Extraordinary Measures Film Analysis

Extraordinary Measures Film AnalysisThe film Extraordinary Measures is based on a true story which follows the journey of a beginner who is determined to save his young childrens lives. John and Aileen Crowley have three kids, two of which who have a ancient genetic disorder called pompe illness. Pompe disease is a r atomic number 18 inherited disorder in which the glycogen in the body is not broken down, and thus the glycogen builds up within the bodys cells. This can cause dangerousish dystrophy and eventually lead to enlarged organs. The children born with this disease of decennium times live a very short life of more or less ten years and die because their organs can no longer function with this glycogen build up.In the film, John Crowley has two children with pompe, just now the story revolves just ab kayoed his eight-year-old daughter Megan. Megan just recently flecked eight years old when she fell ill and was rushed to the hospital because to her respiratory system wa s starting to fail. patch in the hospital, the fix spoke to John and Aileen active Megans conditions. When explaining that her chances of survival were slim, he used the phrase think of it as a blessing when talking about Megans impending death. While the doctor was seek to help oneself the Crowleys with this situation, the Crowleys obviously didnt demand to think of their daughters passing away as a blessing. Though Megan survived, John didnt want to sit around and watch as his children were slowly dying in front of him, so he took matters into his own hands and reached out to Dr. Robert Stonehill. Dr. Stonehill was a scientist who was researching pompe disease and the enzyme that breaks down the glycogen in the body, which is missing in those diagnosed with the disease. During their meeting, Dr. Stonehill explained to John that the university wasnt providing enough funding to allow him to further test his theory about the missing enzyme. When he told John that he needed at l east half a million dollars, John and Aileen decided to create a pompe disease foundation to help raise the money to create the word.As John worked as an advertising executive, Dr. Stonehill saw that as an opportunity to work with John to create their own biotech go with to research the enzyme. The only issue with this was they needed a lot more funding then the foundation was able to raise. Though John tried to take aim Dr. Stonehill to meet with investors, he was very uncooperative. Though the two of them often disagreed with one another, the one thing they agreed on was that it was important to find a treatment for the disease, thus allowing them to eventually come to terms and sign a business deal.Months into research on the enzyme, John realizes that the investors were unhappy with the slow progress of the study. Dr. Stonehill and John had promised that they would produce the enzyme into clinical trials in a year, but they werent making enough head way to do so. This lead t o another disagreement between John and Dr. Stonehill, resulting in them selling their company to the competition. Dr. Stonehill, being the stubborn man he is, angered and annoyed many mass in the company, leading to John going canful his back to coiffe the competitors happy. A group of researchers, excluding Dr. Stonehill, went on to further enhance the enzyme. Eventually, the drug was approved to go into clinical trials, but the scientists agreed that they would use it on infants. As Johns children werent infants, they wouldnt be treated with the enzyme, which was John was working towards the whole time. This lead to John doing some unethical things, such as breaking into the lab and trying to steal the enzyme himself to give it to his children. Luckily, Dr. Stonehill was able to get John out of trouble, but there was still the issue that John worked for the company and using his children in clinical trials would be a conflict of interest. The characterization concluded with J ohn getting fired from his job, allowing them to use his two children in a sibling study. The film stop with his children laughing in their hospitals beds, showing what is called a sugar high, indicating that the enzyme was indeed working and breaking down the glycogen.In the beginning of the movie, it beed to relate with the topic of the patient-professional family relationship that was discussed in an earlier lecture in this course. When the Crowleys had a health sc ar with their daughter Megan, it seemed as if they didnt have a trade good relationship with the doctor. I understand that the doctor was trying to be professional and make sure not to give the family a false hope, but I believe that there could have been a different way to go about telling a family that their daughters chances of survival were slim. The doctor had used the phrase think of Megans passing away as a blessing. Personally, I feel as if using that phrase came off as a little insensitive. There is no ea sy way to tell parents that their childs chances of surviving were low. overly with the case of pompe disease, the family must need to visit various doctors all the time, so Im not sure if they have enough time to have a good relationship with the many doctors that they visit. Even so, when dealing with a disease as serious as pompe, I do believe that it would benefit the family to have a doctor that they trusted and had a good relationship with.Another topic that was discussed in this course was death and dying. When faced with death, many people often turn to righteousness as a way to cope. Though death was heavily fey in this film, religion was only mentioned once or twice. The part that stood out to me in the film regarding religion was when Megan was in the hospital when her respiratory system was starting to fail. John had mentioned later in the film that when she was on her death bed, he has prayed to God that if it was her time, that she would die fast and peacefully. Whi le Megan herself did not pray, her father had turned to religion as a coping mechanism. When Megan did not die, John used this as inspiration and a sign from God that he needed to be the one to help save his daughter. This just shows one of the many ways that people can turn to religion to make themselves feel better.Personally, I think the thing about the movie that related most to this course is the ethics that are involved in this movie. It seems as a huge dilemma in this movie was between John and the scientists differing points of view. John was very concupiscent about decision a treatment for pompe disease because he was closely linked to the disease by dint of his children who were affected by it. He was desperate to save his childrens lives. In the movie, it seem that his desperation got the best of him and he would have done anything to save his children such as stealing the enzyme from the lab. Though he didnt end up stealing the enzyme, he was willing to do anything to help his children. I inhabit that if I was a parent, I would probably do anything myself to help my children live longer. Though the love he had for his children was strong, that still doesnt make what he was about to do right.When it came to the scientists, they were very conservative with what they did. They followed the rules very seriously. Dr. Stonehill on the other hand did not. He was also willing to do anything to help these children. When John brought in the families who were affected by pompe disease, one of the scientists was upset. He explained to John that science was not a field that should get mixed up in emotions. If the scientist got emotional, they were willing to do anything to save those childrens lives, even changing the results to show that the drug worked. While I do agree that its important the scientist is truthful about the results, I also believe that being emotionally connected to a project could benefit the scientist in a way. I see nothing aggrieve wi th a scientist being motivated by their emotions to work on a project, as long as the scientist is truthful in their results. They need to remember that their job is to help people, and if they skip steps or lie about results, that could ultimately hurt more people in the long run.The film Extraordinary Measures touched many of the topics that were mentioned in this course thus far. It showed examples on how it is very important to have a medical team that you have a good relationship with and trust. In hard times, such as having a close call with losing a child, I believe that it is extremely important to have a good support system. In that support system, I think that its also important to be able to have a doctor that you trust fully. You want to know that your child or loved one is not only in the hands of someone that knows what they are doing, but someone who cares about them as a patient. It showed that many families, if not the patients themselves, turn to religion as a copi ng mechanism during hard times. I believe that it is very therapeutic to turn to religion as a coping mechanism in hard times. Like in Johns case, he used religion as an inspiration and push into expression for a cure for his children. Personally, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. This way of thinking can be hard if something terrible happens, but in the end I do think it helps with looking at the silver lining. The film also showed that it may be hard to be choleric about something but also to follow the rules and not let your emotions get in the way of the purpose of the study. Passion is a very good motivator for many things and people. It can help you get through the days that you feel you are too tired to do something. It can help you push through the bad days when it feels as nothing is going your way. Its a fantastic motivator if you use it the correct way. You need to make sure that your passion doesnt bribe your judgement and get in the way of e thical solutions.Overall, I think the movie showed the importance of teamwork in the medical field. While it is important to be passionate about what you do, it is also important to be reasonable. John and Dr. Stonehill showed passion in different ways. John showed passion in finding a cure as his childrens lives were depending on the cure and he was running out of time with them. Dr. Stonehill showed passion in his research and finding a treatment to help those who had the disease. The scientists in the movie were the more responsible, logical characters. The scientists, while wanting to find a treatment, also knew the importance of following policy. They didnt want to pursue a study if there were not going to be any results. They knew the FDA regulations, and wanted to make sure that they were followed. As much as they wanted to help find a treatment, they wanted to make sure they were not overly optimistic and there was a successful outcome in the end. This movie is a direct indi cator that humanities are important in not only the medical field, but any science field, and as long as people work together and fuse their knowledge and the humanities, they can make a difference in the medical field.

Vegetarian vs Meat Eater Comparison Contract

Vegetarian vs M polish off Eater Comparison Contr motionDiet plays an important role for our em trunk wellness. Choosing the office, healthy and balance in aliment is very important for all(prenominal)one. One way to stay healthy is by adopting a vegetarian aliment. A vegan sustenance is a whole kit-based diet that includes only innate(p) foods and does not include inwardness of money at all. It burn also be considered as a cruelty-free act to the nature be relieve oneself by switching and adopting a vegetarian diet, campaigner- magnetic coreed societies will be able to alleviate the needless suffering and deaths of countless animal(prenominal)s. The average Ameri deal warmheartedness- alimenter is responsible for the abuse and death of almost 90 animals per year. hu homophile motley exis disco biscuitces do not need to eat meat in order to maintain a good health. This is because they female genitalia also get all the keep and their food needs from meatless produ ct. Vegetarian diet is currently increasing in popularity and the number of vegetarian is rising so quickly because they assimilate seen many significant effects that contribute to a better health. According to a 2006 Mintel survey, 6% of the population, which is about 3.6 million the great unwashed, is vegetarians, and 10% eat no red meat which somehow showed that UK has the largest residual of vegetarian in its population among the European country. (The Number of Vegetarian, n.d.) As whole, over half of the world population is vegetarian. They start to c be about animals and stand up for the animals right. In fact, a vegetarian diet offers many benefits to human creations that atomic number 18 guards against disease, physical benefits, conserve natural resources, nutritional benefits, and improve the environment.A vegetarian diet is considered as healthy as it has shown to guards against diseases. According to new medical research, a person who adopts plant-based diet is one third less likely to suffer from diabetes and cardiovascular diseases such as heart diseases and stroke. mint tend to stand a better chance of not developing the high blood pressure and bad cholesterol that might change their health problem. According to a study from German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, vegetarians pick out more effective and strong immune agreements to butcher tumor cells in the body comp ared to meat eaters. (Dworkin 1999). There are some(prenominal) risk factors of metabolic syndrome, which are high blood pressure, high glucose levels, high triglycerides which are fat levels in the body, and having a regretful waistband. Dr Rebecca Reynolds, a reader in endocrinology and diabetes at University of Edinburgh Centre for Cardiovascular Sciences, said Metabolic syndrome is very prevalent in Scotland because it linked in with obesity and Scotland has some of the highest obesity rates in Europe. Studies have shown that Mediterranean style diet is also ripe to our body health because messiness who are vegetarian assume more fruit, vegetables and olive oil. (Newbury 2011). Improvement of cardiovascular health can be done by the consumption of nuts and whole scrap, at the same time it can also eliminate the consumption of meat and dairy products. A British study indicates that a vegan diet curtails the risk for the biggest sea wolf heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, according to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians tend to have a lower risk of acquiring obesity, breast genus Cancer, and prostate cancer other than cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Obesity is very common curiously in America. According to former Surgeon ordinary C. Everett Koop, 70% of all Americans are dying from different types of diseases which directly tied to their alimentation habits. (Dworkin 1999). This is because in the American diet, there are as well as more than of carbohydrates, proteins, oils, fats, and sugar. A very clear and obvious example is their morning breakfast that includes of sausages, chicken ham, french fries, fried eggs, and accompanied by milk or orange juice. Sausages and chicken ham are processed food which made from animal meat. As we know, processed foods are super bad for our health because it contains of preservatives, toxins, and unnatural fillers that will cause kidney failures if we over consume it. Studies have shown that a diet high in animal products and dairy products which contain huge do of hormones and saturated fat can cause breast cancer. However, theres a huge connection and relationship between vegetarian diet and breast cancer. A vegetarian diet can help pr plaint and even reverse it, which is taking a diet low in sugar, dairy products, and meat but high in leafy greens, fruits and vitamin D. Vitamin D is an immune system booster that has the special ability to attack breast cancer cells by preventing the cancer cells from multiplying to more and more cancer cells in the body. Vitamin D is a rudimentary component in helping the body responds to many different kinds of assaults and stimuli, says Robert Heaney, Ph.D., professor of medicine at Creighton University. (Biggar 2009). Vitamin D can be obtained from natural foods such as mushrooms, soja bean milk, and juicy leafy green vegetables. Research found that consumption of isoflavone containing soy products such as tofu during childhood and adolescence protects women against the risk of breast cancer later in life. (Am Clin 2009). Vegetables and fruits also contain phytochemicals that help destroy tumour in the body. (Biggar 2009). A Harvard Medical School study of more than 90,000 women revealed that the women who often consume meat everyday are twice as likely to develop breast cancer as those who did not often consume meat. (Sloan 2008). Too untold of meat consumption will also lead to certain degenerative diseases such as Parkinsons, Huntingtons, and Alzheimers disease w hen human creation start to get older. As the famous saying goes like this, you are what you eat. Subsequently, vegetarian diets can reduce the risk of getting diseases that can collide with body health and cause death.Vegetarian diet is much better than diet that contains meat because of physical benefits. Several population studies showed that people who adopt a vegetarian diet tend to have lower body smokestack index (BMI), which is the indicator of weight and fat of the body. This is unremarkably associated with high intake of fibre and low intake of animal fat. Vegetarians may also have a higher metabolic rate compared to meat eaters. In a study of lacto-ovo vegetarians, one of the types of diet, resting metabolic rate (RMR) was 11% higher in vegetarian compared to meat eaters. This was partially due to a higher level of plasma norepinephrine which results from higher intake of carbohydrate and lower fat intake of vegetarians. (Mangels, Messina Messina 2004). Vegetarians w ill usually have better and good-looking skin textures. For instance, nuts such as almond, pumpkin seed, sesame seed, sunflower seed, vegetables that contain vitamin A and E play a big role for this part. A remarkable reduction in blemishes and improvement in the skin texture can be seen once a meat eater changes to a vegetarian diet. Vitamin A and E are in reality effective and strong antioxidants that can help neutralize free radicals in our body. A vegetarian diet is especially beneficial to female or woman who wants to look younger and live a healthier lifestyle because it prevents the aging and damage of the skin. Fruits that could improve the skin checker are tomatoes, watermelon, cucumber, apples, and papaya. Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and contain iron. It is a strong antioxidant that helps fight cancer as well. Cucumber is a natural cool pot and brightening agent of the skin. You can simply consume it or slice it into pieces and stick it on to the face. Apples and papaya contains vitamins and high in fibers. These fruits are very useful for people who have constipation problem and high cholesterol. In addition, several studies indicate that people who adopt vegetarian lifestyle live an average of 3 to 6 old age longer than those who do not. According to a study from Loma Linda University, vegetarians live about 7 to 15 years longer than people who are not vegetarian. (Dworkin 1999). This can be proven with the example of monk. Buddhist monks are vegetarian and they do not consume meat at all. This is because in their belief and religion, run throughing and eating the animal is a sin and its cruel. It will also go against their beliefs and religion. Therefore, there is no doubt that monk who adopts vegetarian diet for the rest of their life would normally live longer than normal people. Some monks are even as old as 100 years above. Besides, nail health is considered as an indicator of a persons body health. You can see the persons health by looking at their fingernails. People who are vegetarian tend to have a healthier and longer nails, which indicates that they are healthy. People who normally consume meat and have lesser intake of vegetables tend to have a shorter and yellowish nails. This indicates that their health is at risk. Research showed that vegan diet helps reduce the suffering from Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) for female. The diet includes reduction of meat consumption but increase in consumption of complex carbohydrates, leafy green vegetables, fruit, cereals and whole scraps. (Cornforth 2009). A vegetarian diet also helps to stop allergies for a certain people. Researchers found that people report lesser personal problems such as runny nose and asthma when they switched to a vegetarian diet. This is basically due to the reduction of common food trigger that contains hormones and toxins such as meat, dairy and eggs. As a matter of fact, a vegetarian tend to be thinner than meat eater. Harvards long-ter m Nurses Health found that thin people have only one-third the risk of getting asthma compared to meat eaters. (Barnard, n.d.) For instance, if overweight people adopt a vegetarian diet, they are more likely to lose their weight and alleviate asthma because people who are thin normally do not have asthma problem. All of these are the results and physical benefits that can be gained from a vegetarian diet.Furthermore, a vegetarian diet does not only beneficial to human universes in scathe of health it also contributes to conserve natural resources. The meat labor is very wasteful of natural resources. Approximately 10 pounds of plants are take to be fed to the animals in order to produce one pound of meat, which is also one of the inherent problem of eating meat. (Bronk Su 2006). Thus, 70% of grain grown is almost used to pabulum the animals in America, which means much more food is being consumed to support the animals than would be needed if more people were vegetarians. (Bro nk Su 2006). Due to the extreme and increasing growth of animals feed, the meat industry require a huge amount of water in order to grow the grain and feed the animals. Vegetarian author John Robbins calculates that it takes 168, and 229 pounds of water to produce one pound of maize and rice respectively. (Vidal 2010). On the other hand, a pound of beef requires some 8000-9,000 litres of water. Pigs are one of the thirstiest animals in the world. An average-sized of pig farm in North America with about 80,000 pigs requires nearly 75 million gallons of fresh water to feed the pig in a year. (Vidal 2010). In contrast, a large sized of pig farm with more than millions of pigs may requires the water as much as a city. When the demand for meat increases, the uses of water in the meat industry and farming land will rise as well. Consequently, there will be lesser source of water available for the crops and also drinking for human beings. (Bronk Su 2006) say that almost half of the wate r that is consumed in the America is mostly being used by the meat industry and the groundwater is being withdrawn 25% faster than it is being replenished. In order to conserve energy in terms of water resources, the best choice and option is to adopt a vegetarian diet. This is because when people start by vegetarian diets, they will consume lesser meat in their day-to-day diets. As a result, lesser amount of water will be used to grow the grains and the number of animals to be fed by the meat industry will greatly be reduced. This can also be said to conserve water resources because there will be a sufficient amount of water to set up to both human beings and animals in the world. Other than that, vegetarian can also conserve energy in terms of oil. Oil crisis is one of the major(ip) problems faced by human beings in the world currently. (Bronk Su 2006) also say that 8 times as much fossil fuel energy is being used in the production of animal protein as is used in the plant prot ein production. There are actually some reasons for this. In fact, fuel is needed for manufacturing pesticides and fertilizers to grow grains and crops for animal feed. Besides, fuel is needed for transportation in the meat industry and also the operation of machinery in the farming industries. In this case, it is said that about 400 gallons of fossil fuels are being used in order to produce foods for the average meat-eating for the American each year. (Bronk Su 2006). Therefore, it is the truth that vegetarian diet can actually help to conserve natural resources in terms of water and fuel.Critics of vegetarianism claim that being a vegetarian is not good for our body because a vegetarian diet is lack of animal fat, protein, each of the 9 amino acerbics, iron and calcium, which scientific evidence showed that human need these nutrients for an optimum health. It is true that vegetarian diet could not ease up to provide animal fats and other essential nutrients that our body someho w needs it. Yet, a vegetarian diet offers much more other extra nutritional benefits to our body compared to a diet containing meat. It does not mean that you need to consume meat in order to achieve an optimum health level. A carefully think vegetarian diet can still provide an optimal health for everyone. There is always another alternative ways to get it. For example, vegetarian foods such as nuts, seeds, and dark leafy greens provide milligram that aids the absorption of calcium. Nuts such as almonds are a great source of protein for vegetarian other than providing vitamin E, calcium, magnesium and zinc. In addition, almond can helps lower the cholesterol level especially for the elders. According to a study from Health Research and Studies Centre, they found out that almonds are even better than olive oil in lowering LDL cholesterol. (Top ten vegan super foods 2009). Other than that, seeds such as pumpkin seeds contains high amount of amino acids, calcium, potassium, magnesiu m and tryptophan. Tryptophan is one of the essential amino acids that aids in the production of serotonin in our body. Serotonin is actually one kind of hormone that can make us feel happier and lively. It is considered as happiness hormone despite it is not really a hormone. This is because it sort of activates our brains and able to makes us to be more lively and energetic than normal. Several studies has shown that pumpkin seeds contain one kind of special compound called phytosterol that helps enhance and improve the bodys immune system. (Top ten vegan super foods 2009). By adding pumpkin seeds into our periodical diets, it can also help to reduce the inflammation on our body. We can also get the source of protein from several vegetarian foods such as beans, tofu and other soy products. In order to gain a classic combination that provides complete protein, a vegetarian is advised to eat beans and grains together to get the optimum result. This is because beans actually do not c ontain the complete amount of protein in it. Certain brand of tofu or soy milk is fortified with extra beneficial nutrients such as calcium and potassium for the need of a vegetarian. Soy protein has been shown to have as much proteins as in meat. (American Heart Association, n.d.).Food typeTotal Kcal/100g*Protein (g)*Kcal from proteinBeef31022.590 (29% from protein)Wheat(flour wholemeal)31012.751 (16% from protein)Source Collins Gems Calorie Counter (averaged for raw meat)(Patel, n.d.) showed the amount of daily requirement for energy in terms of calories and protein based on the table as shown above. An assumption of calorie requirement for normal active lifestyle is made, which is 2400 Kcal every day. Experts say that 10% of calorie should come from the source of protein. As 1g of protein generates 4 Kcal, it is said that human being requires 60g of protein every day. (Patel, n.d.) Based on the table above, stalk provides 51 Kcal of calorie from protein which somehow reached the amount of daily requirement for energy. In contrast, the calorie in beef is much higher than that, which is 90 Kcal. This is considered as overly much of calorie for a normal healthy diet. Moreover, a vegetarian have a higher risk of having iron deficiency compared to a meat eater. For meat eaters, iron can be found in meat products such as red meat, liver and egg yolk. However, we can also get it from the plant sources such as dried beans and spinach. Hence, it is not necessary to consume meat in order to get iron. Plant-based diet alone can already provide as much nutrient as what meat can provide to us. It is also not a healthy way to get protein just by eating meat alone. You will get surprise when you get older because all those symptoms of diseases would appear due to a long-term of meat consumption.One of the arguments put forward to support the view that vegetarian diet could not contribute much towards saving the environment. Although this statement may be true, but there is no doubt that a vegetarian diet can actually save the environment and make the world a better place to live in. A vegetarian helps to reduce the ravaging of rainforest and save the wildlife habitat. Malaysia is a clear example of country that has rainforest. Rainforest is very important in the world. This is due to several reasons such as regulate the global climates regulate the cycle of water, and the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The environmental community has recognizes global change as one of the gravest threats to the planet. (Mohr, n.d.). Unfortunately, mankind in this century have become more and more obsessed with the earning of maximum profits. People only think of earning as much as they could. As a result, rainforest is being cut down and enormous of fires are used to burn down these forests in order to have more space to raise the cattle ahead the meats, typically found in hamburgers and processed meat, are being sold out in the market. Appr oximately a football field of rainforest is being destroyed in order to produce 257 hamburgers for the population every second (Animal rights and Vegetarianism, n.d.). By switching to a vegetarian diet, we can actually save a lot of animals and also their habitat. Hundreds of thousands of animals are innocently being killed by human every year. Some corporations even inject certain chemicals, hormones, or veterinary drugs into the body of the animals so that they could grow faster and reproduce more. This is to enhance their production and gain more profits. For examples, chicken and beef cattle are injected with growing hormones. What goes beyond the doors of the corporations and industries are extremely terrible and insane. Animals are regularly being butchered alive on speeded-up conveyor lines. These innocent living things are forced to be killed for human use and purposes, where in fact human have no right to do that at all. If people still continue to kill huge number of anima ls just to feed the human beings, one day, these animals will extinct forever and our next generation will have to pay the price for what human being are doing right now. Like the quote that says, When the buying stops, the killing stops. A vegetarian diet also reduces water pollution and land pollution. In the modern and high technology society, a large amount of grains are sprayed with different types of fertilisers such as herbicides and pesticides by factories in order to feed the cattle. These two chemicals are very harmful and acidic. fundamental amount of acidic chemical will destroy the top soil and leak into rivers and grounds. Over 4 million acres of cropland are lost to wearing away in the US every year due to plundering farmlands to fatten animals. (Animal rights and Vegetarianism, n.d.) When these chemicals flow into the oceans and seas through the river, this causes the deaths of millions of fishes. Other than that, meat industry contributes significantly to global w arming as well. For example, methane that is released by bacteria in the rumens of cattle worsens global warming. This is because methane is a relatively potent greenhouse gas that will raises global temperature. Burning down of forest will also release carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. As a result, this would cause the temperature to rise and global warming worsens from day to day. Thus, a vegetarian diet can reduces the production of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The damage to the environment does not stop at cattle or chicken, the fishing industry also somehow contributes to the abasement of environment. What does this means? It actually means that many different species of fishes are being caught away by fisherman faster than they can reproduce. (Bronk Su 2006). This damaged the ecosystem of the oceans and sea, which in turn, affect the whole environment and worsen global warming. Approximately 300,000 different types of sea animals such as whales, dolphins and por poises are being killed every year before their meats are being sold in the supermarket. (Bronk Su 2006). Thus, by switching to a simple and easy vegetarian diet, we can actually conserve the environment and preserve the natures biodiversity without spending too much money or figure out the other alternative ways.All in all, a vegetarian diet contributes a lot to humans lifestyle, eating habits and the environment and there are numerous of benefits of it. Basically, animals and human can actually get the nutrients required for the body from plants, and not by animals itself. Human are actually getting the nutrients from second-hand sources if they eat meat. If they eat the animals, all the toxins, hormones and chemical will automatically go into the protrude which is hard to be expelled and removed from the body. The truth is that a vegetarian diet even contains sufficient beneficial nutrients for the body which they have been mistakenly claimed to be lacking in, especially protei n. (Health Benefits, n.d). As a matter of fact, the anatomies of herbivores, carnivores and human are compared which shows that man is actually vegetarian by nature. (Doshi, n.d.). The comparison can be shown in the table below.Carnivores (meat-eating)Have claws for killingSharp front teeth for tearing meat survive acid is twenty times strongPerspire through tongueHerbivores (plant-eating)Have no clawsNo sharp front teethWeak acid in stomachPerspire through skinHumansHave no clawsNo sharp teethWeak acid in stomachPerspire through skinThe above table has clearly shown that human beings are naturally a vegetarian and should not be a meat eater. This has strongly support the fact that vegetarian diets is much better and healthier than a diet that contains meat. In order to produce meat for meat eaters, human need to kill billions of animals to fulfil the need of population in the world. However, human do not need to kill a plant to obtain vegetarian food. This is not only an act of ki ndness to the animal, which is a living like human being it also shows the appreciation to the nature and conserves the environment.

Gender Relationships in Shakespeares Plays

Gender Relationships in Shakespe bes PlaysThe subject of gender dealinghips within the work of Shakespeare became a matter of lively upset during the last quarter of the twentieth century and continues to be an area that attracts much scholarship and controversy.Perceptions that early(a) modern font society was antithetical to either exercise of military force by women must be counterbalanced by the knowledge that, until 1603, a woman, Queen Elizabeth, held the ultimate power in England. Recent research has increasingly revealed that crossways this society a significant total of women held economic and social power and so the idea that Shakespeare reflects a society in which women area powerless and ladened group is one which must be treated with somecaution.Shakespeares work presents a wide variety of fe staminate person characters and the ways in which they sustain been perceived has change over the four hundred old age since the plays and poems were written. Play script s areparticularly susceptible to re-interpretation and in many ways much(prenominal) interpretations reflect as much some their suffer historical period as close the one in which the plays were originally written. Each age finds its induce relationship with Shakespeare and so it could be arguedthat the question of whether Shakespeares women are regarded as strongor sick is inevitably charmd as much by the gender issues of the present time as by the time in which they were originally created. It is important not to put up that we can read Shakespeares women characters as examples of how women were treated in the period in which the work was written (Barker Kamps, 1995, 5), however rather to use the information that we have about the early modern period in order to see the characterisation of fictional characters as they relate to the constraints which departd on real women of the period.It is also necessary to be alive(predi regurgitatee) that, with any dramatic school te xts, the interventions of actors, directors and current interview expectationscan radically alter the ways in which fictional characters are judged.It is the intention of this dissertation to give a brief introduction to the conventional views of women during the early modern period. Some scholars, such as Lisa Jardine (1989), Jean E. Howard (1988) and Juliet Dusinberre (1996), have argued that the way in which Shakespeare created women characters was in part inflexible by the fact that they were represented by boy players on the stage. However, it is hoped that by including a discussion of the narrative poem, The enrapture of Lucrece, which was not intended for stage production, this dissertation will emphasise a continuity among Shakespeares female characters that goes beyond the necessities of the stage. The discussion will also focus on trine of Shakespeares great tragedies, written during at the peak of his career, when his work had live on popular amongst a large audienc e. The popularity of critical point, pouf Lear and Macbeth has enduredover four centuries and these plays continue to reach wide audiencesand have a significant persuade on current views of Shakespeares women.In early modern England, notions about female gender roles tended to be constructed by twain forms of discourse the theological and themedical. Theological sermons and pamphlets emphasized the biblicalinjunctions that women should be silent and obedient and that they were subject to the authority of their husbands. Callaghan (1989, 9) arguesthat Renaissance society was profoundly hierarchical and that the chain of authority extended from God, via the monarch, to men and women who were expected to impart their household relationships inconformity with the idea that women were subject the authority of their gets and husbands. Belsey (1985, 9) emphasises that men and women are not symmetrically defined. Man, the centre and hero of liberal humanism, was produced in contradis tinction to the objects of his knowledge, and in terms of the relations of power in the economy and the state. Woman was produced in contradistinction to man,and in terms of the relations of power in the family.These relationships were worked out in the public and private spheres in the requirement that, in terms of the economy and the state,women should be voiceless, and within the family they should be subjec tto their husbands, fathers and other male relatives. Thus, Newman (1991, 134) arguesTalk in women then is dangerous because it is perceived as ausurpation of multiple forms of authority, a threat to order and malesovereignty, to masculine control of commodity exchange, to a desiredhegemonic male sexuality. The extent of this perceived threat whitethorn begauged by the hard-and-fast delegation of the talking woman to the carefullydefined and delimited spheres of private and domestic life in which thehusband was exhorted to rule.In early modern medical texts, the authorised theories of Galen andAristotle, in which the female was regarded as in imperfect version of the male, predominated. Aughterson, (1995, 42) argues that the Galenictheories of the humours effectively continued to assign woman aninferior physiological state to that of man. Howard (2003, 419)observes that men and women were not assumed to be innately different, only if rather were viewed as more perfect and less perfect versions of thesame prototype. From these constructions of physiological theory camethe idea that male and female were so intimately related that they werepotentially up to(p) of transmutationStories exist from the early modern period recording cases in which,when women supposedly became overheated in running or jumping, malegenitalia would erupt from inside their bodies. (Howard, 2003, 419).That Shakespeare was aware of these ideas and utilised them in hischaracterisations of men and women is demonstrated when juncture isconcerned about his feminisation (Rose, 1995, 116), and when LadyMacbeth refutes her femininity Come, you Spirits / That tend onmortal thoughts, unsex me here (Macbeth I.v.40-41). The term weaker vessel originates from the record book and can beeffectively seen to straddle both theological and the physiologicaltheories about the relationships between women and men, as isillustrated from the following extract from a homily, dated 1562,designed to be the required reading at marriage ceremoniesSt Peter giveth his precept saying you husbands deal with yourwives according to knowledge, giving honour to the wife as unto theweaker vessel, and as unto them that are heirs also of the grace oflife, that your prayers be not hindered 1 Peter 3). For the womanis a weak creature, not endued with like strength and constancy ofmind, thitherfore they be the sooner disquieted, and they be the moreprone to all weak affections and dispositions of the mind, more thanmen be, and lighter they be, and more vain in their fancies andopinions. (An Hom ily of the State of Matrimony, 1562, from Aughterson, 1995, 23.)This essentially conservative and restrictive view of women was held,in spite of, or perhaps because of the upheaval and fermentation of Englandat that time. Early modern England was a society in transition and thedisquiet that came with modernisation often led to reactive measuresdesigned to uphold the status quo. The sumptuary laws, in which modesof congratulate were prescribed in order to maintain class divergences, can beread as an commence to rein back an increasing level of socialmobility. Similarly, the discourse of gender difference has beeninterpreted as an essentially conservative reaction to social changeTime and again in these plays, we see crucial social problemspresented in relation to a central conflict involving genderopposition. Furthermore, since that opposition entails a fundamentalhierarchy (male superiority and female subordination), its function, interms of the dominant ideology is to reinforce the status quo. Yetthis function is problematic. Female inferiority was not an undebatedcultural given. It was ferociously contestedCallaghan (1989, p.11)Recent research supports this argument. The discourse of malesuperiority and female subordination must be seen in a historicalcontext in which a significant number of women had bend in thewider society. There were many wealthy women who wielded greateconomic power some women participated in the workplace through guildmembership a significant number of households were headed by womenand a number of women in various part of the country also participatedin parliamentary elections (Rackin, 19-20). It is necessary, indeed, to balance this kind of historical evidence against therhetorical evidence that we find in contemporary texts. The attempt toprescribe and define female roles and responsibilities reflects ananxious reaction to social change, an attempt to arrest progress andestablish a conservative status quo. These anxieties and the contestedground concerning the acceptable role of women in early modern societyinevitably affects the presentation of women in the plays and poetry ofthe period. In reading Shakespeares texts, it is possible to discoveraspects of the discourse of immemorial authority as well as evidenceof womens power as agents in their own destinies. Whilst the notionof woman as the weaker vessel often informs the construction ofcharacter in Shakespeares work, I intend to argue that a closeexamination reveals that, in spite of the social stopts set(p) uponthem, these women often reveal a strength that goes beyond anythingthat may be expected. 2 The Rape of LucreceShakespeares narrative poem, The Rape of Lucrece, is based onclassical sources in Livy and Ovid and so there are some necessaryconstraints upon the actual spell of the poem. For example, Lucrecessuicide derives from the source materials and, in the context of LivysThe History of Rome from Its Foundation, this event is instrumental i nending the reign of kings and instituting the Roman Republic. It isnecessary, therefore, to understand that the classical story primarilyexemplifies the abuse of tyrannical rulers and has a deeply semipoliticalsignificance. While St Augustine later argued that the suicide ofLucrece was, from a Christian theological standpoint, culpable,nonetheless in the classical world Lucreces close was celebrated asboth tragic and heroic (Hendricks, 2000). We must, therefore,distinguish between the story that Shakespeare inherited and what hehas done with it as a narrative to discuss Lucreces suicide as thoughit were an optional plot device is to misunderstand the nature of thesource material. It is a given that Lucrece will commit suicide, butthe way in which Shakespeare has constructed the narrative and the waythat he has characterised the participants in this story carries aweight of significance. The poem concentrates not so much on theexternal events of the story, but on the internal cat ch of thecharacters or, as Maus (1986, 67) comments, the poem concentrates notupon action but upon what happens in the interstices between theimportant moments when ii people make important decisions. There are both significant tropes within this poem that are crucial tothe portrayal of Lucreces character and are pertinent to the questionof her strength. ace of these tropes has been discussed by CoppeliaKahn (1995, 42) where she argues that Shakespeare clearly blames menfor exercising several kinds of unfair advantages over women and thathe leans heavily on the traditional conception of womans physical,moral and intellectual inferiority to man. She is referring to thepassage in which men are compared with marble and women with waxFor men have marble, women waxen minds, And therefore are they formed as marble will. The weak oppressed, thimpression of strange kinds Is formed in them by force, by fraud, or skill. Then call them not the authors of their ill, No more than wax shall be accounted evil Wherein is stamped the semblance of a devil. (1240-1246)Kahn (1995, 23) argues that Lucrece is the victim of a patriarchalsystem and that Shakespeare uses the patriarchate of the classical worldto mirror his contemporary society. The trope of the marble and thewax therefore emphasises the pliability of women and their inability tohave any control over their destiny in a patriarchal society that soseverely restricts their power to act, or even to production moralresponsibility for themselves. In Kahns reading, Lucrece does,indeed, seem to have taken a waxlike impression of societys valueswith respect to her status as her husbands possession and the way inwhich she sees herself as a de-valued object when she is tainted orstained by rape. However, the poem also proposes an alternativetrope that seems crucial to an understanding of the nature of women.At the pivotal moment when Tarquin has entered Lucreces bedchamber anddisclosed his intention to rape her, Shakespeare introduces a picturethat may call into question the comparable strengths of men and womenthat of the marble and the water. Until this moment, the poem is constructed to show the readerTarquins point of view. One stanza particularly creates a directidentification between the reader and TarquinSo that in ventring ill we leave to be The things we are for that which we expect And this ambitious foul infirmity, In having much, torments us with defect Of that we have so we do neglect The thing we have and all, for want of wit, Make something nothing by augmenting it. (148-154)By using we we we us we we we, Shakespeare removes thespace between Tarquin and the reader, implicating the reader in thekind of rash risk-taking action where Tarquin is shown pawning hishonour to obtain his lust (156). Similarly, in Tarquins inner debateregarding whether he should carry out his intention to rape Lucrece(181-301) and in his reaction when he sees her incognizant (365-441), thereader has full acc ess to his thoughts and emotions, while Lucrece ispresented as an object whose external attributes are described inextensive detail yet to whose inner experience there is no access.The adorn description of Lucrece as she sleeps does indeed bear outNancy Vickerss (1985, 96) assertion that the canonical legacy ofdescription in praise of beauty is, after all, a legacy shapedpredominantly by male imagination for the male imagination it is, inlarge part, the product of men talking to men about women. The first gearthird of the poem does, indeed, present Lucrece as a silent presence, athing talked about, but manifestly without a voice of her own. Yet the crucial turning point of the poem occurs when she is awoken byTarquin. This act of awakening coincides with the sudden access thatis given to the reader to Lucreces inner experience and her voice inthe poem. Until this point, the poem attributes some reported speechto her, but the first time when her words are recorded as direct speech occurs in the stanza which begins Quoth she (575). From this pointonward, the narrative becomes intensely concerned with Lucreces innerexperience, in her perception of the harm done to herself and herhusband as well as in her decision to commit suicide. Hercontemplation of a painting of the siege of troy weight similarly enables thereader to identify with her as a person who is imaginatively engagedwith a work of art and as a person who is able to argue about moral andphilosophical issues in her own mind. It is at this point of apparent transformation in the readersperception of Lucrece when Shakespeare introduces his second tropewhich, I believe, is crucial to the portrayal of Lucrece, when thepoems narrator comments Tears season lust, though marble wear withraining (560). Although this is ostensibly a comment on Lucrecesinability to deflect Tarquin from his course by her tears and pleas, itsimultaneously proposes that even the hardness and permanence of marblecan be worn down by something as seemingly soft as water. The Galenichumoural system opposed the pissed, female humour with the dry, malehumour and so this picture of water that lastly erodes marble canbe seen not just as an inversion of the hard = strong / soft = weakequation, but also as a specific reference to the wet and dry humoursof men and women. When viewed in the long term, water is stronger thanmarble and this image is re-iterated, when Lucrece herself takes up theimage For stones dissolved to water do convert (592). AlthoughLucreces pleas for mercy are ineffective in this moment, her wordsnevertheless alert the reader to the relative strengths of stone andwater in the longer term and later her realisation that Time can wastehuge stones with little water drops (959) deports her to curse Tarquin swage his hours of rest with restless trances Afflict him in his bed with bedrid groans Let there bechance him pitiful mischances To make him moan, but pity not his moans. muffin him with hardned h earts harder than stones, And let mild women to him lose their mildness, Wilder to him than tigers in their wildness. (967-973) . Atthis point, then, Lucreces line of thought has linked the image ofhearts harder than stones with the reversal of mild women who are nolonger helpless prey, but instead predatory tigers. In the early partof the poem, Lucrece is persistently depicted as a passive victim andthis is emphasised by twin images of predator and prey, such as thenight owl and the dove (360), a serpent and a sleeping woman (362-3), afalcon and a fowl (506-7), a cockatrice and a hind (540-3), a cat and amouse (554-5), a wolf and a lamb (679). Although Lucrece is physically otiose to protect herself from Tarquin, after he leaves, this imageryis no longer used and Lucrece gains an active voice and a moralpresence that eventually lead her to the act of suicide. Henricks(2000, 115), comments that Shakespeare gives Lucrece a psychologicalcomplexity, interiority and self-awareness. The presentation of Lucreces moral complexity seems to be at oddswith the men in the narrative. Her husband is depicted as a man who isat shimmy from his initial boasting of his wife as a materialpossession, thereby exposing her to thieves (29-35), and he is laterdescribed as the hopeless merchant of this loss (1659). His finalignominy is the ridiculous squabble with Lucretius over self-controlThe one doth call her his, the other his Yet neither may possess the claim they lay. The father says, Shes mine. O mine she is, Replies her husband do not take away My sorrows interest let no mourner say He weeps for her, for she was only mine, And only must be wailed by Collatine. (1793-1799)Brutus takes the knife from Lucreces side and entombment in Lucrecewound his follys show (1810), he begins to admonish Collatine andLucretius. In this way, her death is presented as having a redemptivesignificance, not only for Brutus, but also for Rome itself. Although,within the Christian theological tr adition, suicide is condemned,nonetheless Shakespeare deliberately chose as his theme a story inwhich a suicide has a positive political effect and is placed within aheroic tradition. The Rape of Lucrece depicts a woman in her most vulnerable moment whois uneffective to resist her enemy. Yet it could be argued that she trulyfinds a way of fulfilling her assertion that I am the mistress of myfate (1069). Lucrece, though she is entirely situated within apatriarchal discourse that constructs her as her husbands possession,is neither silent nor weak. Finally, like water on marble, she has asubtle strength. 3. HamletIn the play, Hamlet, Shakespeare presents the audience with two femalecharacters who are quite unlike Lucrece. It has been noted thatLucrece undergoes a transition from her initial silence and is given avoice and an interior life that dominates more than half of the poem.Yet Gertrude and Ophelia, in contrast, are chiefly characterised byhaving very little to say. Showalter ( 1985, 78) says of OpheliaShe appears in only five of the plays twenty scenes the pre-playcourse of her issue story with Hamlet is known only by a few ambiguousflashbacks. Her tragedy is subordinated in the play unlike Hamlet,she does not struggle with moral choices or alternatives.Lisa Jardine (1995, 316) makes a similar point about Gertrude, thatshe speaks fewer lines than any other major character in the play.It is therefore incumbent upon the audience or reader to fill in thegaps for these characters, who say so little for themselves. It may beargued that both Gertrude and Ophelia are presented as conforming to anearly modern stereotype of correct feminine behaviour and that theirpresence within a patriarchal society has had the effect of deprivingthem of the hazard for either action or speech. It seems that Ophelia is the character who most epitomises theposition of a woman who is controlled by the patriarchal structuresaround her. She is presented as a woman of virtue who is obedient toher father and brother. Her reticence in the first scene in which shespeaks is effectively demonstrated by an extreme economy of words.When Laertes departs for France, her speeches are limited to halflines, single lines and pairs of lines as she receives instructionsfrom Polonius and Laertes regarding her behaviour. Although PhyllisRackin (2000, 22) has late questioned the scholarly consensus thatrespectable women were expected to stay at home, that they wereeconomically dependent on fathers and husbands, and that they weresubjected to constant surveillance by jealous men, obsessively anxiousabout their sexual fidelity, it is nonetheless original that both fatherand brother are preoccupied by the risk of Ophelia losing her virginityand thus ruining herself and bringing dishonour to her male relatives.Ophelia has only one speech of longer than two lines in which toexpress her reaction to these instructions, but her initial obedienceturns into a comment upon male hypocri syI shall theffect of this practised lesson keep As watchman to my heart. But good my brother, Do not as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven, Whiles like a puffd and reckless libertine Himself the primrose caterpillar tread of dalliance treads, And recks not his own rede. (I.iii.45-51)Poloniuss subsequent conversation with Ophelia confirms this view,but he is plain about her responsibilities to him and unapologeticabout the parallel standards that operate in this society. He begins byreferring to the need for Ophelia to protect her own honour (I.iii.97),but he then moves on to his real concern Tender yourself more dearly/ Or youll tender me a fool (I.iii107-109). Shortly by and by hestatesFor the Lord Hamlet, Believe so much in him that he is young, And with a larger tether may he walk Than may be given you. (I.iii.122-126) Ophelia has the last line in this scene and it is at least outwardly- an expression of compliance I shall obey, my lord (I.iii.136).However, her conversation with Polonius makes it clear that she hasbeen conducting a relationship with Hamlet for which she had not soughther fathers prior permission. This is perhaps an example of thecomplexities of courtship and marriage that existed in early modernEngland. On one hand, there is evidence that arranged marriage wasprobably tranquillise the norm in practice, even though marrying for lovebecomes the ideal on stage (Belsey, 2002, 129) but on the other handthere is also evidence that a more enigmatical situation existed wherepreliminary decisions were made by the young people the parents wereusually brought into the discussion only later(Amussen, 1999, 94) .Ophelias behaviour suggests that the latter was a more accuratedescription of her situation. Ophelias ability to express herself continues to be severelyrestricted end-to-end the scene in which she is confronted by Hamlet(III.i) and in the Mouse Trap scene (III.ii). However, she doeseventually find a voice, and it is through her madness that she isfinally able to confront the ultimate personification of male authority theking. Ophelias use of folk songs as a way of expressing a sexualisedsensibility is in stark contrast to the verbal control of her earlierscenes, yet the moment of her words carries the same message, asHattaway (2002, 114) comments what is significant is its exposure ofthe double standard a man gains honour among his own sex by virtue ofsexual conquests, while by the same activity a woman loses hers. Thiscontradiction can be seen as central to the character of Ophelia and itultimately destroys her. Showalter (1985, 91) comments that somefeminists have regarded Ophelias madness as a form of kick andrebellion. For many feminist theorists, she states, the madwomanis a heroine, a powerful figure who rebels against the family and thesocial order. It is also possible, however, to argue that Opheliascryptic comments on her plight are contained by her madness and that any attempt to operate outside of the strictures of patriarchy isforeclosed by her death. Ophelias madness has proved to be apowerful symbol of female insanity over the last four centuries wecould provide a manual of female insanity by chronicling illustrationsof Ophelia this is so because the illustrations of Ophelia have playeda major role in the theoretical construction of female insanity(Showalter, 1985, 80). With the benefit of four hundred years ofhindsight, therefore, Ophelias madness has attained a symbolicsignificance which is a contested site of meaning. Gertrudes part in the play has also provoked a great deal of commentand controversy. Jardine (1995, 316) comments upon the phenomenon ofblame that has become attached to Gertrude. Hamlets apparentobsession with her behaviour has been the subject of muchpsychoanalytical interpretation. However, the recent emphasis onviewing early modern literature within a historicist framework haspresented an alternative to the essentiall y anachronistic operate ofapplying a nineteenth century theoretical framework to a seventeenthcentury play. With a greater historical awareness, it is possible toview Hamlets concerns in a different way the anxiousness about hismothers behaviour that preoccupies him and distracts him from hisostensible duty to avenge the death of his father can be explained byhis mothers apparently unfeminine and inappropriate sexuality.Hamlet describes Gertrudes relationship with Claudius as hot, lustfuland bestialNay, but to live In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, Stewd in corruption, honeying and making love Over the nasty sty (III.iv.91-94)Disgusted by the physical evidence Gertrudes sexuality, Hamlet hasthree issues with his mothers behaviour he has identified that she ishot (a sign of masculinity in Galens humoural system), he is concernedat the speed with which she has transferred her affiliation from oldHamlet to Claudius (thus refuting the requirement that women should beconstant) and she also seems to behave with too much liberty. As isclear from Poloniuss rebuke to Ophelia, men could be permitted agreater freedom, but a womans freedom to act was severelycircumscribed. Gertrudes lack of restraint is seen by Hamlet asdangerous, both socially and politically. Hamlet is therefore dismayedby the fact that his mother is behaving in such a way as to go beyondthe conventional requirements of feminine behaviour and that she is, inhis eyes, encroaching onto male territory. Though it is true thatGertrude does not have many lines, her role is crucial to Hamletsstate of mind and to his ability to act in a way that he perceives asmanly. In marrying Claudius, Gertrude has also maintained politicalpower as queen and this has almost certainly had the effect of barringHamlet from inheriting the throne from his dead father. It can beargued, then, that in her relationship with Hamlet she has a level ofpersonal and political power that is the cause of his inability to takethe acti on that feels is necessary to avenge the death of his father. Gertrude and Ophelia, though they have relatively few lines, both havepivotal roles to play in Hamlet. Their influence over the outcome ofthe play is far in excess of the number of lines spoken by them. Bothof them are seen to go beyond what was the conventionally idealisedfeminine roles ascribed to them by early modern society. That theirbehaviour causes anxiety in the male characters in the play is clearLaertes, Polonius, Claudius and Hamlet are all preoccupied by theirbehaviour, yet are unable to exert the necessary control thatpatriarchal power structures require of them. Although the socialnorms of patriarchy are clearly inscribed into this play, the womencharacters display a level of non-conformity that enables them tosubvert the power structures that seek to restrain them. Shakespearehas inscribed into this play a complexity of characterisation in bothGertrude and Ophelia that denies the simplistic category of fema leweakness into which their society might have tried to fit them. 4. King LearAnn Thompson (1991, 125) has commented on the difficulties thatthis play creates in that too much critical attention has turned KingLear into a play exclusively or primarily about male power, butKathleen McLuskie (1985, 103) argues that the text containspossibilities for subverting these meanings and the potential forreconstructing them in feminist terms. In the opening scene of theplay, we are presented with what McLuskie refers to as a love test,based on the structure of a folk tale. The King creates a situationwhereby the fate of his kingdom and his daughters depends upon theirverbal declarations of love. However, if the ideal type of womanhood,as defined in early modern society, lies in its silence and modestrestraint, is could be argued that Lear is tempting his daughters intoerror by requiring such public verbal displays. He exposes hisdaughters to the unseemliness of a living woman conveying her fee lingsin a public format (Barker Kamps, 1995, 4). Shakespeare is thusproblematising Lears behaviour from the outset he embarks upon acourse that demands that his daughters prove their love by floutingpatriarchal conventions. The women are thus trapped whatever they sayor do not say, they run the risk of disobedience, either to theirfather or to the wider requirements of proper feminine behaviour. In Lears three daughters and their responses to this situation, weare presented with alternative types of female behaviour and the playalso focuses attention on their agency as it relates to the patriarchalstructures within which they operate. The play could be said to be anillustration of the weakness and folly of two old men Lear andGloucester who, as their physical powers diminish, lose their socialand political powers as well. Just as the source of womens weaknesscan be traced to their bodies, so it might be argued that a bodilydecline in old men renders them weak and vulnerable. In t he subsequentpower struggle, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia all make choices thatgovern their future and that determine the course of the subsequentdrama. Although this leads to the depiction of Goneril and Regan aspredatory adulteresses, whilst Cordelia ultimately becomes a victim whois unable to survive, it is nonetheless true to say that all three ofthese women seize opportunities to make their own choices anddecisions. From the outset, Cordelia is characterised as the pictureof modest womanly constraint, as she punctuates her sisters smoothrendition of filial loyalty with comments such as What shall Cordeliaspeak? Love and be silent (I.i.61) and Then poor Cordelia / And yetnot so since I am sure my loves / More ponderous than my tongue(I.i.75-77). Cordelias virtue lies in her card of duty andobedience and she is aware that every adult woman must divide her dutyand obedience between her husband and her father. Though this stanceis shown to place her in a double bind that leads to e xile and thendeath, yet she has exercised her own choice and has resisted pressurefrom her father to take another course. In choosing the path of truthto herself, she has become her own moral arbiter and is the first ofthe three daughters to openly rebel against her father

Essay --

BelovedThe myth in Beloved authored by Toni Morrison was have-to doe with on the aftermath experience of the protagonist Sethe as a slavery escapee. The story which defied chronology was mirrored in flashbacks. The harsh experience of slavery was still observable and the memories of bitter struggles were still haunting the characters. There was an inhibition in the ability to move on. The ruination of identity by slavery and competence of language were dickens vital themes in the story and would be further analyzed.Ruination of identity by slavery as theme depicted the physiological, workforcetal and spiritual shipment of slavery which is inescapable as it continues to haunt the characters like Sethe and Paul D who experienced it. Slavery was accompanied with negativity on the true identity of oneself and this make story have several situations of self-denial and estrangement. For example, Paul D was unsure of whether the wailings and tears of grief, he was feeling were c oming from himself or someone else In the boxes the men heard the water rise in the trench and looked out for cottonmouths. They squatted in muddy water, slept above it, peed in it. Paul D thought he was shriek his mouth was open and there was this loud throat-splitting sound--but it may have been somebody else. Then he thought he was crying. Something was running down his cheeks. He raise his hands to wipe away the tears and saw dark brown slime. The slaves received endured inhuman conditions which included being traded as a rule good in exchange for paper money. Paul D always questioned his worth as a human and suffered from inferiority of being insecure of whether or not he was truly a man. Sethe also experienced the cruelty of slavery. She once intrude... ...ry when Paul D and prison inmates from Georgia sang astir(predicate) their past experiences and dream garbling the words so they could not be understood tricking the words so their syllables yielded up other mea nings. In another case, Stamp gainful saw through the window, two backs and went to see for himself believing that the undecipherable language clamoring around the house was the mumbling of the black and angry dead. The titling of the story comes down to what is regarded as language misunderstanding. At the burial of her daughter whom killed by her hand, Sethe misunderstood the ministers address referring to the living as Dear love life and interpreted it as referencing to the dead. The meaning of words depend heavily the changing interpretation of words figures of speech rely on the capability of words to charge and disconnect with the definitions of words.

Effects of Influences Essay -- Sociology Risk Factors Protective Facto

Statement of ProblemComing from the inner-city I have been exposed to many risk factors that affect a juveniles chances of becoming a delinquent or serious and violent offender. Intervention, however, can decrease the chances of a juvenile becoming delinquent. There are various protective factors that can buffer the encroachment of risk factors on a childs life. My mentor was the main source of protection from the risk factors of my childhood. Despite the fact that my family was not the positive influence I needed, I am grateful for my mentor because he really taught me a lot. For children raised in a single parent home, a mentor can do a world of good for both the child and himself. Both benefit from the knowledge each can provide regarding their different social worlds. The introduction to this stem is a story of how I arrived at where I am currently, compared to where I might have been had I never met my Mentor. The story of my fathers life without a father, or any other positiv e influence, is included to explain my fathers footsteps. My grandfather died in prison but with great pride about what he had done suspension the law in order to buy a home for his family. The all too common product of premature unions are children raised in a broken home with one parent. Having two incomes is a lot better than one, if not having the mom at home to raise the children while she is financially reinforcement the family. Being a single parent is very difficult, with daycare being one of the only options for childcare while working. Some research indicates that daycare causes a child to be more(prenominal) aggressive as compared to children who have both parents while growing up, one being the caretaker and the other the provider.Family is... ...ng to others they often turned to drugs because they looked at it as being what the cool kids are doing. The participation in drug use will lead a person to only make friends with those who do drugs. The interviewees were a lso around drugs very often since their family members did it as well. When the parents do not look down upon the use of drugs they are only encouraging the use of drugs. streak programs should target the parents and family similar to some type of parent management training. This type of training would consist of social and academic skills, conflict resolution and mediation. Programs that consist of more than one predictor are more effective. Community and school-based strategies are also a part of being a protective factor. Crime has still increase between the mid 1990s and now, even though the number of chronic offenders is still unknown.

Othello And Desdemona :: Literary Analysis, Othello and Desdemona

Obsidian and onyx marbleOthello and DesdemonaOthello and Desdemonas marriage was doomed from the start. Even considering the racial nature of the marriage, his lack of a constant home, and the improper method of his courting, there is another reason why their marriage would never have worked. Othellos mark of Desdemona prevents him from considering her a person. He thinks of her instead as superior to himself in every way, to the point that she is a god. Her race, beauty, and status make her godly in his mind. Because Othello thinks of Desdemona as Alabaster(5.2.5) he will never consider her capable of responding to his love.Because Othello is at his wits end when he refers to her as Alabaster, he is speaking out of his heart. After Othello reads the letter from Venice, he begins to speak in less cohesive manner. For instance the line, Pish Noses, ears, and lips. Isnt Possible? Confess Handkerchief O devil(4.1.42) contains none of Othellos former eloquence. He begins to speak with word association, rather than in complete sentences. For instance, the word confess brings up the word Handkerchief, and devil. Because Desdemona, the handkerchief, and the sentience of maliciousness were on his mind so much, he begins to express with abstract words and ideas instead of sentences. Although this makes his lines harder to read, they show us what he is constantly thinking of. sort of of clear and concise lines, they are a torrent of his true feelings. Therefore when he describes Desdemona as Alabaster, we can be sure it is his inner celluloid of her. Alabasters beauty gives you an idea about his feelings of bodily inferiority to her. Alabaster is a naturally beautiful stone, used by ancient Egyptians and Chinese to make statues and vases. This word choice gives the reader a sense of his feelings of inadequacy to Desdemona. He is never said to be ugly, on the contrary, he is described as far more fair than black(1.3.291). He must have felt some sensitivity about his physical appearance. In contrast, he describes her smell as fair as Dians visage(3.3.389), Dian most likely being the god of healing in Celtic mythology. This implies both beauty and health. He then goes on to say begrimed and black as mine own face(3.3.390). Othello superimposes her clean and young white face with his grimy senior black face. The fact that he believed her to be unfaithful with Cassio further proves his insecurity.

steroids :: essays research papers

Q. I catch patients previously diagnosed as Asthma who are now classified as COPD. Should I keep them on inhaled steroids?A. If you have a strong suspicion that your patient has COPD rather than asthma (smoking history, progressive shortness ofbreath), then you should slowly reduce the dit of inhaled steroids (over several months - e.g. 25% reduction every 2-3 months). In most patients with COPD you will be able to withdraw the inhaled steroid completely, without any increase in symptoms or change in lung function.Q. What is a recommended steroid trial for COPD?A. The most frequently used regime for a steroid trial is to give viva prednisolone (40mg daily in a single morning dose) for 2 weeks. It is best to make measurements of peak expiratory flow (PEF) twice a day for 2 weeks before start oral steroids in order to get a baseline value and then during the treatment period. FEV, should be measured at the beginning and end of the baseline period and after the inhaled steroids. A steroid trial is considered positive if FEV, or mean PEF increase by more than15%, when a diagnosis of asthma is made. It is main(prenominal) to remember that some patients will have asthma and COPD atthe same time.Q. What is the role, if any, for oral steroids in COPD?A. Oral steroids are used in a semiformal trial of steroids and may be useful in acute exacerbations of COPD. They should not be used as a maintenance treatment because of the side effects of long-term steroid therapy.Q. With a newly diagnosed COPD patient should I initiate steroid therapy, if so how?A. If a patient has COPD with no evidence of response to oral steroids (negative steroid trial) then inhaled steroids should not be used. It is possible that inhaled steroids may alter the accelerated annual rate of decline in lung function with age.Q. How will I know if a COPD patient is benefiting from steroid therapy?A. The best way to determine whether inhaled steroids are beneficial is to slowly reduce the dose. If FEV, or mean PEF show no deterioration, the inhaled steroid can be completely withdrawn.Q. Will COPD patients need to be on long-term steroid therapy? If so, what about side effects?A. Only patients who have shown a positive response to oral steroids (steroid trial) should be on inhaled steroids.