Nature Vs Nurture Essays - Behavioural Sciences,

Nature Vs Nurture Nature vs. Nurture The relative contributions of nature and nurture are an apparent part of human development which makes us ask the question, are heredity and environment opposing forces?(Sternberg 100) The question of nature vs. nurture can be examined and can be attempted to be comprehended in many ways. Our stand on which theory is the correct one is obviously a matter of opinion and makes us wonder if only one of them is truly correct. Nurture seems to be the explanation that holds the most tangible evidence to support it as existing in our everyday life. In psychological attempts to conduct experiments of genetic influences on personality and behavior in the environment psychologists have come to the conclusion that the best way is by using identical twins. There are strong similarities identical twins show in intelligence, personality, and many other characteristics, regardless of being raised in separate homes. They leave us with the conclusion that maybe there is some truth to the theory of nature. These findings from the studies done on the twins are what I find to be coincidences. I believe from my past experiences with my development as a person compared to my older sisters, we are a perfect example of nurture. The theory that poses enough evidence through studies and in my personal experience seems to be true. My sister and I, though not twins, have a four year difference between us and are completely different people who are were raised in the same environment. We hold true to the theory of nurture for how we were raised effected the kind of people we are today. Nurture argues that who we become depends solely on the environment in which we developed in and also posses the idea that we are not born with any inherited traits that make us who we are today. Nurture is proved simply through the personality differences between my sister and I. I contain an extremely social personality; a people person if you will, while my sister does not inhabit a very social lifestyle at all. I value the strong significance of friendships that I have built in my life while the most valued aspect of her life holds her love for working with children. We have both internalized the lessons and virtues we were raised to make our own, yet, grew up to become completely different beings. Nurture was what we were a r esult of. The early psychologist Erik Erikson attempted to develop a theory about personality development called psycho social theory of personality development. Obviously, Erikson is in favor of the nurture view he defined his theory as how social factors interact with personality throughout the entire life span (Sternberg 363). Personality development continues throughout the life span as a result of every new experience within that environment. How could this statement be a false if people make so many transformations throughout the stages of life as individuals? This is all a result living and learning through the interactions within your environment and constantly adding input upon input to continually shape yourself. Through a process of assimilation we try to restore cognitive equilibrium by incorporating new information into existing schemes (Sternberg 340). The theory of assimilation, coined by psychologist Jean Piaget, supports the nurture theory by portraying the idea that each new piece of data or second of experience adds upon each other, constantly evolving a new equilibrium, or in this, case growth in ones self. Also, this process is lifelong. As a person progresses through life, he or she will continue to experience new things. One must act upon and accommodate themselves to this new stimuli (Sternberg 340). Whenever a person is introduced to a new stimuli, their reaction and adaptation will change that person, although it may not be noticeable. This is why Piaget's view of development supports nurture. He has the belief that life is composed of changes in which everyone must go through. These changes parallel the theories of nurture in that everything that creates the human being we ev olve as depends on what is learned in our life. The question of whether humans are the result of predisposed genetics or if their lives and personalities are

Free Essays on Twenty Years At Hull-House

Twenty Years At Hull-House JANE ADDAMS The book Twenty Years At Hull-House is the reminiscences of an extraordinary woman who has just reached another of life’s milestones. Jane Addams, the author wrote this book in her fiftieth year because she felt the efforts and accomplishments were â€Å"worthy† of literary significance and to dispel two other biographies that made her life at Hull-House seem charming and easy. Jane Addams wrote with such clarity and dignity that it was easy for this reader to see into the lives of those who sought refuge and hope at Hull-House and of those residents who fought for the civil rights. Many of the residence of Hull-House were inspired to become involved in the development of positive changes in the lives of everyone. Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860 to John and Sarah Addams in the small town of Cedarville, Illinois. Jane’s mother died when she was very young. John was a wealthy gristmill owner and a sixteen-year Illinois state senator. Jane’s father, although remarried when she was eight years of age was her sole supervising source therefore, her greatest influence. Jane’s childhood was pleasant however, she always fretted over embarrassing her father by what she felt were her own physical flaws. Henry Steele Commager wrote the FORWORD in Twenty Years At Hull-House states, â€Å"†¦she was herself a misfit- so she felt anyway- â€Å" an ugly, pigeon-toed little girl whose crooked back obliged her to walk with her head held very much upon one side,† who was constantly afraid that she might embarrass the handsome father she adored.† Due to these concerns a strong bond grew with her accepting confidant and kind mentor, uncle James. Jane reflected back to her first experience of death at age fifteen when Polly, an old nurse who had cared for and followed her mother to Illinois to raise a second generation of children, died. During one of Polly’s annual visits to her cousins, th... Free Essays on Twenty Years At Hull-House Free Essays on Twenty Years At Hull-House Twenty Years At Hull-House JANE ADDAMS The book Twenty Years At Hull-House is the reminiscences of an extraordinary woman who has just reached another of life’s milestones. Jane Addams, the author wrote this book in her fiftieth year because she felt the efforts and accomplishments were â€Å"worthy† of literary significance and to dispel two other biographies that made her life at Hull-House seem charming and easy. Jane Addams wrote with such clarity and dignity that it was easy for this reader to see into the lives of those who sought refuge and hope at Hull-House and of those residents who fought for the civil rights. Many of the residence of Hull-House were inspired to become involved in the development of positive changes in the lives of everyone. Jane Addams was born on September 6, 1860 to John and Sarah Addams in the small town of Cedarville, Illinois. Jane’s mother died when she was very young. John was a wealthy gristmill owner and a sixteen-year Illinois state senator. Jane’s father, although remarried when she was eight years of age was her sole supervising source therefore, her greatest influence. Jane’s childhood was pleasant however, she always fretted over embarrassing her father by what she felt were her own physical flaws. Henry Steele Commager wrote the FORWORD in Twenty Years At Hull-House states, â€Å"†¦she was herself a misfit- so she felt anyway- â€Å" an ugly, pigeon-toed little girl whose crooked back obliged her to walk with her head held very much upon one side,† who was constantly afraid that she might embarrass the handsome father she adored.† Due to these concerns a strong bond grew with her accepting confidant and kind mentor, uncle James. Jane reflected back to her first experience of death at age fifteen when Polly, an old nurse who had cared for and followed her mother to Illinois to raise a second generation of children, died. During one of Polly’s annual visits to her cousins, th...

Wal-Marts Business Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Wal-Marts Business Management - Essay Example Other important applications include informing the details of the company to the finance personnel, suppliers and others so that they become aware of company's goals and achievements. Economic Feasibility: It refers to the benefits or outcomes. We are deriving from the product as compared to the total cost we are spending for developing the plan. If the benefits are more or less the same as the older system, then it is not feasible to develop the plan. The development of the new product should greatly enhance the accuracy of the system and cuts short the delay in the processing of the business strategy. The errors can be greatly reduced and at the same time providing great level of security. Hence, we do not need any additional equipment except memory of required capacity. Operational Feasibility: It refers to the feasibility of the product to be operational. Some products may work very well at design and implementation but may fall in the real time environment. It includes the study of additional human resources required and their technical expertise. Technical Feasibility: It refers to whether the product that is available in the market fully supports the present trend. It studies the pros and cons of using particular product for the development and it's feasibility. It also studies the additional training need to be given to the people to make the product work. A qualitative and quantitative research is must in developing an Information system. Qualitative research is more of collecting data, conducting interviews, using documents and to understand and explain social phenomenon. Quantitative research involves is of development of natural sciences to study natural phenomenon. Survey methods, formal methods, econometrics, etc., are some of the examples of quantitative research. Planning Wal-mart generally forays into the international market by establishing a retail market by issuing FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) to the retailers so that the profit from the FDI's would go to the retailers as well. Their plan will be to first energize the FDI lobby and then preempt the FDI lobby in any country they try to establish their retail store. They primarily look for the average annual income of the family in that country, Wal-Mart also looks how much is the retail market and at what percentage it is growing annually. Wal-Mart recently decided to foray into the Indian retail market which has a $250 billion retail market growing at 7.2 % per year. Wal-Mart initially looks for the weak supply chain managed countries for FD investments. John Menzer the CEO and president of Wal-Mart plans as per the data acquired from the countries he personally visits and then decides weather to invest or not. It is not that Wal-Mart doesn't face any challenges, it has to face challenges but s truggles for both business and profit from governments of the respective countries. In any business sector strategic planning is considered to be very important and a thoughtful business plan cannot be overemphasizes because much hinges on it: financial support, management of the available resources like operation and finances, credit from suppliers, promotion and marketing and last but not the least company's goals and achievements. Before

U choose Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

U choose - Research Paper Example Abstract expressionism is also known as Action Painting, Colour Filed Painting or Gestural Abstraction because the strokes of the painting brush revealed the artist’s process. The painting technique is the subject of art itself. According to Harold Rosenberg, Abstract Expression became an event and therefore, dubbed it â€Å"Action Painting† in 1952. Art historians however  review that his definition of art as Action painting leaves out the aspects of control and chance. Abstract Expression therefore  comes from three major sources: Kandinsky’s abstraction, chance according to Dadaist, and the Surrealist’s endorsement of Freudian theory, which embraces, sexuality, the relevance of dreams and the authenticity of ego, which abstract expressionism express through â€Å"action†. The term Abstract Expressionism was first coined in Germany, Europe in 1919 in the magazine â€Å"Der Stum† in regards to German expressionists. It was later adopted in the U.S in 1946 and was applied to the American art by critic Robert Coates. History Abstract Expressionism was spearheaded by a number of Artists in America (strongly influenced by European expatriates) who had grown up during the collapse of world order, influenced by World War II and the Cold War aftermath. The artists  saw the two art movement of 1930s called the  Social realism and Regionalism – failed to satisfy their desire for artistic growth. They were therefore, influenced by European refugees whose approach to art opened up new possibilities for artistic growth. The refuges included the German Expressionist George Grosz (1893-1959),   Arshile Gorky  the Armenian-born , who settled in the US in 1920, the Cubist Fernand Leger (1881-1955), the German-born Hans Hofmann who migrated to America in 1930, the Bauhaus abstract painter Josef Albers (1888-1976)the geometrical abstractionist Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) Dada artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), and the S urrealists Yves Tanguy (1900-55), Max Ernst (1891-1976), Andre Masson (1896-1987) and Andre Breton (1896-1966). The Surrealist artists were extremely influential with Jackson Pollock taking up their idea of unconscious automatic painting. The exiles’ significance in the development of American art was acknowledged by Jackson Pollock himself. â€Å"The fact that good European Moderns are now here is highly powerful for they bring with them an understanding of the problems of modern painting.† The Development of Abstract Expressionism The development of abstract expressionism was influenced by a few key figures and indigenous painters. Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917) was an early precursor of abstract expressionism. A key transitional figure between the years before the World War II and the years after was Stuart Davis who focused on the integrity of his pictorial structure. Stuart’s works were viewed as an American extension of Cubism. However, despite his close contact with Fernand Leger (A master of Cubism), Stuart’s works were brightly coloured, solid, clear and flat. Stuart’s works were of exceptional influence to the artists of the 1940s-1950s and consequently on Pop Art. In the same era, â€Å"Precisionists† also proved influential with their portrayal of contemporary America in a boldly coloured, hard-edged version of Cubism. However, the two most influential pioneers of Abstract Expressionism were Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) and Arshile Gorky (1905-1948), neither of whom was connected with the early European expressionist movement in Germany. Gorky’

The Main Principles of Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Main Principles of Management - Essay Example This makes them responsible for operational decision making and performance improvement (Hill, 2006). The third principle is an integration of effort whereby the entire organization moves towards a common objective regardless of one’s position in the organization. The fourth principle involves the business taking a lead in determining industry standards and practices, being out-front. The fifth principle is being up-front, meaning that everything is conducted with integrity and openness. The sixth principle is resourcing the medium term which means that the business is able to effectively balance short and medium-term requirements. The business is able to make orders and supplies in good time (Carpenter, 2009). The seventh principle is time-based. This calls for timely orders, supplies and dealing with emergencies as required. This helps in ensuring that employees do their work within a given time frame and deliver to clients in good time. The eighth principle is bias for action and this means that the business is good at implementing ideas and strategies. When ideas and strategies are shared out and not acted upon, they are not useful and do not improve the workers and business as a whole. The ninth principle is learning focus whereby everyone in the business gets involved in a learning or development programme. This ensures that the business grows as well as the people in and working for the business (Hill, 2006). The tenth principle is discipline. The business invests in policies, procedures and standards that are to be upheld, failure to which penalties are applied. The eleventh principle is that of measurement or reporting and publication. This involves measuring and reporting to the employees’ financial and non-financial performance information needed to excel. Customer value is the twelfth principle and involves all employees striving to enhance customer value creation. This helps in getting and retaining customers. The thirteenth principle is capabilities creation whereby business and organisational capabilities are defined as priority areas.  Ã‚  

Development of the Digital Camera

Development of the Digital Camera Introduction. Throughout the ages humanity has always been fascinated by the possibility of capturing moments or in other words perpetuating moments of high significance and outstanding beauty. This provided the opportunity to share something that nobody else has seen or perceived. This idea has made a long way from canvas-paintings to using cameras. Cameras, in their turn have also experienced a rather fast evolution and nowadays everybody has a notion of what a digital camera is and the majority of people use digital cameras. 2. What is a digital camera? According to a standard definition a digital camera is opposed to a film or video camera, uses an electronic sensor to transform images and video into electronic data[1]. Years ago people used to possess two different devices in order to take pictures and to make video. The need to spare space and make it more comfortable for people to do both things with higher quality results catalyzed the creation of digital cameras. The multifunctionalism of digital cameras and the combination of several devices in one make it the best possible choice for a modern man. For years a digital camera has been unaffordable for many families, nevertheless, nowadays the great variety of digital cameras of different manufacturers and diverse prices make a digital camera a potential purchase of almost every single family. The formula: price + quality = satisfied customer used by the digital cameras manufacturers is especially reflected in the wide choice of cameras that offer t he best quality standards for the price-range they belong to. 3. How to choose a digital camera? The transition of digital photography from the privilege of rich people to an ordinary home appliance has caused some problems. That is the reason a modern man has a set of questions concerning digital cameras, especially the whats, whys and wheres of digital cameras. Nobody wants to make a miscalculation! The basic problem in choosing a digital camera is a guarantee that the device you are purchasing will grow old in couple of month due to a constant improvement and development of the sphere. The only factor that may delay this process of growing old is purchasing a device with the price twice or three times higher of the average market price for a digital camera at the moment. If a person chooses a digital camera there are several criterions of a great priority he needs to keep in mind: price of the device, the image resolution of the camera, the capacity of the memory card, presence of a LCD-display, the interface of the camera, its weight and size. The price of a digital camera d epends on its quality factors. The resolution of a digital camera, or in other words the size of a digital image is measured in pixels. Pixels in their turn are photosensitive elements. It is common knowledge, that the bigger is the amount of pixels indicated in the camera properties the better it is. Therefore, if a high-detailed photo is required, the usage of zoom on a digital camera with small resolution will not give the desired result. In this case a person choosing a digital camera needs to exactly know what it will be used for and to choose it according to its future destination. It is necessary to mention that the resolution of 640x480 is the lowest resolution any customer should be orientated to. It is the minimal resolution with witch the purchase of a digital camera still remains reasonable. The lens of the camera or the zoom properties mentioned above allows saving a lot on the price of the device but hits the quality of the pictures obtained. The memory card is a very important issue, too. It is much better to choose a better camera with a lesser memory capacity than an overage digital camera with a larger memory capacity. The presence of the LCD-display is no longer a wish it is a requirement for any digital camera. It allows to choose the future image, to anticipate it and to delete bad images and therefore to save space. 4. The advantages of digital camerasAlong with some advantages mentioned above there are more to digital cameras than that. It goes without saying that it is possible to examine and sort out the images, create a slide show, a digital photo album, create a presentation on your computer, a ordinary TV or a multimedia projector. A digital camera offers the ability of sending images for printing directly to the printer with a DPOF standard or throughout the USB without using the computer. The images from the digital cameras may be sent throughout the Internet. For instance, it is possible to send images to colleagues, friends or relatives using e-mail. In the era of the constant lack of time this advantages become issues of the highest priority. 5. Affordability and manufacturers There is a plenty of digital cameras for sale in the price-range from $300 to $9000 and more. What camera would become the best choice? An ordinary digital camera with the price around $300 is suitable for everyday usage. So do not expect any super possibilities from a camera like that. The variety of manufacturers is very wide. Nevertheless it is necessary to mention the most popular brands among the customers. They are: Sony, Canon and Nikon. And some others: Casio, Fuji, HP, Kodak, Konica, Olympus and Pentax. The most popular digital camera nowadays is Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P150. 6. Conclusion Digital cameras find more and more place in the lives of contemporary people. Due to the comfort and quality of making images they are rightfully displacing ordinary old cameras from the market. After all, this is very simple: take the picture you want, connect the digital camera to your computer and open the boundless elbowroom of its opportunities. You may immediately print the images or by means of special programs make the images brighter, add shrill and so on. The quality of the images is much better than on the film cameras. Smart Media Card or Compact Flash memory cards store the images and do not let them to get old. Digital cameras are the right choice of the new millennium.

Alzheimers Disease Essay -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

Alzheimers Disease   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Alzheimers Disease? The most common form of dementing illness, Alzheimers Disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the brain, causing impaired memory, thinking and behavior. The person with AD may experience confusion, personality and behavior changes, impaired judgment, and difficulty finding words, finishing thoughts or following directions. It eventually leaves its victims incapable of caring for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What happens to the brain in Alzheimers Disease? In AD The nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls memory, thinking, are damaged, interrupting the passage of messages between cells. The cells develop distinctive changes that are called neuritic plaques (clusters of degenerating nerve cell ends) and neurofibrillary tangles (masses of twisted filaments which accumulate in previously health nerve cells). The cortex (thinking center) of the brain shrinks (atrophies), The spaces in the center of the brain become enlarged, also reducing surface area in the brain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What are the symptoms of Alzheimers Disease? Alzheimers Disease is a dementing illness which leads to loss of intellectual capacity. Symptoms usually occur in older adults (although people in their 40s and 5Os may also be affected) and include loss of language skills such as trouble finding words, problems with abstract thinking, poor or decreased judgment, disori...

Crusaders vs. Invaders

In c. 800, Pope Leo III assigned Charlemagne as Emperor of the Roman people. This collaboration and mutual understanding between Charlemagne and the church paved the way for the numerous future successes in the conquest wars. The initial steps taken by Charlemagne as Emperor do not imply a lust for power or riches at any stage. What they did imply was his aspiration to educate the people and build an unbiased government system that solely functions towards the well-being of the whole empire.Moreover, the major cause behind the conquest wars led by Charlemagne against the German tribes was to announce the revival of the Roman Empire as far as central Europe, and provide an easy access for the church into the pagan tribes (Einhard 61). According to Einhard, in his book two lives of Charlemagne, the Saxons were an extremely disrespectful people. He states: â€Å"They are much given to devil worship and they are hostile to our religion. They think it no dishonor to violate and transgres s the laws of God and man. † (61).Although the Franks lived peacefully just across the river to the Saxons, consistent crimes like murder and theft eventually gave way to a ferocious war between the two parties. The sole purpose of this war was to convert the Saxons to Christianity and unite them with the Franks (Einhard 61-62). Although the Franks may have initiated the war, it is absolutely transparent that they had no intention of settling matters other than peacefully. This can be deduced from the fact that while crimes were being committed continuously, the Franks bided for a long time until they could endure it no more.It was not only the Saxon war, but the origins of the other conquest wars were also not quite different. For example, the war in Bavaria against Duke Tassilo occurred under similar circumstances. The duke made allies with the Huns disregarding all Charlemagne’s orders (Einhard 65). Einhard states in his book: â€Å"Not only did Tassilo refuse to ca rry out Charlemagne’s orders, but he did his utmost to provoke the king to war. † (66). Wars against the Slaves and Huns also lied along the same lines. Absolute disagreement and disregard of the king lead to unnecessary bloodshed with the same result.Although the actions of Charlemagne may appear to be quite reasonable, the wars fought by the Vikings in Europe are an entirely different story. Their advancements into Europe occurred in various forms; however, they always had a violent and ferocious touch to them. In addition, the Vikings were staunch followers of paganism at the time, making them a more unpopular figure in recorded history. Details of the siege of Paris clearly indicate that the Vikings were solely responsible for their war against Odo, defender of Paris.According to Frederic Austin in his book A Sourcebook of Mediaeval History, Siegfred, the Vikings leader, said to the bishop of Paris: â€Å"†¦if you do not listen to my demands, on the morrow our war machines will destroy you with poisoned arrows. You will be the prey of famine and of pestilence and these evils will perpetually renew every year. † Basically, the Vikings threatened the leaders of Paris that if they do not handover the city, they would wage war against Paris with all their force, resting only after its total destruction. In the same book, Frederic Austin narrates the story of Rollo’s conversion to Christianity too.Although initially he refused to pay respect to King Charles, his conversion had a profound effect on his leadership. â€Å"The duke established for his subjects certain inviolable rights and laws, confirmed and published by the will of the leading men, and he compelled all his people to live peacefully together. † (Austin 165-173). Literally speaking, a crusade refers to a collaborative attempt by a group of people that is aimed to achieve a credible cause, while an invasion implies to the disturbance of an event by an uninvited subject.After examining every war fought by Charlemagne during his conquests, it can be safely deduced that he never fought with the wrong intentions, but always aimed to spread the word of Christianity and enforce peace throughout the lands. Moreover, the wars though mostly initiated by Charlemagne, were always provoked by the opposite party. The Vikings on the other hand, were solely responsible for the provocation as well as initiation of wars. At the time of their infiltration into Europe, they mostly used violent methods to take over the city governments against the will of the people.Although Lief Erikson may have built whole towns in the Americas for permanent settlements, the program eventually failed and the spirit of that deed faded away with time, while the actions behind the more influential settlements of the Vikings in Europe were remembered. Works Cited Austin Ogg, Frederic. A Sourcebook of Mediaeval History. New York: American Book Company, 1907. 165-173. Einhard. T wo Lives of Charlemagne. Trans. Lewis Thorpe. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1969. 61-68.

High and Low essays

High and Low essays This movie was quite flawless. It was very entertaining. The plot and script were both very well The name High and Low is a very creative title for this movie. It symbolizes so many different themes and events in the movie. One of the main things this title symbolizes is the difference between Gondo and the kidnapper. Gondo lives up high on a hill in a big house that overlooks the kidnappers house down in the slums of Tokyo. The high in the title represents Gondo and his wealth and the low represents the kidnapper and his poverty. The title also symbolizes Gondos financial situation. In the beginning of the movie we see him secretly buying enough stock to become the largest power in the company. This part in the movie is Gondos high point. Then after Sinichi is kidnapped he is forced to pay the kidnapper this money he so hardly worked to save. He ends up selling or mortgaging almost everyhthing he owns. This is Gondos low point. For the rest of the movie Gondo tries to get back to being a very powerful man like he once was. High and Low also refers to the different classes of society in Tokyo at the time. The high refers to Gondo and all the others who are part of the upper class. This class is made up of wealthy businessmen who make their money legitamently. The low class is made up of the poorer people who try to steal their money or who try to make their money some other way illegally. This is the kidnappers Overall this movie was very entertaining. I liked the way they made the only color in the movie pink, when the kidnapper burned the money. This little scene in the movie was very interesting and well done. ...

Venus in Furs Book Review

'Venus in Furs' Book Review Not many writers have the distinction or the notoriety of having a psycho-sexual term named after them. The astonishing and ingenious sexual cruelties in the Marquis de Sades works, particularly in The 120 Days of Sodom, have made his name a byword, and in 1890 the German psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing introduced the word sadism into medical terminology (even though the sole manuscript of The 120 Days of Sodom had yet to be discovered and published, the full fury of which would wildly intensify the meaning of the term). Historian and Progressive Thinker Fittingly in the shadow of the overpowering de Sade, the Austrian writer Leopold von Sacher-Masoch inspired the term for sadism’s flip-side, masochism, which was also introduced by Krafft-Ebing. Von Sacher-Masoch was a historian, folklorist, collector of stories, and progressive thinker, but even though he produced dozens of books in any number of genres, he’s almost solely known for his infamous novella Venus in Furs (its the only work translated into English). Initially meant to be part of an epic novel-sequence called (Sacher-Masoch abandoned that plan after a few volumes), Venus in Furs was published as the fourth part of the first book, which was entitled, Love. Each book was named after one of the â€Å"evils† that Cain introduced into the world, and with this underlying premise- that love is an evil- von Sacher-Masoch reveals a seriously uneasy view of human relations. Venus in Furs - Beginnings The book starts with an epigraph from the Bibles book of Judith, which narrates the story of a clever and powerful woman beheading Holofernes, an Assyrian general. An unnamed narrator, then, opens the book with a strange dream of an icy Venus, who wears furs and who leads a philosophical discussion about how women’s cruel nature increases mans desire. When the narrator awakens, he goes to meet with his friend Severin, to whom he relates his dream. ​ Introducing Severin Severin is a strange and sober man who at times, the narrator relates, had violent attacks of sudden passion and gave the impression of being about to ram his head right through a wall.† Noticing a painting in Severins room depicting a northern Venus who wears furs and holds a lash that she uses to subjugate a man who is clearly a younger Severin himself, the narrator wonders aloud if the painting perhaps inspired his dream. After a short discussion, a young woman enters to bring tea and food for the pair, and to the narrator’s astonishment, a very slight offense on the woman’s part causes Severin to berate, whip, and chase her from the room. Explaining that you have to â€Å"break† a woman rather than let her break you, Severin produces a manuscript from his desk that tells how he was ostensibly â€Å"cured† of his obsession with being dominated by women. Confessions of a Suprasensual Man Entitled â€Å"Confessions of a Suprasensual Man,† this manuscript comprises all but the last few pages of the rest of the novel. Entering into this frame, the narrator (and the reader) finds Severin at a Carpathian health resort where he meets and falls in love with a woman named Wanda, with whom he draws up and signs a contract that makes him her legal slave and gives her full power over him. At first, because she seems to like him and enjoys his company, Wanda shies away from the degradations that Severin asks her to subject him to, but as she slowly allows herself to take up her dominant role, she takes greater pleasure in torturing him and increasingly grows to despise him for how he allows her to treat him. Leaving the Carpathian mountains for Florence, Wanda makes Severin dress and act like a common servant, forcing him to sleep in disgusting quarters and keeping him isolated from her company unless needed to serve some whim or another. These changes make Severin feel the palpable reality of his desires- a reality that he was in no way prepared for- but although he loathes his detestable new position, he finds himself unable to resist (and to keep from requesting) new humiliations. At times Wanda offers to put an end to their game  because she still has feelings of affection toward him, but those feelings fade as her mantle of power gives her free rein to use Severin for her increasingly twisted devices. The breaking point comes when Wanda finds a nearly superhuman lover in Florence and decides to make Severin subject to him as well. Unable to bear subjugation to another man, Severin ultimately finds himself â€Å"cured† of his need to be dominated by women. Telescoping back to the novel’s outer frame, the narrator, who’s seen Severin’s current cruelty toward women, asks him for â€Å"the moral† to all of this, and Severin answers that a woman can only be a man’s slave or despot, adding the caveat that this imbalance can only be remedied â€Å"when she has the same rights as he and is his equal in education and work.† This egalitarian last touch squares with von Sacher-Masoch’s socialist leanings, but clearly the events and stresses of the novel- which were mirrored closely in von Sacher-Masoch’s personal life, both before and after writing it- prefer wallowing in inequity much more that eradicating it. And this has been the novel’s main appeal for readers ever since. Unlike the works of the great de Sade, which soar as striking feats of both writing and imagination, Venus in Furs is much more of a literary curio than an artistic piece of literature. Its symbolic orders are muddled; its philosophical excursions are both ponderous and corny; and although its characters are vivid and memorable, they too often fall into â€Å"types† rather than exist as fully explored individuals. Still, it’s a curious and often enjoyable read, and whether you take it as literature or as psychology- or as erotica- there’s no question that this book’s whip will leave a distinct mark on your imagination.

Compare and contrast paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Compare and contrast paper - Essay Example The Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) under Dr. Juan Bosch has been a long-standing opposition to the dictator Rafael Leonides Trujillo. When the latter was assassinated in 1961, Bosch was groomed to become the next leader of the country. He was inaugurated in 1963 but was overthrown in a military coup on September of the same year (state.gov). Joaquin Balaguer, Trujillo’s long-time top aide became president. It was during this time or after that Bosch separated from PRD and formed the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). It should be noted that both PRD and PLD were founded by the same person, Dr. Bosch. During the course of time, the PRD successfully raised three presidents. Antonio Guzman was its first president who defeated Joaquin Balaguer in 1978, Salvador Jorge Blanco in 1982 and Hipolito Mejia in 2000. The latter was soon to become the close political rival of Leonel Fernandez, PLD’s pride and the two parties that were originated by one person fought for power th rough political positions from then on. Both claim to consider the good of the nation and the people, however, their motives are still to be seen in their management of the government. Leonel Fernandez is perhaps the epitome of PLD’s vision. ... The proceeds from the sales were used by the government to improve municipal services and to fund education (Marxists.org). In 2004, he was elected again as president, defeating PRD’s Hipolito Mejia. This time, he promised to promote fiscal austerity, fight corruption and support social concerns. This is an ideal change that all Dominicans might have wanted had they been implemented for their welfare. However, there is quite an argument to this. It is claimed that the â€Å"fiscal austerity† means further attacks on most people’s standard of living. The people were not satisfied with Fernandez and he soon faced protesters against unemployment, price hikes and electricity blackouts that begun in 1997. These were coupled by strikes from the working class. Things were not different when Mejia was elected into office in 2000. He championed the cause of free trade, signing a free trade agreement (CAFTA-DR) with the United States and five Central American countries in August 2002. The government sponsored and obtained anti-trafficking and anti-money laundering legislation, sent troops to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom and ratified the article 98 agreement. Despite the actions taken for changes and improvement, difficulties presented themselves to the Mejia government because of massive bank frauds and constant power shortages (state.gov). Therefore, instead of progressing, the country’s economy deteriorated. This caused many strikes and protests during Mejia’s rein, ones that were worse than those that occurred during Fernandez’ term. The government used all means to pacify the people and stop the protests through military involvement.

About Prometheus Bound Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

About Prometheus Bound - Essay Example When asked Prometheus denied Zeus the information he held regarding who it would be that threatened the throne of Zeus, so as punishment he was bound by shackles to a great rock. In Prometheus Bound (n.d.), Prometheus must come to terms with his own limitations in power, but demonstrates that Zeus has limits as well. Prometheus was a god, but felt he had little influence in the matters of the Gods. Prometheus, known as the teacher of all arts, suffered at least partially because of his aid to humankind. Prometheus was fond of humans and, wishing them to flourish, took fire from the gods and gave it to the people. The fact that Prometheus cared deeply about the human race was in strong contrast to how Zeus felt, and was a main point of disagreement between the two. Prometheus described Zeus’s feelings toward humankind when he stated, â€Å"It was his wish to wipe out man [sic] and rear another race† (Aeschylus 6}. For this reason, Prometheus defied the divinity and super ior knowledge of Zeus. If Prometheus were given absolute power, he would be ensured that tyranny would fall and justice reign supreme over the gods and the human race.