Oedipus the King and Mason’s Shiloh Essay -- comparison compare contra

Oedipus the King and Mason’s Shiloh  Ã‚     Ã‚   "Shiloh," written by Bobbie Ann Mason, and Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles, contain extremely different story lines but jointly have one unique quality, the role of the woman. In each of these stories, the females struggle to overcome one major obstacle plaguing them by using their inner-strength. Norma Jean from "Shiloh" fights to leave a seemingly endless marriage, and Jocasta from Oedipus the King struggles against an ill-fate. Norma Jean and Jocasta believe that they are strong enough to conquer these challenges, but, in the end, they both realize they are not strong enough and commit suicide because of this defeat. Norma Jean and Jocasta strive to beat the one main obstacle placed before each of them; Norma Jean fights against marriage, and Jocasta struggles against fate. In "Shiloh," Norma Jean is married to a man with which she cannot live anymore. By strengthening herself mentally and physically, Norma Jean believes that she can leave her husband, Leroy. In preparation for the day when Norma Jean will leave Leroy, she takes a body-building and English composition class. After working out one day Norma Jean explains to Leroy, "I'd give anything if I could just get these muscles to where they're real hard" (491). Strengthening the mind and body is the only way Norma Jean knows to build her self-esteem and prepare herself for this day that will soon be upon her. On the other hand, Jocasta has always been a mentally strong woman. Jocasta's battle is against something much more severe than a bad marriage; she battles fate. When Jocasta first had her baby, Oedipus, an oracle declared to Jocasta th at "doom would strike him[Laius] down at the hands of a son, / our son, to... ...r too overwhelming for her. Once again the woman was not strong enough to overcome life's many challenges. How does one know if he or she has enough strength? In both of these stories, the women try to battle life using inner-strength. Even though Norma Jean and Jocasta are under extremely different circumstances, both make the same ultimate decision, death. Whether or not death was the right choice, this choice was made by both characters. Their strength was not enough to surpass the problems of life. Works Cited Mason, Bobbie Ann. "Shiloh." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Sixth edition. Eds. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Discovering Literature: Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Hans P. Guth and Gabriele L. Rico. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993.      

Law of Diminishing Returns :: essays papers

Law of Diminishing Returns The Law of diminishing returns is a key one in economics. It is used to explain many of the ways the economy works and changes. It is a relatively simple idea; spending and investing more and more in a product where one of the factors of production remains the same means the enterprise will eventually run out of steam. The returns will begin to diminish in the long run. If more fertilizer and better machinery are used on an acre of farmland, the yield will increase for a while but then begin to slow and become flat. A farmer can only get so much out of the land, and the more the farmer works, the harder it gets. The economic reason for diminishing returns of capital is as follows: When the capital stock is low, there are many workers for each machine, and the benefits of increasing capital further are great; but when the capital stock is high, workers already have plenty of capital to work with, and little benefit is to be gained from expanding capital further. For example, in a s ecretarial pool in which there are many more secretaries than computer terminals, each terminal is constantly being utilized and secretaries must waste time waiting for a free terminal. In this situation, the benefit in terms of increased output of adding extra terminals is high. However, if there are already as many terminals as secretaries, so that terminals are often idle and there is no waiting for a terminal to become available, little additional output can be obtained by adding yet another terminal. Another application for this law is in Athletics, for runners, their investment is the time and energy put into training and the yield is hopefully improved fitness. Early in their running careers or early in the training program a couple of weeks of regular training would be rewarded with a considerable increase in fitness. Having achieved a very fit state though, two weeks of regular training will achieve a barely perceptible increase in fitness.

Reflection on “A Thousand Splendid Suns” Essay

â€Å"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs. And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.† Closing the book, I just feel real and hopeful. I will not say this story is a tragedy, and I hate when people generalise it as a book where everyone died except for Laila, Tariq and their children. Indeed, a depressing and melancholy mood is seemed to be perpetuated throughout the book, which has a large time frame spanning over decades (making it also a thought-provoking historical fiction); we agonise over the misfortune of the many characters, over their fickle lives under the most evil torture of the human rights. It’s not the kind of affliction or anguish that is easy to resonate with, as lives as well as the social norms in Afghanistan are unfamiliar to most of us. But somehow, no matter how this book is portrayed as a fiction, from deep inside my heart, I know this must be the reality, the bare truth of a brutal period of modern history. The first reason, I assume, is that Hosseini is a master of story-telling. When I marvelled at Mariam’s courage to stand up against Rasheed, moved by Laila and Tariq’s unfading hope for a brighter future, I wonder, aren’t they just people who cannot be more ordinary? Every time when a person died in the story, especially those who are not the crucial roles and their deaths were merely mentioned in one line, it occurred to me that there must be thousands of Lailas, Tariqs and Mariams in Afghanistan. Each one of them had been the hero in his/her own story. That’s why at the end of the story, I felt so real and so empowered – I might be the hero of my own story. The second reason, is that every character is created so real that you cannot simply love or hate anyone. I was really surprised that I didn’t cry for many of the sad scenes until I read about Jalil’s Disney tape and his letter. Jalil, the one who deeply broke or, more precisely, devastate Mariam’s heart, who once been a cold businessman and gave away his daughter without a dither turned out to be a father who really cared for Mariam for all those years, who still regretted the Disney movie he didn’t take her to watch. He realised that at the end of his life, the thing that should be cherished most is the opportunity of being a father, the thing that should be embraced most tightly is his daughter. This person, is just so real. Even Rasheed, who is the major cause of the two women’s misfortune, has showed his fatherly love when Zalmai was born. Everyone in this story is a three-dimensional person; none of them is perfect, but each one of them can be a splendid sun shining in the sky of Afghanistan. â€Å"Real† is definitely not the only feeling I have after reading it, the most overwhelming one must be â€Å"hopeful†. Hosseini has never intended to depress anyone since the very first beginning when he wrote down the title of book – â€Å"A thousand splendid suns†. Though the walls may seemed to be ashen and rough, I can still see the thousand splendid suns hide behind the walls. This is exactly the motto, the spirit that inspired everyone in this book to keep on struggling. For Mariam, she was able to have â€Å"a legitimate end to a life of illegitimate beginnings.† because she â€Å"has loved and been loved back†. For Laila and Tariq, their splendid suns are their children, children in Afghanistan and each other. For Laila’s Babi, his splendid suns are Laila and her Mammy. For Jalil, at the end of his life, he still possessed hope to take Mariam in his arms â€Å"as he should have all those years ago†. Even for Rasheed, he once lost a splendid sun in his life, that’s why he would never let it go once Zalmai was born, who turned out to be his new splendid sun. Yes, most of them died. But they were lucky; they died with hope. In the end, I feel so real and hopeful that I almost see a thousand splendid suns shining in the sky now.

Consequences of the Black Death essays

Consequences of the Black Death essays I believe that the Black Death had many consequences, good and bad, on European history. In example, it killed thousands of people, afterwards there were revolutions that led to more freedom for peasants and the death made people either less or more religious. So in ways it was a great help to society as in others it was a great disaster. The Black Death did kill thousands of people, but England had been greatly overpopulated before the plague. The loss of all those people opened up more land and resources to the survivors. The population loss during the Black Death also led to increased productivity by resorting a more efficient balance between labor, land, and capital. This decline in people meant an increase in per capita wealth. This meant more money all around. After the Black Death, there were revolutions that led to more freedom for peasants. As the demand for labors became greater, peasants soon realized that they were actually very important members of the society. Without laborers lands could not be worked and money could not be made. Because of the shortage of workers after the plague, peasants wages rose greatly. Of course landlords didnt like the idea of peasants being paid so well and tried to put in to affect laws preventing it. On being the English Statute of Laborers (1351), which tried to freeze salaries and wages at prices before the plague. The peasants revolted and the statute didnt help land owners. Peasants and the working class now held power. People either became more or less religious during the Black Death. It was not unusual for people to turn to gross sensuality or to hysterical religious fervors during the plague. Some people joined groups of flagellants, who whipped and scourged themselves as penance for their and societys sins, in belief that the Black Death was Gods punishment for humanitys wickedness. ...

Name about my name poem Essays

Name about my name poem Essays Name about my name poem Essay Name about my name poem Essay Name: Course: Lecturer: Date: Name about my name poem Ahmed I was named after my grandfather, It is the number 300, In addition, my name is of profit Mohamed’s name, It is a Muslim name and it embraces humor, As a way of defusing hatred and prompting understanding, My initials is AA, My nickname is Ace, The reason for my nickname is because, Whenever I play card, I do have at least one ace on my head, My name is Ahmed, My friends misinterprets it as Ahmed Ahmed, Just like the Arab-American comedy actor, Because I make funs, which make them laugh, My friends find it hard to hate me because am peaceful, My name is Ahmed, It means I believe in religious revolutionary, That only through Ahmed, people can seek Allah, He is the one, who brings trustworthiness that improves, Performance of Islamic religious beliefs, My name is Ahmed, The profit of Mohammed through which people seek Allah, Those who seek for help from Allah, Have no doubts on him, Because they will get peace through Mohamed, My name is Ahmed, It is like prophet Mohamed, Because through Allah, he creates peace, It is the memory of my grandfather, Who taught me to believe and have piece with others.

How to Use the Casual French Term Sympa

How to Use the Casual French Term Sympa Most people in France use the casual adjective sympa  (pronounced sam  pa) to mean nice when theyre describing a person or thing that they like. Its a very versatile word and can be used to express general affection for places, objects, and ideas or concepts in addition to people you know. French speakers also use sympa to mean pleasant, friendly, and good. Expressions and Usage There are any number of ways you can use sympa in everyday conversation. For instance: super sympa very niceavoir lair sympa to look kindElle est trà ¨s sympa. Shes a really nice person.Cest un type sympa. Hes a nice guy.   Cest un type  vraiment sympa. Hes a really nice guy.Il nest vraiment pas sympa.  Ã‚  Hes not very nice at all.type sympa, mec  sympa,  chic type, mec bien (very colloquial) nice guyMerci, cest sympa. Thanks, I appreciate it.   Ãƒâ€¡a va  Ãƒ ªtre  sympa. Thatll be nice.   Ton copain est super sympa ! Your boyfriend is really nice!Elle nest vraiment pas sympa. Shes not very nice at all.sympa, amusant,  drà ´le,  marant funAllez, sois sympa. Go on, be a sport.un coin sympa pour pique-niquer a nice spot for a picnicCeci est une touche trà ¨s  sympa.   This is a really  nice  touch.Ce nest pas trà ¨s  sympa  mais, aprà ¨s tout, on devait trouver une solution. Thats not very nice, but, after all, we had to find a solution.C’à ©tait aussi trà ¨s  sympa  de rencontrer plein d’autres co llà ¨gues de diffà ©rents pays. It was also very nice to see a lot of my colleagues from different countries. Peter,  sympa  mais avec grande gueule... Peter is a nice guy but he has a big mouth.Gà ©niale ! C’à ©tait  sympa  et enrichissant la fois. It was great! Fun and enriching at the same time.

Cont-wk 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cont-wk 10 - Essay Example The biological perspective states that one of the monoamines, may be responsible for aggressive behavior. Specifically, the serotonin in the neural circuits is responsible for modulating aggression in animals, but in human behavior, serotonin activity can cause impulsive behavior and aggression (Weiten, 2001). The biological perspective can be compared to the behavioral perspective because it presents a reason why an individual may exhibit the behavior. Freud believed that aggressive behavior was normal and it was a way to relieve stress in order to get to catharsis. He defined catharsis as the "release of emotional tension" (Weiten, 2001, p. 539). However, other researchers have noted that aggressive behavior does not relieve stress; instead, it increases this behavior. Carol and Hodges (2006) studied aggressive boys and found that one contributing factor for aggression in boys was the fact that they tended have aggressive friends. Another interesting point that Carol and Hodges found was that when groups of aggressive boys get together, they may become aggressive towards specific victims. In looking at the reports about the Columbine High School shootings, the boys that were being bullied were considered misfits because they were not athletes. This would support the research of Carol and Hodges, especially if these children experienced aggressive behavior in their early adolescence. They suggested that if the relationship between the aggressors and the victims was studied more, there may be interventions that could be found early to stop the behavior before it starts. The psycho-social perspectives takes into consideration both the biological and behavioral perspectives. Newman and Fox (2009) researched aggression in the American high school and college settings between 2002 and 2008. They studied five factors that may influence whether children became aggressive enough to kill: 1) the shooters perception of themselves as being outside the