The Benefits of Sin Revealed in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Lette

The Benefits of Sin Revealed in The Scarlet Letter      Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter, each of us is born with "original sin" we have inherited from the misdeeds of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. As Eve bit hungrily into the apple from the Tree of Knowledge, starving for wisdom, little did she know that the entire human race would thereafter be tainted by her "sin." Hawthorne and many others believe that ever since, human beings have been inclined to evil, more likely to disobey than to act in a godly manner. This is a faithless, cynical view of humanity, but one perhaps justified by the actions of Hester Prynne and the Reverend Dimmesdale. Sin seems to be an inevitable factor in their lives; though they are good people, their sin boils up and nearly destroys them. Do they make a conscious choice to sin? Or does their sin simply take control, as it is bound to do in all human beings? Perhaps this leads to a greater question of fate and free will, but in the end, the one thing they can really chan ge in their lives is the way they deal with sin, how they attempt to atone for it - and whether they view the affair they had as sinful in the first place.    Puritan society in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was a system based on religion. The Bible and the law were intertwined and could not be separated, not even in the minds of the people. Therefore it was difficult to argue that there were any laws at all that were worth having, if they were not spelled out explicitly in the Bible. Hester had committed adultery and given birth to a bastard child, and there it was, in the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not commit adultery. And so she was punished. The Puritans nodded and were satisfied, comfortabl... ...., C.E. Frazer, ed. The Nathaniel Hawthorne Journal 1975. Englewood: Indian Head, 1975. Coxe, Rev. Arthur Cleveland. "The Writings of Hawthorne." Church Review 3 (1851): 489-511. Gartner, Matthew. "The Scarlet Letter and the Book of Esther: Scriptural Letter and Narrative Life." Studies in American Fiction (1995): 131-144. Hawthorne, J. (1886, April). "The Scarlet Letter." The Atlantic Monthly [On-line], pp. 1-20. Available: http://wwww.theatlantic.com/unbound/classrev/scarlet.html Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: St. Martins, 1991. Loring, G. B. (1850). "The Scarlet Letter and Transcendentalism." Massachusetts Quarterly Review [On-line], pp. 1-6. Available: http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/loring.html Scharnhorst, Gary. The Critical Response to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. New York: Greenwood, 1992.   

A Soldier :: essays research papers

As I sat and thought about what would catch and hold a reader by the nose, an old picture on the wall distracted me. It's not much of a picture, just a group of guys at work in a rather desolate place. This picture has rather special meaning to me, and carries with it a whole assortment of memories. The unknown is always worse then the known. Don't listen to rumors or try to imagine what it's like here. This is a modern sophisticated, highly technical, well-planned war. One I am sure I will return safely from. This war is not what is seen on television or talked about sitting at your favorite watering hole. This is a war that must be fought here and now, not based on past victories or failures. This truly is a war unlike any ever fought, yet a fight the world cannot turn away or hide from. We are here to insure the right of people to live in peace without fear of a more belligerent nation stripping the thin veneer of civilization away from them. A veneer that has been carefully nurtured for thousands of years to protect us from our more primitive instincts and ourselves. The rights and freedoms of innocent people have been infringed upon and the world..no, I cannot turn my head and walk away. Yes, my chosen profession is that of a soldier. A soldier by definition trains to be proficient in war and in the ability to cause destruction in the most efficient way possible. Perhaps this is why the soldier is also the one who most hates war and fighting. It is he who must carry the burden, endure the hardships, the pain, and the anguish of being the bringer of destruction. This same soldier who after months of living in a hostile environment, surviving the manmade hell of a modern battlefield can often be seen giving food or perhaps his last bit of hoarded chocolate to a small child. A child that has also survived the horror of war. Yet, I go forward in the morning with a light heart. Knowing that what I feel is shared by thousands of other soldiers. These same soldiers that I may be asked to kill in a matter of a few days. For part of a soldier is the bond or link that exists between themselves. For these professionals know each other by sight.

Emerging Markets; Risks and Challenges

Trade among these countries has also grown by a staggering amount in recent years and their multinational companies are now competing with those from the developed economies. There remain, however, significant risks and challenges to investing in these countries. They are discussed here under these broad headings; Political, Economic, Legal and Socio cultural. They affect the different countries in deferent ways and sometimes Interact in deferent ways to produce deferent results. For example, political processes more often than not drive economic, legal and social policies of governments.China and India, two of the largest emerging markets operate very different political processes and therefore have two very different sets of political institutions. Chinese communism and Indian democracy vary significantly, and their political systems ultimately affect the choice of economic, legal and social policies. The first step to emerging market status for most of these countries can be trace d to political reforms and/or movements, examples being the transition from authoritarian to democratic governments and economic liberation's.It can also be argued that social reforms and/or popular movements brought about the downfall of the authoritarian governments in the first place, allowing for reforms in the political and economic systems In place (the political economy), thus paving the way for economic gains witnessed today. Despite the often complex interactions between these factors, wave attempted to simplify them by grouping them In broad categories. Emerging markets also face challenges as they come to grips with economic prosperity and their new status in the global community.

Process to Becoming a Successful Mother and Student

The role of a mother is a highly demanding role in itself. Making the choice to become a mother and a college student is even more demanding. Once that choice has been determined, one wants to ensure that they are effective at balancing the two roles successfully. I will describe how to maintain a healthy balance between being a successful mother and a successful college student. I implemented a particular process when I decided to enroll in college. I am a mother of 4 children and a step mother of 3 children. I knew that in order to succeed in college and maintain a healthy relationship with my children, I would have to put order into place in both areas of my life. The key to becoming and maintaining success as a mother and a student is centered around organization. The organizational process to being a successful mother and student includes many steps. Those steps include: establishing specific and achievable goals, setting priorities, possessing a mind set of determinatation and devotion, being self disciplined and structured, and lastly, being able to still have time to love and laugh with your family. The first step in my process was establishing specific and achievable goals. I knew what I wanted to do, so I had to get a little more specific with my goals. My goal consisted of the date I planned to graduate, where I wanted to start my career and a dollar figure that I hoped to make. Once I had my goals in place, I then developed the mind set needed to start the mother/student role in movement. I knew I would need to be solely committed and devoted to attending school and maintaining a healthy relationship with my family. I also would remind myself on a daily basis of what my goals were. That would help me continue to be determined and devoted. Once I was enrolled at school and had a schedule in place, my next step was to implement a structed routine. To make this routine, I created a term schedule (fixed, unchanging) for each week. This schedule would list all events in my life for that week that were could not be changed or rescheduled. That would include my class schedule, appropriate study/homework time for each class, doctor appointments for myself or children, commute time to and from school, extracurricular activities for children, church times, meal preparation times, daily chores, allotted family time and sleep times. The term schedule was very detailed, I scheduled every thing I needed to do in a days time. The schedule allowed me to see on a day to day basis what â€Å"free† time I would have after all the must-do’s in my life had been fulfilled. Once I had the term schedule in place, I then had a routine to follow. Following a routine allowed me to stick to my priorities and ensure that the important items in my life were executed on time. When I had free time, I would use that time to do the â€Å"extra’s† in life!!

The Nature of the Beast: An Analysis of the Genre of Science Fiction

All modes of inquiry correlate with each other due to their tendency to coalesce in their emphasis on questions, which raise issues on autonomy, justice, and politics. The differences of literary theories, for example, merely spring from their construal of the relationship between the exercise of power and the text. Structuralism views the relation in terms of the relationship of the formal elements in a linguistic system. Marxism assesses the relationship in terms of the role of such relations in the existence of social structures.The same method is used by Psychoanalysis, with the emphasis on the conscious and unconscious mind. Deconstruction, on the other hand, perceives the texts’ role in destabilizing oppositional modes of power. Despite of these differences amongst discursive procedures, it does not overshadow the fact that these theories give emphasis on their analysis of the political and institutional structures within society. A concrete example of this can be seen i n the opposing theories of constructivism and essentialism.Despite their adherence to competing narratives of oppression and resistance [constructivism places emphasis on multiple identities thereby opposing essentialism’s stance on singular categorization] both theories show interest on the subject’s position within society and how this position can affect the development of his identity. In fact, if one isolates the discussion of identity and narratives of oppression in both discourses, one will notice that the ultimate commitment of the theories they adhere to gives emphasis on the idea of political justice.Politics within these discourses is seen as a collective action of resistance, which aims for change in the hopes of attending to the problems evident in the formation of identity and agency. It is important to note that literature as a repository of human experience has always been influenced by politics. Exercise of power within society is associated with and d ependent on the mass production of certain kinds of literature, which allows the cultural qualification of ideas.The relation between literature and politics can also be seen in literary theory’s assessment of the formation of consciousness and unconsciousness, which is related to the maintenance, and transformation of the predominant modes of power made possible by literary output (Eagleton 210). It is also dependent upon the ahistorical positioning of the literary text, since this allows the continuous creation of meaning for a particular text. This mode of relationship invokes the aesthetic character of literature. Literature as a form of discourse enables the perception of aesthetics as a process of communicating while remaking a work.The aesthetic act becomes the incarnation of meaning rather than a demonstration of truth. This is possible since in the process of reading a text, the subject -which can be both the reader and the author- produces another text which is the same as the earlier text yet entirely different from it. Perceived within the dialogic process, the interconnectedness of completion and fragmentation can be understood by recognizing that it is in fact the fragmentation of the text, which allows the completion of the text itself.Within this perspective, the aesthetic act becomes political through the social interaction necessitated by the creation and continual recreation of an artistic work. Literature, in this sense, becomes the locus of a condensed and social evaluation. Intersubjectivity precedes subjectivity wherein the production and repression of meaning is seen as a socio-ideological process rather than an individual process. In this scheme, the text is allowed the character of fluidity. No permanent theoretical stipulation and ethical meaning can be attached to it since to do so is tantamount to denying the ahistorical character of the text.This character is invoked since in the end when one considers a text, what is given importance is not necessarily the historical reading of the text but the various readings made available by the literary theories and ethical standpoints that one may attach to the text. Within this process, there is an emphasis on the reassessment and creation of new standpoints since the interpretation of the text involves the consideration of both the act of writing and reading the text.The re-conceptualization of a literary text through reading enables the individual to undergo a process of analyzing the truth connected with the discourse in which the text is situated, while at the same time reassessing its connection to his self. Due to this, assessing a text becomes a personal and political act wherein the common adage â€Å"the personal is political† can be phrased into an equally influential counter notion that â€Å"the political is personal†. It is important to note that there is a big difference between these two adages.To say that the â€Å"personal is po litical† is only tantamount to equating political importance to personal experiences whereas to say that the â€Å"political is personal† involves following an ideology and political theory in making decisions in everyday life. The function of the verb† is† in both adages is not that of identification. This process, wherein the reading of a text becomes a vehicle for self-realization and self-transformation is emphasized within the literary genre of science fiction. The Genre of Science FictionGenres, as systems of classification, are means of strategic control. Within the field of literature, it is believed that the continuous division of literary works into different genres leads not only to the classification of the work and the text but also to the imposition of values and ideals to those people who read the works belonging to a specific genre. Through genre categories like ‘Romance’, ‘Horror’, or ‘Mystery’, those i n control of the modes of production control both the reader and the author of the work.By promising the readers a familiar set of meanings and controlling the demand for the production and formation of those meanings, those who are in control of the modes of production direct the construction of narratives. Within this context, it is possible for the stories that are produced within society to be a part of a broader form of social classification. Due to this, there is the construction of a particular set of meanings, which can only be understood within specific systems of classification. Genres in this sense become instruments of control.This is evident if one considers that genres â€Å"encode rules that constrain the†¦production and reception of meanings†¦communicated through a large number of meta-texts† (Hodge 27). These meta-texts become the basis for the production of knowledge. All knowledge is positioned as knowledge in itself and knowledge produced from an d within body. As soon as both forms of knowledge are connected to a knowing subject, the subject becomes ensnared to the poststructuralist dictum of the unity and independence of the self, which leads to the formation of the narratives of the self.Narratives then display the imprint of culture and its institutions on the individual’s sense of identity. Since self and language are mutually implicated in an interdependent system of symbolic behavior, the language that one uses for the creation of literary narratives dictates the creation of identities. The modern era thereby places the individual in a kind of political double bind as it coerces the individual to conform to normalizing and disciplinary forms of narrative construction evident in the â€Å"domestication of literature† (Suvin 373). Science fiction, however, as a genre eludes the monopolizing character of other genres.As a genre, it is at the intersection of various fields. It draws on the elements of popula r culture, science, and all types of social relations (James and Mendlesohn 1). This is evident if one considers that it employs a methodology and an approach, which enables the specification of a new set of values through the depiction of a radical form of reality. In this sense, science fiction is less of a genre if one is to conceive of a genre as specifying a particular text’s subject matter and approach to themes. As opposed to the other literary genres, science fiction cannot be expected to employ a specific set of elements and tropes.It may however be depicted as a form of ongoing discussion since the texts within the genre may be perceived as mutually referential due to their characteristic opposition towards a naturalistic and empiricistic conception of reality. Science fiction as a genre is thereby defined by its critical stance towards the normative depictions of reality. However, to state that this is the defining characteristic of the genre provides problems for the genre itself. This is evident if one considers that it leaves the genre open to other forms of literary texts with the aforementioned characteristics such as fantasy and myth.Contrary to this, science fiction stands in opposition to the aforementioned forms of literature. Science fiction is neither totalizing nor deterministic as it presents a predetermined conception of the conception and end of reality [myth]. Furthermore, it is neither based upon a conceptual scheme that posits the impossible as ordinary [fantasy]. James and Mendlesohn state, â€Å"the sense of wonder is the emotional heart of science fiction† (3). David Nye refers to this as the appreciation of the sublime evident in science fiction texts.Such a description further echoes Frederick Pohl’s description of science fiction as â€Å"a way of thinking about things† (qtd in Malzberg 38). Generally, this â€Å"way of thinking about things† may be†¦ All of these will show that the spo ntaneous and habitual orientation of attention is inimical to the maintenance of reality. Therefore, scientific fiction provides a reorientation of attention and a kind of ontological conversion, which affects the aesthetic, ethical, and political perceptions of the reality. This reorientation also affects the ontology of the world.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Everyone else got to decide what would become of their lives, while she was now going to have everything decided for her. While Kim tells her story, she makes several statements that key on the readers’ emotions and get us to take her side. Kim uses good imagery when she tells about her village being burned down and her clothes scorched off. She says â€Å"I saw an airplane getting lower and then four bombs falling down. I saw fire everywhere around me. Then I saw fire over my body, especially on my left arm. My clothes had been burned off by the fire.Anyone who could imagine this happening to a nine year old wouldn’t be able to help feeling sorry for this person. To make matters for the little girl worse, she was then forced to become a poster child for the Vietnamese government to show the rest of the world. Kim’s freedom to become what she wanted was taken from her. While telling her story, she does a very good job using these rhetorical pathos to make the re ader feel sorry for her and take her side. In the story, â€Å"Untold Stories of Kindness†, an American soldier tells about the brutal reality of war. He explains that even though you may not agree with the reason for the fight or even know the truth behind the war, if you are a soldier, you have to do your job and continue fighting. He hits on the point that people want to help each other even in times of war and despair. He says that if everyone will just accept people who are different, the world will be a more peaceful place. His idea that people always want to help each other is supported by an example of a time he remembers people helping each other during his campaign in the Iraq war. After one particular fire fight that lasted nearly eight hours, Iraqi civilians helped the American soldiers clear the streets of wounded men and try to aid their injuries. People would also care for children, rebuild hospitals and schools, and feed the poor. The author of this essay uses strong imagery to make the reader have emotion towards his story. He tells about the time when insurgents detonated several car bombs killing over a hundred people. The number of people killed in this incident helps to emphasize the reality of all the people who dying in this war. He says â€Å"Cars were covered in blood as if they’d been hit with a paint sprayer. † This makes the reader try to imagine what he had to see and tries to make the reader feel the same emotions he has toward the situation. The rhetorical pathos used here are very similar to the pathos used by Kim in her story. Both of these essays made good points support the logic behind the statements and opinions in their stories. They also used good details and imagery so the audience could picture some of the things they had to see. The imagery in these stories tried to make the readers feel emotional and take the authors’ sides.

Arthur Miller increases the tension within the play Essay

In this piece of coursework I will be analysing the tragic play â€Å"A view from the bridge† specifically pages 35 to 42. I also will be discussing how the author Arthur Miller increases the tension within the play which continues to create an impact towards the later stages of the play. The play tells us a story of Eddie which has already happened. This is why Alfieri takes the role of two crucial characters in the play: a chorus and the role of a lawyer. When I say chorus I mean he doesn’t just tell us the story but reflects on the story as well as telling us what to feel and think of the tragedy, just like the ancient Greek chorus. I believe that the title â€Å"A view from the bridge† is a metaphor for the role Alfieri plays due to the reason that he is a Sicilian American lawyer who probably lives in a lat in Manhattan however he crosses the bridge to a poor estate called Brooklyn. This helps us understand Alfieri is a chorus that who is like eyes looking down from the bridge. When Alfieri says â€Å"I knew, I knew then and there I could have finished the whole story then and there† Alfieri using the technique of doubling shows that he is confident and tries to make the audience in awe of the play I also believe that miller created the character Alfieri as his voice to express his feelings and tell the audience what he Miller thinks through Alfieri because when Alfieri says â€Å"it wasn’t as though a mystery to un ravel. I could see every step coming† this shows that Alfieri knows what will happen next yet unlike Miller, Alfieri is powerless to help Eddie this is shown when Alfieri says â€Å"I sat here many afternoons asking myself why, being an intelligent man, I was so powerless to stop it†. The play uses a great deal of dramatic irony as a technique to keep us interested in the play due to the reason that we are privileged miller gives us insights into the play letting us the audience know what some of the characters are not aware of. For example, when Rudolpho says â€Å"lemons are green† trying to correct Eddie, Eddie replies â€Å"I know lemons are green for Christ’s sake† Eddie says this in a angry tone leaving Rudolpho to wonder why Eddie just snapped at him like that however the audience know that Eddie is boiling with rage at Rudolpho who is stealing the women he loves and Rudolpho is everything Eddie cannot be The audience is also aware of the strain Eddie who is simmering with rage feels as he cannot deals with his love for Catherine. Alfieri sums up these feelings when he says â€Å"we all love somebody, the wife, the kids – every mans got somebody they love, heh? But sometimes†¦ there’s too much†¦ and it goes where it mustn’t. † Eddie hates the fact that Catherine should have relationships with anyone except him. Eddie is jealous of Catherine and Rodolpho’s relationship because Catherine loves him and not Eddie: he doesn’t like the fact that his feelings are one way only Tension is built up by the lack of ability of characters to communicate. An example of this is when Beatrice says Eddie is not a proper husband: â€Å"your wife gettin’ the money alright, Marco? MARCO â€Å"oh, yes† this shows that Beatrice is indirectly asking to Eddie why he cannot be a proper husband and care for his wife like Marco does. However through what I have read and gathered. To my understanding Beatrice is very loyal, compassionate and patient towards Eddie as she knows about Eddies feelings towards Catharine. â€Å"well be an uncle then† when she says this Beatrice is trying to remind Eddie that he is only her uncle and nothing else. In addition to that she is also trying indicate that Eddie is being overprotective as if he is her boyfriend. Miller also builds up the suspense and tension at the end of act 1 by showing Marco’s true strength when he lifts a chair from one corner with one hand keeping it straight, â€Å"raised like a weapon†, above Eddie’s head. This leaves us with a sort of cliffhanger in which the end of act 1 has changed the course of the story and has added to the mystery of Marco and his relationship with Eddie. To wrap up I would say that Miller builds up the tension and suspense between 35 to 42 due to the reason that he is ending act 1 so he has to create suspense so that the audience come back for act two anticipating what will happen next. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.