Explore the ways in which Shakespeare presents male characters Essay Example for Free

Explore the ways in which Shakespeare presents male characters Essay The female characters in Hamlet have several vital roles within the play that serve to add depth and interest to the overall plot. Shakespeare employs the women to emphasize key themes such as betrayal, that might not otherwise be drawn out, and also enable the audience to gain a deeper understanding of the main male characters through the way in which they view and treat women. It is important to closely examine the male-female interaction and relationships in order to understand how Shakespeare uses the women as a dramatic device. The main male characters of Hamlet, Claudius, Polonius and Laertes are repeatedly shown to possess negative attitudes towards women. These attitudes result in unjust, oppressive and abusive relationships with the female characters of Gertrude and Ophelia. The primary male character, Hamlet, bears no exception to this general negativity directed at women. Shakespeare presents Hamlet as a man with a progressive hatred of womankind, having a detrimental influence upon his relationships with the female characters. Shakespeare implies the reason for Hamlets increased negativity to be his mothers remarriage to his uncle, Claudius. The extent this has affected Hamlet is implied through repeated mention of it, such as in his second soliloquy when he speaks of Claudius two crimes as making his mother a whore and the murder of [his] father. Here, Shakespeare uses the order in which Hamlet lists Claudius crimes to convey which event Hamlet views most severely. Damage caused by the remarriage is again seen through Hamlets resulting negativity towards women. One such attitude is the belief that women are overtly sexual. Upon Hamlets Chance meeting with Ophelia, he comments unfavourably on her tendency as a woman to jig, amble and lisp. Shakespeares chosen combination of verbs implies that Hamlet thinks women to have an inherently flirtatious nature. Hamlet also speaks to Ophelia of womens wantonness becoming their ignorance, implying that sexual desires become their downfall. It seems that this view of women as sexual tempters leads Hamlet to believe that they should be cut off from men, so as not to cause men detriment. Shakespeare conveys this through Hamlets instruction to Ophelia to get thee to a nunnery; repeating this line to demonstrate his conviction that women should remain separate so their overtly sexual nature cannot negatively influence men. Shakespeare emphasizes this through the forceful language Hamlet uses to instruct Ophelia in this action, for example go, and quickly too and that she must go now. Through Hamlets repetition of the imperative verb go, Shakespeare conveys his commanding tone, leaving the audience with no doubt of his vehemence. Shakespeare again shows Hamlets problem with womens sexuality through his repulsion at his mothers relationship with Claudius. In Hamlets first soliloquy he speaks of the speed of the marriage, saying how Gertrude did post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets. Here, Shakespeares repetition of s sounds acts as a sibilant to emphasise that Hamlet is hissing the words, conveying disgust at his mothers remarriage and sexual relationship. In negatively viewing the sexuality of both women in his life, Shakespeare hints that Hamlet not only has a problem with them individually, but that his grudge also lies with womankind. This is epitomized through his suggestion to Ophelia at the Chance Meeting that there should be no more marriage, thus effectively terminating sexual relationships. Hamlets disapproval of womens sexuality is linked with his belief that they have a ruinous influence upon men. Shakespeare shows this attitude through the way that in the Chance Meeting with Ophelia, Hamlet suggests that women in general corrupt men, saying wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them. Shakespeare again shows Hamlet blaming women for mens faults including his own insanity, saying their flirtatious games hath made [him] mad. Thus, Hamlet is shown to hold women as scapegoats, accountable for mens faults. Hamlets negative attitudes of women combine to produce unequal and oppressive relationships with both women in his life. Shakespeare demonstrates the imbalance in Hamlets relationship with Ophelia through the way the two characters treat one another so differently. Whilst Hamlet carries out a character assassination of her in the Chance Meeting saying that she is corrupt and a sinner, Ophelia glorifies him. Ophelia implies that Hamlet is awed saying he is observed and the glass of fashion. Also, Ophelia believes him to be of good character, saying he has a noble mind. This suggests Ophelias adoration of Hamlet, prior to his madness, and hints at her love for him. Through this contrast between Ophelias treatment of Hamlet with his of her, Shakespeare indicates who dominates their imbalanced relationship. The result is confusion and pain for the subservient Ophelia, shown through her repeated questions such as what means this my lord? and her declaration of grief at Hamlets rejection, proclaiming O woe is me.

Should Committed Environmentalists Choose to Adopt a Vegan/Vegetarian D

Introduction The environmental impacts of a diet based in animal products is well documented and is the source of much debate. According to a controversial United Nations report entitled Livestock's Long Shadow (2006),â€Å"The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.† For those committed to reducing their environmental impacts, one solution would be to transfer to a vegetarian or even vegan diet. It is not necessarily ethical to prescribe one way of being for environmentalists all over the world, especially without thinking about differences in cultures. However, most committed environmentalists should adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet, with a few caveats. This is because (1) animal products are an inefficient source of protein in terms of environmental impact, (2) the greenhouse gas emissions from an animal product-based diet is significantly higher than a plant-ba sed diet and (3) animals are part of the environment and their treatment is as important as the treatment of the planet as a whole. Differing views Among Environmentalists Environmentalists take up many causes in their fight to protect nature. Their tactics can involve direct-action, petitions, media stunts and boycotts. Boycotting a company that is involved in unethical behaviour can be very effective and one of the simplest, most direct ways to exercise your consumer power, since most of the world's population is embedded in the capitalist economic system. Three areas that research has shown we contribute most of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is through transportation, home energy and food, all areas in which committed environmentalists are ... ...rent dietary protein choices, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 78, p. 664s-668s. Stepaniak J, 2000, Being vegan: living with conscience, conviction, and compassion, Lowell House, Los Angeles. Tukker, A & Jansen, B 2006, ‘Environmental impacts of products – a detailed review of studies’, Journal of Industrial Ecology, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 159–182. Waller, D, 1997, ‘A vegetarian critique of deep and social ecology’, Ethics and the Environment, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 187-197. Weber, CL & Matthews, HS 2008, ‘Food-miles and the relative climate impacts of food choices in the United States', Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 42, no. 10, pp. 3508-3513. Wells, T 2005, The world in your kitchen, New Internationalist Publications, Oxford. Yacoubou, J 2011, 'Ecocriticism as vegetarian activism', Vegetarian Journal, vol, 30, No. 2, pp. 12-14.

Response to Decolonizing the Mind

In â€Å"Decolonising the Mind† Ngugi Wa Thiong’o makes the call to African writers to begin writing literature in their own languages, and to make sure that literature is connected to their people’s revolutionary struggles for independence from their colonial regimes. He begins with the historical meeting he was invited to with his fellow African writers in Kampala, Uganda. In this conference, writers who wrote their stories in African languages were automatically neglected.He also continues to point out about how English and other European languages are assumed, until today, to be the natural languages and unifying forces in both literature and political views among African people. For instance, to explain his point, Ngugi uses Chinua Achebe, one of the major African writers, who embraces the use of an English Language in his works. Ngugi quotes â€Å"For me (Achebe) there is no other choice, I have been given the language and I intend to use it† (Achebe , 62).Finally, Ngugi concludes that writing in African languages is a necessary step toward cultural identity and liberation from centuries of European exploitation. Firstly, I support Ngungi’s claim that an educational system that focuses and embraces only foreign works, such as language and culture is destructive: â€Å"Thus language and literature were taking us further and further from ourselves to other selves, from our world to other worlds†(266). Obviously, there is a need to create a literature that embraces the real African experience starting from the perspective of the locals, not the intruders.The local language is an integral part of conveying that experience, this is simply because much of the local tradition is preserved in that language. For example, Ngugi insists that stories and songs are effectively passed down from one generation to the next through oral (story-telling), and the fact that both the story teller and the listener are interested and inv olved in the conversation. Therefore, the benefits of embracing and working in the local language and within the local traditions bring the entire community together.Secondly, I support Ngugi’s view that colonialism has deemed African languages unworthy of use – both by the colonizers and the colonized. He explains how a â€Å"cultural bomb† was dropped on Africa so the minds and consequently the resources of Africans were controlled. In my view, not only colonizers understand that it is not enough to take over Africa with guns alone, but they also need to take over the mind of its people through language and the fine education they offer through that language.This is seen in the schools where European languages are idolized, in the streets where African languages become synonymous with the language of the peasantry, and at the prison cells were those African writers who choose to stay true to their mother tongue are held. I strongly agree about Ngugi’s c hoice to write only in Gikuyu rather than English language: â€Å"I believe that my writing in the Gikuyu language, a Kenyan language, an African language, is part and parcel of the anti-imperialist struggles of Kenyan and African peoples† (267).He reminds me my native country, Kenya, and Kamba is my mother tongue, so if I choose to write in Kamba as Ngugi did, I will not be doing something abnormal. It true that â€Å"imperialism† has turned African people’s minds upside down: African people view abnormal as normal and normal as abnormal. For example, Europe and America became rich and continue to get rich from using both Africa’s natural and human resources, but African people are made to believe that they cannot become poverty free without European and American intervention.Therefore, Ngugi’s decision to abandon English completely in his writings and embrace Gikuyu in attempt to align himself with the people (Gikuyu-speaking population) is one s tep toward cultural identity and independence from European exploitation. I also agree with Ngugi that colonization is not simply a process of physical force rather â€Å"the bullet is the means of physical subjugation, and Language is the means of the spiritual subjugation†(265).In Kenya, colonization propagated English as the language of education; as a result, oral literature in Kenyan indigenous languages gradually faded away. This is devastating to African literature because, as Ngugi writes, â€Å"language carries culture and culture carries, particularly through orature and literature, the entire body of values by which we perceive ourselves and our place in the world†(267).This means that Language as culture, it expresses and carries the culture of people; therefore, it becomes the storehouse of its images, ideas, wisdom, experience and history. It ties me to my people and becomes part of who I am. And finally, language as culture, it shapes how I look at the w orld and myself. Lastly but not least, I think â€Å"Decolonising the Mind† is an integral to understanding an anti-colonialist struggles. Europe and America view colonialism in terms of the most visible aspects of a nation, namely its leadership.People fail to see and recognize the long-term effects of colonialism, such as the widespread poverty. Decolonizing the Mind reminds me of another aftereffect, specifically, the domination of language by the Western World. In a sense, the language barrier enables social apartheid where legal separation is considered anachronistic. By dominating African languages, and asserting the superiority of European ones over them, Western nations, including some African nations, do perpetuate a system where educated whites rise to the highest.As a result, native Africans resign to the working classes and peasantry. This domination of language effectively prevents any native African from rising into intellectual ranks because, as Ngugi puts it, the use of European languages splits African soul in two, forcing him to give up his roots if he wishes to climb the social ladder. Work Cited Currey, James. â€Å"The Language of African Literature† Decolonising the Mind: The politics ofLanguage in African Literature. London: 1981. 263-267

Homeless Population Of New South Wales - 1444 Words

Overview â€Å"In a country as prosperous as Australia, no one should have to be homeless.† - The Road Home, 2008 Homelessness is a complex problem and not simply a lack of housing. It has numerous causes that affect different groups differently. In Australia, there are approximately 105000 people experiencing homelessness reported in the 2011 census. This equates to one in every two hundred people. The homeless population of New South Wales accounts for over one quarter of the total in Australia, at over 28000. One is considered to be homeless if they do not have access to safe, secure and adequate housing. Homelessness generally refers to three types of homelessness with varying severity.  ¬ Primary homelessness, referring to those living†¦show more content†¦Though they are from a similar region, the City of Sydney covers an area approximately nine times the size of the CBD. Focus This report aims to address the issue of homelessness and give detailed information in regards to the topic, as well as to answer the following questions.  ¬ What are the main causes of homelessness in the Sydney CBD?  ¬ How are the homeless affected (physical mental) and what actions are they taking?  ¬ How are other members of society affected?  ¬ What actions have been taken reduce the rate of homelessness and its effects?  ¬ What actions could be taken to reduce the rate of homelessness and its effects? In Regards to Accuracy It is important to address the issues and limitations that may be present in this report. Recent and reliable reports on the homeless is severely lacking, likely as a result of the sensitivity of the issue. Similarly, the Sydney CBD is an extremely specific area and much of the information collected is not specific to this area. Much of the information collected were extrapolated from data that covered a larger area. As such, it is important to recognise that due to the nature of the data collected, the information presented may be inaccurate or biased. Causes of Homelessness There are numerous causes to homelessness. Specific events can cause homelessness, such as losing a job, eviction or family breakdown