English Literature Antigone Characters Ismene

English Literature Antigone Characters Ismene Antigone Characters Ismene Antigone Antigone by Sophocles is theatrical work that reflects upon Greek mythology and culture. Antigone has several themes and circumstantial settings that can be indirectly referred or related to in modern society. Sophocles uses various and strategically placed characters to present his play as well as his themes. The play mainly revolves around Antigone who acts alongside her elder sister, Ismene. Both are daughters of Oedipus and Jocasta. From the start, the audience is given a vague idea of both Antigone’s and Ismene’s characters. Both sisters have suffered the anguish of having lost their brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices. It is at the beginning of the play that we see Antigone’s braveness. She notifies Ismene of her intentions to bury Polyneices despite the fact that such an act is punishable by death, for Creon considers Polyneices to be a traitor and that by not having his body buried, Polyneices suffers a posthumous punishment. She makes this declaration whil e being fully aware of the penalties involved and this brings to light several other things about her character. The audience is able to see that she is confident in her actions and will justify anything that she does. Meanwhile Ismene can be viewed as being afraid and uneager to agree to an action. She confronts her sister’s statements by saying, â€Å" But think of the danger ! Think what Creon will do ! † (34, Prologue). This statement by Ismene create a vague feeling in the audience that Ismene is a pessimist. This view is further reinforced when she says, â€Å" And do what he has forbidden ! We are women / We cannot fight with men, Antigone ! † (46-47, Prologue). Hence Ismene is seen seeking a way out by giving excuses that are in a sense linked to negative stereotypes and this makes a reflection of her pessimistic nature. Antigone’s actions at the beginning of the play reflect her impulsivness and rash manner in handling situations. Rather than try to confront Creon regarding the burial of her brother she goes ahead to bury him. Her impulsive manner is also seen when she doubts Ismene’s promise that she will not divulge any information to anybody else regarding Antigone’s plans to bury her brother. She does this despite the reasonable consideration that Ismene is her only sister and family member left. Her actions at this point also reflect on her indifference in carry ing out actions that reflect on others. She does not seem to care about the fact that burying her brother may have unfavorable consequences on Ismene who would lose her sister and at the same time be in a dilemma. Ismene would have to risk telling the authorities and get her sister prosecuted so as to be a true patriot and to save her own life or keep mum and be prosecuted for aiding and abetting an offense alongside her sister whom she will eventually loose, regardless of what she decides to do . This scenario presents a strong argument that Ismene is considerate and rational as she eventually decides to keep Antigone’s plans secret and continues to do so even when Antigone attacks her. She responds by saying, â€Å" But a loyal friend indeed to those who love.† (85, Prologue). This demonstrates Ismene’s passive and unvengeful nature. Antigone bears responsibility well and can therefore be seen to be responsible. When brought before Creon, she admits her actions in burying Polyneices without much ado, she audaciously confesses, â€Å" I do. I deny nothing † (52, ODE I, Scene II). She goes ahead and justifies her action, and calmly makes it clear that she is not afraid of the punishment due to be imposed on her.. In contrast Ismene bears a sense of responsibility just like her sister. When brought before Creon, she admits her role in Antigone’s ‘crime’ without hesitation, she says, â€Å" Yes, if she will let me say so. I am guilty. † This and the ensuing exchange that follows between the sisters also brings to light other aspects of the sisters personalities. One of the aspects that is brought out by this exchange is that of loyalty. Both Ismene and Antigone are loyal to each other even in a situation where it is at the expense of death. Ismene is ready to die alongside her sister. At the same time Antigone cares too deeply for Ismene and does not want Ismene to suffer the punishment of death. The idea that loyalty exists between the two sisters is reinforced by the fact that Ismene, while in the face of death, defends her sister. When Antigone is declared as having lost her mind by Creon, she says, â€Å" Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver, King.† (153, ODE I, Scene II). Other events that had occurred earlier in the play portray this feeling of loyalty and the sisterly love that exists between Ismene and Antigone. Both sisters place family duty above everything else. Ismene’s earlier caution at the beginning of the play can now be interpreted as an act of sisterly love and concern. Eurydice who is Creon’s wife cum queen and Antigone are emotionally impulsive. Antigone commits suicide when she is sentenced to death and confined to a vault of stone. Eurydice in turn commits suicide when she hears about the death of her son, Haemon. Hence both characters can be seen as compulsive and quick to act rather than face the harsh reality of suffering. All in all it can be said that Sophocles primarily uses the various characteristics presented by Antigone, Ismene and Eurydice to develop his play. Although of these characters are the same gender their characteristics differ greatly and this lies in with the underlying themes of the play.

Epicurean Ethics Essay -- Philosophy essays

Epicurean Ethics      Ã‚   In this paper I am going to deal with Epicurean ethics. More specifically, I am going to center around the nature of pleasure and its connection with desire-satisfaction. Throughout the paper I will argue, the only thing we desire for its own sake is pleasure. Thus it is best to keep our desires simple in order to achieve the greatest feeling of pleasure. I will accomplish this by first giving arguments for why the only thing we desire for its own sake is pleasure, as well as arguments for why it is best to keep our desires simple. I will then take a look at a number of objections and give some reasons as to why these objections are unconvincing.    Before I can begin with the argumentative side of the paper, it is necessary that some background information on Epicurus be given. Epicurus was both a hedonist as well as an egoist, and was very concerned with how people get happiness. He was a psychological hedonist because he argued that we aim only at pleasure for its own sake. He was an ethical hedonist because he believed that only pleasure has true value. Similarly, he was called both a psychological and ethical egoist because he claimed that what we are aiming for and what is valuable to each of us is our own pleasure. (Epicurus (1994) text 4) With this in mind, we are ready to move on to the arguments for why the only thing we desire for its own sake is pleasure, and why it is best to keep our desires simple.    First we will examine the thesis "The only thing we desire for its own sake is pleasure." As Epicurus argued in throughout his writings, "pleasure is the goal." (Epicurus (1994) text 1.11) It is also is "the starting point ... of living blessedly" (Epicurus (1994) text 4.128)... ...t you are feeling does not resemble anything of a corpse. In all reality this feeling of relaxation is a tremendous pleasure to you.    Indeed it is quite clear after the above arguments that pleasure is the only thing that we desire for its own sake. It is also clear that not every pleasure should be taken, nor every pain avoided. Instead we should focus on what will bring us pleasure in the long run. Secondly, it is important that we keep our desires simple in order to achieve the greatest feeling of pleasure. One should not wish for more of something, but rather reduce their desires. It is these two arguments that form one of the building blocks for Epicurus' ethics.    Works Cited Epicurus. The Epicurus Reader: Selected Writings and Testimonia. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., 1994. Translated and Edited by Brad Inwood and L.P. Gerson.   

Each Generation Has Something Valuable to Offer Essay

All throughout the world there are many different genres of music being played and listened to at all time of day. Music has a way of distracting people, making them forget about the world and just focus on what makes them happy. Each person has their own taste in music, the music that makes them happy. Therefore, the songs of the world have defiantly shaped our culture. Would our culture be the same without it? Most people would say â€Å"no† because music is a huge part of our culture and without it the idea of fun would be totally different. Many people listen to the same music resulting in bringing a community together to raise a better culture. Music has always been a part of mankind because every beat contributes to the tune of the song, doesn’t matter if it came from a stick tapping on the dirt or the notes coming from an instrument. The Beatles, an iconic band in the music world, made it easier for other artists like Michael Jackson and Beyonce with their experimenting in the mid 1960s. Throughout centuries music has changed drastically to the present day, evolving slowly from the beginning. Whether we look at the past, present or future generation one thing is definite; each generation has something valuable to offer to the music industry. Music of the past started from the earliest of mankind, no man had an instrument to play to make music. They made their own music with anything they could find in nature. People made something beautiful out of items that were originally made for an entirely different purpose. This creativity was the true beginning of music. From then music has evolved to become a much bigger craze. People learned they could sing and instruments were made. The first instruments, the flute and some stringed instruments date back to somewhere between 7000 and 6600 BC in the Prehistoric eras. With music, dance came along in Ancient Egypt and became part of tradition and rituals. Musicians and singers started accompanying the theater plays for the entertainment of community members making music part of everyday life lifestyle. Choirs started to grow in the churches because music became more of an art and people wanted to share it with others. And finally in the Baroque era, instruments were being intergraded into songs and dance resulting in the beginning of the music we know and listen to today. In the mid 1960s, The Beatles blew up the charts. They claimed many positions in the top 100 and at one point they had fourteen songs on the chart. They were the new wave of rock n’ roll/pop and everybody was crazy about this new boy band. Although they experimented with many things in sound and vocals, they brought new elements to the music industry. They were edgy and brave striving to be the first of many things. The Beatles wrote most of their own songs, played their own instruments and even sang their own vocals with complex harmonies. This was a thing unheard of by any bands before their time, they were beyond normal, but this difference resulted in their huge popularity by the majority of the population. Being one of the first to make albums, people considered them more important and the other singles were put behind them. The Beatles were the first pop group to be taken seriously by classical music enthusiasts because of their global success. A great accomplishment for the group and every member deserves the title of legends to live on after their deaths. Twenty first century music technology and styles have changed from previous years. The development of advanced technology for recording and distributing music made a wide variety of artists to gain global recognition across the world including Michael Jackson and Beyonce. As well there were dramatic innovations in musical forms and styles transitioning into country music, hip hop and punk rock to name a few. Michael Jackson was a man of many talents; he is recognized as the most successful entertainer with his singer, dancer and fashion contributions. MJ has the number one bestselling album of all time, Thriller. Also, along with Thriller his other albums become ranked among the world’s bestselling albums making him one of the bestselling artists of all time. He has been awarded with 13 Grammy Awards, 26 American Music Awards, 18 World Music Awards and the estimated sale of 350 to 400 million units worldwide on all his albums combined. Beyonce is the most awarded female of the 21st century; she has won 17 Grammy Awards throughout her career but overall she has won over 185 awards. The released of her debut solo album Dangerously in Love earned her five Grammy Awards and sold a total of 4. 9 million copies in the US. Billboard named her the Top Female Artist and Top Radio Songs Artist of the 2000s decade in 2009, and ranked her as the fourth Artist of the Decade. A great attribution to the music industry by both Michael Jackson and Beyonce, making their names recognized forever. In the past, present or future generations it will always be true that music has evolved over many centuries and in every generation it continues to make people happy and have fun with. Mankind grew from simple music to something much greater and more beautiful. With newer technology artists could share their talent with everyone across the world giving others happiness while listening. The Beatles brought new things to the music industry and helped the success of other artists in the future like Michael Jackson and Beyonce. Saying that music became a much bigger success as the generations went by, making each singer or band more popular by the year. Everyone has their own taste in music but many people even listen to the same songs. The music has shaped the culture and the culture is the bringing together of the people that listen to the same music. There is not one day that goes by that people aren’t listening to music, there has to be at the very least a few hundred people listening to different songs across the world.

Explore the presentation of authority and inferiority in The Tempest Essay Example

Explore the presentation of authority and inferiority in The Tempest Essay Example Explore the presentation of authority and inferiority in The Tempest Essay Explore the presentation of authority and inferiority in The Tempest Essay Essay Topic: The Tempest The presentation of authority and inferiority is displayed in many different ways throughout, The Tempest. Authority is presented as being based on a variety of features. For example, social status, knowledge and magic all figure prominently. The balance of powers shifts quickly as authority is displayed in a complex manner. It refers to being powerful and conveys the traits of the characters. The authority is unbalanced and doesnt have as much of an affect, as it should do. In the Tempest there is a discord between those in authority and those in inferiority. Take in context the Boatswain, he doesnt show any deference to the noblemen: Do you not hear him? You mar our labour. Keep your cabins! Here the punctuation indicates that the Boatswains tone is inappropriate. The use of the exclamation mark indicates that he is shouting abruptly at a person of higher social rank. It is inappropriate to talk to people with higher authority. Also, he asks Antonio a rhetorical question, which doesnt need an answer. This emphasizes further inappropriateness tone, which suggests that authority is easily lost and unstable. The boatswain shows signs of disrespect to characters with social authority by saying; You mar our labour the manner is quite abrupt and rude in the sense that he blatantly doesnt show any respect at all for the courtiers. Authority is achieved in The Tempest through the use of cunning and manipulation. Antonio uses various cunning methods to persuade and manipulate Sebastian into killing the King: Thou lets thy fortune sleep die, rather, winkst whiles thou art walking. The imagery used in the language personifies that the human status will raise level of impatience, fortune sleep also the grammar shows the relationship between die and sleep. The dash indicates a pause, engages the readers attention. It also shows Antonio changing his mind, to emphasize on the fact that the chance will be lost to kill the king. Furthermore the vocabulary shows a manipulative tone by suggesting that it is fortunes wish that they take this opportunity fortune to kill the king; in addition the association of eye movement sees the opportunity. The semi-colon links the two ideas together, which accentuates that, hes missing out on a golden opportunity. In contrast authority is also presented as something that is accepted. Caliban is an example of this, when he comes across Trinculo and Stephano he immediately asks them to be his masters, by saying that he has given away his authority and has immediately asked to be inferior: Ill show thee every fertile inch otheisland, and I will kiss thy foot. I prithee, be my god. The desperation of Caliban is immediately seen in the quote when he emphasizes that hell show the entire land and he will kiss their feet. The vocabulary illustrates the desperation and extreme anxiety of a needed master. In addition it also has a hyperbole, be my god he over exaggerates by saying he wants Trinculo and Stephano to be his Gods. This shows that Caliban has no desire to be an authorative figure; he has accepted his position in the social hierarchy. On the other hand, the reason for their acceptance is because they are going to be liberated, example Ariel. Ariel knows that he will once again be free by doing as his master says. We know this as Prosper once saved Ariels life and Ariel now has to correspond with the master to be liberated. Is there more toil? Since thou dost give me pains, Let me remember thee what thou promised, Which is not yet performed me As you can see, Ariel asks a rhetorical question which doesnt need answering, as he already knows the answer to it. In addition, the vocabulary advocates that he is tired of doing errands for Prospero. Also he reminds him of his promise, which shows how desperate he is for his liberation. The punctuation has use of commas that try to persuade him by saying, Let me remember thee.. this conveys us that he is trying to remind Prospero his promise and emphasizes his aspirations of being free, by reminding him what thou promised. Therefore Ariel knows in the long run his reward will come for doing various errands for the master. However, authority is based on knowledge it is the quintessential element of power. Prospero is the ideal character with knowledge and shows this throughout The Tempest. He is the antagonist with immense amount of power various amount of power from persuasion, magic and knowledge from books. An example of this is: If thou more murmurst, I will rend an oak, And peg thee in his knotty entrails, till Thou has howled away twelve winters. Prospero shows that he has the power to do anything. He threatens Ariel to do as he says or Ariel will pay the consequences by being put inside an oak tree. The vocabulary is strong, I will rend an oak a strong suggestion of eagerness to fulfil his words with actions also there is seriousness in his tone which might seem as though he is exaggerating Thou has howled away twelve winters, if there is a murmur from Ariel. Furthermore there is a break in speech with the use of a comma, which reinforces and links the idea of being exiled into an oak tree for twelve winters the authority over Ariel is just a part of Prosperos knowledge: Knowing I loved my books, he furnished me From mine own library with volumes that I prize above my dukedom From this we learn how educated Prospero is and we can blatantly see that he has a vast knowledge over many volumes where he gained his knowledge and power. There is an emphasis that he had his own library, with various volumes that he could prize upon. In contrast, we see how it is to be inferior take in Miranda for consideration she is the daughter of Prospero. Now Prospero has immense amounts of power so you would expect the same off Miranda, but in fact it is quite the opposite. Miranda doesnt have any of the quintessential prowesses to be an authoritive figure she is weak, flaccid and doesnt carry the wide amounts of knowledge like her father, she hardly has any knowledge of the outside world which makes her vulnerable this enables people to take advantage of her or to guide her through a black path since she is blinded with her lack of knowledge she will follow anyone easily, for example falling in love with Ferdinand: As well as it does you; and I should do it With much more ease; for my good will is to it, And yours it is against. Here we can see that there is a lot of punctuation used, the semi-colons link the ideas together she wants to help but is told not too. She tries to use persuasion but as she hasnt much knowledge she is told to follow rules, ever since she was born. In addition, the tone is passive and weak she is helpless and cannot do what she wishes. Miranda is portrayed as an enthusiastic character but with insufficient knowledge and this becomes her downfall and makes her inferior. In conclusion the presentation of authority shows that in order to have authority and stabilise it you need to have knowledge and power to do so. Prospero is a perfect example as he shows he has immense amounts of authority by having magic and knowledge from books. However, authority is also illustrated as being unequal the King, being on top of the social hierarchy doesnt show any authority and if he tries it is dismissed. On the other hand inferiority is subjective as some people have accepted that they are inferior for example Caliban. However Ariel accepts this as he is going to get something out of it, freedom. I dont think you need to be on top of a social hierarchy to have authority you can gain it.

buy custom Windmere Trust Company essay

buy custom Windmere Trust Company essay This paper seeks to verify information about a service level agreement or contract. This discussion will be in relation to the Windmere Trust Company legal case. A service level agreement or contract is an agreement between a customer, and network service provider that describes what services the network service provider will give and it is usually in measurable terms. Most Internet service providers offer their customers with a service-level agreement. In the present times information system departments in central enterprises have approved the idea of writing a service level agreement and one of these leading companies is Windmere Trust Company. The importance of a service level agreement is to ensure the services being offered to the customers can be evaluated, justified, and at times compared with those of outsourcing network providers. Windmere Trust Company has adopted a new state of the art software system known as CASE Computer Assisted Software Engineering. This has been through the effort of the current Senior Vice President, Allan Bartt, who presented the idea in a management committee conference, in Toronto. The proposal presented in the meeting by the senior vice president aims at doing away with the current computers and in place putting up a mighty latest hardware platform. In addition, the senior vice president proposed a re-developing of all of the companys software systems by bringing in new tools. The meeting was a success as the council had accepted the proposal, and now all Alan Bartt had to do is bring the results. Windmere Trust Company is a comprehensive firm located in Canada. It deals majorly in trusts being the sixth largest trust company in Canada at the time of its inception in 1962. Currently the company has five main business groups- the real estate financing subsidiary, the equipment financing part, the savings division, finances and investment, and trust services, and mutual funds group. Windmeres current Chief Eecutive Officer-Scannell believed in effective information systems and the competitive value a firm gains from having an effective information system. To this effect, Scannell supported Allan Bartts plan to change the information system tools. The approval of Bartts proposal means that Windmere Trust Company will have to hire a service provider that will supply the information system department with the tools necessary for the upgrade. In the process, a service level agreement will be necessary between the chosen service provider and Windmere Trust Company. In this agreement, there are several issues that will be present including the percentage of the times the services will be available, the number of users of the tools, and particular performance benchmarks to which real performance will be periodically compared. In addition, the service level contract will provide the provision of usage statistics, help-desk response time for diverse categories of problems, dial-in contact availability, and the program for notification in advance of network alterations that may have an effect on the users. This will be necessary information as the company is a large company serving several people and with a high number of staff. Before the respective stakeholders of the company and service provider can sign this agreement, the two parties will have to provide information concerning the information systems, which in most cases is a large department of any company. At Windmere Trust Company, the information department consists of 80 personnel whose offices are in Vancouver. The section is split evenly between the operations group and the development and administrative staff. At this time, the companys original computer was a Micro data minicomputer, which at the time of its acquisition was remarkably advanced. Through the times of its operations, the company has adopted various advanced hardware and application software, which have seen the current efficiency of the company. Scannell was nott contented with the hardware and software applications present in the company as all the five main branches of the company were not productive by using the current information systems. Further research into the information system department revealed exceedingly difficult issues in the section, which required immediate attention. The departments costs were too high, and the staff number was ridiculously gargantuan. The recommendations included reducing the number of staff from 80 personnel to 20 and cutting down the budget cost. This would mean introducing new tools in the department that would be cost friendly and increase efficiency of the company. This was the idea of Allan Bartt who had just joined Windmere Trust Company. In this case, the service level agreement would have to indicate the following matters, which the information system department needed to transform. The number of minicomputers it will have to supply to the company because they needed to replace the current hardware and the new network will need to have scalability and responsiveness. The service provider will have to know the exact specifications that Windmere required to achieve its transformation goals in the information system department. On the part of the software, a new software application was to be put up using CASE tools. There would be user documentation for the new systems that will have online maintenance. All this will be in the service level agreement between the two stakeholders, which will be created once they come to an agreement. The service level contract plays the leading roles of describing the customers demands and ensuring that the supplier delivers in his works. In business, the customer is always right and, therefore, the service provider will be mandated to provide what the customer needs or describes in the document. The SLA distinguishes the duties of the customer and provider that ensures the customer knows whom to call in case of a problem. Buy custom Windmere Trust Company essay

Argument for the importance of American Literature in college english Essay

Argument for the importance of American Literature in college english dept - Essay Example American literature is the major media that helps the new generation to understand the historical perspectives and its evolving values. It provides the people with the opportunity of creative imagination. Literature, especially American literature is highly relevant because it helps people to understand the intricacies of human interaction and psychology through the experiences of other people. Llosa (2001) says that even though the technology has redefined the priorities of people, the relevance and importance of literature can never lose its real meaning. The appeal of the literature is primarily focused on providing the reader with an opportunity to grow and learn. At the same time, it allows the reader to ponder over the events and try to use the same in his or her life for personal and professional growth. Indeed, readers are able to observe the changes because they can apply creative imagination to the process of evolving times. The books can stir up the emotions of the readers and they can also be the greatest source of inspiration for those who wish to look beyond the petty selfness of racism, prejudices and religious bigotry. Homer, Socrates, Tolstoy, Shakespeare are as important a figure as any other contemporary writers. We understand them because we can identify ourselves in their writing. Indeed, literature provides the human race with the means to express their deepest feeling. It also provides a facilitating platform for the generations to learn and expand on knowledge garnered through literature and literary account of history. In fact American literature is important because it gives one a significant medium to express one’s gratitude and patriotic feelings which cascades down to generations, inculcating pride. Most importantly, literature promotes creativity through visionary paradigms. It provides expression for

Job Task Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Job Task Analysis - Essay Example ions and submitting them to the human resource manager, scheduling interviews for new employees in the branch, and following up on their progress once employed. Any memos for the department are also to be prepared by the personnel clerk in charge (Reddy, 2004). Behavioral objectives are goals that the military branch will be aiming to accomplish when training the personnel clerk. They include duties and responsibilities that the clerk should be conversant with by the end of the training. Therefore, according to the above tasks the behavioral objectives listed should be that: the personnel clerk will master all the recording procedures in the office; he or she will also be able to understand on how to follow up on the military personnel; he or she will be able to construct a pay roll sheet from the attendance register and lastly, that he or she will be able to prepare all the notices memos of the personnel department if need be. A job task analysis is used to train an employer by laying out all the duties to be performed. (Wolfe, 1991) An analysis for a personnel clerk would be: Enter into the office; Sign in at the register; Check out the attendance of each and every employee of the military branch; Note any absent employees; Identify the events of the day; Ensure all the office records are neatly in place; Arrange any misplaced documents; Prepare any memos required; Receive and attend to any visitors of the personnel department; Ensure that any injured militants are attended to; Ensure the pay roll sheet is in agreement with the attendance list; Check the mail box of the personnel department; Forward and present any available resumes and application mails to the necessary offices; Follow up on the new employees of the organization; Schedule interviews for any new employees and finally sign out the employees after work. Generally, a personnel clerk is important in all organizations since all organizations have employees that need to be managed and yet the