic form is First Author (last name first), and Second Author (first name first). Title. Place: Publisher, Date. The entry will look like this: Angeletti, Norberto, and Alberto Oliva. In Vogue: The Illustrated History of the Worlds Most Famous Fashion Magazine. NY: Rizzoli, 2006. When there are three or more authors, the bibliographic form is First Author (last name first), et al. Title. Place: Publisher, Date. The entry will look like this: Bos, Samone, et al. Go!: The Whole World of Transportation. NY: Dorling Kindersley, 2006. Books with an anonymous or unknown author The University Encyclopedia (1985) London: Roydon 3. COLLECTIONSâ‚ ¬Ã‚   EDITED BOOKS A collection is a book (or set of books) that contains works by many different authors-like an edited book or proceeding, an encyclopedia, an Opposing Viewpoints book, or an anthology of short stories or poems. You usually use just one or two parts of it in your paper and the bibliographic form is Author of the Part. Title of the Part. Editor (or Compiler) of the Collection. Title of the Collection. Vol. # (if present). Place: Publisher, Date. The entry will look like this: Cohen, Steve. Snowboarding. World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 17. IL: World Book, Inc., 2003. Tatum, Becky L. Studies Have Not Established a Link Between Rap Music and Youth Violence. Gerdes, Louise I., ed. Media Violence, Opposing Viewpoints. CA: Greenhaven Press, 2004. If you use several different works from the same anthology, you neednt cite each separately. The bibliographic form for citing an entire collection or anthology is: Editor (or Compiler) of the Anthology. Title of the Anthology. Vol. # (if present). Place: Publisher, Date. The entry will look like this: Nelson, Marilyn. A Wreath for Emmett Till. MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2005. 4. â‚ ¬Ã‚  NEWSPAPERSâ‚ ¬Ã‚   MAGAZINES When citing an article from a print copy of a newspaper or magazine, the most important thing to put down is the complete date. The bibliographic form is Author of Article. Title of Article.Title of Magazine or Newspaper. Complete date, Edition (if present): page number(s). The entry will look like this: Randall, Lisa. An American Physicist in Italy. Discover. July, 2007: 56. LeBlanc, Emma. Refugees Tell NH Woman Their Stories. New Hampshire Union Leader. September 10, 2007, State Edition: A1. 5. JOURNALS The conventions for listing journal articles are similar to books, but note the extra information required in the example below and apply this to all journal article listings. Muller, V. (1994) Trapped in the body: Transsexualism, the law, sexual identity, The Australian Feminist Law Journal, vol. 3, August, pp. 103-107. Journal article with both volume and issue number Muller, V. (1994) Trapped in the body: Transsexualism, the law, sexual identity, The Australian Feminist Law Journal, vol. 3, no. 2, August, pp. 103-107. 5. NON-PRINTMEDIA If the item is not print-based (like a film on DVD or VHS, an MP3 file or audio CD, or a set of slides), the bibliographic form is Producer or Director. Title. [Format] Place: Distributor, Date. The entry will look like this: Hampton, Henry. Eyes on the Prize II. [VHS] VA: PBS Video, 1993. Lansing, Alfred. Endurance: Shackletons Incredible Voyage. [MP3] OR: Blackstone Audio Books, 1991. May, Robert, and Steve James. The War Tapes. [DVD] NY: Docurama, 2007. Paschen, Elise, and Rebekah Presson Mosby. Poetry Speaks: Hear Great Poets Read Their Work from Tennyson to Plath. [CD] IL: Sourcebooks MediaFusion, 2001. 3. How to avoid plagiarism Scientific Misconduct and Plagiarism: Many people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character Albert Einstein In centuries of reading, writing, experimenting and hypothesizing, a persons work will inevitably incorporate and overlap with that of others. However, occasional overlap is one thing; systematic, unacknowledged use of the techniques, data, words or ideas of others is another. Your work has to be carried out honestly and objectively without bias and the results should be reported truthfully. Deviations may occur from the ideal due to ignorance or, at times, they may be willful deceptions. These deviations from the ideal, willful or otherwise, constitute what is known as scientific misconduct. While various types of scientific misconduct have been identified, those that comes to notice usually include fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, cyber-plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and duplicate publication. It is desired that all students should be made aware of these. This note defines plagiarism and sets guidelines. What is Plagiarism? Failure to acknowledge other colleagues scientific work-their ideas, language, or data. Verbatim copying of passages without citing the original contributor, rewording of ideas, paraphrasing, and even total reproduction by simply changing the authors names and trying to pass the material as ones own. Unauthorized use of ideas or unique methods obtained by a privileged communication, such as a grant or manuscript review. Passing off retrospective studies as prospective ones or deliberately omit references to earlier works. How Plagiarism can be detected? One of the important responsibilities of a reviewer is detection of plagiarized text due to his/her familiarity with published material in his/her area of interest. Technology has made it possible to carry out checks for sentences that are copied from previously published articles. There are dedicated web sites available that provide information on plagiarism ( www.plagiarism.org ) and software to detect plagiarism has made it easier for reviewers and editorial staff of journals to detect copying (www.ithenticate.com, www.writecheck.com and www.turnitin.com ). We have recommended to you the VIPER software. Dos and Donts of Plagiarism Some simple tips to be followed to avoid plagiarism are: Take short notes from the source and then write back in your own words without looking back at the original source. Attribute references to any information or idea you are using from other sources, even if you are not directly using it. describe all sources of information Give acknowledgments to the original source by quoting author details at the end of the statement. Give details of the original source by providing footnotes . Use quotation marks wherever required If you are paraphrasing, credit the original source For extensive quotations, obtain permission from the publisher of the original work Obtain permission for use of published drawings or other illustrations Dos and Donts of Research: DO: Make sure you know what question youre trying to answer. Look at all kinds of sources before you narrow in on the ones that will be most useful. Read and digest. Give yourself time to do this. Think critically about what youve just read and how it directly relates to the question. Evaluate what youve got, the holes in your research, and where you need to go from here. Keep a running annotated bibliography going, sorting facts by source or marking your notes with a coding system so as to remember where individual facts came from. Divide your thesis into sections before you begin researching. Make sure you devote energy and time to finding information about all the topics you want to tackle. Remember that the beginning of a thesis presents existing knowledge on a topic, whereas towards the end of a paper, you present your own thoughts. Use a variety of sources. Journals, books, e-books, newspaper and magazine articles, legitimate web sites, and course books can all be good sources, but which ones you use will depend on your topic. Talk to your professor about his or her expectations and ideas for sources. Talk to other students about their strategies for mapping out the research ahead. DONTS: Stuff so much information into your head at once that you cant remember what you learned and where you learned it from. You will lose sight of the point of the research project. Cite Wikipedia. Wikipedia is good for getting general information, but find an absolutely reliable source for your citations. Plagiarize. Learn what constitutes plagiarism and how to use sources responsibly. Dos and Donts of Internet Research The internet provides a rich resource of information and data however; there is great risk in using this all-too accessible resource. Self-regulating resources like Wikipedia and Google- or yahoo-search readily provide us with answers to just about any question we may pose. But which is it the right answer? And, is it the right answer? The very accessibility of online information makes it risky and often questionable. You need to be more vigilant of the veracity and reliability of your sources when acquiring information from the internet. To ensure that your information you have got is sound, one can do several things: Use more than one source, particularly for important things; this will give you a wider range of material from which to discern accuracy and reliability. Verify your sources and preferably cross-reference to measure out objective truth vs. bias. Try to use primary sources (original) vs. secondary or tertiary sources (original cited and open to interpretation); the closer you are to the original source, the closer you are to getting the original study.

An Evaluation Of Nullsoft Winamp :: essays research papers

Nullsoft Winamp is a fast, flexible, high fidelity music player for Windows 95/98/NT. Winamp supports MP3, MP2, CD, MOD, WAV and other audio formats. Winamp also supports custom interfaces called skins, audio visualization and audio effect plug-ins. Nullsoft also provides a high quality website at http://www.winamp.com. The Winamp homepage provides support, information, software downloads, and music downloads for Nullsoft’s music products. Winamp is a high quality music player for your personal computer. The first thing to look for when considering a program to play music on your computer is sound quality. Nullsoft Winamp has the ability to play CD quality sound from MP3, MP2, CD, MOD, WAV and other audio formats. Winamp has a ten band graphic equalizer and built-in pre-amplifier that allows the user greater control over sound quality even before the music passes through a sound card or speakers. If you are not comfortable with changing the equalizer settings yourself, Winamp has hundreds of preset settings which are categorized by music type. Examples of this include Jazz, Rock, Reggae, and many more. Winamp users even have the ability to create and save song-specific pre-amplifier and equalizer settings. Another important factor in choosing a music program for your computer is customizable features. Winamp meets this criterion well. The ability to customize your music player makes the program easier to use. The user has the ability to make a â€Å"Play list† from the music files that are stored on the hard drive of the user’s computer. Play lists are easy to load and are not difficult to create. The Nullsoft Winamp website has a Plugin and Skin collection available for downloads to further customize your copy of Winamp. There are hundreds of different plugins and skins to choose from. Plugins for Winamp range from audio visualization oscilloscopes to audio effects like distortion and surround sound. Skin categories range from different colors to cartoons and artwork. Technically advanced users can even create their own skins. Customer service and technical support services are important with any product, especially when a user is unfamiliar with the product. The Winamp program can be difficult to learn and use without some instruction. However, Nullsoft Winamp provides a stable and easy to navigate website that includes many helpful services. Customer service and technical support are available through chat and via email from the Winamp homepage. Customers have the ability to read step-by-step instructions on how to use Winamp and all of its custom features by clicking on easy to see links.

Free Merchant of Venice Essays: Noble and Worthy Jessica? :: Merchant Venice Essays

Noble and Worthy Jessica? While researching for this paper I reviewed numerous essays, assessments, and commentaries concerning The Merchant of Venice. One essay used the terms "noble" and "worthy" in relation to Jessica. The author stated that "sometimes what they [the characters of the play] 'sell out' for is worthy and shows them to be noble (Jessica for example)." The author goes on to say that Shylock's reasons for selling out "seem ignoble." Those statements really got me thinking, so I strolled over to my trusty dictionary to look up "noble" and "worthy." Noble--1. a: possessing outstanding qualities. 2: of high birth or exalted rank. 3. a: possessing very high or excellent qualities or properties. Worthy-1. a: having worth or value. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10th edition) The most common connotation of "noble," in my opinion, is a combination of the first and third listings. While Jessica certainly fits the second meaning listed of "noble" and the meaning of "worthy" (financially anyway), I didn't see any proof of her being such an outstanding person or "possessing very high or excellent qualities" within the context of this play. She may very well be a wonderful person, but I didn't see anything that would lead me to that conclusion in the play itself. Let's look at the facts. Jessica robs her father of all the jewels and money she can carry to marry Lorenzo. She casts aside her religion as if it were an old hat. The only outstanding quality I see is that she can do all this without the slightest remorse. We are told by Jessica that Shylock's "house is hell," but within the play I did not see any proof of this (II.iii.2). It is true that Shylock did not know which to weep for more, his daughter or his ducats, but does that make that house a hell? Because we didn't see what life was like in the house, we can only take Jessica's word for it. I, for one, am not terribly comfortable with her word as she has proven herself to be a thief and liar already. How do we know she isn't just an incredibly ungrateful daughter blinded by love (as she herself proclaimed love to be a blinding force--II.vi.36)? Frankly, Shakespeare did not give us much to work with as far as

Cool stuff Essay

Teachers should be allowed to carry a gun at school in case of emergencies such as terrorist attacks, hostile situations, A.L.I.C.E, and many other reasons. This issue could be supported by what took place on December 14, 2012 which is known as the Sandy Hook Massacre, in which 28 people were killed, including 20 children from inside the school. This horrible event is a prime example of why teachers should be allowed to carry guns. In their situation they were defenseless and sitting ducks as the shooter strolled through the school firing off rounds. Following the shooting at least five states including, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Oregon have made plans for legislation that would allow faculty members to carry guns in school. There are many reasons why teachers should carry guns but the most recently important reason is the Sandy Hook Massacre. The second most worst massacre in U.S. history could have been put to earlier stop if the teachers were allowed to carr y guns during school hours. There are many schools the now allow and supply teachers with guns to carry during school hours. The most well-known school protective handgun is the 9-mm, it weighs around 1 pound and can easily slip into your pocket. In the U.S. it should be a law or need for teachers and staffs of schools to carry a weapon (most likely a gun) for protective reasons. If this happened massacre rates in schools would drop to around 0. One interesting story is the story of the Clarksville School District, were superintendent, David Hopkins, who supplies his teachers and staff with the 9-mm handgun. At least sixteen people, including the janitor and a kindergarten teacher, wear them to school each day. He didn’t have enough money to supply security guards for the five schools, so he supplied all the teachers through nearly 60 hours of training and their own handgun, hoping it will make the school district safer.