Polyphemus the Cyclops

Polyphemus the Cyclops The famous one-eyed giant of Greek mythology, Polyphemus first appeared in Homer’s Odyssey and became a recurring character in both classical literature and later European traditions. Who Was Polyphemus? According to Homer, the giant was the son of Poseidon, the sea god, and the nymph Thoosa. He inhabited the island which is now known as Sicily with other, unnamed giants with similar afflictions. While contemporary depictions of the Cyclops assume a humanoid with a single, huge eye, the classical and Renaissance portraits of Polyphemus show a giant with two empty eye sockets where human ocular organs would be, and a single eye centered above them. Polyphemus in the Odyssey Upon landing at Sicily, Odysseus and his men discovered a cave laden with provisions and set about feasting. It was, however, the pair of Polyphemus. When the giant returned from grazing his sheep, he imprisoned the sailors and began to systematically devour them. The Greeks understood this not only as a good story but as a horrible affront to the customs of hospitality. Odysseus offered the giant a quantity of wine from his ship, which gets Polyphemus quite drunk. Before passing out, the giant asks Odysseus’ name; the wily adventurer tells him â€Å"Noman.† Once Polyphemus fell asleep, Odysseus blinded him with sharpened staff burning in the fire. Then he ordered his men to bind themselves to the undersides of Polyphemus’ flock. As the giant blindly felt for his sheep to ensure that the sailors didn’t escape, they passed unnoticed to freedom. Polyphemus, tricked and blinded, was left to scream of the injustice that â€Å"Noman† had done to him. The injury to his son made Poseidon persecute Odysseus at sea, extending his perilous voyage home. Other Classical Sources The one-eyed giant became a favorite of classical poets and sculptors, inspiring a play by Euripides (â€Å"The Cyclops†) and appearing in the Aeneid of Virgil. Polyphemus became a character in the much-loved story of Acis and Galatea, where he pines for a sea-nymph and ultimately kills her suitor. The story was popularized by Ovid in his Metamorphoses. An alternate ending to Ovid’s tale found Polyphemus and Galatea married, from their offspring were born a number of â€Å"savage† races, including the Celts, the Gauls, and the Illyrians. In the Renaissance and Beyond By way of Ovid, the story of Polyphemus - at least his role in the love affair between Acis and Galatea - inspired poetry, opera, statuary and paintings from all over Europe. In music, these include an opera by Haydn and a cantata by Handel. The giant was painted in a landscape by Poussin and a series of works by Gustave Moreau. In the 19th Century, Rodin produced a series of bronze sculptures based on Polyphemus. These artistic creations create a curious, fitting postscript to the career of Homer’s monster, whose name, after all, means â€Å"abounding in songs and legends.†

Hollywood cinema Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hollywood cinema - Essay Example Yet all these are shallow representations of what genre really is. Studying about film genre is not about labeling the films as such. Genre, to the film maker, means the elements on which a film is based, which includes thoughts, ideas and realizations. This paper aims to tackle a thorough understanding on what film genre really is and how it has affected Hollywood Cinema for the past years. The word â€Å"genre† originated from France and originally meant â€Å"class or kind†. Initially, in the older days, it was used to differentiate various works of literature such as prose, drama or poetry. Later on, Shakespeare began to add subcategories such as tragedy and comedy. In the early 1950s, the word genre began to be associated with various classifications of film. The usage of this word continued on to the 1970s wherein there were more films being produced in Hollywood. As of now, there are numerous film genres that we see at movie houses and stores, indicating that indeed cinema have broadened over the past years. At present, genre is not just a word used to classify films. Filmmakers and artists now look at genre as a type of style or subject matter. These people delve deep into the events, ideas and thoughts that lead to the conceptualization of the film. Was there a difference in the creation of film as to style and theme over the years? It is not easy to brand a film by its genre. Genre, in itself, is a vague term. Most of us nowadays classify films as to its subject matter and suitability. Yet, there is a question as to whether the idea of film genre will always remain as such. It is not indeed easy to brand a film as to whether it is just a comedy, a drama or action film. Most films are mixed, i.e. they may be romantic comedies or action-drama. Yet, as vague as it is, it is essential for us that we know the basic elements of film genre. A filmmaker needs to know the elements of a particular genre because it is with these elements

Don't Ask Don't Tell Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Don't Ask Don't Tell - Research Paper Example This helps in tackling with its limitations and at the same time enhancing its advantages. Therefore, in the below sections, the various phases through which a public policy passes are looked at, thereby analyzing the involvement of various stakeholders and the effects of the policy on each. This will help establish the effectiveness of this approach in relation to this case. The â€Å"Don’t ask, Don’t tell† (DADT) policy of the US military is studied (Harrop 1). The policy The 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy came into effect in 1993 when President Clinton signed it into legislation. The main clause of the law states that "the presence in the armed forces of persons who demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion which are the essence of military capability." While this constitutes the ‘don't tell’ clause of the act, the ‘don't ask’ clause is not really a clause, rather an indication to commanders in the military that they must not initiate investigation into the sexual orientation of other personnel. However, there is an exception clause to this which states that if the Secretary of Defense deems that such inquiries are required for the implementation of the policy or if the person being investigated is done so as a result of his behavior, then such investigations can continue. Therefore, the policy heavily weighs in favor of cornering people from the LGBT community by restricting their powers of freedom and enquiry. However, the policy as it was introduced was a compromise between the President Clinton's election promise to lift the ban on homosexuals and the position of the military which maintained that homosexuality is incompatible with military service and that personnel who declare themselves to be homosexual must be discharged from military duty (Feder 1). Agenda Building The su bject of homosexuality has long been a subject of contention in the US military. However, there has not been much debate until the latter half of the 20th century. A majority of the cases were dealt using the legislations Articles of War (AW) and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Both the laws did not tolerate homosexuality. In fact, sodomy was criminalized using through the AW. Homosexuality was seen as a psychological problem and hence people with the 'condition' were seen as sick. Expert psychologists and psychiatrists were used to build public opinion. The policy continued through the Second World War until the years of Ronald Regan during whose tenure the defense directive was issued stating that "homosexuality is incompatible with military service" ("History of 'don't ask, don't tell'" 2). However, this signified a change in the rationality of the policy. This was facilitated by a number of cases in federal courts which ruled against the policy implementation. For example, the Watkins v. United States Army case in which Sergeant Perry J. Watkins sued the Army after he had been discharged. Watkins case revealed that he had declared his orientation early on in his career and that he had made no attempt to hide it. Subsequently, after a number of years of court proceedings, the court found that the reasoning behind the provisions of the law was unsatisfactory. These developments forced the Army to

Relationship Between Clothing and Identity

Relationship Between Clothing and Identity Material culture refers to the corporal, physical object constructed by humans. Ferguson (1977) describes material culture as all of the things people leave behind . All of the things people make from the physical world farm tools, ceramics, houses, furniture, toys, buttons, roads and cities (Ferguson, 1977). Material culture refers to objects that are used, lived in, displayed and experienced. Human beings interact with material culture as a normal part of their daily lives. Because of this interaction, material culture and human living is strongly influenced by each other, and through studying material culture gives us important clues about the way humans live and have lived in the past. Schlereth (1982) outlines the importance of the study of material culture, arguing that through material culture we can learn about the belief systems the values, ideas, attitudes, and assumptions of a particular community of Society, usually across time (Schlereth, 1982). Schlereth continues to state that a study is based upon the obvious idea that the existence of a man-made object is concrete evidence of the presence of a human mind operating at the time of production. The common statement underlying material culture research is that objects made or modified by humans, consciously or unconsciously, directly or indirectly, reflect the belief patters of individuals who made, commissioned, purchased, or used them, and, by extension, the belief patterns of the larger society of which they are a part (Schlereth, 1982). By studying culture as something created and lived through objects, we learn to understand the social structures, human action, emotion and meaning, and through this process we bond together the crucial link between social and economic factors with the individual actor. This is where we can introduce Marxism mode of production, if we consider material culture in terms of consumer societies we will be able to reproduce and challenge social structures. However, according to Marx and Engels (1965, p32) in The German Ideology: This mode of production must not be considered simply as being the reproduction of physical existence of individuals. Rather it is a definite form of activity of these individuals, a definite form of expressing their life, a definite mode of life on their part (Sahlins, 1976). Marx mode of production worked in the following way; people produce commodities and sell them so that they can buy other commodities to satisfy their own needs and wants. For Marx, production is something more than practical logic of material effectiveness, it is a cultural intention. Take for example, if you look around your home, objects are everywhere cups/mugs, computers, clothing. You know what most of these are because they are part of you familiar environment, if you have grown up with these objects they have been a part of your life. Now if a person lived in a different part of the world and from a different century, they would have a difficult time trying to understand our material culture. Each object has a story to tell, a story which has been shaped by human used. If material objects are been analyzed, basic facts will be recorded, a verbal description which might include measurements, material, any distinguishing features, take note of everything which will determine a clearer picture about the object. This key information will provide material about the technology used, the economy, or social relations within the given society and how they have changed or progressed over time. Clothing and in particular designer outfits can mask a persons real persona. The clothing can be worn to impress and make the wearer feel more confident, however this can also be taken to the extreme in that if a persons self worth and morale is low clothes are used to state falsely about the importance of the person. wearing certain clothing may make a person feel empowered by altering their self perception, they can assist in forming or negating interpersonal and group attachments, mediating the formation of self-identity and esteem and integrating and differentiating social groups classes or tribes (Woodward, 2007, p4 ). Alison Lurie states that in her Language of Clothes that clothes introduce individuals subconsciously before they even say a word (Lurie A. , 1992). Clothes are expressions of identity, one of the permanent ways we signal to the social world who and what we are (Twigg, 2007). It is also an expression and fulfilment of human needs: needs of the body and mind. These expressions function within a cultural context with the purpose of passing on distinctive meanings to social forms. Clothes have been used to identify our links, such as what school we attend, what job we have or what group we are a part of. Schools use uniforms to identify their students, although uniforms can be a really useful if the students are out on day trips, the uniform will be easily recognisable to pick out students, these students then represent the school. Occupations have informed the public of their identity and job titles throught the use of clothing, for example: gardai, nurses, surgeon, security guards, fi re fighters the list is endless when you really think about it. In most cultures gender differentiation of clothing is considered appropriate for both men and women. There are many features that differentiate the gender of clothing. The masculine fabric is relatively caorse and stiff, usually heavier whereas feminine fabric is soft and fine. Masculine colours usually tend to be darker, and feminine coloured clothing is usually light or pastel. The cut in mens clothing is square with corners and angles, and womens dress lines emphasize the flow, the curve and the actual style of the dress. These elements convey social meaning (Sahlins, 1976). The sturctural lines in the cut or patterns of clothing make up analogous class of meaningful contrasts (Sahlins, 1976). The importance seems to be related with three characteristics of a line: direction, form and rhythm. Direction refers to direction in relation to the ground. Form refers to its properties as curved or straight. And rhythm refers to the periodicity of the curve or angle (Sahlins, 1976). In western societies, womens clothing usually consists of skirts, dresses and high heels, while a tie is usually seen as mens clothing. Trousers/jeans were seen as mens clothing but nowadays they are worn by both male and female. Female clothing usually tends to be more attractive in comparison to male clothing. Clothing also identifies religious groups. In some cultures, laws regulate what men and women are required to wear. A man wearing a headgear called yarmulke/kippah is most likely to be Jewish, and a woman wearing a hijab is most likely to be Muslim. The yarmulke is for a Jew to announce publicly that he respects God and that God is above human kind. According to the Talmud (Jewish Religious Commentary), wearing the kippah reminds Jews that there is a higher authority, and it reminds us that God is always watching (Silvestri, 2010). A Muslim woman who wears a hijab not only publicly announces her religious identity, but when her face is covered, men cannot judge her by her appearance, they are able to evaluate her by her personality, character, and morals (Hussein). If we look at the catholic culture in Ireland, a man wearing in a black robe or outfit and a roman collar is identified as a priest and is given the title father in the Roman Catholic churches. In Islamic culture, men prid e themselves in wearing turbans because of its significant spiritual symbolism of their cultural faith. Turbans are still worn today by Islamic men as a way of distinguishing themselves, strengthening social ties and giving a sense of group identity. They are considered important in prayer, where the rewards are said to be twenty-five times greater when the headdress is worn. However in saying all of this the turban also has a practical function, it protects the mens head from the heat and dust in Arab countries (Bennett, 2010). Again, we see clothing as the subconscious communicator that announces ones religious identity publicly. According to Sahlins (1976), American clothing amounts to a very complex scheme of cultural categories and the relations between them. The scheme operates a set of rules for declining and combining classes of the clothing which formulate the cultural categories. Each aspect consists of a range of meaningful variation, some will be present and others will be absent (Sahlins, 1976. p179). The outfit as a whole makes a statement, developed out of the particular arrangement of garment parts and by contrasting to other outfits (Sahlins, 1976. P 179). Strictly speaking, clothes is not a part of your body, however, since your body is largely covered in it, your clothing will affect the way you come across. Seeing as your clothing is such a large factor, on the message your giving off, your appearence is important and will effect the view others have on you. The clothes you are wearing make a statement about your identity and your social status, the colour and style of clothes worn tell oth ers about how you are feeling in the world. Clothes have the ability to inform publicly of ones identity, mood, generation, religion, and culture. It is a language that is constantly in communication with people introduced or not introduced. Although the language of clothes speaks, it may not be completely accurate, but it gives one an idea of an individuals identity and personality. The language of clothes is used daily and can be seen every day in the home, at church, out shopping and within the political world. It is a language that everyone uses as an ice-breaker to open up conversation or to have common ground and value. Clothing as a communicator can be seen worldwide and is used universally. Taking all of the above into consideration one can say that material culture can be compared to a language.

Antony a better Leader than Caesar in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatr

Antony a better Leader than Caesar in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra: In Shakespeare?s play 'Antony and Cleopatra' Caesar, while he displays remarkable tactical skills, is calculating and cold hearted. Antony on the other hand embodies many admirable qualities and emotions which make him the greater of the two. Firstly I will look at Caesar?s military victories before examining Antony?s great human qualities. Looking at Caesar, he is highly successful in his military battles due to his great organisation skills and strategic planning. Caesar values organisation since he receives hourly reports on how matters are abroad (Act I Scene 4 lines 34-36) and keeps detailed accounts of his battles. His logical thought also makes him so successful: ?Strike not by land, keep whole, provoke not battle, Till we have done at sea? (Act III Scene 8 lines 3-4) This strategic plan allows Caesar to defeat Antony. Duty is of unmatched importance to Caesar. Caesar condemns Antony for seeking pleasure before duty and he says of himself: ?Doubt not, sir, I knew it for my bond? (Act I Scene 4 lines 84-85) So the basis of Caesar?s abundant military victories, also against Antony, are his logical tactics and his sense of duty. However, Caesar is so determined to succeed and so power hungry that he is willing to hurt and manipulate other people in order to be successful. Caesar is calculating in that he uses Lepidus to defeat Pompey yet then sees to it that Lepdius is deposed as a triumvir so that he can gain more power. Another example of Caesar?s deviousness is: ? Plant those that have revolted in the van, That Antony may seem to spend his fury Upon himself.? (Act IV Scene 6 lines 9-11) Caesar intentionally places... ...flees the battle, he does not blame Cleopatra but takes responsibility for his own actions and is very ashamed of them: ?I have fled myself, and have instructed cowards To run and show their shoulders.? (Act III Scene 11 lines 7-8) It is in particular this characteristic which makes Antony greater than Caesar. Though it would be easy to make another person the culprit, Antony always carries the burden of the blame himself and is truly remorseful of his actions. In conclusion, Caesar?s arrogant, calculating, unemotional character is opposed to Antony?s forgiving, generous, responsible one. Though Caesar is a great military leader, his success is achieved through deliberate cold-hearted scheming and manipulation of others while Antony displays true nobility through his incomparably great human qualities. Thus, in our minds, Antony is the greater of the two.

The Friendly Correspondence

A horrible series of events took place about a day after Belinda wrote her last letter to Krysta. On the afternoon of the 22nd of December she sat in her living room reading one of Krysta’s recent letters in which she said that she had received her present and had told the authorities to not to give it to her until Christmas. Belinda’s parents had gone out shopping when suddenly the door opened and her brother Ron ran into the room. His face was all red with anger, he was holding some papers in his hand which had been ripped into many pieces. Belinda was so used to her brother’s tantrums that she did not stir from where she was sitting. But as her brother walked by she looked discreetly at the torn papers and saw the words â€Å"failed† and â€Å"Year 12†. She then understood the cause of her brother’s anger and what made him so wild and furious. Ron stopped at once and saw Belinda reading her letter. He asked her where mum and dad were. She didn’t reply. He stomped like a bull who had seen red, suddenly snatching Belinda’s letter out of her hands. He read it quickly and saw a paragraph addressed to Isobel in which it was asked that Ron be taken care of. He stuffed the letter into his pocket in spite of Belinda’s constant groaning to return it. That was the beginning of a quarrel to which Belinda contributed by adding her provoking spiteful remarks and insulting Ron for having failed to graduate. The brother and sister began throwing things at each other, at first paper weights and then dangerous objects such as sharp knives. In her fury Belinda threw a knife at Ron and unfortunately did not miss his hand from which blood started gashing out. Ron went off to his room not paying any attention to his sister who by that time had realised the seriousness of the situation, had stopped fighting. She then started to apologise while looking for a bandage to put and his hand. After having written one page or two of sentences that somehow made sense, Krysta decided to stop wielding her pen for a moment and take a short break. She sat back in her armchair and relaxed, or some minutes she lost in her thoughts, thoughts about life, thoughts of love, happy thoughts, sad ones and thoughts about Gary. Ooh Gary! Her heart stopped beating for a moment at the very thought of it. She remembered herself as a teenager shut in her heart wailing every moment in the depths of her heart for freedom†¦ She recalled how she had come there and how she spent each day of her life thinking it was her last one and that she would not get out of there alive. She shuddered as she thought of the cruel faces of her authorities or the ‘hacks’ as they were often called, of the stale food they gave with malicious faces, the way they eagerly roamed around like hungry dogs putting somebody’s name in their Punishment Sheets. She thought of her friends at Gary. Were they real â€Å"friends†? She thought of Linda McAllam and some other girls who let her down. But then she remembered Macy and girls who were nice to her at some of the times, her sweet voice, which often made her and others, weep or feel lonely, were still in her ears. Everything was clear and vivid in her memory as if it had taken place yesterday and not twenty years ago. On her table shone the paperback cover of a book titled ‘My life at Gary† with the words Krysta Bonbons in bold letters below it and the words BEST SELLER on its side, despite of all her horror of Gary she felt she owed it something. She felt pretty sure she wouldn’t have become a writer if she hadn’t been at Gary and had never met her so-called â€Å"friends†. Where could they all be now? What could they be doing? Directing great companies, catching burglars, smiling at children with books in their hands and blackboards behind them†¦who knows? Were they still alive? She felt her eyes pricking as she remembered Belinda, her pen-pal whom she’d never met in person, who wrote her consoling letters -and also rang her sometimes- during almost the whole of her second year at Gary. She had died that same year a few days before Christmas killed by her violent brother. She looked at her watch, it was 2. 30pm. She hurried so as not to break a routine, which had become a part of her life. At about 3’clock she got off the Vaudeville tram and ran to the cemetery behind St. Michael’s church. She stood still before Belinda’s grave who was no relative of hers but with whom she had a relation stronger than with anyone else. From her purse she took out a letter Belinda had written to her and read it all over again with tears rolling down her cheeks. Thank you, Belinda! â€Å"she said in a feeble voice, â€Å"Thank You for loving me†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . She entered the church, said a small prayer and left, a habit she never had before visiting Belinda’s grave for the first time. It was as if Belinda had become an angel and was strengthening her belief in God praying for her everyday. Her next destination was the nearest newspaper office where she ga ve a note with all her brother Simon’s to be published in the classifieds She had put the same ad in the same paper for the past five years. Not that she thought it would do much good but one never knew†¦Krysta was pretty sure that if one day a man younger than her walked towards her calling her â€Å"sister†, she would be very happy and once again would have somebody to love unconditionally just as Belinda loved her. On arriving back home, Krysta threw the pages she had written some hours before into the dustbin and started writing on a new page. Somehow she felt confident the book she was writing would be really good. It would be called â€Å"My Friend whom I’ve Never Seen†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

Weighing the Reasons to Become a Teacher