Friday, January 31, 2020
In a Street Car Named Desire Essay Example for Free
In a Street Car Named Desire Essay In a Streetcar Named Desire there is a conflict between Illusion and reality, Blanche Dubois arrives in New Orleans with the impression of a patronising, wealthy school teacher who has no time for those who she believes to be below her class as we see in her rudeness to Eunice at the very beginning. As the play progresses we see that Blanche is merely projecting a persona which hides both her past and the inevitably grim future that awaits her. On the other side we have Blanche’s brother-in-law Stanley who acts in opposition of the illusion which Blanche has created and takes it upon himself to expose Blanche for what she really is. Blanche like all human beings is not infallible in her illusion as her own body and actions betray her at times reveal that the true Blanche Dubois lies just beneath the surface, for example her nerves show her reliance on alcohol. Blanche throughout the entire play portrays a character which is not truly her own, from the beginning she appears to believe herself above everyone she meets, especially her own sister Stella as we see in Blanche’s disappointment at Stella’s home. Despite this from the very beginning it’s obvious that Blanche is prone to hiding the true image of herself, physical and mental â€Å"Turn that over light off! Turn that off! I won’t be looked at in this merciless glare. †Blanche’s aversion to be seen clearly in the light is evident throughout the entire play and symbolises her need to impair people’s view of her true self. Blanche gives the impression of being superior incessantly through showing her culture and telling false stories like that of Shep Huntleigh. Williams establishes the extreme difference between illusion and reality with Blanche’s conversation with Stella on how the ceremony of the funeral does nothing to illustrate the truth of death â€Å"Funerals are quiet with pretty flowers. And, oh, what gorgeous boxes they pack them away in! Unless you were there at the bed when they cried out, ‘Hold me! ’ you’d never suspect there was a struggle for breath and breathing. †This illustrates human need to hide reality, with a beautiful ceremony we hide the harsh reality of death, dressing up our mortality and ignoring the reality of the pain and anguish which accompanies death. Just like Blanche trying to look as attractive and collected as possible in order to disguise the true reason behind her arrival at her sister Stella’s apartment. The character of Stanley, Blanche’s brother-in-law is constantly referred to as a primitive, instinctive male with Tennessee’s constant use of animal imagery while describing him and lowering him to an almost sub human level as we see in Blanche’s description of him â€Å"He acts like an animal, has an animal’s habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! †This explains Stanley’s decision to take the role of exposer, he is a male protecting his home from an intruder who threatens the dominance which he has established over it. When Blanche first arrives she annoys Stanley as he assumes the role of the head of the household, Blanche’s education and condescending manner are a challenge to his hold over Stella â€Å"Tennessee Williams writes that the most pressing moral problem of man in the twentieth century is to avoid extinction. †Stanley instinctively knows Blanche is hiding her past and her persona is all a facade, it is when his control of the household is challenged that he decides to expose the reality behind the illusion of Blanche Dubois. Stanley exposes Blanche to Stella after discovering her misdeeds in a town called Laurel where she had been a sexual deviant, having relations with many men. Blanche had to move to this town because she was fired from her job as a schoolteacher for having a sexual relationship with a seventeen year old. Blanche constantly wears white and her name actually means white, the colour that represents innocence and purity but Stanley begins revealing her past by saying, â€Å"Sister Blanche is no Lily. It is easy to judge Blanche, condemning her for her falsity but Blanche created this character to hide her past so she could have a future. Blanche was married to a man named Gray but found him with another man and the guilt forced him into suicide. This caused Blanche to seek fulfilment in the arms of strange men, Blanche married young and once an adult she then proceeded to lose â€Å"her husband, her inheritance, her home, her employment and nearly all her family. Blanche’s transition child to adult is traumatic and the harsh reality of the world is thrust upon her through death and meaningless relations with men which is why she maintains the illusion of childhood, that of the pure and innocent southern girl who needs to be courted â€Å"You didn’t know Blanche as a girl: Nobody, nobody was as tender and trusting as she was. But people like you abused her, and forced her to change. †It was the harsh reality of the world which made Blanche create the false persona we see in the Kowalski home. Blanche sense’s that her only hope for salvation is to attract a partner and she targets Mitch (Stanley’s friend) as a possible candidate for this role. Mitch is a sincere character as we see by his awkwardness and openness especially when explaining his fear of loneliness once his mother passes to his friends at the poker game. Even though Mitch appears to be the most honest character, Blanche is so insecure that â€Å"she assumes that she must pretend to be the innocent romantic in order to attract men, she hides her past, her age and her sexual appetites. This is in vain however as Stanley tells Mitch the truth of Blanche’s past therefore revealing that Blanche isn’t the innocent girl he had hoped she was to replace his mother as the main woman in his life. Blanche not only uses illusion but is also an example of the illusion of the typical southern lady. Due to her upbringing in the south Blanche has unfair expectations placed on her from an early age , which she reverts back to after her tragic marriage ends, taking the role of the pure, innocent girl. This reflects a situation that Williams saw first-hand as he â€Å"watched his sister struggle to become the kind of southern belle that his mother expected, he knew how cruel this definition of roles could be. †Blanche has created this false personality based on the perfect southern women she failed to become. Stella is put in a situation where she must choose between illusion and reality. Blanche tells Stella of Stanley’s rape however Stella shortly after giving birth doesn’t believe her and instead chooses Stanley over her own sister. We cannot totally fault Stella for forsaking her sister, it is a decision made with the future in mind for her and her baby â€Å"When Stella chooses him (Stanley) over Blanche we understand she is choosing survival of the species rather than the dream of a dead past†Stanley is the provider for her family and she must remain with him. Adhering to his animal instincts Stanley has defeated Blanche and remains the king of his household by exposing her past, therefore chasing away her only remaining suitor Mitch and finally by the brutal act of rape, â€Å"having been raped by the man of the house in which she sought refuge, her mind unhinges. At the time of production it was believed that Stanley should be punished for his crime and that the poetic character of Blanche should not have such a bleak end, but like the play, Williams is more concerned with portraying a realistic ending rather than creating an ending more digestible for the audience, â€Å"We know that Williams unc ensored ending was more realistic. â€
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Love in John Donnes A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and Andrew Marv
Love in John Donne's A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning and Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" and Andrew Marvell's To His Coy Mistress" both talk about love but has different views about it, one talks about physical love and the other talks about spiritual love. John Donne's "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" compared love to a circle while Andrew Marvel's "To His Coy Mistress" compared love to a straight line. Both poems are act of persuasions. "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" is persuading the reader that true love is eternal while "To His Coy Mistress" the speaker is persuading the mistress to make passionate sex with him. Therefore, with all of these similarities and differences, it's commendable to compare the two works of literature. "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" has a subtle theme of religion in itself particularly, Christianity in relation to life after death. The main theme of the poem is true love will continue on, even after death. Lines one through two illustrate the notion of afterlife. "As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to go..." Essentially, it implies that we have souls, and souls are the immortal part of men (human beings). John Donne's notion that we have souls and there's life after death are presumably based on his Christian beliefs. Donne was born in England and raised by a prosperous Roman Catholic family. At the age of 42, Donne accepted ordination in the Angelican Church. He, then, became and earned a reputation as one of the greatest preachers (Abcarian and Klotz 1121). Donne was 60 years of age when he wrote the poem; presumably, he was still a preacher at the time. Therefore, his poem can be suggested as... ...ourning." Although the main central theme of the poems were directly opposite of each other, we can relate that physical love and spiritual love has a connection to each other. Physical love can turn to spiritual love or perhaps spiritual love can turn to physical love. At one point or another, we have experienced both physical and spiritual love. On the surface, we can say that spiritual love is a cut above physical love. However, it's hypocritical to say that we do not come into contact with emotions such as desire or lust. Therefore, physical love is at the same level as spiritual love. It is merely difficult to admit that we do experience lust because it is not something to be proud about. Social convention dictates that we should not feel lust. Moreover, lust is one of the seven sins. However, lust is a valid emotion that every one experience once in a while.
Tuesday, January 14, 2020
Policies and Practices at Wal-Mart Essay
Think about Wal-Mart and think about the biggest and most successful chain of department stores in the United States. Think about Wal-Mart and think about a multi-billion dollar company which just continues to expand. Now think about working for this company. Initially you might think about the great opportunity and promise to work for a solid company. But, if you are not a white male, think again.            Wal-Mart gets sued a lot. Back in 2002, Wal-Mart received over six thousand lawsuits (Daniels, 2003). Today the company is facing the largest civil rights class action lawsuit, the Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Inc. The Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Inc is a sex-discrimination lawsuit filed by Ms. Betty Dukes. According to Ms. Dukes, her employer denied her the chance of progressing to the upper echelon of the company she works for. Now what we have before us is an ongoing circus between 2 million women who are currently working or used to work at Wal-Mart and the Wal-Mart company.            The United States government has an agency which prosecutes any work related discrimination act. It is called the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC. EEOC was established to ensure that every person has an equal opportunity to be hired and employed and that no form of discrimination will be done against them. EEOC laws protect the employees as early as during the application stage.            As I have stated above, it is just normal for Wal-Mart to be sued a lot. The reason is maybe because discriminatory practices exist here. Let us study what the law states and compare it with what is really going on inside Wal-Mart. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964            Title VII of the Civil Rights of Act of 1964 commonly known as Title VII protects employees at being discriminated based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. If an employer employs fifteen or more individuals, that company covered by Title VII. It is not only intentional discriminations that is prohibited but any practice which has the effect of discriminating against individuals is under Title VII (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2004). The U.S. EEOC is in charge of enforcing this law. The question now is what is the practice in Wal-Mart. Is this law enforced strictly or is Wal-Mart disregarding this act?            Back to Ms. Dukes, she filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart because she claims that Wal-Mart did not gave her a chance to move to the next higher job position because she is a female (Pikul, 2004). With what Ms. Dukes is claiming, this is clearly showing that sex-discrimination is widespread at Wal-Mart and this is definitely unacceptable. Since there are many other complaints just like this, the court has allowed the largest class action discrimination case against Wal-Mart. Equal Pay Act            Under the Equal Pay Act, there should be no difference in wage based on the sex of the employee. Men and women who basically have the same job position and skill level should be paid equally. This act further states that employers cannot reduce wages of either sex for the sake of equalizing the wage between men and women (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2004).            In a Sam’s Club in Riverside California, Ms. Stephane Odle working as an assistant manager found a W-2 form lying around the office. The W-2 was owned by her male college which also happens to be an assistant manager just like her. She discovered that her male counterpart was earning some thousand of dollars more than her (Daniels, 2003). Again, another act of dishonesty on the part of Wal-Mart. The company made a fool out of Ms. Odle and made a mockery of the act enforced by the EEOC. Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 is aimed to protect women from discrimination they may incur on the basis of pregnancy and childbirth. Women who are pregnant or feeling any related conditions should be treated the same way as other regular applicants or employees (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2004). Another act violated by Wal-Mart in which a settlement has been made. In November 1991, a female applicant was denied to be hired because she was pregnant at that time. The EEOC on behalf of Miss Jamey Stern filed a case against Wal-Mart. The settlement cost Wal-Mart $200,000 in damages done to Ms. Stern. There is no smoke if there isn’t any fire. Wal-Mart is certainly guilty of discrimination on their female workers and the minority. They are not only culpable to their workers but also to what the law states. The sheer number of lawsuits being filed against Wal-Mart clearly shows that this company has a big problem. It is never too late for the company to correct its wrong doings against their employees. Eradication of discrimination at work is a process that is why it is imperative that they act now. Instead of being the leaders in discrimination, they should set an example to all other companies, huge or small, that there is no place for discrimination in the work place. References Daniels, C. (2003, July 21). Women vs. Wal-Mart. How the retailer reconcile its storied culture with the anger of these female workers? Retrieved March 11, 2007 from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/07/21/346130/index.htm Pikul, C. (2004, November 22). Women vs. Wal-Mart. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2004/11/22/wal_mart/ U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2004). APA style: Electronic references. Retrieved March 12, 2008, from http://www.eeoc.gov
Monday, January 6, 2020
Analysis Of The Four Major Identitys By Mark Lilla
After listening to the lecture that was given on the four major identities by Columbia history professor Mark Lilla. I learned what values and characteristics these four identities had. Lillia also gave many examples with which characters would fit in with certain identities and described which characteristics they took from that certain identity. There was one identity that I was more interested in and I as well viewed more positively compared to the other three identities, which was Sage. One of the reasons why I found the Sage more interesting than the other three identities; the soldier, the saint, and the citizen was because professor Lillia said that there are two types of sage. The first one being, one who draws lessons from†¦show more content†¦I thought these drawbacks that the sage has werent as bad when compared to the other three. The soldier could mistake honor with vanity, courage with hubris, and his duty with vengeance. The saint could end up being very naive and since they tend to stick to the rules and anything that they are told they tend to not think for themselves making them square. The citizen tendency for trying to fit in make them just another face in the crowd, they can have an absence of their own distinctive identity. The sage is his own person and may have a bias but at least they choose what they believe because there have been examples or they themselves have had an experience, which I strongly believe is better than trying to bl end in or following the rules blindly in order to be liked. With the soldier its sort of self explanatory because I believe its better to think before you act, dont let your emotions negative or positive dictate your actions because even though it feels like a good choice it may end up not being so. Professor Lilla gave an example of a character that was a sage, this same character was talked about in our History 104 class. This character was Socrates, he was a classical Greek philosopher. In an article I read about Socrates called â€Å"Socrates†written on thoughtCo.com by N.S. Gill, the author stated that socrates could possibly be the wisest sage of all time. Socrates is a man whoShow MoreRelatedVietnams Bank Risk Management33687 Words  | 135 Pagesmanagement in banks, and understand the facts about the Vietnamese credit conditions. Four research questions will step by step guide the audience on how these objectives are achieved. In order to give out an evaluation of credit risk management practices, this thesis has tried to build a list of assessment criteria deriving from the literature that has been revised during the study. The criteria are grouped into four categories: credit culture, credit policies, credit organization personnel and creditRead MoreAutobi lography of Zlatan Ibrahimovic116934 Words  | 468 Pagesmade me happy. I played some ball with the kids and tried to make sure everyone was feeling alright, and of course I spent time with my video games. It s like a disease for me. They eat me up. But since the time in Inter when I could play until four, five in the morning and go to practice after just a couple of hours sleep, I ve set some rules for myself: no Xbox or Playstation after 10 at night. I can t let time run away from me, and during these weeks in Spain I really tried to spend time
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