The Scarlet Letter Essays (513 words) - English-language Films

The Scarlet Letter The book The Scarlet Letter is all about symbolism. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the course of the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify Puritanic and Romantic philosophies. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery. For this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life. However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the Puritanic beliefs. She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do no wrong. Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece. Pearl, Hester's child, is portrayed Puritanically, as a child of sin who should be treated as such, ugly, evil, and shamed. The reader more evidently notices that Hawthorne carefully, and sometimes not subtly at all, places Pearl above the rest. She wears colorful clothes, is extremely smart, pretty, and nice. More often than not, she shows her intelligence and free thought, a trait of the Romantics. One of Pearl's favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees. (The reader will recall that anything affiliated with the forest was evil to Puritans. To Hawthorne, however, the forest was beautiful and natural.) "And she was gentler here [the forest] than in the grassy-margined streets of the settlement, or in her mother's cottage. The flowers appeared to know it" (194) Pearl fit in with natural things. Also, Pearl is always effervescent and joyous, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans. Pearl is a virtual shouting match between the Puritanical views and the Romantic ways. To most, but especially the Puritans, one of the most important members of a community is the religious leader; Arthur Dimmesdale is no exception. He was held above the rest, and this is proven in one of the first scenes of the book. As Hester is above the townspeople on a scaffold, Dimmesdale, Governor Wilson, and others are still above her. But, as the reader soon discovers, Arthur Dimmesdale is his own worst enemy. He hates himself and must physically inflict pain upon himself. "He thus typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but could not purify, himself" to never forget what he has done (141). To Dimmesdale, it is bad that Hester is shown publicly as a sinner, but people forget that. What is far worse than public shame is Dimmesdale's own cruel inner shame. Knowing what only he and Hester know, the secret eats away at every fiber of Dimmesdale's being. As the Puritans hold up Dimmesdale, the Romantics level him as a human. The Scarlet Letter is a myriad of allegorical theories and philosophies. Ranging from Puritanic to Romantic, Nathaniel Hawthorne embodies his ideas to stress his Romantic philosophies through Pearl, Hester, and Dimmesdale throughout all of this.

Great Critical Essay Topics for You

Great Critical Essay Topics for You Critical Essay Topics (part 2) (you can find Part 1 here) Movies and TV in Critical WritingWrite down all movies about a high school life (at least those that you remember). Select only one movie, which you consider to be the most outstanding example of its genre. Do you think that the movie influenced your development of personality? Critically analyze positive and negative sides of the movie. Do you agree that usually there are many differences between books and movies screened on the same texts? Choose one book and a movie screened on its plot. Did you manage to find many differences? Try to choose newly screened movies for your writing. Do you agree or disagree that filmmakers should pay more attention to the potential audience? Do you think that some scenes should be excluded to reach a wider audience? Can you name some examples, when you would not let your children watch a movie that was shown in a cinema without any restrictions? Do you agree that horror movies influence ones psychological development? Would you let your children watch horror movies without any limits? Provide some examples to prove your opinion. Critically examine the way TV reflects wedding shows. Do you think that emotions of people are mostly fake? Do you think that all reactions are exaggerated? Many people believe that wedding shows should be more down-to-earth since they do not reflect life as it is. Do you agree? Choose one popular TV series based on real-life events. Have you managed to find some far-fetched scenes that would never happen in real life? Would you still proceed watching this TV series? Do you agree that people are manipulated and in real setting, they would act in a completely different manner? Originality in filmmaking becomes extinct. Most of directors and produces are involved in re-making already screened shows to increase their popularity. Do you think that changing an old story instead of producing a new one is a good idea? Do you think that directors and filmmakers gain huge profits for nothing? Introduce some examples and prove your opinion. Can you describe and define a summer movie? What features should it possess? Can you name a couple of incredible summer movies? Write your expectations and preferences while choosing a summer movie. Choose either a comic or a tragic character and try to find it in several movies. Do you think directors show the same hero or heroine differently? Critically discuss decisions, actions, and motivations of the chosen character. Do you think that American society is influenced too much by popular TV series? Choose one series and try to discuss its viewers and followers. Critically analyze its positive and negative impact on the viewers.Can you recall any horror movie that scared you so much? What makes it special? Were all scenes realistic? Try to name a couple of examples that scared you to death and discuss if director reached success in reflecting events. Explore advertising on TV. Do you think that government should impose a strict limit on the amount of advertisements showed by each channel? Do you agree that advertising influences the way children act in a significant way? Use 2-3 ads that are currently streaming on channels. Can you name the worst movie you have ever watched? Why was it so bad? Did you manage to watch it till the end? List a couple of factors that would have resolved the issue. Do you think that this movie was just a waste of time and money? Research the television history. What tendencies were popular in the past and now? Did you manage to find some drastic changes? Do you think that television became more cruel and shows too much thoughtless scenes? Mention your favorite comedy and analyze its scenes to the full. Why do you consider this comedy to be special? What is the subject of laughter? While watching the comedy, did your friends laugh that much? Do you think that ones sense of humor determines much while watching the comedy? Do you think that real-life situations cannot cover events showed in the comedy? Do you think that reality TV shows make a strong impact on peoples lives? Can you name one of such shows? Do you think that people participating in reality shows miss their own life? Critically examine personalities in such shows and predict their possible intentions behind being famous. Do they want to escape their lives? Can you name a vintage movie? Doyou think modern youths will ever watch vintage movies? Being a high school graduate, would you ever consider watching a film with your parents? Name at least one movie that won Oscar. Do you agree that this movie deserves its prize? What unique scenes and characters can you find in the movie? If you were a filmmaker, what kind of movie would you produce? A comedy, drama, thriller, tragedy, detective story, etc.? What would you like to draw attention to in your movie? Critically examine modern tendencies on TV. What would you like to change? Provide a couple of examples with supporting ideas.

Definition and Examples of Accismus in Rhetoric

Definition and Examples of Accismus in Rhetoric Accismus is a  rhetorical term for coyness: a form of irony in which a person feigns a lack of interest in something that he or she actually desires. Bryan Garner notes that political candidates sometimes engage in something like this tactic by declaring that they would really rather be doing something else than being engaged in public life (Garners Modern English Usage, 2016). EtymologyFrom the Greek, coyness Examples and Observations We spout figures all the time without knowing it. For instance:YOU: Oh, you shouldnt have.If you really mean it, that if they give you one more ugly, ill-fitting sweater youll have to kill them, they you have not used a figure. But if the gift is a new iPad and you can barely keep from running off and playing with it, then your oh-you-shouldnt have constitutes a figure called coyness. Cheapskates who let others pick up the tab tend to use the coyness figure.(Jay Heinrichs, Thank You for Arguing, 2nd ed. Three Rivers Press, 2013)My name is Elizabeth Urello. I currently live in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I do not desire to be a writer/actor/comic/playwright/household name/superstar-personality, any more than I desire your good opinion. I do not desperately want more friends, and I am not badly in need of dates.(About Elizabeth, at the blog Accismus)Accismus and Courtship in Maya Angelous Heart of a WomanHe raised his voice, Bar, give us another one like that other one, then dropped his voic e. Tell me, why are you all alone? Have the men gone blind?Although I knew it was an expected move in the courting game, flirting made me uncomfortable. Each coy remark made me feel like a liar. I wiggled on the stool and giggled and said, Oh, stop.Thomas was smooth. He led, I followed; at the proper time he withdrew and I pulled forward; by the end of our introductory ceremony, I had given him my address and accepted an invitation to dinner.(Maya Angelou, The Heart of a Woman. Random House, 1981) Julius Caesars Use of Accismus. . . I saw Mark Antony offer him [Julius Caesar] a crownyet twas not a crown neither, twas one of these coronetsand as I told you, he put it by once; but, for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. Then he offered it to him again; then he put it by again; but, to my thinking, he was very loath to lay his fingers off it. And then he offered it the third time; he put it the third time by; and still as he refused it, the rabblement hooted and clapped their chapped hands and threw up their sweaty night-caps.(Casca in Act 1, scene 2 of Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare)Roone Arledges Use of Accismus to Encourage Howard Cosells Departure From ABC SportsIn the weeks following the Holmes-Cobb [boxing] debacle, rumors persisted that [sportscaster Howard Cosell] would change his mind, under pressure from ABC. But, in contrast to previous years, there was no real pressure. To the contrary, ABC was quite happy to leave him be. Had Cosell chosen to return, the executives would have had to accommodate him, something no one was eager to do now. This being the situation, Roone Arledge [president of ABC Sports] could afford to humor him. Ringing up Cosell one day, he said coyly, I understand youre not doing any more professional fights.When Cosell assented, Arledge, even more coyly, asked, Youve read your contract recently?Yes, Cosell said, and I know Im in breach of contract, Roone, and I understand that you have every right to dismiss me from the company.Arledge, biting his lip, assured him, Are you crazy? I think youve done the right thing. Congratulations!Arledge had reason to be complimentary. For him, and all of ABC Sports, the right thing was Cosell so purposefully lifting from them the burden of having to dismiss him.(Mark Ribowsky, Howard Cosell: The Man, the Myth, and the Transformation of American Sports. W.W. Norton, 2011) Demonstrating Humility: The Bishops RitualAppointing a bishop is a tricky business. To be a bishop you have to possess the Christian virtue of humility; however, if you actually are humble youll probably think youre not worthy of being a bishop and turn the job down. Even if you secretly think that youd make a splendid bishop and would look marvellous in a mitre, you cant just come out and say it. It would look bad. So you had to practise a little bit of accismus by announcing in front of the assembled company of churchmen that youd really rather not become a bishop, or, in Latin, Nolo episcopari.When you had solemnly announced this, rather than saying Oh well, thats that, I suppose, the church council would ask you a second time, and for a second time you would humbly reply Nolo episcopari. On the third go, you would say, Oh all right then, go on, or Volo episcopari or some such line of assent. You would thus have displayed your humility and got the job.However, it is dreadfully imp ortant to keep count, as if you said Nolo episcopari a third time it would be assumed that you really meant it and your chances of promotion would be forever scuppered. Its rather like the Rule of the Bellman described by Lewis Carroll in The Hunting of the Snark: What I tell you three times is true.(Mark Forsyth, Horologicon. Icon Books, 2012) A Female Virtue in the Victorian EraThe purer the golden vessel, the more readily is it bent: the higher worth of women is sooner lost than that of men. . . .Nature herself has surrounded these delicate souls with an ever-present, in-born guard, with modesty, both in speaking and hearing. A woman requires no figure of eloquenceherself exceptedso often as that of accismus.** So rhetoricians term the figure by which one speaks, without all longing, of the very objects for which one feels the strongest.(Jean Paul, Levana: Or, The Doctrine of Education, 1848) Pronunciation: ak-SIZ-mus

Friendship in Julius Caesar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Friendship in Julius Caesar - Essay Example ever, Antony unlike his friend show his complete devoutness to Caesar when he was call by Caesar, and he responded to "Here, my lord.† Subsequently, the Caesar’s conspirator that is Cassius, Decius and Brutus had used their friendship as concealment to blind Caesar from the truth. Since, Caesar was predisposed to the power of amity just as any other ordinary person this blinded him thus making him unable to understand the reality as it was. For instances, Decius, who is one of the Caesar‘s schemers, came to Caesar’s house, and the first thing that he said was â€Å"Caesar, all hail! Good morrow, worthy Caesar."(2.2. 58-59). Decius perceives Caesar as "most mighty" and this made Caesar become even more comfortable with Decius. Conversely, it was through this that Caesar‘s conspirators were able to plan for the killing of Caesar. Brutus, Decius and, Cassius knew that by ascertaining Caesar that they had solid friendship him this will give them a chance to lure Caesar. For that reason, Brutus, Decius and, Cassius decided to use their excellent established relationship with Caesar in an utterly deceiving manner, in order to ‘exterminate’ him. Hence, Decius a friend to Caesar was able to start this plan by using sycophancy and swift wit in order to trick and persuades Caesar into going to the congress house, in spite of the factual that Caesar’s wife know as Calpurnia had dreams of Caesars homicide the night-time before. Still, Decius was able to his own conspiracy to convinces to Caesar that, â€Å"This dream is all amiss interpreted; it was a vision fair and fortunate†( 2.2. 83-84). Moreover, Decius continue to convinces his friend Caesar by misinterpreted the dream as he to ld him that dream was a noble one and that it was through him that Rome would be invigorated into an inordinate city once more (Shakespeare, 28). Interestingly, Caesar was very delighted with Decius’s interpretation of his wife dream, and this excitement had delighted him so much

Democratic Mechanisms and Political Risks to Waging War Essay - 1

Democratic Mechanisms and Political Risks to Waging War - Essay Example â€Å"The relation between military organization and the civilian environment can be shaped in different ways: in some countries, the civilians are executing firm oversight over the armed forces, whereas in some other countries the military can perform its duties regarding national security in its own, autonomous way, if not even in the way where the military imposes its principles of governance over the citizens. In the contemporary society, the last, i.e. military-dominated political systems are rare†(Jelusic,2007). But at the same time, Shultz (1999) points out that within democratic mechanisms, the political leaders tend to face higher political cost to waging war and therefore the threat to war is often resisted by the target nation. Indeed, the wider ramifications of threats by democratic state are less likely to be taken seriously by rogue nations than by threats from non-democratic states. However, history is witness to the fact that this is not always true. Moreover, according to Jelusic the idea more common are civilian-dominated political systems, in which civilian political leaders control the military in very authoritative way, or where the whole civilian environment through the channels of the democratic control over the military imposes the tasks, the execution of tasks and respect for democracy in the inner-military organizational structures. America’s war against Iraq was fought not for political leverage but for personal gain vis-à  -vis access to the vast resources of oil and gas (Habermas, 2006). The democratic constraints and reasons for waging war have therefore become increasingly contentious issues that need to be looked from the wider perspectives of emerging new equations of political economy that has redistributed wealth and created new power structure. Globalization has brought huge changes not only in the economic circles, but also in the political circles.

Fallacy Essay -- Fallacy Fallacies Social Issues Essays

Fallacy three logical fallacies that are used in this paper are Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc, Far-Fetched Hypothesis, and False Dilemma. What is a fallacy? A fallacy is viewed as an error in reasoning. To be more exact, a fallacy is an "argument" in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support. A logical fallacy is an error in logical argument which is independent of the truth of the premises. When there is a fallacy in an argument it is said to be invalid. The presence of a logical fallacy in an argument does not necessarily imply anything about the argument's premises or its conclusion. Both may actually be true, but the argument is still invalid because the conclusion does not follow. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc is Latin means "after this therefore because of this". What this means is that a fallacy is committed when it is concluded that one event causes another simply because the proposed cause occurred before the proposed effect. There was an article in The Washington Times about a Florida woman who developed a brain tumor behind the ear where she had customarily placed her cell phone, her husband blamed radiation from the phone and sued its manufacturer. After his 1993 appearance on CNN's "Larry King Show," other similar lawsuits followed. None succeeded however, and within several months, the controversy was forgotten.† This kind of health scare is an example of the Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (believing that because two eve...

Lorna Dee Cervantes: Beneath the Shadow of the Freeway Essay

The form of the poem is not easy to determine. It consists of six stanzas of uneven length, which are, except for the first and fifth, again divided into sub-stanzas. The meter is irregular as well as the length of the verses and there is also no rhyme scheme. Cervantes plays very freely with the structure of poems. She does not use an established type of poem and ignores rhyme and meter, but she presents her words graphically in the form of stanzas, in separate but related sections. The six main parts are numbered. It can be assumed that the arrangement of the verses was done consciously and that it aims at a certain reception on the side of the reader. Each time a stanza or sub-stanza starts, a kind of pause emerges. This also allows the poem to have spatial and temporal leaps without transitions, but it also increases the difficulties concerning the understanding of the text. In addition to that, many things are only vaguely hinted or ambiguously presented. The inherent continuity of the poem is achieved by its themes and by its imagery. The first section deals with â€Å"the shadow of the freeway†, the image that is also in the title of the poem. It becomes obvious that the speaker lives next to a freeway; she can watch it right across the street from her porch. Every day she notices that the shadow of the freeway lengthens. This is interesting, because freeways usually do not cast shadows, they are flat. This seems to suggest that the freeway is actually a metaphor, so the speaker lives next to either a real or a metaphorical freeway. The family is introduced in the second part. It is an all-female family, consisting of three generations: grandmother, mother, and daughter. Grandmother is a â€Å"Queen†, mother is â€Å"Swift Knight, Fearless Warrior†, who wants to be a â€Å"Princess† instead. The speaker herself is conflicted by her role in the family. Because she cannot decide, she becomes a â€Å"Scribe†: a translator, someone who does â€Å"light man work†. These fairytale images contrast sharply with that of the freeway. They are a magic, mystic family that live next to a cold, plain freeway. In the third stanza the tense of the poem changes from past tense to present tense. Nature imagery is shown; it tells about seagulls and birds. Nature is again a contrast to the freeway. The last two lines of this part: Grandma â€Å"trusts only what she builds / with her own hands†, can be read as a hint that the freeway, not being built by oneself, is not to be trusted. This passage also contains accusations against men. The male mockingbirds are, in contrast to men, singing for their wives and â€Å"They don’t leave their families / borrachando†. This is said by grandma and it is very likely that she is speaking out of her own experience. In the poem the woman-family, left by their men, shows the difference between the imperfect human world and the idealized idea of nature: the mockingbirds’ family-structure is still intact. Men are to be made responsible for the destruction of the human family unit. This is made explicit in the next stanza. Grandma’s husband is described as â€Å"a man who tried to kill her†. Now if he indeed attempted to murder his wife or if he tried to kill her physically, would not make too much of a difference. It is shown that men are violent and the destroyers of the family. The tense is again past tense. The men of these women belong to the past; they are history. Grandma became a strong and self-reliant woman after being together with her husband. The family is shown as being happy by not having men, who could endanger their content lives. But the harmony of the female family is threatened. In the following stanza the speaker describes a man, entering the house during night, violent, drunk and spreading fear. It is not clear who he is; probable the man of the mother, but it could also be the grandmother’s husband. Most of this part is written in dialogic form, but it is uncertain who is speaking or who is addressed. It is also ambiguous what time this section refers to. Past tense is used, but conjunctive in the first line â€Å"in the night I would hear it† indicates that something similar happened (or happens?) more than once. The last section is finally harmonious and presents a positive outlook, also concerning men. Written in the present tense it tells about the present and the season is summer. It starts with a dialogue between one of the women and  her daughter. It is probable the mother talking to the speaker. She gives her pieces of advise, which are mainly warnings of men. She has had her experiences and does not have any illusions, but the daughter is more idealistic and trusts in a sort of natural law: â€Å"If you are good to them / they will be good to you back†. And it seems as if the speaker got confirmed in her opinion, because she is sleeping â€Å"with a gentle man / to the hymn of the mockingbirds†. This final stanza then also tells about the future. The things the daughter plans to do refer back to the grandmother. The three generations are thus linked together in cyclic harmony. A relationship with man can be achieved, if independence is preserved and confidence is only placed in oneself. The bond of the family, the unity between mother and daughter will always be stronger than any relationship between man and women. The mockingbird, which lives the ideal of a natural family including the male, is definitely a positive image and also a contrast to the freeway. The bird accompanies the grandmother’s patchwork and the speaker’s sleeping with her gentle man. The freeway is mentioned again in the last stanza, but this time without any negative connotations. It is just said that it is â€Å"across the street†. This is just a neutral statement, the freeway does not cast any shadows anymore. The natural, the mockingbird, and the unnatural, the freeway, have come to terms with each other. One could also argue that the mockingbird stands for the loving and caring female concept, involving instinct and nature, whereas the freeway expresses the male notion, being unnatural and without feeling and thinking, a â€Å"blind worm†. Just as nature and environment have to struggle with human progress, women have to struggle with men. A lot in this poems stays ambiguous and vague. Very often the voices of the three women are not to be identified; their identities merge and this increases the notion of continuity and connection among three generations of women, in which men will always be outsiders, even if they are â€Å"gentle†.