Fashion 1980 - Grunge Fashion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fashion 1980 - Grunge Fashion - Essay Example The essay "Fashion 1980 - Grunge Fashion" concerns the grunge in fashion. While the 1990s Grunge clothing has retained some elements from the previous decade, the influence of the â€Å"sophisticated, uptown aesthetics† becomes prominently pronounced, especially in designs of eminent designers such as Dries Van Noten. On the other hand, designers like Philip Lim have focused on blending the â€Å"nostalgic and modern† and combining the aesthetics of floral patterns with silk material and graphic T-shirts with printed skirts. Outfits like these epitomize the modern women’s zeal towards a carefree life that softens the recalcitrant zest of the females of the previous decade. Grunge fashion thus challenges the conventions and allows women to make their statement against the traditional male dominance. Style icons like Kate Moss have brought evolutionary changes in Grunge style by transforming it into a â€Å"modern wearable style†. Thus, what once has been co nsidered as outrageous has become a norm in fashion, allowing women the freedom to express themselves through their dresses and apparels. Grunge, the â€Å"uniform of alternative rockers† and the young adults of the previous two decades returns with all its popular appeal in the 2010s and celebrated designers begin to â€Å"serve up grunge on the catwalk†. Many women, who cherish the nostalgia of this cult, view it as a â€Å"natural order of things† that the passion of their young age has come back with a firm statement to take their teenage daughters by storm.

“Why College Education Is Important to Me” Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Why College Education Is Important to Me† Essay Each year, thousands of people throughout the United States go to college. Depending on individual’s ambition or needs, in predicate logic, various high School graduates go to college for different reasons, including just having fun. However a college education gives you more options and a better life. Why College education is important to me, Primary because if I go to college I will gain skills that I will use for the rest of my life, college education is a solid investment for my Future. I’ve always wanted to be a business man, because business degrees can Help you advance your career and secure positions that you cannot get with a DAVIS 2 High school diplomat. There are other important benefits to college education, such as an Informed citizenry, making better decisions, and appreciation of literature. Secondary, a college education gives opportunities to grow financially and Morally. A college education is absolutely necessary to me because it is the key to Success and has no age limits. Better education gives you the qualification to Better jobs and it gives you more self-confidence. Bobby Scott quoted â€Å"It is Virtually impossible to compete in today’s global economy without a college Degree.’ Knowledge is not innate, but it is learned and shared, Finally a college education is important to me more knowledge I Have more money I get. I have dreams like everybody else, I dream One day after I get married before me and my wife start a family, I would love to Visit some countries; to travel with my wife, I would love to see Paris one day, I DAVIS 3 Would love to visit Barcelona, Italy, Spain, Quebec, Macedonia, and I want to do Mission around the world but especially in Haiti, cause I always wanted to be able To help my people, and my family. But if I don’t have Enough money saved this will always be a dream. After I receive my college Education I will have better opportunities, better ways to earn more money, if I Have a great paycheck I will have a better saving, and I will be able to realize my Great dreams. If every year, Thousands of people throughout the United States go to college, I Want to be one of the thousands; college education is very important to Me because; if I go to college I will gain skills that I will use for the rest of my life, a College education gives opportunities to grow financially and morally, a College education is important to me because more knowledge I have more DAVIS 4 Money I get. This is why college education is important to me.

Satanism :: essays research papers

Welcome to the hidden world of Satanism, where evil is embraced, not feared. According to a 1989 â€Å"Seventeen† survey, Satanism is believing that Judeo-Christian religions suppress man’s natural urge to seek out pleasure. Followers follow the devil and turn toward evil for pleasure. Teenagers are affected greatly by Satanism. There are many methods used to lure young people into joining satanic groups. The first initial approach is inviting a young person to a meeting on a certain topic, appealing to the their curiosity. The goal of this is to psychologically manipulate the teen during the meeting. Another approach is to have a party which offers alcohol or drugs with the same goal as the meeting. This method seems to promise the unrestricted fulfillments and desires. Blackmail and the promising of supernatural powers could also be used to lure teens into Satanism. Every group uses a different method, but most of them seem to work. There are several factors that put teenagers at risk for Satanism. These include low self-esteem, alienation from peer groups, and curiosity about sex and drugs. Some people even think that poor parenting at an early age can cause the child as a teen to become involved in Satanism. The first problem is emotional withdrawal from parents. The second reason is being exposed to violence or being the victim of a violent act. Since Satanism uses forms of violence, such teenagers do not find it repulsive . The third parent-child interaction that involves risk is the parents demanding strict religious observance while not following the rules themselves. Here are some of the questions that teens can ask themselves to see if they are becoming involed in Satanism. The more that are answered yes the more that teen is at risk. 1. My parents often ignore me. 2. I want to experiment with drugs, but I am afraid of being caught. 3. I was physically or sexually abused as a child. 4. I have been robbed or beaten up. 5. It is not unusual to see violence in my neighborhood. 6. My parents make me go to church. 7. Adults so not seem to understand my taste in music. 8. My parents have given me too many rules. 9. I don’t feel good enough about myself to ask a special boy/girl on a date. 10. I enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons or similar board games.

Curb Your Enthusiam †an in Depth Analysis Essay

In the year 2000, the legendary comedian, Larry David ,created curb Your Enthusiasm. It is a comedy television series produced by HBO about Larry David, starring Larry David himself. He plays himself as a retired comedian producer and writer. The show follows him through his day to day life, which frequently puts him in awkward situations as he often gets annoyed with the status qua and normal social situations. Larry is extremely vocal about his irritations, involving not only him, but the other characters on the show. The show depicts an unflinching, self-deprecating depiction of his life and the lives of his family and friends. The show is called Curb Your Enthusiasm because Larry David feels that most people live their lives by means of false enthusiasm. He thinks they do this in order to give off the impression that â€Å"we are better than you†. Larry also called the show Curb because he did not want his audience to expect too much from the show following seinfelds enormous success. Curb eventually became one of the most critically acclaimed television series, reaping in numerous awards and fans. There are many versatile characters on Curb Your Enthiusiasm, which makes the show extremely dynamic. His wife and eventually ex wife, Cheryl, played by Cheryl Hines is usually Larrys voice of reason. She often guides Larry in the right direction of the social norms, and vociferously expresses her annoyance with him on his many social faux passe. Larrys best friend, Jeff Greene, played by Jeff Garlin, is another major influence on Larry’s character. He is known to be without morals and scruples, paying little regard to the fact that he is married and with a child. Many times, Jeff gets Larry involved in his infidelities, constantly building to Larrys own drama. His wife, Susie Green , played by Susie Essman, is a bully. She is constantly putting down her husband,Larry, and friends, often using profanity and sheer uncouth behavior. Although she has a foul mouth, she walks on the straight path of morality versus her husband and Larry. Last but not least, Larry himself. Larry is an uncivilized, crude, and neurotic individual. He usually has good intentions, but they are blinded by his selfish and stubborn personality. He is not shy about his thical principles and morals, and continuously voices his opinion when a situation does not go his way. Generally, he initiates his situations on petty details, which snowball into major issues and dilemmas. He pursues what he perceives to be the right path, although the social norms may dictate something else entirely. His actions continuously lead him into awkward, entertaining, and side splitting situations which he is persistent about correcting. His misjudgments are so extraordinary that Larry David created a place for himself in pop culture termed a â€Å"Larry David Moment†: an extremely awkward social situation. Some of Larry’s most famous indiscretions are â€Å"stopping and chatting† with acquaintances and tipping at restaurants. Larry David himself is an extremely talented comedian. He, along with Jerry Seinfeld co-wrote and produced the mega popular Seinfeld. After nine seasons of Seinfeld , it was an end to an era. Seinfeld ran its last episode in 1998. In 1999, Larry produced the first Curb Your Enthusiasm. Originally It was meant to be a one time exclusive, a one hour mockumentary- when the characters are aware of the precense of the cameras and crew. The show turned out to be a major success. The Larry David show quickly snowballed into Curb Your Enthusiasm, one of the greatest and highly acclaimed shows of all time. Television has many different popular genres, styles, and programs. Before Curb Your Enthusiasm arrived on the scene, the most popular programs from the nineties were Roseanne, Friends, Full House, Family Matters, and Everybody Loves Raymond. These television shows formed TV into new directions and defined the humor of the decade. They were the start of television sitcoms- shortened for situation comedies. A sitcom is a show that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue. Originally, sitcoms started as radio shows, but as we evolved to a television-oriented society, sitcoms acclimated as well. One of the most famous original sitcoms is I Love Lucy, known for being one of the best and most popular shows of all time. It was the first show to perform in front of a studio audience. Lucy showed and influenced society in many ways such as the difference between the sexes. â€Å"The I Love Lucy show continued the ever-popular and age-old â€Å"battle between the sexes† scenarios. Ricky and Fred would try to â€Å"teach† the girls a lesson now and then, and vice versa. In many ways the â€Å"Ricky & Fred† team vs. The â€Å"Lucy & Ethel† team put men and women on equal ground, as the two continually schemed against one another with similar rates of successful schemes and backfired ones. This was one way for Lucy to escape the submissive housewife image with some defiance of her own. There was a constant desire to outdo the other sex, which perhaps was a signal of the changing times and changing roles men and women would hold in the coming decades†. Sitcoms used single camera filming style, which was more practical given the visual effects used in these shows. This allowed for the careful creation of special effects and sharp editing, features which were not possible with the same finesse in a multi-camera production. Many of these programs were not filmed before live audiences, and featured a laugh track. Jerry Seinfeld, in 1989, created Seinfield, the mega popular sitcom, known to be one of the greatest shows of all time. Seinfield follows the life and creator Jerry Seinfeld, as he lives his life using absurdism- conflict between the human tendencies to seek inherent value and meaning in life and the human inability to find any. The characters of Seinfeld have no morals, hope, ambition, and compassion. Everything they do leads to failure. The show is a show about â€Å"nothing†, meaning there is no climax or moments of pathos for any of the characters. Curb also uses many of the same attributes. The show is based on absurdism, with the characters having little or no morals whatsoever. It is also a show about â€Å"nothing†, following the characters mundane day to day tasks. Television shows have a major cultural affect on society. Friends, for example, was so popular that its influences still affect us till this day. Of example, Rachels haircut is called â€Å"The Rachel†, Joeys catchphrase â€Å"How you doin† and the Central Perk Franchise are just a few of the cultural affects Friends had on our society. It also changed the format of love and family, thriving on the concept that â€Å"all you need is good friends†. The sitcom depicts the idea that we can choose our family and live life in a more unconventional manner. According to pop-culture expert at the University of Buffalo, Friends is â€Å"one of those rare shows that marked a change in American culture†. Most of the Television shows that premiered when Curb Your Enthusiasm came out were complete opposites of it. For examples, shows such as Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Scrubs, and Degrassi were extremely popular. These shows are all drama comedies, scripted, and the fictional opposite of documentary style. Another popular television show is Grey’s Anatomy. Grey’s Anatomy is a medical drama about a group of surgeons working at Seattle Grace Hospital. The show centers on Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and her life as a resident at the hospital. In addition to her relationship with her neurosurgeon husband, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), and best friend Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), it also explores her relationships with her peers and the other doctors around her. It is filled with romantic drama and ethical dilemmas that are extremely unrealistic. The characters are also very good looking and impracticable. Curb is unique in many ways that makes it exceptionally hilarious and an instant cult classic. The show is mostly improvised, meaning that there is no real script that the show sticks to. The characters have a storyline, based off of a couple of pages written by Larry David himself. The actors then improvise their dialogue based on the story outline, direction, and their own creativity. Unlike most other popular sitcoms, Curb has basically no writers, no script, and no rehearsal. The characters are raw, and easily believable. They do not dress in high fashions, look like models, or act like people normally would. There is no epic romances or crazy drama. The show is just Larry taking on the social scene in his own unique way. In many episodes, Curb—like its predecessor Seinfeld—tied together apparently unrelated events woven throughout a given episode into an unforced climax that resolves the story lines simultaneously, either to Larry’s advantage or detriment. For example, in the episode The Black Swan ( season seven, episode 7) that is exactly the case. In the beginning of the episode, Larry discovers that his mothers gravestone is misspelled and vows to fix it. Larry and his buddies are then seen at the snobby golf club, which has many rules that Larry constantly breaks, including accidently killing the owners swan and other golf member and refusing to tip the waiter. At the end of the show the grave says â€Å"mother of swan killer† and Larry gets caught. The whole show ties together beautifully, with every detail eventually playing a part in the ending. Another example of the show is Every show displays this brilliance, making it hilarious and highly enjoyable to watch. The show also uses a single camera setup. The single camera setup is generally utilized on comedy series that either require or strive for specific shots and camera angles and visual set-pieces. When the potential of the single camera filming style is fully maximized the camera movement, the way shots are composed and edited, and other directorial flourishes, will be as much a source of comedy as the behavior of the characters. The shows asthetics are also plain and simple, making it seem as if its real life and easy to believe. This leads to the style of the show- a mockmentary. Mockumentarys are in the same style as a documentary, yet shot when the cast is fully aware that the cameras and crews are there- like a fake documentary. It is highly improvised, meaning the characters do not memorize a script and just act. They must be creative with the story and put their own â€Å"sparkle† in it. The show is not filled with the typical dramas and unrealistic actors that other leading television series are famous for. It is therefore easily relatable and loveable. Another example using all these elements is from season eight, episide three- The Palestinian Chicken. Larry relishes his role as a â€Å"social assassin† until it becomes a liability with his friends, on the golf course and at a Palestinian restaurant. The story once again has a beginning, middle, and ends which all ties together towards the end of the episode. Another appealing aspect to the show is its depiction of Jewish characters. Vincent Brook stated, â€Å"Curb’s commitment to Jewish identification greatly enhances its storytelling capacity, as it lends greater realism and dimension to the characters and opens the show up to episodes with meaningful Jewish themes. † Larry’s character mirrors the â€Å"schmiel† from Yiddish folklore. The schlemiel is usually a comic character whose actions lead to his inevitable downfall, but also stands as a form of resistance to social and cultural values and norms. David Gillota wrote: â€Å"As a true schlemiel, Larry’s failure serves as a direct challenge to the status quo and encourages viewers to question the myriad unwritten rules that we follow in our everyday lives. † Gillota also observed: â€Å"Whereas the schlemiel of Eastern Europe encountered problems that mostly affected Eastern European Jews (such as anti-Semitism and economic survival), Larry encounters problems that affect contemporary middle- to upper-class American Jews, namely, Jewish assimilation, secularism, intermarriage, and, as all of these uggest, the Jews’ precarious ethnic identity in an increasingly multicultural environment. â€Å" Alec Berg, one of the writers for Curb and Seinfeld said, â€Å"Structure, structure, structure. Every single thing in a script must advance the plot or define a character more deeply (ideally both, in a hilarious way) or it will die in the edit†. Larry David himself is nowhere near as vivacious as the Larry David he plays onscreen. Larry lives vicariously through his character, acting as a total social piranha wherever and whenever he pleases. He has said in an interview that, â€Å"he is my version of Superman. The character really is me, but I just couldn’t possibly behave like that. If I had my druthers, that would be me all the time, but you can’t do that. We’re always doing things we don’t want to do, we never say what we really feel, and so this is an idealized version of how I want to be. As crazy as this person is, I could step into those shoes right now, but I would be arrested or I’d be hit or whatever. I find the character to be honest. And honesty comes off as cranky or rude, I suppose. But that character is way happier than I am. I’m cranky. He’s not cranky. I’d be much happier if I were more like him. † He also said â€Å"From the character I play on the show? The only difference is he’s much more honest than I am. He’s brutally honest, and I am not. People seem to think that he’s cranky, I get that. I don’t see him as a curmudgeon. I just think he’s honest, and he gets in confrontations with people because he’s honest. I am not honest. Because of this very delicate, socially balanced world we live in, you can’t talk like that†. He feels as if he is breaking through a barrier, an inhibition that he couldn’t do as himself. In conclusion, Curb Your Enthusiasm is not your average Television show. Thanks to the comedic genius, Larry David, the show has become a smash hit success, running a full eight seasons and counting. It has become part of pop culture, establishing its own terms and concepts. The use of mockumentary, absurdism, dry humor, and realism are a major part of the shows charm and success. Filled with quirky and dry humor, Curb continues to break barriers, pleasing and shocking its audience’s episode after episode.

Inferno: The Cantica of Artful Horror

Dante Alighieri’s â€Å"Inferno†, only one part of the Divine Comedy though hailed by many as the most compelling of the three canticas, deserves to be called a literary classic because it is not only an exceptional example of classical literary horror, but it is also a representation of how medieval people envision hell.   It is a blend of grotesque monsters and historical figures whose binding tie is sin in its many forms. Alighieri invites the reader to enter the nine circles of hell; the deeper the circle, the more serious the sin.   Unlike most contemporary horror that showcase graphic violence wrought by horrifying monsters or a more intellectual and atmospheric environment, Alighieri attempts to create horror that is both gruesome and intelligently peopled by real historical people and real sins.   Moreover, the reader can almost believe his version of what hell’s landscape is like. The Inferno explores the edge of limbo to the innermost circle of the Malebolge.   In each step of the journey, depictions of suffering bring the reader to an awareness of base human desires making him or her face the reality that people help create the nine circles of hell by living sinfully.   A piece of literature that is still remembered after more than 700 years must be considered a literary classic representing a genre that may not receive as many praises as others.   Though a classic piece that touches on views of the Christian afterlife, true to its horror genre â€Å"Inferno† still shocks and frightens.

When Is the FAFSA Deadline for 2019 Federal and State

When Is the FAFSA Deadline for 2019 Federal and State SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips To be considered for federal financial aid, you must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Most states, colleges, and universities also use the FAFSA to award other types of institutional financial aid, including state- and college-sponsored financial aid, such as grants, educational loans, and work-study programs. If you don’t get your FAFSA submitted by the deadline, you might be missing out on free money. Don’t do that. Make sure you know all the applicable federal, state, and college deadlines. Get that money! In this article, we'll discuss when you should submit the FAFSA and how to ensure you don't miss any important deadlines. We'll also explain the financial aid process after you submit your FAFSA. When Are Federal FAFSA Deadlines? You can file a FAFSA for the 2018-2019 school year anytime between October 1, 2017, and June 30, 2019. Online applications must be submitted by midnight Central Time on June 30, 2019.Any corrections or updates must be submitted by midnight Central Time on September 14, 2019. For the 2019-2020 school year, you can file anytime from October 1, 2018, to June 30, 2020.Once again, applications must be submitted by midnight Central Time on the final date. Corrections or updates must be submitted by September 12, 2020. If you're applying to college this year (meaning you'd start in fall 2019), you should submit your FAFSA as soon as possible- definitely by summer- to meet state and college deadlines and to maximize the amount of aid you can receive. When Are State FAFSA Deadlines? FAFSA deadlines vary for each state to be eligible for state-sponsored financial aid. Generally, state deadlines have remained the same from year to year. A number of statesask students to submit their FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Then, financial aid will continue to be awarded until state funds are depleted. Thus, it's essential to submit your FAFSA early if you live in one of these states. Below, I have listed all the state deadlines for the FAFSA for the 2019-2020 school year. The dates are for 2019 unless otherwise noted. As previously mentioned, these deadlines tend to stay the same each year. This information was taken directly from the FAFSA website. Alabama Check with your financial aid administrator. Alaska Alaska Performance Scholarship - June 30. For priority consideration, submit application by date specified.Awards made until funds are depleted. Alaska Education Grant - As early as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. American Samoa Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. Arizona Check with your financial aid administrator. Arkansas Arkansas Challenge - June 1 by midnight Central Time. Workforce Grant - Check with your financial aid administrator. Higher Education Opportunity Grant - June 1 by midnight Central Time. California March 2 (postmarked by) for many state financial aid programs. Cal Grant also requires submission of a school certified GPA by March 2. Applicants are encouraged to obtain proof of mailing their GPA and to retain a copy of their GPA form. For additional community college Cal Grants - September 2 (postmarked). Colorado Check with your financial aid administrator. Connecticut February 15 by midnight Central Time. For priority consideration, submit application by date specified. Additional forms may be required.Contact your financial aid administrator or your state agency. Delaware April 15 by midnight Central Time. District of Columbia May 1 For DCTAG, complete the DC OneApp and submit supporting documents by May31. Federated States of Micronesia Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. Florida May 15 (date processed) Georgia Check with your financial aid administrator. Guam Check with your financial aid administrator.Additional forms may be required. Hawaii Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. Idaho Opportunity Grant - March 1 by midnight Central Time. For priority consideration, submit application by date specified. Additional forms may be required. Contact your financial aid administrator or state agency. Illinois As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Indiana Frank O'Bannon Grant- April 15 by midnight Central Time. 21st Century Scholarship- April 15 by midnight Central Time. Adult Student Grant- As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Workforce Ready Grant- As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Iowa July 1 by midnight Central Time. Earlier priority deadlines may exist for certain programs. Additional forms may be required. Kansas April 1 by midnight Central Time. For priority consideration, submit application by date specified. Additional forms may be required. Contact your financial aid administrator or your state agency. Kentucky As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Louisiana July 1, 2020 (July 1, 2019 recommended) Maine May 1 by midnight Central Time. Marshall Islands Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. Maryland March 1 by midnight Central Time. Massachusetts May 1 by midnight Central Time. For priority consideration, submit application by date specified. Michigan March 1 by midnight Central Time. Minnesota 30 days after term starts by midnight Central Time. Mississippi MTAG and MESG Grants - September 15 by midnight Central Time. Additional forms may be required. HELP Scholarship - March 31 by midnight Central Time. Additional forms may be required. Missouri For priority consideration, submit by February 1. Applications are accepted throughApril 1 by midnight Central Time. Montana Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. N. Mariana Islands For priority consideration, submit by midnight Central Time on April 30. Additional forms may be required. Nebraska Check with your financial aid administrator. Nevada Nevada Promise Scholarship- April 1. Additional forms may be required. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Silver State Opportunity Grant - As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. All other aid - Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. New Hampshire Check with your financial aid administrator.Additional forms may be required. New Jersey 2018-19 Tuition Aid Grant recipients -- April 15 by midnight Central Time. All other applicants - September 15 by midnight Central Time for fall and spring terms; February 15, 2020, by midnight Central Time for spring term only. New Mexico Check with your financial aid administrator. New York June 30, 2020, by midnight Central Time. Additional forms may be required. North Carolina As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. North Dakota As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Ohio October 1 by midnight Central Time. Oklahoma As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Oregon OSAC Private Scholarships- March 1. Additional forms may be required. Oregon Promise Grant- Contact your state agency. Additional forms may be required. Oregon Opportunity Grant- As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Palau Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. Pennsylvania All first-time applicants enrolled in a community college; business, trade, or technical school; hospital school of nursing; designated Pennsylvania Open-Admission institution; or non-transferable two-year program - August 1 by midnight Central Time. All other applicants - May 1 by midnight Central Time.Additional forms may be required Puerto Rico Check with your financial aid administrator. Rhode Island Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. South Carolina Tuition Grants - June 30 by midnight Central Time. SC Commission on Higher Education Need-based Grants - As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. South Dakota Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. Tennessee State Grant - February 1. Eligible prior-year recipients receive priority, and all other awards are made to neediest applicants until funds are depleted. Tennessee Promise - February 1 (date received). State Lottery - Fall term: September 1 by midnight Central Time; spring summer terms (date received): February 1, 2020, by midnight Central Time (date received). Texas As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Texas public colleges - January 15. For priority consideration, submit application by date specified. Additional forms may be required. Texas private colleges - Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. US Virgin Islands Check with your financial aid administrator.Additional forms may be required. Utah Check with your financial aid administrator. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Additional forms may be required. Vermont As soon as possible after October 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. Additional forms may be required. Virginia Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. Washington As soon as possible afterOctober 1, 2018. Awards are made until funds are depleted. West Virginia PROMISE Scholarship - March 1. New applicants must submit additional information at www.cfwv.com. Contact your financial aid administrator or state agency. WV Higher Education Grant Program - April 15. Wisconsin Check with your financial aid administrator. Wyoming Check with your financial aid administrator. Additional forms may be required. When Are College FAFSA Deadlines? Most institutional deadlines for the FAFSA are between January and March for the following academic year.Some schools have deadlines as early as the second week in January. Make sure to check with the colleges you're interested in attending about their deadlines. You should also ask whether the deadline is for when the college must receive the FAFSA by, or for when the FAFSA must be processed by. Timeline After Submitting the FAFSA Generally, threedays after you submit your FAFSA, you'll receive your SAR,orStudent Aid Report, electronically. If you don't provide an email address, you'll receive your SAR by mail in seven to 10 days. The SAR summarizes your FAFSA information and gives a dollar amount for your expected family contribution for the next academic year.Your expected family contribution is used by colleges to calculate the amount of aid you're eligible to receive. Make sure all the information is correct on your SAR and submit any corrections if needed. Note thatyou might need to submit additional forms or documentation to financial aid officesif colleges ask you to do so. Some colleges require forms in addition to the FAFSA for financial aid. Typically, between March and April, you'll receive financial aid award letters from the colleges that accepted you. Normally, you'll get them with your acceptance letters or a couple weeks after. In your financial aid award letters, you'll find out how much financial aid you'll get and what your aid will consist of between loans, grants, and work-study.From your award letters, you can determine your out-of-pocket expenses for each school. Generally, you have to commit to the college you're going to attend by May 1. Between May and September, you can apply for supplemental aid to cover your cost of education, if needed. Your parents may borrow up to your cost of education minus your financial aid through the Federal PLUS loan. You may borrow up to your cost of education minus your financial aid through many private student loan programs. Finally, between May and September, if you receive a Federal Stafford Loan, you should complete the Master Promissory Note, which acts as a contract between you and your lender, saying that you agree to the terms of the loan and will repay it. Your school might provide this form to you or tell you where to complete it online. Tips to Help You Meet FAFSA Deadlines It is imperative that you submit your FAFSA by the appropriate deadline. If you don't do this, you could lose out on tens of thousands of dollars to help pay for your education. Your best bet is tosubmityour FAFSA early on- within the first couple weeks of October. This will ensure you don't miss any deadlines and will be eligible for all federal, state, and college financial aid. However, I know some of you like to procrastinate, sohere are some tips to help you stay on track: Start a financial aid folder to keep all your financial aid documents organized.Doing so will save you time and help you out, especially considering the fact that you must file a FAFSA every year you apply for financial aid! Make a note of the earliest deadline (state, federal, or college) you need to know on a calendar. Set a notification on your phone a week or two before this deadline, too. In September, start looking at the FAFSA with your parents and get together any documentation you might need for it. Encourage your parents to prepare their income tax returns as soon as possible after January 1 since you might need their returns for financial aid purposes. Regardless of whether or not your parents plan on paying for your college education, most studentswill be considered dependents for FAFSA purposes. If you have a good counselor at your high school, try to meet with her regularly. Many counselors excel at making sure their students submit all applications and forms in time. This guy might be able to help you get your FAFSA submitted on time. What's Next? College is super pricey these days, making it crucial to apply for financial aid.Learn aboutthe importance of the FAFSA and financial aid in our guide tohow much college costs. Looking for more financial tips? Then check out our expert guides onhow to get a student loan and the best jobs for teens. 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the McCain Campaign essays

the McCain Campaign essays John McCain's campaign for the office of president of the United States has been carefully thought out in order to attract the largest possible amount of voters. As in all campaigns, everything that the candidate has said and done has been screened and planned so as to not offend or scare off any potential voters. Because of the campaign's thoughtfulness and attention to detail, the McCain campaign has been mostly successful up until this point. Until now John McCain and his closest competitor for the Republican party nomination, George W. Bush, have nearly been splitting support from party members, with a slight advantage toward Bush. Both candidates have been campaigning hard and the competition has been fierce, recently resulting in the negative advertising aimed toward the opponent that has become commonplace in American politics today. The campaign's success at this point can only be based on the number of primaries and caucuses that McCain has won, and since it only inc ludes a few states, time will serve as an increasingly better indicator of his success. McCain and his advisors have incorporated many of the usual strategies into the campaign such as a large number of public appearances, speeches, debates, and advertising, but they have also included some new approaches which aim to attract voters. The campaign tries to highlight McCain's history of service to his country by means of service in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war, and as a US Senator. The major ideology that is stressed is the fact that McCain puts his country first and does and will continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure it's welfare. When asked why he is running for office, McCain sites three main reasons: To restore integrity to the office, To reform government, And to renew the American dream. The presentation of John McCain's high moral character is another strategy of his campaign, especially since many people are looking ...

What You Can Learn From Einstein and His Failures [Infographic]

What You Can Learn From Einstein and His Failures [Infographic] Life doesn’t always go as smoothly as you plan. And while it sometimes may seem you’re the only one who struggles, that’s far from the truth. People in powerful positions with successful lives and oodles of respect are not always born as golden children with the smarts, savvy, wealth, and instinct to be on top. Take the one and only Albert Einstein- the founder of relativity, everyone’s go-to example of a bona fide genius. His journey to leaving an indelible mark on the world was far from smooth and easy!Follow the path of his life below (as seen on LifeHack) to see the twists and turns it took (from starting out with learning struggles and being called lazy, to being the mind of the century). Maybe seeing how even Einstein’s  professional life was not without its bumps will inspire you to keep your head in the game and your eye on the prize, no matter what happens.

True Sale in Securitization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

True Sale in Securitization - Essay Example The power to sell the receivables by the creditor stems from the concept of securitization, which is a â€Å"contractual right of a creditor to sell the goods of the debtor and apply the proceeds thereof in or towards the satisfaction of the debt.†1 There are three types of securitization currently used in the market. First, it could be treated as a â€Å"true sale† which is characterized by a transfer of all rights over the receivables to the SPV by the originator. Second is the synthetic securitization where the originator does not sell the accounts receivables but enters into a derivative transaction. Third, are the whole business securitizations, which a form of secured financing, and not a sale of the accounts receivables from the originator to the SPV. Of the three types of treatment, the rue sale may prove to be the safer ground for the seller. There are two points of view in true sale transactions namely the originator’s perspective and that of the SPV. Since Bank A falls under the category of an originator, we will then the originator’s perspectives. As earlier discussed, securitization is aimed at raising funds. For the originator, it is also a method of extracting profit. However, extraction of profit must be done with caution as it has the tendency to run foul with regulations and accounting principles. Under the rules and guidelines of the Securitisation and Asset Transfers (SE) as embodied in the FSA’s Interim Prudential Sourcebook for Banks, extraction of profits may be effected in the following manners, namely (a) as administration fees.

Midland Bank Call Center Installation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Midland Bank Call Center Installation - Essay Example Irrespective of the problems that are faced at site, the deadline needs to be maintained and the client was a prestigious one. Major part of the installation exercise was to make sure that all the nodes get connected appropriately and configure all the users in the unit with clear rights to work on their areas.I was the project leader. I lead a team of five engineers who were specifically allotted to install and execute the project. I managed the project, in addition to managing the issues with the people. I mobilized additional resources when needed and pruned unwanted manpower when not in need. When there was a shortage of technological manpower, I never hesitated to step in and get the work completed. Four of the five engineers could not join me, due to personal reasons, resulting in just one engineer at site with me to complete the entire 30 man days project in the ten man days. My immense experience in network technology helped me to complete the job, on my own along with the av ailable engineer.Server and client installation: The implementation of this project was planned for five days at an important client location. Server and client installation knowledge, including lining up with an existing network, create operating domains and allocating users to them for seamless operation, all require extensive technological and network management capabilities.

The e-government and e-procurement situation in the GCC countries Research Paper

The e-government and e-procurement situation in the GCC countries - Research Paper Example Oman has a high level of economic growth and has a free economy.The new trade and investment laws provide better degrees of vitality and flexibility to E-commerce and the government actively participates in the E commerce initiatives to provide for better business conditions (2).Qatar is more closed up and does not allow FDI in some sectors like banking, insurance, real estate, commercial agencies. Further more not more than 40% of foreign ownership is allowed unless there is a sector like Agriculture, industry, health, education, tourism, leisure and development of natural resources, energy, and mining (2).The UAE is the fastest growing economy with the recent government’s allotment of $13.4 billion towards the development of the non-oil sector, much of which will be spent on telecommunications and information technology. A recent initiative is the Dubai Internet City which is a great move to UAE’s future internet economy (2).Bahrain is an important business center and is only recently warming up in the internet race. It is located half way between the time zones of East and West, and give that the GCC countries (mostly import oriented) have an estimated population of more than 19 million, and added 100 million to adjoining neighboring countries that leads to enormous consumer bases potential. It is reported that the Bahrain government is striving towards E-procurement in the sectors of business & financial services, tourism, information technology, telecommunications, healthcare & education (2).... Qatar is more closed up and does not allow FDI in some sectors like: banking, insurance, real estate, commercial agencies. Further more not more than 40% of foreign ownership is allowed unless there is a sector like: Agriculture, industry, health, education, tourism, leisure anddevelopment of natural resources, energy and mining (2). The UAE is the fastest growing economy with the recent government's allotment of $13.4 billion towards the development of the non-oil sector, much of which will be spent on telecommunications and information technology. A recent initiative is the Dubai Internet City which is a great move to UAE's future internet economy (2). Bahrain is an important business centre and is only recently warming up in the internet race. It is located half way between the time zones of East and West, and give that the GCC countries (mostly import oriented) have an estimated population of more than 19 million, and added 100 million to adjoining neighboring countries that leads to enormous consumer bases potential. It is reported that the Bahrain government is striving towards E-procurement in the sectors of business & financial services, tourism, information technology, telecommunications, healthcare & education (2). In a similar vein Saudi Arabia has followed suit and an even better climate is found in Kuwait where as any Kuwaiti or GCC national over 21 years of age can carry commerce in Kuwait. In Kuwait public procurement is dealt with government of law 37 of 1964, Law 18 of 1970 and Law 81 of 1977. There is no internet procedure for most of the tendering procedures and this has yet to change to promote public procurement (2). 2. Role of Internet and the other emerging ICT ways of communication in

Global Leadership and Team Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global Leadership and Team Development - Essay Example The upper half of the picture is showing total opposite scenario. The picture is giving the idea of bossing attitude of the leader. Upper portion of the picture is not at all falling in line with leadership learning’s. The upper portion of the picture is showing how the leader is misusing his power of position. The picture is showing very little scope of motivations for followers from the side of their leader. The lower half of the picture is very much consistent with leadership learning’s. This portion of the picture is showing a suitable scenario for proper leadership. Here the leader is leading from the front. Here the leader is setting example for his followers. The Leader is motivating, inspiring and supporting his followers. In this half of the picture the leader is showing ways to his followers. The picture is totally falling in line with leadership learning’s. The picture is showing that there is a mission. The leader is inspiring his followers to achieve that mission. Here in this picture the leader is handling the whole situation and supporting his followers to reach towards common goal. The leader is not authoritative at all. Here in this portion of the picture the leader is sharing burden with his followers. The leader is not at all misusing his power of position. According to leadership learning’s leadership is all about leading from the front. This porti on of the picture is showing the same thing. So this part of the given picture is very much suitable and consistent with leadership theories (Burns 137). Communication affects leader’s ability to lead very significantly. Communication is one of the most important factors for leaders to lead a bunch of followers. Proper communication is very important to channelize followers towards their goals. It is very important for each and every leader to communicate their ideas to followers. Communication

Genetically Modified organism uses and applications Essay

Genetically Modified organism uses and applications - Essay Example GMO has far and wide many uses and applications. The technology used in GMO is called modern gene technology (Lee, 2008). Genetic engineering has led to the development in pharmaceutical and medicinal drugs technology. Many organism that are of medicinal significance haven been developed in bioreactors rather than in the field. This has so far diversified the cultivation of an organism in the reactors. Example of the organism: Chlamydomonas rehardtii (alga) and Physcomitrella (moss). The diversification has led to a great monitoring in order to get the desired results on time. Important researches in the establishment and development of treatment of different diseases and ailments have applied other genetic models to come up with modified drugs. Genetic engineering in agriculture has fetched some of the best output (Ciola, 2005). There is increased yield per unit area, reduction in production cost, enhanced composition of nutrient, resistance to diseases and pesticide, enhanced nutri ents, food security among others. There has been also advancement in crops that matures faster in harsh climatic and weather conditions that would not have otherwise matured (Lee, 2008). In the same regard, the number of animals has fetched better prices in the market due to the increased production and also resistance to diseases such as foot and mouth. A good example is the salmons which have grown at a very faster rate. In addition, soil salinity has affected many parts of the world in all agricultural aspects. This has led to poor growth, and in some cases the crops have fail to grow. For instance San Joaquin Valley is an example of diverse effect of salinity. GMO research will produce crops tolerant to saline condition such as mangrove in agricultural plants. A Mangrove gene (Avicenna marina) has been implanted into tobacco plant thus resisting salt, and other ionic stresses (Ciola, 2005). Global population has been increasing tremendously, and this has resulted to food shortag e and famine with conclusive statistics of one child dying in every two seconds worldwide. These deaths emanate from starvation without taking into account people who are very poor and undernourished. There is a need to embrace genetically engineered technology not only to the farmers, but also to the societies worldwide to produce better crops in the shortest time possible with the greatest output (Lee, 2008). Research on insects has been an area of concern and importance in equal measure, in the quest to curb and control parasitic diseases. For instance, development of GM mosquitoes has been made to represent SM1 protein, which prevents the passage of plasmodium (malaria parasite) into the gut of mosquito. This leads to the interruption of its cycle and makes it resistant. GM mosquitoes being released into the environment may eradicate transmission of malaria without using harmful chemicals such as DDT (Koch et al, 2010). Transgenic animals have genes introduced through transfecti on gene called transgenic. Introduction of DNA segmentation is integrated into the animal cell. This phenomenon is applicable to various organisms and it is often called transformation. Rabbits and mice are some of the transgenic animals. Mice are often preferred to other animals because it has favorably disposed gestation period, estrous cycle, producing several offspring per pregnancy, vitro fertilization and also availability

Marketing (Mission and Vision Statements) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing (Mission and Vision Statements) - Essay Example Internet with its wide implications has revolutionized the concept of the distance and time thus facilitating wider scope for personal and professional growth. It has become an indispensable part of our daily life and a necessary business tool with its wide range of applications in the ever expanding and competitive global environment. To encash the emerging new trends, ‘Fibredyne’, a recent entrepreneurial venture in the promising new concept of FTTH (fibre to the home), has entered in the field of optical fibre network. The enterprise needs to develop futuristic strategic plans to meet its vision and mission statements. Fibredyne has entered into this field with the express vision of being a one point service provider for all the state of the art technology needs of the people. In the fast advancing technology, the company plans to become the unique hub that would provide its customers with all their futuristic needs. The mission statements of the company are designed to meet the needs and requirements of the customers through well planned strategy which would help fulfil the long term vision of the organization. Emerging markets are crucial in the era of globalization and can be defined as the new area with high income and where the demand for the product can be created with relative success. Therefore, the organization’s mission statements are important and sincere declaration of its objectives and aims. The following statements comprise of organization’s mission: 3. Become the best service provider in the field of communication technology and deliver services that range from providing infrastructural facilitation of the optic fibre networking to the hi-tech gadgets of all kinds, including computers, entertainment, telephony, broadband services etc. that would address the multiple demands of the

Genetically Modified organism uses and applications Essay

Genetically Modified organism uses and applications - Essay Example GMO has far and wide many uses and applications. The technology used in GMO is called modern gene technology (Lee, 2008). Genetic engineering has led to the development in pharmaceutical and medicinal drugs technology. Many organism that are of medicinal significance haven been developed in bioreactors rather than in the field. This has so far diversified the cultivation of an organism in the reactors. Example of the organism: Chlamydomonas rehardtii (alga) and Physcomitrella (moss). The diversification has led to a great monitoring in order to get the desired results on time. Important researches in the establishment and development of treatment of different diseases and ailments have applied other genetic models to come up with modified drugs. Genetic engineering in agriculture has fetched some of the best output (Ciola, 2005). There is increased yield per unit area, reduction in production cost, enhanced composition of nutrient, resistance to diseases and pesticide, enhanced nutri ents, food security among others. There has been also advancement in crops that matures faster in harsh climatic and weather conditions that would not have otherwise matured (Lee, 2008). In the same regard, the number of animals has fetched better prices in the market due to the increased production and also resistance to diseases such as foot and mouth. A good example is the salmons which have grown at a very faster rate. In addition, soil salinity has affected many parts of the world in all agricultural aspects. This has led to poor growth, and in some cases the crops have fail to grow. For instance San Joaquin Valley is an example of diverse effect of salinity. GMO research will produce crops tolerant to saline condition such as mangrove in agricultural plants. A Mangrove gene (Avicenna marina) has been implanted into tobacco plant thus resisting salt, and other ionic stresses (Ciola, 2005). Global population has been increasing tremendously, and this has resulted to food shortag e and famine with conclusive statistics of one child dying in every two seconds worldwide. These deaths emanate from starvation without taking into account people who are very poor and undernourished. There is a need to embrace genetically engineered technology not only to the farmers, but also to the societies worldwide to produce better crops in the shortest time possible with the greatest output (Lee, 2008). Research on insects has been an area of concern and importance in equal measure, in the quest to curb and control parasitic diseases. For instance, development of GM mosquitoes has been made to represent SM1 protein, which prevents the passage of plasmodium (malaria parasite) into the gut of mosquito. This leads to the interruption of its cycle and makes it resistant. GM mosquitoes being released into the environment may eradicate transmission of malaria without using harmful chemicals such as DDT (Koch et al, 2010). Transgenic animals have genes introduced through transfecti on gene called transgenic. Introduction of DNA segmentation is integrated into the animal cell. This phenomenon is applicable to various organisms and it is often called transformation. Rabbits and mice are some of the transgenic animals. Mice are often preferred to other animals because it has favorably disposed gestation period, estrous cycle, producing several offspring per pregnancy, vitro fertilization and also availability

Describe State Plans and discuss what must be demonstrated by the Assignment

Describe State Plans and discuss what must be demonstrated by the states, including the process, to be an approved OSHA State Plan - Assignment Example oved OSHA State Plan, first, a state must put the necessary measures and assure OSHA that within a period of three years, it will have implemented all the structural elements that are significant for an appropriate occupational and health program. Some of the elements that a state must put in place include; appropriate laws, regulations, procedures for setting up standards, enforcing the legislations, appeal of both the citations and penalties and lastly a state must have a sufficient number of enforcement personnel who are qualified. Once the state accomplishes the above requirements, it is eligible for certification. This signifies structural completeness of the overall plan (Government Institutes Inc, Government Institutes Research Group, 2007). Once the state indicates that it can be able to enforce standards independently, it enters into an agreement with OSHA. This agreement is referred to as operation status agreement. Lastly after the state has accomplished all the requirements by OSHA, it is accredited final approval which grants OSHA authority to cover and monitor all occupation safety and health safety of the state (Government Institutes Inc, Government Institutes Research Group,

Constructivism Essay Example for Free

Constructivism Essay Constructivism and/or social constructionism can be reflected particularly to Alexander Wendt. In his article, Anarchy is What States Make of It: the Social Construction of Power Politics in 1992, laid the fundamental theoretical groundwork for demanding what he believed to be a flaw between neo-realist’s and neo-liberal institutionalist’s; i. e. commitment to a form of materialism. Alexander Wendt opened the way for international relations scholars to pursue work in a wide range of issues from a constructivist perspective by attempting to show that even a core realist concept (e. . power politics) is socially constructed—that is, not given by nature. Hence, is capable of being transformed by human practice. Constructivism principally describes how many core aspects of international relations are. Socially constructed describes constructivism wherein they are given their form by means of ongoing procedures of social practice and communication. Wendt identifies two acknowledged fundamental principles of Constructivism; (1) that the structures of human association are determined primarily by shared ideas rather than material forces, and (2) that the identities and interests of purposive actors are constructed by these shared ideas rather than given by nature . In the formative work of Wendt, constructivism defies the supposition of Neorealist being Structuralist’s by means of showing that the contributory powers attributed to Structure are not given, but will depend in which Structure is constructed through social practice. Regardless of the nature, culture and traditions, religion, society, constructivism does not foresee whether two countries will be allies or enemies, whether they will recognize each others power, will have dynastic ties, and will be revisionist or status quo powers. In a constructivist’s perspective, international laws created were based on the diversity of the races, culture, religion, society, traditions and political power of each of the member countries. In example, the United Nations addresses projects of food security, poverty, and other projects that are for humanitarian purposes. Ideas generated from this kind of institution tend to help countries that were included in the third world countries or what we commonly called the developing countries. With regards to the international relations, international laws were general or universal in terms of what the participating countries see as good, basic to most of the countries, humane, and will not tolerate violence to the whole. Constructivist’s disallows anarchy, of the actions of the countries and deflects materialism. International laws and institutions craft the needed room for their interests, i. e. to take a central place in theorizing international relations. Today, countries are not simply directed by the imperatives of a self-help system but their interests become important in analyzing how they will be of help to other countries that needed them and to maintain peace at all times. As of the nature of the international system, Constructivists see our interests being not objectively grounded in material forces but the result of ideas and the social construction of such ideas. To summarize, the constructivism philosophy with regards to internal relations, the role of international laws and institutions, reflects to a social order, leadership to any system, thus, leading to foundation of international laws and institutions that are general in nature, thus, leading to better international relations of each of the countries and/or actors.

The Fifth Element: A Critical Analysis

The Fifth Element: A Critical Analysis The Fifth Element is one of the best science fiction movies ever made. What is science fiction? Stories that often tell about science and technology of the future is considered a trademark of science fiction. Science fiction films are also known to include a human element and are often set in the future, in space, on a different world, or in a different universe or dimension altogether. They often will depict dangerous or sinister natures of knowledge and vital issues about the nature of mankind and our place in the whole scheme of things. Science fiction displays the possibility to destroy mankind with Armageddon-like events through technology as well. In the film, The Fifth Element, the Earth is threatened by an evil force every 5000 years. An alien race, the Mondoshawan, have created a weapon to defeat the evil force and safeguard it on Earth in Egypt. The Mondoshawan look like gigantic upright beetles with metal skin and tiny heads. The weapon is four sacred stones representing the elements of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind with a fifth element that is used in combination with the stones. With the imminent arrival of World War I in 1914, they no longer feel the weapon is safe on Earth and come to take it away, promising to return when the evil force comes back during the course of the 5000-year cycle. In the year 2259, as the Mondoshawan are returning to bring the weapon back to Earth, their ship is shot down on the orders of an agent of the evil force, Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg. The Mondoshawan never fully trusted the human race and it was determined that the sacred stones were never on that ship, as it was a decoy. The Earths military was able to gather some cells from the wreckage of the ship, and by using the genetic makeup of those cells, reconstructed a life form. The life form, which is in the shape of a young female human, is the fifth element. Her name is Leeloo. She becomes frightened and escapes from the reconstruction chamber. She runs into Korben Dallas, a recently retired Commander of Earths military, and currently a New York City cab driver. Leeloos undertaking was to find the priest, Vito Cornelius, as he knows of the ancient ritual to set off the weapon against the evil force. President Lister was given this information regarding Cornelius earlier. President Lister recruits Dallas to go and retrieve the sacred stones from the Diva PlavaLaguna who is on another planet. Leeloo and Cornelius have their own plans. Dallas, Leeloo, and Cornelius travel to the other planet. Dallas retrieves the stones with the help of DJ Ruby Rhod. With help of Cornelius and Leeloo, the four of them beat Zorg at his own game for control of the sacred stones. They flee back to Egypt and with only minutes to spare, Korben tells Leeloo what she needs to hear and the love she feels enables her to destroy the evil force from annihilating Earth. The plot may be a standard one; good versus evil with a love story intertwined, but it is a good solid one. The film is based on a story by Luc Besson and he wrote it when he was sixteen years old. Roger Ebert agrees that the plot does sound like something conjured up by a teenager but still remains positive. In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, he states, The Star Wars movies look deep, even philosophical, in comparison, but never mind: We are watching The Fifth Element not to think, but to be delighted (Ebert). This movie is exciting and catches your attention very quickly. The introduction of characters goes seamlessly from one to another. It does, however, have many stereotypes of what one might expect from a science fiction film. Mick LaSalle said in his review of the film in the San Francisco Chronicle, Its an amalgam of every science fiction clichà © about flying cars, evil forces and benevolent outer-space creatures most of them dusted off and made new (LaSalle). Many science fiction films show things in them that may be unbelievable. The beauty is that these things could happen. Flying cars? Sure, that might be possible some day. Aliens coming to destroy the planet? It could happen. The Fifth Element has all of these things. This movie creates a sense of wonder in the viewer. Not only is the viewer wondering what is going to happen next, like any other enjoyable film, the viewer will be anticipating what outrageous thing they are going to show you. In this world, you do believe it and it is true to the life portrayed in the film. This film is well told and the viewers will find themselves rooting for Leeloo, the fifth element. This is high-voltage excitement in a pop culture world. Its big on commercialism and there is a lot of product placement. The film is a bit predictable, by the end, evil is destroyed and the boy gets the girl. But the viewer will have a good journey to the end. The characters themselves are phenomenal. Bruce Willis plays Korben Dallas, the recently retired war hero who now drives a cab in New York City. Korben just cannot get a break. After being plagued with nightmares, he gets mugged on his way to work. He gets into an accident, where the viewer is first introduced to the beautiful Leeloo. Hes involved in a high-speed police chase and after returning home, he is notified that he has been fired. The military comes back into his life to send him on a dangerous mission. He travels with Leeloo to retrieve the sacred stones and must fight the ugly, killer-for-hire Mangalores. He must constantly put up with Ruby Rhod, an annoying DJ. After getting the stones and saving Leeloo from certain death, he must race against the evil force to set up the ancient weapon. In the end, he helps to save Earth and also gets the girl but his trials seem long and by the end, you are cheering that finally, something has gone his way. Leeloo is played by actress Milla Jovovich. Her role in all of this is that she is the fifth element. She tells Korben on their way to meet the Diva to get the sacred stones, Me fifth element supreme being. Me protect you (The Fifth Element). She has regenerated from cells alone to a perfect modelesque being that has flaming red hair with blonde roots. She learns the history of humans from a computer to bring her up to speed on Earths history. She can fight with the best of them, kicking the kung-fu out of some Mangalores. By the time they recover the stones and have made their way to Egypt to set the weapon in place, Leeloo is exhausted and is disillusioned as to why she must help the humans as she has seen the destruction they have done in history. She whimpers of not knowing love and does not realise that Korben has fallen in love with her. Korben must tell her how he really feels and kisses her with passion and she feels the love from him. She is able to make the ancient weapon work and defeats the evil force trying to demolish Earth by blasting it with white light derived from all that is pure and good. Priest Vito Cornelius, played by Ian Holm, is Leeloos contact on Earth. Cornelius takes this role very seriously. When Korben wins two tickets to Fhloston Paradise, his cover to retrieve the sacred stones from the Diva, Cornelius knocks Korben unconscious to steal the tickets for Leeloo and himself to go. When Korben shows up at the airport in time to make the flight, Cornelius stows aboard the plane in a maintenance compartment in order to reach Fhloston. He is a supporting character in this film but really is necessary for the story as he holds a plethora of knowledge that has been passed down to him from the last 5000 years. Under Korbens cover of winning the radio contest, he is bombarded by DJ Ruby Rhod, played fabulously by Chris Tucker. Ruby is simply a combination of Dennis Rodman and Pee-wee Herman, on crack. He speaks in a falsetto voice and gets irritated with Korben because his responses on air are not super green, his favourite catch phrase. Dressed flamboyantly in a leopard print body suit, he is all about using his popularity to his advantage with the ladies. He ends up with Korben in battle with the Mangalores and screams like a little girl every chance he gets. He also flies with Korben, Leeloo, and Cornelius to set up the weapon in the temple. Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg is the bad guy in all of this. Played by Gary Oldman, Zorg is an egotistical munitions dealer who is also the agent of the evil force that threatens Earth. He is relentless in pursuing the sacred stones, hiring the Mangalores to shoot down the Mandoshawan ship before it ever reaches Earth. He bullies Cornelius to try to give him the location of the stones. He puts a bomb on the pleasure cruiser to Fhloston Paradise which eventually kills him in the quest for the sacred stones. The makeup effects were not extraordinary by any measure but the visual effects in The Fifth Element are absolutely breath-taking. In the 23rd century, New York City is crammed full of people and the buildings seemingly shoot up from out of nowhere for miles. But the place they originate from is the garbage. As the author of The Fifth Element, Terry Bisson states, The deepening haze and smog that clung to the ground level of the city mercifully obscured the generations of litter and debris the urban midden that covered the streets to a depth of between twenty and forty feet (Bisson 78). The depth of the garbage problem is shown quite well. During the police chase scene, Korben and Leeloo hide the taxicab in the garbage down by the street level. Theres even a sign from an old company called IBM. In the airport scene, there is garbage piling up against all the walls due to a sanitation strike. It is heaped so high that it covers exits as a Mangalore jumped into a pile and escaped from police. The visual effects are model based as well as computer generated. The flying traffic depicted in this film is amazingly meticulous in detail. The cars are rounder at the edges and somewhat flatter than the cars of today. In the police chase scene, the details of flying the can in between cars, avoiding traffic jams, and even escaping through a train tunnel are wonderfully done. According to filmsite.org, the films most celebrated sequence was, the cab chase with flying cars (filmsite.org). Everything is brightly coloured and moves fast so the viewers attention is caught and remains focused on where the film is going. The costumes for most of the characters are all a little strange and what the film would portray as futuristic. Korben wears normal looking pants but his shirt is fluorescent orange with cut out strips in the back. Leeloos first outfit after regeneration is nothing more than strategically placed white surgical tape. Her second outfit of the film consists of gold pants and a white half-shirt which would look tame enough with the exception of the orange thong suspenders. DJ Ruby Rhods costumes are by far the best. He is originally dressed in a leopard print bodysuit with a huge flared collar with pointy brown boots. His microphone is covered in the same leopard material, the end lights up red when someone speaks into it, and it is about three feet long. His hair is a short blond afro with a cylinder of blond hair sticking out of his forehead. His second outfit is again a body suit; however, this time is completely black and wrapped around the flared collar is a wreath of red roses. The pants are flared out into bellbottoms and completely with black boots. The microphone is the same length but covered in black fabric with a silver tip. His hair is black this time and wrapped up in several little buns all over his head. Jean-Paul Gaultier was the costume designer and he was nominated for a Saturn award in 1998 in the category of Best Costumes (Internet Movie Database). This is absolutely one of the best science fiction movies ever made. The Fifth Element was nominated for an Oscar award in 1998 for Best Effects and Sound Effects Editing and also won a BAFTA award in the category of Best Special Effects (Internet Movie Database). It is a fantastic tale of good versus evil in the far away future. The viewer will enjoy the fabulous special effects and colourful characters as they root on the good guys in the destruction of evil.

Where Are You? Essay -- Creative Writing Essays

I ran down the stairs, trying to catch my breath. My heart was pumping itself out of place. I leaped to the last step and threw myself into the kitchen. I found my sister clutching her ears and bashing her head against the wall. ‘Chris, honey stop it, I’m here now, Sshh be quiet,’ I cried to her trying to make her let go of her ears in order for her to hear me. ‘NO, GET AWAY!’ she threw me across the room and I smashed myself into the wall. She started to go bright red, shaking so hard I could see her from three metres away. Her eyes were pouring tears out. I sprinted over to her and hugged her so firmly, it hurt me. She then stopped; she relaxed; hugged me back and whispered†¦ ‘I’m sorry Ashley, I’m really sorry, its -’ I cut her sentence off. ‘Just shush Chrissie, just be quiet,’ I demanded. She whimpered in my arms and was still shaking. She whispered I’m sorry again. * * * I lay her in bed, sitting beside her, stroking her silky blonde hair. ‘Sweetie its three in the morning, you have school tomorrow, I want you to go to sleep, and no matter what don’t wake up. Okay ?’ I assured her. ‘I’ll try†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ she replied back. I smiled at her and switched her light off. I crept out of the room, trying my best not to distract her. Slowly, I made my way to my room and let myself collapse to the floor and cry. This was the second time it had happened. I had been through a lot of things but nothing had effected me this much. I didn’t know what it was, but it hurt me so much and I don’t think I could take it anymore. Gradually, I got back up and gazed around at the state of my room. It was 03:18a.m There was roughly five hours to get ready. Too much time. I lay in bed wondering if perhaps I should ask for help. They’d probably... ...floor. My eyes watched the little girl lay deadlocked on the floor. ‘Chrissie?’ I didn’t have the strength to say mum but I did. ‘Mum?’ I glared towards the motionless body that lay on the floor. Outside was a helpless little girl that meant no harm to anyone; inside was a horrifying monster tearing her apart. Her eyes opened once more, a colour I couldn’t describe, something I hadn’t seen before. ‘I love you†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ I ran over to the paralyzed body. I stroked the little girls hair. She lay in my arms and I didn’t bother to check if she was alive or not. Because I knew I had lost her. Chrissie and Mum. Forever. Moderately, I stretched up and strolled to Chrissie’s room. I curled up into a ball on her bedroom floor. My arms were wrapped around my legs and I was shivering. Who was I to cry for? Could this have happened? But I knew one thing†¦ They had gone†¦ The End†¦

Funeral home visit

Fullerton college students had a privilege to visit Mennonite Memorial Park and Mortuary. When we arrived the park, its beautiful scenery amazed us. The weather was a little chilly and windy. Since there was a scheduled funeral service on the day that we visited, we were escorted to the reception hall where we had a chance to meet the manager. The manager thoroughly went over proper procedures needed to prepare embalming and funerals.Among all the things that we newly learned from this visit, most interesting thing was how the embalming process works. They utilize special chemicals to look the deceased as natural as possible. I thought embalming was a very meaningful work since It is the last time that a family will physically see the deceased and it helps a family create last memories about the deceased. I agreed when the manager said their Job is not to be emotionally involved with a family but to help them figure out the directions ND plans about next steps after a loved on passes away.I cannot imagine how challenging it can be for staff members in Mennonite Memorial Park and Mortuary to deal with families on a daily basis who have loss or about to have loss. I felt that being passionate and dedicated to compassionately embracing families in the community is one of the most important aspects to be part of the mortuary. It was a very meaningful visit and helped me think about how to deal with and death and dying from the lens of a family who had lost a loved one.

Contrasting the View of the Ultimate Reality in Relation to Science Essay

What compels mankind to seek unity between, science and religion, two compartmentalized and distinct aspects of our world? John Polkinghorne states, in â€Å"Does God Act in the Physical World†, â€Å"The demand for an integrated account of both theological and scientific insight impels us to the task† (Polkinghorne 59). Yet Polkinghorne is not alone is his quest; in â€Å"Emptiness and Form† Fritjof Capra connects the ultimate reality with the physical world. While Polkinghorne and Capra agree on certain ideals, such as the man’s inability to fully grasp the ultimate and the incorporation of quantum mechanics in each one’s respective argument, they also contrast in terms of the religions they use to defend their argument. This leads to differences in their views on the ultimate and His interaction with the physical world. While this leads to two distinct and diverse arguments, I believe that both arguments are equally presented in a reputable and successful manner. At one point in each of their respective arguments, Polkinghorne and Capra clearly state that the understanding of the ultimate reality cannot be fully understood by humankind. Polkinghorne writes, â€Å"We are a long way from a full understanding of our own powers of agency, let alone how it is that God works in the world† (Polkinghorne 74). Due to our limited minds and capabilities, mankind will never be able to fully grasp the ultimate reality in its full essence. It is quite mindboggling, if not impossible, to fully understand the ultimate reality, when it is as an infinite and omnipresent being. â€Å"The reality underlying all phenomena is beyond all forms and defies all description and specification† (Capra 211). The professor who taught my freshman Colloquium on Science and Religion once stated that God cannot be put in a test tube. While he did say this statement as a means to refute the existence of an ultimate reality, his assertion is valid; there is only so much we can know about the divine. It is crucial that both Polkinghorne and Capra affirm this position in order to clarify that while it is possible to unify the ultimate reality with the physical world, we will never fully understand the relationship. In evolution terms, there seems to be a â€Å"missing link† that allows us to connect both aspects. Also, both Polkinghorne and Capra use the ideas and concepts of quantum mechanics as premises when connecting the ultimate reality with the physical world. Capra’s discussion of electrons and photons becomes the premise for one of his deductions. Capra writes, â€Å"The full interaction between the electrons will involve a series of photon exchanges†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (216). This leads to the assertion that there are no true forces in the subatomic world but that these interactions are due to the exchange of particles, that according to the quantum field theory are created and destroyed (Capra 217). These two premises lead Capra to state, â€Å"The electromagnetic forces are due to the presence of virtual photons ‘within’ charged particles†¦[and]†¦the forces between particles appear as intrinsic properties of the particles. † After deducing this premise Capra goes on to say, â€Å"Such a view of forces is also characteristic of Eastern mysticism which regards motion and change as essential and intrinsic properties of all things† (221). In order to clarify this statement he utilizes aspects of Chinese religion and explains how this assumption of quantum mechanics is connected to the ultimate reality. Like Capra, Polkinghorne makes use of the theories and ideas of quantum mechanics as premise to relate the ultimate with the physical. One of the ideas he uses is the chaos theory. The theory says that events in a chaotic system are random but Polkinghorne employs this theory in his argument in order to show how deterministic chaos is not a valid argument, which will eventually lead to his idea of an open system. He says, â€Å"A chaotic system is not totally ‘chaotic’ in the popular sense, corresponding to absolutely random behavior. † There are certain possibilities known as a â€Å"strange attractor† and its limited to a certain extent, but this â€Å"detailed future behaviour of a chaotic system is unknowable† (Polkinhorne 52). Later on in his argument, Polkinghorne discusses the idea of deterministic chaos and consider it from a different viewpoint. He writes: Instead of adopting the conventional strategy of saying this shows that simple determinism underlies even apparently complex random behavior, I prefer the realist strategy of seeking the closest alignment of ontology and epistemology†¦[which] has the additional advantage of accommodating the notion of top-down causality in a natural way (Polkinghorne 64). The premise of top-down causality leads to his connection of the ultimate reality with the physical world and that God interacts with the world in a top-down fashion. If the ultimate reality does truly interact with the world, then this will lead to the discussion of an open system in which Polkinghorne also uses the basis of quantum mechanics in order to make a postulation. Another major theories Polkinghorne frequently refers to in his argument is the Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, which states that we cannot simultaneously know the position and momentum of any particle (53). This idea of uncertainty in the physical world is the premise that leads to Polkinghorne’s assumption of the universe as an open system. He writes, â€Å"The ‘gaps’ of quantum uncertainty operate only in particular circumstances†¦to produce an openness at the lever of classical physics† (Polkinghorne 60). While Polkinghorne advocates the idea of an open system, it is evident that his counter partner, Capra, sees the universe as a closed system. One of the major differences between Capra and Polkinghorne is the concept of a closed system versus an open system. Capra respectively agrees and accepts with the view of the universe as a closed system. Capra explains this concept by first explaining the idea of matter and empty space or the full and the void. He discusses how these are interconnected. â€Å"The two cannot be distinguished† (Capra 208). In Eastern religions, this Void â€Å"has an infinite creative potential†¦[which]†¦like the quantum field, it gives birth to an infinite variety of forms which it sustains and eventually reabsorbs† (Capra 212). The notion of it sustaining itself and reabsorbing leads to the idea of a system that is set up and is able to maintain itself without the help of an ultimate being. Buddhism expressed this idea of form and emptiness in a single whole entity. Capra quotes, â€Å"‘Form is emptiness, and emptiness is indeed form. Emptiness is not different from form, form is not different from emptiness. What is form that is emptiness, what is emptiness that is form’† (215). Also, Capra states that this form and emptiness is elevated into a vacuum diagram that â€Å"contains an unlimited number of particles which come into being and vanish without end. † This â€Å"physical vacuum†¦contains the potentiality for all forms of the particle world† (Capra 222). This system implies that the relationship between the ultimate reality and the physical world is one where the divine has set up system and does not intervene in our world. This premise eventually leads to the idea that there is no free will and that the universe is determined. This view of the universe completely changes the way we perceive the world. Without free will morals and ethics lose validity and are worthless to society. It is quite evident that Polkinghorne disagrees with this concept and presents his views of an open system. Polkinghorne would classify the idea of a universe as an closed system under â€Å"a minimalist response [which] is to decline to speak of particular divine actions and to confine theological talk to the single great act of holding the universe in being. † Polkinghorne believes that most scientists do not even consider this notion of a minimalist to be valid. He states that while God did establish the laws and set up the universe, this does not impede his interaction in the universe (Polkinghorne 54). He sees the connection between the ultimate reality and the physical world as â€Å"relating divine agency to human agency. † Polkinghorne explains, â€Å"When we act, we seem to do so as total beings† (57). Therefore God acts in the same as humans do, but it is seen as a God in relation to his creation. This premise leads to the top-down notion of the parts depending on the whole. With this top-down premise, Polkinghorne strengthens his argument of an open system by exhibiting that we are dependent on God, whether through the establishment of the laws or divine intervention in the universe. Polkinghorne also classifies the closed system as a â€Å"block universe†. He writes, â€Å"It is sometimes claimed that science endorses the alternative view that the universe ‘is’ rather than ‘becomes’† (Polkinghorne 68). This implies that the universe has a certain determinacy and that God does not act in the universe. Since the universe â€Å"is†, then it is conclusive that God must know the future because it is already determined. The view of the open system appears to be more logical and realistic, but at the expense of God’s infinite and omnipresent capabilities. He says, â€Å"†¦it is the universe of becoming that is the correct picture, then surely God must know it in its temporality, as it actually is. God must not just know that events are successive; they must be known in their succession† (Polkinghorne 69). While I agree that the universe is an open system, it cannot be at the expenditure of God. Say a person is on a roof looking down at an intersection; he can see all and everything laid out before him. He observes two cars coming at the intersection at the same time and foresees an accident. This is analogous to God and the universe, where God is in a position to see all and foretell all. Obviously, this is not a perfect analogy since the person is constricted by time and therefore could be incorrect in his assumptions. Therefore, if we accept the premise that God is infinite and outside the constricts of time, then we can conclude that God or the ultimate reality knows the future in an open system. The most crucial difference between the arguments of Polkinghorne and Capra is their definition of the ultimate reality. In each of their respective claims, the view of the ultimate reality has a drastic effect on the outcome of each argument. The belief in certain characteristics of an ultimate reality is important when there is an attempt to connect it to the physical world. Through further analysis of both arguments, it is evident that the difference between Polkinghorne and Capra is basically a Western Religion versus Eastern Religion discussion. It is evident that Capra takes the side of Eastern Religion; his book is titled The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism. Throughout his argument he constantly refers to the ideas and beliefs of religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese religion. He quotes from their texts in an attempt to connect their ultimate reality with the physical world. On the other hand, Polkinghorne utilizes Western religion as a means of connecting the ultimate reality with the physical world. Specifically he uses the values and teachings of Christian traditions. He says that the discussion of the unity of the ultimate reality and the physical world is â€Å"a perennial issue on the Christian agenda† (Polkinghorne 48). One aspect of the arguments that I found to be perplexing was the use of the same laws of the physical world as at he basis of each author’s respective argument. Obviously, Polkinghorne and Capra have their own agenda and argument. Therefore, what does this say about the laws of the physical world; can they simply manipulate to agree with any form of the ultimate? This cannot be valid or then the laws of the physical world can be disfigured in order to fit any belief system or value; either Polkinghorne must be right and Capra wrong, or vice versa. We cannot accept this dualistic view of the world that the universe can be open in some instances and closed in others. Yet, this view arises when we fail to realize that there is one ultimate reality or truth. If there was one truth, then there would only be one way to connect this ultimate to the physical world. At the same time, we cannot say that Polkinghorne is correct and Capra is wrong, or vice versa. If the premises that they base their arguments off are valid then we cannot deduce which argument is better, but only say that it is a conflict of realities. The success of the arguments lies in the belief of the premises of the religious and physical world. Faith is the true deciding factor that will allow us to declare a winner in this pursuit of the unity of the ultimate reality and the physical world. If we assume that the premises of the physical world and quantum mechanics in each argument to be the same, then the only significant difference between each argument is the view of the ultimate reality. Since I have Christian traditions and beliefs I would strongly side with Polkinghorne’s argument. Yet, if there is a person who has no solid beliefs, then these two arguments would seem valid and justifiable in their eyes, due to their lack of knowledge of the ultimate reality.

Are Gertrude and Ophelia merely pawns in the world of Hamlet? Essay

‘Are Gertrude and Ophelia merely pawns in the world of Hamlet? Explore the plays representation of femininity, paying close attention to the role and function of each of these two characters in the play’. William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ can be seen as a chess game bought to life. The play depicts the events in a 16th century Danish royal family that unfold after a suspicious murder of the king. The plays two female characters Gertrude and Ophelia can be likened to pawns in this intricate web of lies and deceit, as their words and actions are dictated by the males of the play. This can be directly linked to the broader cultural understandings of gender roles in 16th century England, as women were portrayed as passive, weak and submissive to the males power strength aggression and action . As all texts position readers to interpret different characters in different ways, this text to can be read as empowering the females, by appearing to be submissive, in order to manipulate the men. However, as essentially Gertrude acts as a vehicle for Hamlets emotions, and Ophelia is primarily shaped to conform to external demands to reflect the male characters desires, the role of the women in Hamlet is primarily that of a manipulated pawn in a chess game that not even the kings can win. The play ‘Hamlet’ begins with the funeral of the former king of Denmark, that is simultaneously the wedding celebrations of the new king Claudius and his bride Gertrude, the young Hamlet’s mother and former King’s wife. Hamlet’s suspicions that â€Å"something is rotten in the state of Denmark† are later confirmed by the ghost of his father, who reveals Claudius killed him, in a bid to gain power and his wife, Gertrude. Hamlet then decides that he must get revenge on Claudius and so pretends to be mad, fooling his mother, lover Ophelia and Claudius. However, due to Hamlet’s procrastination, events take a turn for the worse as the end of the play brings about death to every main character through error of judgment. Gender roles in the play Hhamlet are a major factor dictating the lives of the females Ophelia and Gertrude. As strong masculinity was cherished, female traits were not desirable in a man, and this explains the actions of Hamlet, who acts in the realm of feminine for the first 4 acts. His fathers death bought about this loss of masculinity and Claudius further strips him of this honor by saying, â€Å"of impious stubbornness. Tis unmanly grief. † (Act 1 sc. 2, 94 ) thus Hamlet is left vulnerable and passive. He recognizes this in his second soliloquy, ‘Oh what a rogue and peasant slave am I,† and he shows his disgust at his feminine characteristics by loudly disapproving of Gertrude and Ophelia’s blatant sexuality. This is best shown as he shouts at his lover Ophelia, â€Å"get thee to a nunnery,† to preserve her purity and voice his disgust. Hamlet’s change of feeling towards Ophelia is a direct result of his dissatisfaction with his own short comings, and Ophelia has no choice but to conform to this change of attitude unquestionably. Therefore Ophelia through no fault of her own is faced with the fact she has lost her lover, but also her respectability, as it is well known she was not the innocent doyenne she is initially presumed to be, she is in the doghouse so to speak. Ophelia’s actions in the first part of the play are determined by her brother Laertes and father Polonious to great extent, as they warn her to stave off Hamlet’s advances. She states to her father, in response ‘my lord he hath importuned me with love in an honorable fashion,†(act 1 sc. 3)in such a way that would indicate she believes he genuinely loves her. Yet as he further challenges she submits without fight, â€Å"my lord I shall obey†(act 1 sc. 3) and is forced into an informant role. This lack of strength of character is in keeping with typical gender roles of the era, and is further evidence that whilst Ophelia feels differently, she is perfectly willing to go along with whatever the male figures in her life decide for her. As the play progresses we as readers gain the full force of the dependence Ophelia has on these characters, as their absence and later killing, drives her into the madness from which she never recovers. This culminates in her untimely suicidal death that sums up the purpose her role had in the play, to merely conform to the males desires and needs. She is Laertes ‘angel’, Polonious’s ‘commodity’ and Hamlets ‘spectre of his psychic fears’ . Ophelia could be called an unstereotypical female in the play, because she does not play the innocent virgin role, and she goes mad after the death of her father instead of quietly accepting it. However this more strongly reflects the weaknesses of her character ,the absence of her inner strength and reveals that she is too easily overcome by emotion, traits that are more prominently associated with females, especially in the 16th century. Thus Ophelia is dominated by the males in the play, due to her weaknesses that lead to her demise, much like a pawn on a chess board. Gertrude’s role in the play of ‘Hamlet’ is controversial, considering firstly her position of power, that she has continued to hold despite her late husbands death, as queen of Denmark. One would assume that Shakespeare, by placing Gertrude in this highly respected role is empowering her and her authority, therefore moving against broader cultural assumptions of femininity. This is certainly a possibility, given the lengths Claudius went to in order to satiate his lustful desires, as with the romanticized story Helene of Troy. That Claudius the new King would desire Gertrude as his wife, although she had already been married, had a son and was middle aged puts Gertrude in yet another position of power, but did this empower her? After all, it is certain Claudius’s main ambition was to gain the throne from his brother and so his marrying Gertrude provided, perhaps not love, but for an easy transition that would not bring about much controversy. Either way, as with Ophelia she does not take advantage of this power and is entirely submissive to Claudius. This is primarily because she allows herself to be manipulated. She is aware of the approved role of women and ascertains to it, as she states when watching the character reflective of herself in Hamlet’s play, ‘The lady protests to much, methinks’,(act 3, sc. 2, 226) Claudius effectively uses her throughout the play, most notably when he arranges with her agreement, for Polonious to spy on a conversation she has with Hamlet. This betrayal of trust to the son she loves demonstrates how easily she is led astray by persuasive men like Claudius and it is a serious weakness in her character. Essentially her role consists of a pawn, not a queen, passed between two kings who dominate her and her actions. This weakness translates to her relations with her son Hamlet, upon whom she dotes, and this is noticed by Claudius, ‘The queen his mother lives almost by his looks. ‘(Act 4,Sc. 7,11-12) That the norm of parental roles have almost been reversed, with Gertrude looking up to her son and idolising him, whilst Hamlet looks down upon her gives him a superior position, from which he directs her actions. This happens most noticeably in the closet scene with Gertrude, as Hamlet shames his mother into helping him to convince Claudius further, that he is in fact mad, despite the fact prior, she conspired with Claudius over Hamlet. Thus, this proves that she did not intentionally want to hurt Hamlet by conspiring with the king to spy on him, in the previous scene, but that she is so willing to be led that she will follow the directions of whichever male instructs her. This closet scene also gives rise to the climax of Hamlet’s rage, but in this intense emotional scene, we as readers are given no indication as to Gertrude’s feeling. It is in fact because her character is so negative, insignificant and undeveloped that she arouses in Hamlet the feelings that she is incapable of representing. This translates to her primary role being that of a vehicle for Hamlet’s emotions-thus she is again manipulated and used as a pawn for Hamlet’s emotional state. Not only this, but Gertrude can also be seen as the reason, at least for Hamlet, for the tragedy. Gertrude’s guilt and Hamlet’s disgust at her, had to be maintained and emphasised in order to supply a physiological solution for Hamlets actions. As Hamlet shamelessly uses his mother to prove he is mad, to show his emotions and provide a reason for his anger it gives rise to the question, who the real villain is in Hamlet. Gertrude and Ophelia, whilst looked down upon throughout the play for being blatantly sexual and susceptible to her passions and are thus blamed by Hamlet, are merely acting the role of pawns in a chess game, manipulated by the males. Each female appear only to fulfill the role of reflecting the males desires as is in keeping with the representations of femininity by Shakespeare. Whilst readers may emerge initially from a reading of Hamlet with the impression that Hamlet is the misunderstood hero, with Ophelia and Gertrude playing the interfering adulterous ‘ugly stepsister’ role, another reading is possible. That, through no fault of their own, the female’s submissive roles in fact corrupted the males to such an extent that they, even Hamlet became obsessed with the idea of power. So, although the females were manipulated by the males, it caused the opposite effect by empowering them, as they ended up as the reason for the males actions. In conclusion, though controversial, it is evident that due to the role and function of the females in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia were used by the males to such a point, that although the end result would suggest otherwise, their role consisted of nothing more than pawns in a chessgame. http://www2. students. sbc. edu/young02/hamlet. html ibid http://www. turksheadreview. com/library/introlit. html http://www. freeessays. tv/c2951. htm T. S. Eliot (1888-1965). The Sacred Wood: Essays on Poetry and Criticism. 1922.