Sunday, April 26, 2020

The Brethren Essay Example For Students

The Brethren Essay The book I read was The Brethren, by John Grisham. It was a suspense book. Three judges, called The Brethren by their fellow prisoners, lived in a very minimal security prison. They had just begun fine tuning a mail scam that extorted homosexuals with families and lots of money. Then, they snag the wrong person, someone very powerful on the outside. It seems The Brethrens days of scamming are over.This was a great book for many reasons. The first reason is it was sort of double sided. What I mean by that is it explained 2 stories at once, the story of Aaron Lake and the story of The Brethren. We will write a custom essay on The Brethren specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now I liked this because it helped to understand the situation a lot better. It also helped understand the characters a lot more too. Another thing I liked about this book is the fact that the scam was brilliant. The Brethren had nothing to loose because they were already in prison, and they had so much to gain. These (the victims of the scam) were people who couldnt talk against The Brethren for fear of being caught by their families. One example of the fact that the victims couldnt report this to the police was when The Brethren snagged Quince Garbe, who lived in a small town and whos father owned a bank. If Quince spoke out against The Brethren, he would loose his fathers inheritance to the bank, and the whole town would disrespect him. After he gave the Brethren their asking price of $100,000, they immediately asked for another $20,000. He had no choice but to pay them. Another reason I liked this book was it showed how corrupt our government could be. Aaron Lake pretty much bought the election, getting almost 60 million dollars from defense contractors in return to double the military budget. Of course, he did have quite a bit of help from the C. I.A. who staged events in the Middle East to increase enthusiasm for the doubled military budget. On a scale of one to five (five being the highest rating) I would give this book a 4. It was a pretty good plot and you didnt know what was going to happen next. You didnt know if The Brethren would nail Aaron Lake or if the C.I.A. would knock off The Brethren before they could nail him. I would first recommend this book to anyone that likes reading because you have to like reading in order to enjoy a longer book like this is. But if you are an experienced reader, and you know what you like, then this book is for people who enjoy mystery, drama, and great ending. Bibliography:

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

History of American Economic Growth in the 20th Century

History of American Economic Growth in the 20th Century As the American economy matured in the 20th century, the freewheeling business mogul lost luster as an American ideal. The crucial change came with the emergence of the corporation, which appeared first in the railroad industry. Other industries soon followed. Business barons were being replaced by technocrats, high-salaried managers who became the heads of corporations. By the start of the 20th century, the era of the industrialist and the robber baron was coming to a close. It was not so much that these influential and wealthy entrepreneurs (who generally personally owned majority and controlling stakes in their industry) disappeared, but rather that they were replaced with corporations.  The rise of the corporation triggered, in turn, the rise of an organized labor movement that served as a countervailing force to the power and influence of business. The Changing Face of the Early American Corporation The largest early 20th-century corporations were much larger and more complicated than the commercial enterprises that came before. To maintain profitability in a changing economic climate, American companies in industries as diverse as oil refining to whiskey distilling began to emerge in the late 19th century. These new corporations, or trusts, were exploiting a strategy known as horizontal combination, which granted those corporations the ability to limit production in order to raise prices and maintain profitability. But these corporations regularly ran into legal trouble as violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Some companies took another route, employing a strategy of vertical integration. Instead of maintaining prices through control of the production supply as in horizontal strategies, vertical strategies relied on obtaining control in all aspects of the supply chain required to produce their product, which gave these corporations more control over their costs. With more control over costs came more stable and protected profitability for the corporation. With the development of these more complicated corporations came the need for new management strategies. Though the highly centralized management of previous eras did not entirely disappear, these new organizations gave rise to more decentralized decision-making through divisions. While still overseen by central leadership, divisional corporate executives would eventually be given more responsibility for business decisions and leadership in their own piece of the corporation. By the 1950s, this multi-divisional organizational structure became the growing norm for large corporations, which generally moved corporations away from reliance on high-profile executives and solidified the fall of the business barons of the past.  Ã‚   The Technological Revolution of the 1980s and 1990s The technological revolution of the 1980s and 1990s,  however, brought a new entrepreneurial culture that echoed the age of tycoons. For instance, Bill Gates, the head of Microsoft, built an immense fortune developing and selling computer software. Gates carved out an empire so profitable that by the late 1990s, his company was taken into court and accused of intimidating rivals and creating a monopoly by the U.S. Justice Departments antitrust division. But Gates also established a charitable foundation that quickly became the largest of its kind. Most American business leaders of today do not lead the high-profile life of Gates. They differ greatly from the tycoons of the past. While they direct the fate of corporations, they also serve on boards of charities and schools. They are concerned about the state of the national economy and Americas relationship with other nations, and they are likely to fly to Washington to confer with government officials. While they undoubtedly influe nce the government, they do not control it - as some tycoons in the Gilded Age believed they did.

Monday, March 2, 2020

List of French Homophones and Meanings

List of French Homophones and Meanings Homophones are words that have the same pronunciation but different meanings and, sometimes, spellings. Therefore, French homophones can cause difficulties in oral comprehension and spelling. These pages should help you to understand the difference between the most common French homophones. French Homophones: O o, oh - see auon (indefinite subject pronoun) - one, we, they  Ã‚  Ã‚  On y va ? - Are we going?ont - third person plural conjugation of avoir (to have)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ils ont des questions - They have some questionsorange - (invariable adjective) orange  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai trois chemises orange - I have three orange shirtsune orange - orange (fruit)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai achetà © trois oranges - I bought three orangesou, oà ¹ - see aoà »t French Homophones: P la paie - payla paix - peacele pet - (familiar) fartle pain - bread  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je dois acheter du pain - I need to buy some breadle pin - pine  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je crois que cest un pin - I think its a pine (tree)pair (adjective) - even  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest un nombre pair - Its an even numberle pair - peer  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il est acceptà © par ses pairs - He is accepted by his peersla paire - pair  Ã‚  Ã‚  une paire de ciseaux - a pair of scissorsle pà ¨re - father  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest mon pà ¨re - Its my fatherpar (preposition) - by/with  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cette histoire a à ©tà © à ©crite par un enfant - This story was written by a childpars - first and second person singular conjugation of partir (to leave)  Ã‚  Ã‚   quelle heure pars-tu ? - What time do you leave?part - third person singular conjugation of partirune part - part, portion  Ã‚  Ã‚  la part du lion - the lions shareparce que (conjunctive phrase) - because  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je lai fait parce que javais peur - I did it because I was scaredpar c e que - preposition par indefinite relative pronoun ce que  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je suis surpris par ce que vous dites - Im surprised by what you are sayingparti - past participle of partir (to leave)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il est dà ©j parti - He already left. un parti - (political) party; option, course of actionune partie - part, amount  Ã‚  Ã‚  Divisez-le en quatre parties - Divide it into four parts.la pà ¢te - pastry, dough, pasteles pà ¢tes - pastala patte - pawla peau - skin  Ã‚  Ã‚  Les soins de la peau sont trà ¨s importants - Skin care is very importantle pot - jar, pot, can  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai achetà © un pot de confiture - I bought a jar of jam(un) peu - (a) little  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai un peu dargent - I have a little moneypeux - first and second person singular conjugation of pouvoir (can, to be able)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je peux le faire - I can do itpeut - third person singular conjugation of pouvoirphare - see fardphiltre - see filtreplus tà ´t - sooner, earlier  Ã‚  Ã‚  On doit commencer une heure plus tà ´t - We need to start an hour earlierplutà ´t - (adverb) rather, instead  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je prà ©fà ¨re plutà ´t la chemise rouge - Id rather have the red shirtle poids - weightle pois - pea, dotla poix - tar, pitchle poing - fistà ‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il ma montrà © le poing ! - He shook his fist at me!le point - point, place; stitch  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quel est son point de congà ©lation ? - What is its freezing point?le porc - pig, pork  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je ne mange pas le porc - I dont eat porkle port - port, harbor  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il est sorti du port - He left portle pouce - thumbla pousse - sproutprà ¨s (adverb) - near, nearby  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jhabite tout prà ¨s - I live nearbyprà ªt (adjective) - ready  Ã‚  Ã‚  Es-tu prà ªt ? - Are you ready?pu - past participle of the French verb pouvoir (to be able)pue(s) - singular conjugations of the French verb puer (to stink)puent - third person plural conjugation of puerla pub (apocope of publicità ©) - ad, advert, advertising  Ã‚  Ã‚  As-tu vu leur nouvelle pub ? - Have you seen their new ad?le pub - bar, pub  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest mon pub prà ©fà ©rà © - Its my favorite bar French Homophones: Q q  - see  culquand  - when  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quand vas-tu partir ?  - When are you going to leave?quant  - as for  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quant tes idà ©es†¦Ã‚  - As for your ideas†¦quen  -  contraction  of  que  Ã‚  en  (adverbial pronoun)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quen pensez-vous ?  - What do you think about it?le  camp  - camp, side  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a changà © de camp  - He changed sidesquart  - see  carque  (interrogative pronoun) - what  Ã‚  Ã‚  Que veux-tu ?  - What do you want?que  (relative pronoun) - than, that  Ã‚  Ã‚  Voici le livre que jai à ©crit  - Here is the book that I wrotela  queue  - line, tail  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il faut faire la queue  - We have to stand in linequeux  -  contraction  of  que  Ã‚  eux  (stressed pronoun)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jai plus didà ©es queux  - I have more ideas than they doNote:  The vowel sound in  que  is slightly different than in the other two, but for non-native speakers these are likely to sound like h omophonesquel(le)(s)  - (interrogative adjective) which  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quel livre vas-tu acheter ?  - Which book are you going to buy?quelle  -  contraction of  que  Ã‚  elle  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tu es plus jolie quelle  - You are prettier than she isquelque(s)  - some  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il y a quelques problà ¨mes  - There are some problemsquel(le)(s) que  -  whatever  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quels que soient les problà ¨mes†¦Ã‚  - Whatever the problems may be†¦quelquefois  - sometimes (adverb)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ãƒâ€¡a marche quelquefois  - It works sometimesquelques fois  -  a few times  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jy suis allà © quelques fois  - Ive gone there a few timesquil  - contraction of  que  Ã‚  il  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je pense quil est l  - I think hes therequils  - contraction of  que  Ã‚  ils  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je pense quils sont l  - I think they are therequoique  (subordinating conjunction) - although  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quoique je suis malade†¦Ã‚  - Although I am sick†¦quoi que  (conjunctive phrase) - whatever  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quoi que tu penses†¦Ã‚  - Whatever you may think†¦ French Homophones: R r  - letter of the  French alphabetair  - (masculine noun) air; appearance  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a lair malade  - He looks sickune  aire  - area, zone, eyrie  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je cherche une aire de jeux  - Im looking for a playgroundune  Ãƒ ¨re  - era  Ã‚  Ã‚  En lan 1999 de notre à ¨re  - In 1900 ADla  reine  - queenle  renne  - reindeerla  rose  - rose  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jaime bien les roses  - I really like rosesle  rose  -  pink  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je prà ©fà ¨re la chemise rose  - I prefer the pink shirtla  roue  - wheel  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je sais changer une roue  - I know how to change a tirele  roux  -  red(-head), roux  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a les cheveux roux  - He has red hairFor the difference in pronunciation between  roue/roux  and  rue, see my lesson on  OU vs U French Homophones: S s  - letter of the  French alphabetà ¨s  - in (a certain subject)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a une licence à ¨s ingà ©nierie  - He has a BS in engineeringsa  - see  Ãƒ §asain  - healthy, sound, wholesome  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il est sain et sauf chez lui  - Hes safe and sound at homesaint  - holy, saintly  Ã‚  Ã‚  le vendredi saint  - Good Fridayun  saint  - saintun  sein  - breastsais,  sait  - see  csang,  sans,  sen  - see  cenun  saut  - jump, leap  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il sest levà © dun saut  - He jumped to his feetun  sceau  - seal, stamp, mark  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest marquà © dun sceau  - Its marked with a sealun  seau  - bucket, pailsot  - silly, foolish, stupidscie  - see  cise  - see  cele  sel  - saltla  selle  - saddlecelle  (demonstrative pronoun) - this/that one  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je prà ©fà ¨re celle-ci  - I prefer this onesen,  sens,  sent  - see  censensà ©Ã‚  - see  censà ©sept,  sest vowel,  Sà ¨te  - see  cest vowelses,  sest  - see  csà ©tait,  sà ©taient  - see  cà ©taitsi,  six  - see  cisigne  - see  cygnesoi  - oneself  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il faut avoir confiance en soi  - One must be self-confidentle  soi  - self, id  Ã‚  Ã‚  Le soi, le moi et le sur-moi  - The id, the ego, and the superegosois  - first and second person singular  subjunctive  of  Ãƒ ªtre  (to be)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il faut que tu sois l  - You have to be therela  soie  - silk  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest un chemisier en soie  - Its a silk blousesoient  - third person plural subjunctive of  Ãƒ ªtresoit  - third person singular subjunctive of  Ãƒ ªtrele  sol  - ground, floor, siltla  sole  - sole (fish)la  somme  - sum, amountle  somme  - snooze, napson  (possessive adjective) - his, her, its  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cà ©tait son idà ©e  - It was his ideale  son  - sound, bran  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest un ingà ©nieur de son et il naime pas la farine de son  - Hes a sound e ngineer and he doesnt like bran floursont  - third person plural conjugation of  Ãƒ ªtre  (to be)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ils sont en retard  - They are lateun  sou  - centsous  - undersur  - sour (adjective)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest un peu sur  - Its a little soursur  (preposition) - on  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il ny a rien sur la table  - Theres nothing on the tablesà »r  - sure, certain  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oui, jen suis sà »r  - Yes, Im suresy  - see  ci French Homophones: T t  - letter of the  French alphabetle  thà ©Ã‚  - tea  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je prà ©fà ¨re le thà © vert  - I prefer green teata  (possessive adjective) - your  Ã‚  Ã‚  Voici ta valise  - Heres your suitcaseta  -  contraction  of  te  (object pronoun) third person singular conjugation of  avoir  (to have)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il ta dà ©j dit  - He already told youtant  - so (many/much)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il travaille tant !  - He works so much!le  temps  - weather, time  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quel temps fait-il ?  - Hows the weather?ten  -  contraction  of  te  Ã‚  en  (adverbial pronoun)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je ten donne deux  - Im giving you two of themtend(s)  - singular conjugations of the French verb  tendre  (to strain, tighten)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tend la main et je te le donnera  - Hold out your hand and Ill give it to youtes  (possessive adjective) - your  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oà ¹ sont tes stylos ?  - Where are your pens?tes  -  contraction  of  te  (reflexive p ronoun) second person singular conjugation of  Ãƒ ªtre  (to be) [in the  passà © composà ©Ã‚  of a  pronominal verb]  Ã‚  Ã‚   quelle heure tes-tu rà ©veillà © ?  - What time did you get up?test  - contraction of  te  (object pronoun) third person singular of  Ãƒ ªtre  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quest-ce qui test arrivà © ?   - What happened to you?le  thon  - tuna (fish)ton  (second person singular  possessive adjective) - your  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oà ¹ est ton sac ?  - Wheres your bag?un  ton  - tone, pitch  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il parle sur un ton grave  - He speaks in a serious tonetond(s)  - singular conjugations of the French verb  tondre  (to shear, mow)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je tonds le gazon le samedi  - I mow the lawn on Saturdaytont  -  contraction  of  te   third person plural conjugation of  avoir  (to have)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ils tont menti  - They lied to youle  tic  - tic, twitch  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a un tic nerveux  - He has a nervous ticla  tique  - tick  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mon chien a des tiques  - My dog has ticksla  tour  - towerle  tour  - tour, turntout  - all, everythingle  toux  - coughtu  - youtu  - past participle of the French verb  se taire  (to be quiet)tue(s)  - singular conjugations of  tuer  (to kill)tuent  - third person plural conjugation of  tuer French Homophones: U u  - see  eu French Homophones: V vain  - empty, superficial  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ce sont de vains mots  - Those are empty wordsle  vin  - winevingt  - twentyvins  - first and second person  passà © simple  of  venir  (to come)vint  - third person singular passà © simple of  venirvend  - third person singular conjugation of  vendre  (to sell)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il vend sa maison  - Hes selling his housevends  - first and second person singular conjugation of  vendrele  vent  - wind  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il y a du vent  - Its windyun  ver  - wormun  verre  - glassvers  (preposition) - towardun  vers  - versevert  - greenvoie  - first and third person singular  subjunctive  of  voir  (to see)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il faut quelle voie son frà ¨re  - She has to see her brotherla  voie  - way, route  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest une voie privà ©e  - Its a private roadvoient  - third person plural indicative and subjunctive of  voirvoies  - second person singular subjunctive of  voirvois  - first and second person singular indicative of  voir  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je ne le vois pas  - I dont see itvoit  - third person singular indicative of  voirla  voix  - voice  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ils parlent voix basse  - They are speaking in low voicesvoir  - to see  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je ne peux pas voir là ©cran  - I cant see the screenvoire  - indeed, or even, if not  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest une bonne idà ©e, voire excellente  - Its a good, or even excellent, ideavu  - past participle of  voir  (to see)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Je lai vu hier  - I saw him yesterdayvu  (presentative) - given, considering  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vu notre situation†¦Ã‚  - Given our situation†¦la  vue  - sight  Ã‚  Ã‚  Il perd la vue  - Hes losing his sight French Homophones: Y y  - see  i

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Understanding the Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Understanding the Law - Essay Example While the binding principle of judicial precedents applies to ratio decidendi as applied in the original case, obiter dicta do not bind. This means that in cases where a judge is bound to use a precedent, the judge must apply the rules of law that were applied by the former judge as ratio decidendi. Other elements of the precedent case that do not form part of the precedent’s ratio decidendi are not binding (Robertson, 2010, p. 20). Types of judicial precedents Application of judicial precedents defines the types of precedents that have been identified in the judicial system. A judicial precedent can be original, binding, or persuasive. An original precedent is a first establishment of rule of law in cases where no precedent has been laid. This occurs when the facts of the case at hand does not correspond to facts of any other case for which a rule of law has been established in interpretation of the law. The presiding judge therefore establishes a precedent to the case called original precedent. A binding precedent is on the other hand a judicial decision that has already been established in a previous decision and whose application binds a judge. The principle of a binding precedent imputes a judge’s obligation to apply an already established precedent irrespective of the judge’s opinion over the principle of law as was established in the earlier case. This application is based on the rule that decision of a higher court binds judges of lower courts (Robertson, 2010, p.18- 19). Persuasive precedents are however not strictly binding to a judge as the judge has the freedom to either apply the precedent or not. This means that unlike in the case of a binding precedent, application of a persuasive precedent is at the... Understanding the law The paper will explore concepts of the two legal applications. Judicial precedents Judicial precedents, as defined by Robertson, are a source of law that originates from the judicial system. The doctrine of precedents establishes former decisions by judges to form ground for decisions to be made by other judges in future cases. The doctrine is based on the principle that an established rule of law through decisions of judges should remain standing. Robertson argues that the doctrine establishes ground for â€Å"fairness and certainty of law†. The doctrine of judicial precedence is a deviation from the traditionally perceived judicial role of interpretation of the law for implementation. While the primary role of the judiciary is to determine the best meaning in application of law in litigations, the doctrine of judicial precedents offers the judiciary a law making authority. This is because judicial precedents are recognized source of law in which an already established decisi on is to be applied in future cases involving similar facts. Application of judicial precedents however relies on two principles, ratio decidendi and obiter dicta. While the jury limits the powers of the judge in determining the case, the judge ensures that jurors are properly selected to eliminate chances of bias. The above views are therefore completely justified within the concept of democracy, openness, and fairness of the jury process.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Five Drivers of Globalization and the International Forces Research Paper

Five Drivers of Globalization and the International Forces - Research Paper Example According to the standard theory, international trade theory leads to the share of resources being consistent with the corporate advantage. This further leads to specialization thereby enhancing the output. The quick progress in the capital market is because of the globalization. Along with the benefits offered by globalization, there are major concerns related to it. The first concern is related to the fact that globalization leads to a more immoral dispersion of income among the countries and within the countries. The second concern is related to loss of national autonomy and the countries are finding it highly complex to pursue independent domestic policies (Rangarajan, 2006). Dell Corporation has been analyzed for the purpose of this study. Since last 26 years, Dell has been capable of authorizing countries, communities, customers as well as people all over the globe to make use of the technology so that they can realize their dreams. The company tends to value its customers and thus aims at delivering the products and the services according to the needs and the wants of the customers (Dell, 2012). The five main kinds of drivers that are forcing international firms to the globalization of operations are political, technological, market, cost, and competition (Indian Institute of Material Management, 2012). Political Forces There is a trend towards the association and socialization of the global community. Both North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the European Union present major marketing opportunities for the companies. If the government can reduce barriers to trade as well as foreign investment and can privatize most of the industries in formerly communist nations then globalization can be fostered (Acemoglu & Yared, 2010). Technological Forces With the progress in computers as well as communication technology ideas information can flow across borders. The small companies are capable of competing all over the globe because of the internet as we ll as communication technology. By making use of the internet for the purpose of business exchanges, Business-to-Business (B2B) transaction is providing major savings. Market Forces When the companies tend to globalize, they become global customers. In order to retain their presence in the global markets and expand the consumer base, organizations endeavor to set their trail towards global shores. When the home market saturates, companies seek to operate globally. Cost Forces The management goal is to make use of the economies of scale so that it can reduce unit cost. It is vital for the companies to globalize the product lines so that it can successively attain economies of scale. Production houses can be located in those countries where the cost of production is observed to be less.  

Friday, January 24, 2020

Growth and Maturation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Iwein Essa

Growth and Maturation in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Iwein The Arthurian legends of Iwein and Gawain and the Green Knight are two examples of the medieval initiation story: a tale in which a character, usually in puberty or young adulthood, leaves home to seek adventures and, in the process, maturity. Through the course of their adventures, including a meeting with the man of the wilderness, temptations at the hands of women, and a permanent physical or mental wounding, the character grows from adolescent awkwardness and foolishness to the full potential knightly honor. While both Arthurian legends fit this format, the depth of character development, specifically in terms of relationships, is vastly different. Whereas Gawain and the Green Knight does little more with relationships than demonstrate the evils of female temptations, Iwein effectively explores the formation, destruction, and resurrection of numerous male and female relationships. In order to understand the significance of Hartmann von Aue's development of relationships in Iwein, it's important to first understand the nature of a typical initiation story. Initiation stories almost always deal with the development of a single character; through the course of the story the single character is developed and matured. The meeting with the man of the wilderness and the female temptress may both involve other characters, but in both situations the relationship is used to develop the initiation story. In Iwein, Hartmann uses the growing maturity being developed through the initiation story as a forum for the relationships of the characters; indeed, the focal point of Iwein is less the initiation of the main character than the effect his initiation has on his ... ... the Green Knight: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs. NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1968. Hatto, A. T., gen. ed. "Heroes and Heroines." Traditions of Heroic and Epic Poetry. Volume Two: Characteristics and Techniques. London: The Modern Humanities Research Association, 1989. Hartmann von Aue Iwein Trans. Sheema Zeben Buehne New York, F. Ungar 1966. Huppà ©, Bernard F. "The Concept of the Hero in the Early Middle Ages." Concepts of the Hero in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Eds. Norman T. Burns & Christopher J. Reagan. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1975. Krstovic, Jelena O, ed. Introduction to Hartmann von Aue. Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993. Moorman, Charles. A Knyght There Was: The Evolution of the Knight in Literature. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1967.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Christian Response/Decisions on life and living Essay

AO1- Explain the beliefs Christians hold about their responsibility for those at the beginning and end of their lives. The heart of Christian ethics is love, which has its source in God. Christianity is based on the principal of love,’ love thy neighbour as yourself’ is the greatest teaching and in this context means having concern/caring for others. Christians extend this teaching further when considering those at the beginning or end of their lives. Christians believe that an unborn baby or foetus is created in God’s own image, which is why they would regard every child and living person as precious, and whilst in the womb it is closest to perfection (completely innocent). Christians believe that all human life is sacred as it has eternal destiny and as an unborn child a potential life an unborn child/ foetus is treated with protection and respect, as a human should be. In general Christians feel it is their responsibility to take care of the body carrying an unborn baby and because traditional Christian teaching places the highest value on human life most Christians condemn the concept of abortion as it would involve destroying something so innocent and going against God’s will because God chose to give the life. Christian’s regard abortion in any sense as murder which goes against their moral teachings, the fifth commandment states ‘Thou shall not kill’. â€Å"If anyone does not take care of his relations especially members of his own family he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever† this is a quote from Timothy 1 in the new testament and this quote can have a lot of meaning for a Christian as a parent because it states that it should be their responsibility to care for all their family which would include a conceived child who should be given the chance to live and cared for else a Christian would really be a hypocrite to their beliefs. Christian’s also hold great responsibility as a parent of a newborn child. Christian’s believe it s their duty to baptise their child. The service of baptism washes away a child’s original sin and symbolises their membership to the church. As a parent a Christian is opening the door to the Christian faith (GOD) to which their child can later choose to become part of through their own will when they are older by being ‘confirmed’. It is a Christian’s duty to give their child this opportunity whether or not they choose to take it. As a child grows up it is also the parent’s responsibility to educate the child about the Christian faith, for example sending them to a Christian/catholic school and teaching them about Christianity at home? When considering Christian responsibility for those at the end of their lives the concept is very similar. Christians believe that only God gave life and only God can take it away. They believe killing an innocent person is unacceptable ‘thou shall not kill’ regardless of whether it is an embryo, foetus, child, adult, old person, or someone who is terminally ill and dying. Some Christians may feel that Euthanasia should be allowed as in some circumstances it would be more ‘loving to let someone die if letting them carry on living was causing them so much pain. Most Christians however do not agree because they say human life is sacred and only God has the authority to take it. Christian’s treat a terminally ill, unconscious adult with the same protection as a conscious adult. Christians are against euthanasia but would try to make the time before a person’s death as easy as possible by caring for them and knowing that they will die when God wants them to. The care that the old and terminally ill need can be provided by a hospice. Christian’s support the hospice movement. They are Christian based foundations similar to a hospital but are designed for people to go there to die. The relatives of patients are given care and support and the patients are made as comfortable and happy as possible and the emphasis is on controlling pain and allowing people to die with dignity. AO2 -Faced with the issues of abortion and euthanasia, explain the different ways Christians might respond. The different denominations of Christians and Christian individuals would react in different ways when faced with these issues. When looking at abortion it is fair to say that all Christians believe it is unacceptable and should be avoided. A roman catholic would believe that a deliberately procured abortion is a serious sin as it would be regarded as a murder no matter what time in the pregnancy it took place, as a roman Catholics belief is that God implants the soul at the moment of conception. In today’s society there is a lot of sexual crime such as rape and incest. If a woman were to become pregnancy as a result of this crime her actions may be different depending on what kind of Christian she was. A roman catholic would be strictly against abortion and believe that although the father committed and evil crime the unborn child should still be considered innocent and part of God and should not be killed because its father committed an evil sin. A true Roman Catholic would go ahead with the pregnancy but once the child was born may take other steps such as adoption if keeping the child was too distressing and she felt she could not love it. However looking at this situation from a Protestant perspective it would be acceptable for the woman to have an abortion as having the baby would remind her of the trauma of the sexual crime and the child may not be brought into the world into a loving family, as it should deserve. It is in this way that views differ, members of the Christian Churches accept that sometimes abortion may be the lesser of 2 evils like in the result of a sexual crime, if the child was sought to be handicapped, deformed or likely to die soon after birth and if the foetus is likely to endanger the life of the mother. There are also some extreme exceptions for Catholics. The principal of double effect in the Roman Catholic church if in some complex situations like if the mother was likely to die would allow an abortion to take place, and there are also some occasions where an operation needs to be carried out with a purpose to cure a life threatening disease which may kill an unborn child, the Roman Catholic church teaches that this is permissible and necessary. When faced with issues of euthanasia different most Christians react in similar ways. Some Christians think it is acceptable to help someone to die by stopping their medication, turning off a life support machine etc as long as they are not directly taking their life simply putting a stop to methods that are trying to preserve it. The Roman Catholic belief is that any action intended to cause death as a relief from suffering is,† a grave violation of the laws of God† (John Paul II). Catholics believe that no one should try to take someone’s life for them, as it is still a form of killing. But they do not believe that life has to be preserved at all costs and find turning off a life support machine acceptable if the person can no way be cured and is otherwise in a vegetative state. Christians also support the use of painkillers such as morphine, which hasten death provided their aim is to ease pain. If a Christian had a friend who was terminally ill and dying and asked them to help them to die quicker as they were suffering a Christian may agree to do so because they think it is more ‘loving’ than to let their friend experience immense suffering or they may stop their medication which is keeping them alive to help them die faster. AO3 – What Christians believe about life is up to them. They should not make others accept their position. Do you agree with the statement? A Christian has their own views and ideas about life. Everyone has the right of freedom and should therefore be able to believe their own things without having to be bothered about what others think. This could be argued by some people as not right because when it involves the taking of a life, it can never really be justified as right As a Christian however it is acceptable for them to give advice to others based on their believes whether or not the other person chooses to accept it. As a Christian one should not judge others for being different and this includes having different views and beliefs to themselves, â€Å"Judge not others lest you be judged†. I can relate this to a modern day situation by saying that if a Christian had a close friend (non Christian) who was considering an abortion who asked for their advice it would be fair for a Christian to share their advice and views with this friend but if they still chose to go ahead with the abortion as a Christian the person should still stand by their friend and support them regardless of whether they feel they are making the wrong decision. From another point of view Christians should make others accept their position because God commands them to share the good news with others and take the gospel to all the people’ therefore a Christian would not be fulfilling their duty as a Christian if they did not spread the word of God to others. Other people can choose not to be influenced by their ideas but as a Christian I Think they need to pass on their beliefs about God to other people. Overall I think that a Christian should tell other people when they are doing something which in society could be considered as very wrong i.e. Murder and a Christian also has the right to share there believes with others in hope that they may accept them. However it is the individual’s choice to believe what they want in the end and another person should force no one into accepting a certain position.