The Convergence Of Television Networking Media Essay

The Convergence Of Television Networking Media Essay The long-indicated convergence of broadcast TV and internet is reaching a tipping point. Viewing TV text via internet has changed PC savvy TV viewers expectation dramatically. The rise in synchronized use of internet and TV has resulted in a unique off screen and on screen relationship of users with TV content (Grady, 2010). Gradys view of Television describes onscreen engagement of audience with online TV content and off screen interaction amidst peers and friends that Jenkins (2006) terms as water cooler conversations. The onscreen and off screen experience together brings the sociability factor among viewers that supports the water cooler conversation. TV cultivates sociability in many ways (Lull: 1990) for instance, TV plays a vital role in constructing and maintaining interpersonal relationship amongst family and social units. Likewise, when TV content is viewed on websites and other networking sites, it sparks sociability amongst users that influence users to react in numerous ways. For instance, Spoiler fandom of TV shows Survivors was one of the forms of users that used sociability to spoil the show. Although, fandom is not the only form practiced on networking sites, but many more that influences users to build a community around a specific TV content. Online TV content cultivates sociability in networked communities and gives a platform to practice Mc Luhans (1874) living room experience. But online sociability has charted changes in traditional concept of TV and audience. As Fiske (1987: 63-4) states revaluation of viewer requires a revaluation of text. Hence such a convergence needs to be studied in context to dramatic changes in TV industry such as changes in production, distribution and content management. This section of my literature review highlights dramatic changes in TV and TV entry in a post network era. The section also makes a general understanding about TV culture and TV (content) flow. A separate section discusses proliferation of TV text across social networking sites and social use of technology with relevance to online viewing. 1.3.1 Television Concepts Fiske (1987:1) defines TV, a bearer/provoker of meanings and pleasures, and of culture as the generations and circulation of variety of meanings and pleasures within the society. TV as culture is deeply interwoven in our society that it persistently produces and reproduces; meanings and pleasures and their distribution influences audience to behave in a desired way. Meanings are interpreted differently by audience and are part of flow of TV that are experienced by viewers ( Fiske: 1987,15). Audiences are makers of meaning; consume TV text as readers that are capable of producing meanings and pleasure with respect to socio-cultural frameworks ( Fiske: 1987,17). Therefore, to understand audience, TV needs to be understood as culture and a flow that extends meanings and pleasures to meaning makers in social structures. TV as Culture Culture is complex and difficult to understand, it signifies set of values acquired by set of social groups that results in patterned behavior. Theorist like Richard Hoggart (1957), Raymond William (1958) and EP Thompson (1968) has contributed much to the concept of culture. Hall Jefferson (1976, hall.et.al) states, culture is multi-faceted and plural that contains element from past and layers within it. A culture is a culmination of past and present that shapes existing ideas and insights in a society. Culture is diverse, versatile and contains popular forms of dominant culture in a society (Matthew, 1869). As Turner, explains culture is part of our lives that are so powerful and unquestioned that it almost goes invisible and unnoticed (Turner, 1990). Similarly TV and its text has become integral part of our culture that induces viewers to become readers. Television, its content and the industry forms significant aspects of our culture that affects social structures in many ways. TV has become one of the primary forms of culture in most industrialized society (Kompare, 2002). TV as flow Williams (1958) determines flow; a technology and a cultural form. Flow in context to TV, refers to the movement from one program to other or from one segment to the other. Network channels (producers) hold audience via flow of TV text from one interesting segment to another interesting segment making flow continuous. Kompare (2002) explains flow, a broadcasting property that constitutes the overall experience of broadcasting on the minds of audience. Network channels use flow as a strategy to overcome gaps created by commercials and public message; to grab the attention of audience to fill up those gaps and breaks by moving to another program or a segment of a program making viewing experience as effortless endless experience. Gaps are the visible characteristics that define television experience. Williams (1958) believed gaps are not mere gaps but are planned breaks that happens because of interaction between television and audience, he termed it as planned flow. Flow relates to th e appointment based television that involves audience to experience, TV as an endless narrative flow that intensify their continuity. Continuity engages and sustains audience that results in economic exchange, gratifying needs of network channels (advertisers) and audience. Engagement with TV results in cultural capital where as financial front releases economic capital that is necessary for TV to function as culture good andeconomic good. Flow is an essential concept for the growth and survival of TV as culture in a social structure. John Ellis, John Fiske, Jane Feuer, Richard Dinest, John corner and many others have challenged the operations that Williams described in the process of contributing to the formation of discursive field of flow (Urichho, 2004). Corner (2003) argues flow is a pessimistic discourse of TV culture that disregards television characteristics as a diverse medium. Ellis (1982) discusses the scheduling of different genres of programs that are organized in a TV network should be focus of study. His argument focuses on schedule (time) other than programs (flow) as determined by Williams and emphasizes how a different genre of programs gets fit into scheduling of television by organization of time is more relevant than movement from program to program. His way of determining flow underlines the concept of audience that engage themselves in different ways, provided what has been offered to them. This signifies not only how time handles text but how time passage in the text has imbrications on the life who viewed a particular content. Thus, time is an important factor in the study of TV flow. Flow to be understood in present TV culture, it needs to be studied in relation to current advancement in technologies and new digital systems that has converged different mediums at a single platforms. With introduction of converging technologies, so called mass communication mediums , including TV does not always flow ( Kompare : 2002). TV has come long way from traditional form of viewing TV text that was time based and continuous. New media offers content as flexible package than continuous narrative wiping away factors such as when, where and how that has charted changes in the identity of television as culture. Urichho (2004) sketches flow, a fundamental shift in the interface between television and viewer and so in the viewing experience. He describes flow as an interface and explains how the introduction of metadata system and filter technologies has resulted into a new kind of interaction that suggests TV has entered to a new phase. New devices have provided tools to capture television text and produce ways of asynchronous viewing that has altered the interaction of medium with the culture in many ways (Lotz: 2007:35). New mechanism to view varied TV text has charted changes in the concept of flow making it flexible and malleable. The current phase shows us deepening convergence of technologies at single platform and TVs shift from broadcasting to other modes of carriage like VOD, cable, satellite has given an opportunity to distribute content to wider platforms that reaches beyond the audience of broadcast TV. Recent BARB figures of 2009 indicated that most of the people in UK, recorded the first episode of fifth series of Lost (Guardian, 2009). The distribution of TV text to various alternative carriers has affected TV, its identity and TV as a cultural form. TV as culture is transformed by recurring changes in its components such as TV text, changing preferences of audience, advancement in technologies and network channels stance to produce relevant content in accordance with socio-cultural frameworks. For instance, a popular broadcasting network like BBC or CBS when started uploading programs on their websites, audience discussion rise from dinning room to virtual communities, effecting culture in a different way. As discussed, Television is still evolving; its identity is unstable (not fixed). Its difficult to define what television is and what it will be in near future and what changes it will pose to the culture. Urichho (2004) discusses the difficulties approaching TV as he cites Heath (1998; Urichho : 2004,165) who states increasing inadequacy of existing terms and standards of analysis bounds TV with a specific bound of representation, a certain coherence of object and understanding TV in a complex social-political-individual meaning. TV as flow has been transformed by everyday technologies, economy and by network channels posing specific bearing on culture. To conclude, flow is an essential concept for the growth of television as a culture in a society. Although, many scholars has interpreted flow in different ways, but the concept of flow remains vital to the critical understanding of the medium. . 1.3.2 The changing television The convergence of broadcast model and broadband has defeated traditional appointment based television and has produced a new avatar of the medium. The series of transformation in the medium has changed television over the time, changes in terms of distribution of TV content across different media platforms due to technological convergence and changes in TV content to gratify entertainment needs of varied niche social sets of audience. The broadcasting model in no terms can be stated as single technological medium, thereby affecting social and cultural practices that have grown around the medium over the time (Askwith: 2003). Mc Luhans( 1978) living room experience refers to the culmination of social experiences among family members (audience) lasting an evening. When TV became a product of convergence culture, TV audience discovered new ways to engage with TV content via internet, mobile phones and I phones. Personal computers when added to techno mix convergence; TV audience got a platform to expand their social experiences across variety of channels and engaged themselves with TV content as never before. Loyal viewers used these platforms to contemplate about and discuss varied things about TV content such as characters, plots, locations etc resulting in a never ending collective intelligence (Jenkins: 2000) that engage users in different ways across different social platforms. The distribution of TV text to different channels (mediums) and platforms has designed content as malleable packages in accordance to varied media outlets. Jenkins (2000: 95) describes such a phenomenon as transmedia storytelling, as he explains TV content in the present era is more of a story telling experience involving viewers in different ways. He discusses about popular media franchises such as the matrix, Harry potter, Star Wars and states that such media content are entertainment for convergence age that integrates multiple texts to form a single narrative where each text lays its own individuality and originality. In other words, a transmedia content when unfolds to different media outlet, each text (medium) should be able to contribute solely to respective media franchise, for instance in Matrix a film offers a more immediate rapport with audience where as matrix game would involve players in much different way as experienced in film. Thus it reveals that each medium has got different characteristics and engage audience in different ways. Distribution of TV text across different channels gives rise to new experiences and new ways of engagement with the medium. Not only changes in modes of distribution have contributed much to the changed broadcast model of TV, but also its content has transformed over the years. Mapplebleck (1998) describes a general shift from general formats of TV shows such as current affairs, daily show to a more factually based light entertainment programs. This shift was a direct result of changes in culture -media and popular culture, and the space shared by media and social publics. Although, network channels produce TV text in accordance with the entertainment needs of the audience, but experiments on new ideas and concepts play a vital role in gratifying entertainment needs of existent audience and grabbing new audience. The biggest implication of convergence has been the distribution of national identity content to global media markets thereby removing the boundaries of exclusivity and availing content on multiple channels has resulted in cross-cultural interaction ( Jenkins : 2000). Indian Idol much on the lines of American Idol (reality show on Sony TV India) has become a hybrid format in many countries, with a tint of socio-cultural frameworks practiced at each place. Such experiments with the broadcast model have lifted audience from the monotonous everyday routine soap operas to range of interesting formats that are completely new to them. This phenomena has been described as a shift towards first person media (Dovey: 2000) and a post documentary culture (Corner: 2000). With changes in content, there have been major changes in the production techniques to engage audience at different levels of pre production, production and post production. New production practices with TV literate fans have fo stered changes in the way fiction series construct story world (Scones: 2008:67). Sometime various textual strategies are employed for a direct interaction between producers and audience to build rapport with audience. Network channels apply strategies like distribution of content to various platforms, content management and changes in production techniques to engage audience in different ways at different levels, for instance, CBS has become the most viewable network by telecasting some formulaic crime and drama series like survivors and early days of CSI (Lotz: 2007:215). Jenkins (2000:25) adds Survivor is a TV for internet age-designed to be discussed dissected, debated, predicted and critiqued. Survivors (reality show on CBS) brings a new lively format where contestants competes in side the show and show lovers (audience/fandom) competes outside as spoilers to leak the information inside out. The transformation in TV content has affected audience activities and engagement with the medium in numerous ways, moving to a lean forward approach other than sit back approach as practiced by passive audience (Urichho: 2004). Fiske (1987:73) confronts the concept of TV audience as passive consumers and states; television audience might be incapable of influencing the content of TV programs, but the involvement with medium requires significant forms of audience engagement, such as individual viewer interpret TV text in accordance with socio-cultural frameworks to construct meanings to the text, social viewers (set of social group ex family, friends) that discuss TV text with friends and peers to find shared meanings and insights of cultural significance. Corner (1999) explains the pleasure of para-sociability, the enjoyment and excitement we derive from discussing TV content, Jenkins (2000) terms those discussion as water cooler conversation, a natural desire to discuss, express and exchange ideas. However, varied content appears on living room screen and all must not be relevant to an individual or a set of social group. Content must do more than to appear on TV to distinguish itself for better cultural relevance. ( Lotz, 2007:35). She suggests phenomenal TV that lays on the foundation of selected themes and topics that appears on multiple or varied outlet. Programs that achieve special conversation and break the cluttered media are relevant; they gain attention by word of mouth and resonates culture in many ways. As discussed in this section TV has come long way from traditional broadcast model and activities such as distribution, malleable content and changes in production techniques has changed the medium and has produced a new avatar. Transmedia storytelling has distributed content at different platforms with varying technology (specific medium with specific technology ex matrix film {different technology} book {different technology}) and national identity content to be transformed and adjusted in accordance with socio-cultural framework (American Idol in US Indian Idol in India). 1.3.3 TV in the post network era L.A. Times cites post network era as age of fast food TV.(Times, 2005).As Amanda describes, Television as a medium to be organized around networks(Amanda D lotz,2007:5)Lynn spigel cites a more comprehensive phase of TV in the post network era, ( Spigel, Lynn and Olsson,2004:2) indeed, if TV refers to the technologies, industrial information, government policies and practices of looking that were associated with the medium in its classical public service and three network age, it appears we are now entering the phase that comes after TV. Lynn Spigel notes TV to be reinventing in numerous ways, new platforms, channels; multiplicity of visual text at alternative medium has given many ways to think, what TV will be? The way we are experiencing TV needs to be addressed and how we will perceive TV in future needs to be defined. The social aspects clubs with the cultural, economic and institutional aspect to define the broadcast model which vary from place to place. TV cultivates sociability in many ways, Lull (J.Lull:1990) described TV as a vital force in constructing and maintaining interpersonal relationship between family and social units interacting normatively. Antonio(2008) adds audience decodes message on the basis of their identity and background, he adds Media are hegemonic institutions that work to secure social consensus by incorporating dissent and conflict(Antonio Gramsci,2008) Lull and Antonios argument can be seen with reference to the potential social and cultural environment within the medium context, that facilitate sociability among the viewers in the post network era. Technological innovations and society as a whole have been affecting the ways and means viewers experience TV and entertainment in general. As Amanda D lotz cites websters (Amanda D lotz,2007:15) who argues programming multiplicity resulting in audience fragmentation and polarization as new media make content available at different mediums. Cable networks creat es audience loyalty by associating themselves with a kind of genre combining with old genres to niche demographics of TV(Turner, 2001:4-6). Necessary modification and adjustment in digital transition technologies has shifted TV in to a new horizon. Henry Jenkins (Henry Jenkins: 2000, Amanda D lotz :2007:7) calls it a post network era where convergence is intersecting the broadcast model and revolutionizing the society. But I argue TV is certainly not loosing its grab, but the ways and means which are employed by the viewer as in how and where to view has convoluted, how we think and understand TV. I would rather call it a hybrid medium, whose offerings are becoming unique and platforms to showcase those offerings are versatile. Though many contemporary TV scholars tried to figure out TV in the post network era, many relates it to a cultural experience others technology. William Urichhio, maps broad changes in TV technology from old TV console to smart TVsystem. (Urichhio,2008:163) . Michael Curtin relates TV on more cultural grounds and argues that TV needs to be studied cross culturally to understand how TV has evolved in different cultural, economical, and industrial and regulatory conditions.( Michael Curtin,2008:272-275). The entire culture to view TV has been transformed. During the network era (before post network), sources were scarce and no alternative ways were available to receive TV content other than the network channels. With the emergence of the post network era, the restricted access reduced and more options got available to choose from. Technical innovations ranging from recording programs on DVD to downloading videos has brought up a change, with new ways of distribution. Networks delivered content irrespective of what, when and where at a minimal cost resulted a revolutionized way to view content. Lynn Spigel notes changes in programming and sponsorship are met with similar changes in the entire culture of watching TV.(lynn Spigel,2008:5).Jenkins transmedia storytelling, explains TV content is so designed that appear on various media outlet subjects for a flexible consumption (Henry Jenkins,2000:25). Convergence among TV, phones , social platforms offered at internet, presents a limitles s expansion of television presence by enabling reception of TV content almost anywhere. (Amanda D lotz,2007:50). Social platforms such as daily motion and you tube has redefined the role of networks by harnessing online video content. You Tube, when launched streamed about 35 millions video a day and drew the double size of audience (Los angles times.com:2006). As Amnda T Lotz cites Adam Berry, VP of bright cove, who explains online videos as treasures, its not only meant to watch your favorite shows, but to watch whole bunch of stuff which you havent seen. (Amanda D lotz,2007:137). Convergence culture(2000) proposed by Henry Jenkins offers distribution of national identity content for global distribution limiting the boundaries of exclusivity resulting in availability of visual text on multiple platforms and resultant trans media culture. TV in the post network era has offered flexibility in what, when and where to view and has opened up a vast arena to the audience, to practice TV viewing in different ways. TV text fuels a dominant way of thinking among its viewers; it communicates social beliefs and value of the society. I argue TV reincarnates with every technology, with every effort of Network/TV channel content to present diverse text across globe; making it available at different medium and viewers to make sense of visual text within the context of social, economic and cultural condition. The three elements which I described above; technology, Producers and viewers, moves in a cycle and has set the conditions for POST NETWORK era. 1.3.4Network/TV channel content on social network Social element might not be new to TV as J. Lull says, TV cultivates sociability in many ways (J.Lull:1990). But the concept of watching network/TV channel content online on social platforms has added a new social paradigm to television studies. Experiencing TV text with other functional tools embedded in social software like voice chat, peer ratings and integration with social media (networking sites) has engaged viewers in a unique innovative way. In past, many ethnographic researches have shown that people enjoy watching television as a part of socializing in groups. According to an ethnographic research conducted by Lora Oehlberg, Nicolas Ducheneaut, James D. Thornton, Robert J. Moore, Eric Nickell (2006), TV can foster multiple forms of sociability. To analyze the patterns of interaction of TV text, they categorized TV sociability as : direct (e.g. when chatting with friends and family while watching network channel content) or indirect (e.g. when discussing previously viewed programs). Mc luhans (1874) global village conveys the sense of synchronicity created by the electronic medium(TV radio) and the living room,he depicts an event where Television is ON, so as the sharing and continuous participation of members of living room, who discuss, debate and experience TV text in many ways. Mc Luhans(1874) global village highlights two factors that has formed the basis for communication in the current age: sociability in groups and simultaneity between the group and the medium. The idea of sociability and simultaneity in the internet age is same, what has changed is the positioning of participants and members, which has introduced complexities in the current communication process. Castells(2000) visionary idea of culture of real virtuality, explains this phenomenon better in which he explains we are not living in a global village, but in customized cottages globally produced and locally distributed. (Castells 2000: 370). Kitchen(1998) cites that one of the major outcome of internet is the interactivity of online relations based on reception of TV text. (Kitchen,1998:15). Henry Jenkins(2006) explains in convergence culture television provides fodder for so called water cooler conversations and online forums offer an opportunity for participants to share knowledge and expression (as original;Henry Jenkins, 2006:21). TV content leverage and integrate the wisdom of social networking, the combination of duo has resulted into a new type of interactive, participative and user-directed environment. Jenkins cites young people, forming communities using popular (social) media to expand their collective wisdom and from many types of publics (groups) to interact in an innovative unpredictable ways. For instance, in his very first chapter he takes us to the secret world of spoiling survivors, where he outlines the impact of reception of TV show survivors. He analyzes survivors fandom interaction with spoilers of the show calling it collective intelligence in practice.(Henry Jenkins, 2006:28).As he cites Pierre Levy who argues that one person might not know everything, everyone knows something that can bring some relevance to the discussion and leads to participation. (Henry Jenkins, 2006:26). In another case study, Jenkins(2006) discuss American Idol (a reality TV show made for audience participation). He cites participation in such communities not only leads to brand affiliation but empowers a control to assert their demands, which influences the show to move forward.( Henry jenkins:2006:80). American Idol popularity shows us the diversified context adopted by the network/TV channel producers to shape the programming and distribution to suit the consumption patterns of consumers. This reminds me of Derek Compare(2002) who says media content comes as malleable packages other than a seamless continuous narratives. The kind of changes introduced in programming gives a platform for interactivi ty and participation. Analyzing interactivity and participation jenkins writes, Interactivity refers to the ways that new technologies have been designed to be more responsive to consumer feedbackParticipation, on the other hand, is shaped by the cultural and social protocols (Henry Jenkins, 2006:137). So, the creators (content producers) decide interactivity, and users (content consumers) may interact with what is given where as participation allows users to become creators and consumers of the content. In this way both network operators and non network players create and capture value while dramatically changing how consumers interact about TV text on social platforms. With the rise of social platforms and new technological innovation, TV is changing. How we are experiencing TV is also transforming with introduction of online virtual communities (social publics) accessed by personal devices like mobile phone, I phones etc. Social publics form communities that extend beyond friends and peers, neighborhood, cities, countries, and across the continents. As Natalie Klym and Marie Jose Montpetit(2008:2) cites Robet putman(2000), who explains the phenomenon of social as a function of consuming and engaging in amusing activities in public spaces experiencing TV as Mc Luhans(1874) living room experience. Personalization of media device leads to granulation of media space where publics practice Mc Luhans(1874) living room experience on castells(2000) social morphology of networks. Putmans(2000) idea of social engagement contributes well to the TV experience on social networks and explains how individualization of technology enables contacts on social media. Emerging social platforms like joost , Hulu and many other embeds functional features like blogs, discussion forum , chat session and program rating to make online videos more meaningful and interactive. Facebook, orkut and Myspace has recently added video applications to adjust and adapt with more user generated environment. As Natalie Klym and Marie Jose Montpetit(2008:7) adds social network becomes a virtual operator performing a customized and personalized programming habits based on what a user or a community may like. For example, you tube automatically share an individual ratings, favorites, and more on Face book, Twitter, and Google Reader with YouTube Autoshare. (You tube). You Tube, a user generated social platform has grown accustomed to watch video on personal devices. Personal devices are paired and networked and results in a global virtual community, where every individual is interacting with every other. In this sense, personal devices (PC, laptop, I phone) etc and its personalization can be viewed as the foundation of new way to access TV content. Though still at early stage, but this new frontier of TV is evolving at a very faster pace and needs to be researched more. 1.3.5 Technology and social framework Technology has transformed the way, TV is today. Not only the structure, but TV as a medium, culture, industry has lot been changed since its inception. Though, TV has a long standing history with reference to technology; but my area of study concentrates on contemporary social technological innovations and models appropriate for understanding Tv text in relation to social media. Technology in simple terms: is by the people and for the people. As, Liela Green (2002:3) suggests that society is responsible for the development and deployment of particular technologies. Social determinism counters the notion of technology determinism and states society develops technology for the benefit and progress of human kind. I agree to Liela greens view and present an account Mc luhans technological determinism theory to mark the flaws that disturbs the ways in which society and technology interact. The appeal and problems can be viewed in light of a technological determinism theory by Mcluhan(Mc,luhans,1964) where he attempted to explore how culture is affected through various types of media? McLuhan believed that advances in technology of a medium will lead to change in a culture (Mc luhan,1964). From this, McLuhan states that a culture is affected by a kind of medium are being employed, that can be TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. Each medium defines, it own kind of standards like, in order to get information one can turn on TV, which is the most dominant form and can easily be absorbed by ear and eyes where as obtaining news over the Internet on the other hand can make the process complicated for those who are not computer literate. And in that case, if a person cannot translate experiences into the conscious then those experiences will be repressed and the message will be lost. Such was the case with, Alltop, which launched its Personalized Feed Reader. Alltop is an online magazine rack that

Considerations for Funny Thing Happened

1. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is a musical written by Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove, and Larry Gelbart. The three collaborated on the work, which had a Broadway debut on May 8, 1962. It ran for a total of 964 performances and closed on August 29, 1964. 2. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum is the title of this work. This leads us to believe the play will be a comedy and that many â€Å"funny things† will occur. As one will soon notice, the play parodies many aspects of Plautus’ work Pseudolus. 3. The cast list is enclosed with the play. . The play takes two hundred years before the Christian era, on a day in spring. The action occurs on a street in Rome, in front of the houses of Erronius, Senex, and Lycus and is continuous, with only one intermission. The theatregoer knows that the work will be a comedy; also, provided one has knowledge with Plautus’ play, he may have a general idea as of the plot of this parody. 5. The major c onflict is Pseudolus vs. Miles Gloriosus. Pseudolus, trying to gain his freedom from Hero, tries to thwart Miles’ purchase of Hero’s love interest, Philia.The inciting incident is when Hero informs Pseudolus that he can be free if he arranges them together. Without this happening, the rest of the events of the play would never have happened. Some complications arise when our protagonists learn of Philia’s impending sale to Miles. Also, Senex sees the opportunity for an affair with Philia because she thinks he is Miles; he thinks she is a maid. The climactic scene occurs when the watcher discovers that Philia and Miles are the long lost children of Erronius. Thus, Miles voids his purchase arrangement for Philia; Philia can marry Hero and Pseudolus gains his freedom. 6.The overall situation in this work is the fact that Hero wants to marry a beautiful virginal woman. If he did not have this desire, Pseudolous would not have managed to concoct such a great tale, an d win his freedom. The point-of-attack is rather early in the play as the conflict begins right away. 7. a. Pseudolus: He is a Roman slave, owned by Hero who wants to win his freedom by gaining the heart of Philia. Pseudolus is very witty and clever, although this wit just gets him into a deeper and deeper hole each time. b. Hero: He is in love with Philia and does not play an overly major role in the story; he is also Senex’s son. c.Philia: She is a virgin in the house of Marcus Lycus and is the object of Hero’s affection. She is very beautiful, but perhaps dimwitted, as she believes Senex is her owner. Her name means love in Greek. d. Miles Gloriosus- A captain in the Roman army, Miles has purchased Philia from Marcus and returns to Rome to pick her up. He soon is lead on a literal wild goose chase before he realizes she is actually his sister. e. Hysterium: The very name implies someone who is extremely anxious and over emotional. He is the chief slave to Senex and Domina, Hero’s parents. He pretends to be Philia when Pseudolus says she died from the plague. . The major theme is that everything is not always what it seems and that sometimes interventions happen for a reason. No one knew that Miles and Philia were related or that Erronius actually played an integral part to the story. At least when I read it, I cast Erronius aside as the crazy character who really had no role. If it would have not been for Pseudolus’ shenanigans their connection would never have been realized. 9. The mood of this play is definitely comic. The audience should come away from watching this play laughing and in improved spirits. The play ends happily and well, as all conflict has been resolved.

Accounting Analysis On Financial Accounting - 1185 Words

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The Literature Emerging From The African, Latin American,...

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The Movement Of Child And Youth Care Practice Within The Uk

This paper will focus on key factors which hold prevalence to the movement of child and youth care practice within the UK. Reference will be made to Child and Youth Care (CYC) within the context of a Residential Child Care setting (RCCS) which will be defined. Attention will be drawn to the most significant historical events which have influenced the development of Residential child care (RCC) and the overarching identity attached to it. Consider will be given to relationship between RCC and Social Services and the importance of RCC as a single profession. This will include discussion around knowledge base and qualification of the Residential Child Care Worker (RCCW). For the context of this paper any reference to RCC or the RCCS will refer to a children s home based in the UK. Smith et al (2013) describes the RCCS as â€Å"a children’s home, residential school, hospital or secure accommodation†. 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Obsessions and the Downfall It Brings Upon Life Free Essays

string(70) " is very obvious she does not seem to care at all about the marriage\." Obsessions and the Downfall it Brings Upon Life What is the first thing that comes to mind when someone speaks of obsession? For most people it is the obsession with media or someone with no life, or maybe both. Inside almost every single person’s mind is someone or something they are passionate about. Not only are they passionate about it, they are obsessed. We will write a custom essay sample on Obsessions and the Downfall It Brings Upon Life or any similar topic only for you Order Now So much that they are unconscious that their obsession be dangerous to themselves as well as others. In Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Perfume by Patrick Suskind and Obsession by DaMoyre, they all express different stories of obsession, but they all mainly have the same concept. Their obsession is what brings the downfall of themselves, as well as the surrounded environment they are in. For example, in Lolita the downfall is that Humbert does not know that he is being taken advantage of when Lolita asks for his money, same with Obsession, the young girl in the story is too naive to even care or know that she is being taken advantage for her body, not her feelings or personality. Finally in Perfume, it is evident that society would view Grenouille as someone with no life. His life and perfume are all that he cares for and surrounds himself with. For example, if Grenouille smelt a desirable scent on someone, he would do anything to get that scent even if he had to harm that person. This demonstrates that he is so tormented with his obsession that he has no care or sympathy for anyone. The protagonists in Lolita, Perfume and Obsession are unaware that their obsession is not only hurting themselves, but hurting others too. They may interpret the obsession as a sign of love, but society views it differently. What does society view it as? Society has a book of rules, and being overly obsessed is viewed negatively and as a huge problem. Also, since obsession can often be mistaken as love, it is easy for people to fall into that trap and become victims to that problem. In the three literatures, Lolita, Perfume and Obsession, they all surround on the theme of obsession. In Lolita, it is a story of a man Humbert Humbert, who develops a strong interest in young girls or in his words, â€Å"nymphetsâ€Å". He started having a fixation with young girls ever since his love as a young teenager left him. From there his obsession with nymphets continued, until his one love Lolita completely took over his life. At this point, Humbert Humbert was willing to give her all she wanted, whether it was material things or money. In Perfume, a different kind of obsession kicked in. As a young boy, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille did not have a scent; this alone had the biggest impact on his life. As he grew older it was something he desperately longed for, as a lack of scent was found odd and unusual in his society. He was abandoned many times when he was a child, not due to his attitude or his behaviour, but due to his lack of smell. Through this experience, he developed a strong obsession of getting certain scents and perfumes. Eventually he learned the art of perfumery and mastered techniques that no one had done before. However, what was unexpected was the limits he was willing to cross to reach his goal – even limits like murder. Finally, in Obsession, the story is about a girl who is completely in love with her man, again willing to do anything for him. She in ways many may not understand; the words she uses are almost abstract in art. Her obsession is her weakness, even her man knows it and this is what leads to her downfall. He uses her weakness as an advantage and uses it for his own wants and desires, mainly his sexual desires. When something is unnatural, it means it is altered with. For example, when we pose for a photo it is unnatural thus making the picture look a bit odd to how one sees the world. In Lolita, what is so unnatural about the obsession of the protagonist, Humbert, is the huge age gap between Lolita and him. The cause for Humbert’s obsession is one of his earlier lovers Annabel. She died from a disease called Typhus, which made him long for that feeling of love again. He attempts to experience that kind of love again and as he grows older, however his mentality and maturity still remained the same. Unlike most people, Humbert does not move on to the future. Instead he makes himself believe he is staying exactly where he used to be emotionally. But physically, he is a man of old age, which makes his want for nymphets really disturbing to society. Then, when Humbert met Lolita, he felt like he had found true love again and was willing to do anything to be with her. For example, when Lolita’s mother Charlotte Haze threatens Humbert with marriage or the consequence is that he has to leave their house, Humbert ultimately sacrifices his own freedom to be with Lolita. [Mrs. Haze] had left half an hour before, and getting Lo instead, I told her I was going to marry her mother. I had to repeat it twice because something was preventing her from giving me her attention† (Nabokov 72). Humbert tells Lolita that he is going to tie the knot with her mother. He is not only doing this to prevent himself from being kicked out, but because he wanted to be able to see Lolita everyday. Not only are his actions sacrificial, they also cause Humbert to lose his liberty, dignity and most importantly himself. Losing freedom could be compared to being locked in a prison – reason being is that both result in lost of free will or choice. From Lolita’s end, it is very obvious she does not seem to care at all about the marriage. You read "Obsessions and the Downfall It Brings Upon Life" in category "Essay examples" Humbert says, â€Å"I had to repeat it twice because something was preventing her from giving me her attention† (Nabokov 72). Marriage was, is and always will be a special event in everybody’s life. However it seems like Lolita was purposely not paying attention and not caring, which gives a clue that she may not feel the same way as Humbert does about her. Near the end of the novel, Humbert due to his unnatural obsession goes insane when he finds out that Lolita had another lover behind his back. â€Å"On his way to kill Quilty he puts on black clothes, ‘I was wearing a black suit, a black shirt, no tie’, the classic western villain† (Quin 1998). Humbert was willing to murder for the love of his life, which society would regard as disgust. Though his love was strong for her, his actions went too far. Murder is a sin and an illicit action that is strongly condemned. In Perfume, what is so odd about Grenouille’s obsession is that he is fixated with something he longs for. Just like Humbert longed for the feeling of young love, Grenouille longed for the scent he never had. His childhood memories consisted of being passed along and abandoned because he lacked something essential that everyone else in society had. Because of this, he developed a twisted obsession with scents. Also, it encouraged him to strive towards making the ultimate perfume to satisfy and try to fit in society. Just like Humbert, there was nothing anyone could do to stop him – even murder. Although Humbert, Grenouille and Anonymous’ stories have the same concept of â€Å"unnatural obsession†, they all have perspectives of different kinds of obsessions. For Humbert, his story may be disturbing due to the age gap, Grenouille’s is disturbing because he is obsessed with a chemical, and finally Anonymous’ is disturbing because she represents someone with no future and life. Life is a big part of us, and that is why these characters are considered abnormal in society. â€Å"Grenouille never again departed from what he believed was the direction fate had pointed him. It was clear to him why he had clung to life so tenaciously, so savagely. He must become a creator of scents. And not just an average one. But, rather, the greatest perfumer of all time† (Suskind 44). It is evident that Grenouille is committed to his life goal. He wanted to be the God of scents, the creator, and the boss. He did not want anything else in life, which to society may seem odd. For example, since people are so used to seeing what is normal/typical, when they see a person with a disability they often stare at what is out of the norm. The same thing applies for people with and without unnatural obsessions. Society would treat people with obsessions like they are odd, and even outcast them. But what is the definition of normal and does it apply to everyone? The truth is that the definition of normal differs for everyone. Once again, society has a book of rules and the predetermined definition of normal is a person who has all their body parts, no disabilities, and strives for similar goals in life like success in areas of love, school, work, and their social life. However, Grenouille’s actions do not fall in the category of normal, therefore regarding him as unnatural and irregular. If Grenouille is the hero of the novel, his obsessions are also its informing presence† (Ackroyd 1986). Grenouille’s obsession is so strong, that it could be considered as another person, another living thing, but of course that is what makes it so unnatural. In Obsession, the protagonist who might as well be Anonymous is a young girl who is naive and clueless around the nature of love, t herefore she falls in love with the wrong guy. In return, he does nothing but secretly use her for his own sexual desires, showing a very selfish act. She never realizes the truth about his feelings and continues to mourn for him even after he leaves her. â€Å"An obsessive mind, a morbid romantic, struggling between fantasy and reality I dreamed of love† (DaMoyre). The protagonist is aware of her state of tormented mind, but she is unaware of the fact that it is unhealthy for her to keep thinking about him. There are more important things for her to worry about such as work, her social life and school. Her love for her boyfriend is so deep but the problem is that he does not feel the same way. When their relationship does end, the boyfriend moves on but she stays in the same spot, looking for her next prey. Her obsessive mind does not cure, she just longs for more love, passion and inevitably pain. Although her obsession may not be as odd as Humbert’s or Grenouille’s, it is still considered an unnatural obsession to society. â€Å"The term obsession refers to images, ideas, or words that force themselves into the subject’s consciousness against their will, and which momentarily deprive them of the ability to think and sometimes even to act† (Hayat 2005). The word obsessed is something we use in our everyday vocabulary especially in the teenage community. What we do not realize is that the word means much more than intended, just like the word â€Å"gay† is. These words have become trends, but they should be taken more seriously because true obsessions can be a disorder. People who are overly obsessed, especially with unordinary things should not be ignored, as it can be a serious problem. For example, Anonymous is unaware that her obsession is hurting anybody, therefore she continues and lets other take advantage of her. All three literature works are based around an obsession we do not usually encounter or hear about and because of that, the protagonists do not notice that they are harming themselves physically, emotionally, and also the people around them. In today’s world, being isolated is the worst thing because we are educated that isolation causes us to be narrow-minded and not see the other side of the world. In Lolita, Humbert isolates himself from society, especially when he meets young Lolita. He thinks old women are disgusting hags, even if in reality they are beautiful women. He isolates himself from other things in society that he should be doing. For example, most thirty year old men are trying to fulfill their goals in work or family, but Humbert’s only goal and focus is unlike others around his age – a young innocent girl. â€Å"I think I had better describe her right away, to get it over with. The poor lady was in her middle thirties, she has a shiny forehead, plucked eyebrows and quite simple but not attractive features of a type that may be defined as a weak solution of Marlene Dietrich† (Nabokov 37). From what Humbert speaks of, it is fair to draw the conclusion that he is turned off by older woman. The reason being is since his first young love, he has isolated himself from other selections that may suit him better. For example, if a child had a choice of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream, but could only choose vanilla because he believed chocolate and strawberry were poisonous, he is then isolating himself from something he could potentially be enjoying. The same concept goes for Humbert, since isolation is consuming his life, he does not see the enjoyment in life that others in society may. And because of that, he is unaware that he is isolating himself and also Lolita along with him. Lolita is all he ever thinks about which would prevent other thoughts that he could be thinking about, such as â€Å"What do I want to become? † or â€Å"Do I love Lolita, or the childhood memories of Annabel? † However, Humbert does not realize this and goes on being blind to what is happening to him. â€Å"Lolita, on the other hand, is all colour. Humbert thinks of her as ‘a little ghost in natural colours and as ‘the beautiful warm coloured prey’ (Quin 1998). As already stated, it is obvious Humbert spends a little too much time thinking about Lolita, and making her thousands of different meaningful poems about her. In Perfume, it is even more obvious than Humbert that he isolates himself. In Grenouille’s case, he has to work hard to get to his goal. At first when he is learning to incorporate different ingredients and natural scents into his perfume experiments, he discloses himself from anyone and everyone. He concentrates and focuses on the perfumes and nothing else, thus hiding himself from society. â€Å"After a few weeks Grenouille had mastered not only the names of all the odours in Baldini’s laboratory, but he was also able to record the formulas for his perfumes and other scented products. And not merely that! Once he learned to express his fragrant ideas in drops and drams, he no longer needed the intermediate step of experimentation† (Suskind 92). All the skills and methods he learned and mastered in perfumery took him a lot of time, which resulted in isolation once again. He isolates himself in the laboratory to test his experiments, discover new methods to preserve scents, and come up with new aromas to put on himself. To skip an intermediate step in experimentation is probably Grenouille’s biggest achievement, and if one were to predict how long he spent doing so, it would be days after days of isolation from society. Of course, society does not view this as normal behavioural traits. Nonetheless what does the society book of rules say about isolation? For one it states that one needs their own time alone, but only briefly. If isolation happens, there is definitely a problem developing. â€Å"You cannot have both love and life; to demand both is to come to a grisly end† (Prescott 1986). In Grenouille’s case, this is what he thinks but is reality like that? Many successful people out there have both a life and love; it is not a big deal to balance the essentials in your life. For example Hilary Duff is now known as a worldwide singer and actress, she gets along with her family fine and although she just broke up with a long time boyfriend, she is not sad about it she does not isolate herself because she has a job to do – make music for the world to hear. In Obsession, Anonymous isolates herself thinking about her lover, just like Humbert does. All throughout the poem, instead of expressing her feelings of the world around her, she talks constantly about her lover and how she misses him. â€Å"A trap, a cage, prison of death underground† (DaMoyre). She expresses herself trapped in a cage just like being in a prison of death underground. She is being suffocated like a prison underneath his love and she pulls him with her. She is isolated from society, and as a teenager she is supposed to have a future for herself, but apparently does not seem to have one. Again, she is aware of herself being isolated and isolating her lover, but what she is unaware of is that it is unhealthy to both her and her lover. Instead of keeping him by her side, knowing he is not cheating or whatever she is trying to prevent, she is making their relationship go downhill. What is the difference between love and obsession? Love is when you are passionate about something or someone and appreciate them for what they are. Obsession on the other hand is love except it is on an extreme level in which that something or someone is the only though in your mind, the only thing in your life. There is a thin line between love and obsession, and it is very easy to mix the two around and maybe possibly mistaken one for the other. Humbert thinks of Lolita as a lover, and would probably never classify himself of having an obsession with her. Most people are unaware that they are crossing the line just because it is hard for them to distinguish the difference. Humbert has been a person trapped in an obsessed world all his life, even with his first love Annabel. They were young and naive and therefore experimenting with young love, but even when she died he had memories of her. He never threw away those memories until he met Lolita. For most people, although it is painful to have someone you loved pass away, but one would mourn over it, and then move on because there are bigger things out there in this world. However Humbert did not seem to believe this. Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta† (Nabokov 9). Among the first few lines of the book, it feels like Humbert just stepped over the line to obsession because books usually start pleasantly setting the image for the reader. However he displays a selfish impression and talks about his love without being kind to the reader and explain ing what is going on. Oftentimes, people would say, â€Å"I love ice cream† or â€Å"I really love this song†, but do we really mean it? Do we really love that song? Sometimes it so happens we do, but people are misusing the word love. What does love mean by the society’s book of rules? Well for one, it is a word that is mainly used for a person that you have been in a relationship for some time. It only makes sense to use it for someone you truly care about, not something that is just going to be another phase in life. But that is when obsession kicks in, once you truly love someone it is really close to becoming that obsession you never wanted to encounter. The definition of obsession is just a step higher than love; it is not that far away which is why obsession is taking over the protagonists in the three literature works so easily. Humbert refers to Lolita’s â€Å"tender, mysterious, impure, indifferent, twilight eyes† and to the â€Å"smoother, tender bloom† of her (Pifer 1999). It is obvious that as lovers, it is nice when one compliments another to make them feel better and have a day full of enjoyment. But Humber again goes far out on it, and describes her like she’s a fl ower or animal that he uses for pleasure. He describes Lolita as the love of his life, but does he really love her or is it more than that? He does not just love her, he is obsessed and it is evident that not even he can stop himself. But because he is so obsessed, he is treating Lolita in a way that a young girl should not be treated like, he is making her experience things she should not be experiencing until she is a fully grown adult. Of course due to his desire to satisfy his sexual wants, he does not care about anything else, just Lolita and her tender young body. Instead of relationship, Grenouille in Perfume has a strong passion to search for the perfect scent since he was deprived of a human odour. It is true that most people have a strong passion for something. For example Craig Kielburger had a passion for helping others, which is why when he was only at the age of ten saw a newspaper about poor families in Africa, and desperately wanting to help, created a well-known organization â€Å"Free the Children†. When one is passionate about something, they will do whatever it takes to reach their goal. This is what Grenouille is like, but instead of being just passionate about something, he becomes obsessed which is how he brings the downfall upon himself as well as others. As his obsession grew deeper and developed stronger, he brought the downfall of others by murdering them one by one for their odour. When he was born and knew he was different from what the rest of society was like, he stepped over the line to obsession. He spent a majority of his life in the lab just trying to reach his ultimate goal, was creating the perfect scent doable? What does society view the word â€Å"perfect† as? The word perfect is used in our everyday vocabulary, but again it is misused as the word â€Å"love† is misused. â€Å"Nobody is perfect† is the famous phrase you hear, because it is true, we were created as human beings to sin and make mistakes, so knowing this, it is true Grenouille’s goal is unreachable. As he came out onto the street, he was suddenly afraid, for he knew that for the first time in his life he was giving off a human odor† (Suskind 151). He creates a human odour for himself so he can finally fit into society and be a normal person, but is that what he is? Throughout the whole book he seemed so desperate to find that scent that he was obsessed and over driven about it, that in the end trying to be normal is not normal. â€Å"It was the fresh odor of the approaching day, of the first daybreak that he had ever known in freedom. That odor had been the pledge of freedom. It had been the pledge of a different life. The odor of that morning was for Grenouille the door of hope. He guarded it carefully. And he drank it daily† (Suskind 129). Grenouille now was so in love, so obsessed with odours and scents that he guarded it like it was money. In every society, money seems to be the base of everything, it meant power and high status, however, Grenouille does not care. In his world it seems that perfume is everything, scent is everything and having an odour is everything. He is so unaware that he does whatever it takes to fit in society, even committing the act of murder. Does Grenouille just love his job as a perfumer or is he infatuated to believe that he had to prove to everyone that he is just like everyone else? As Perfume continues, a story of a murderer, he becomes insanely obsessed, crazy and mad to murder every woman who had the scent he was looking for that instead of working hard to be successful, he murders to come to his success. Throughout the whole story of the poem Obsession, the protagonist thinks she is in love with her lover and that she cannot live without him because she loves him so much. What she may not realize is that she has crossed the border of love and into her obsession. Her unawareness makes he think that it is a norm for over love for another in a relationship. The truth is love is a complex thing, but not as complex as she depicts it as. â€Å"And thought, ‘His face shall be my last vision when I die’† (DaMoyre). She pictures her future but not about how happy she will be and how successful she will be, but that the image of her lover’s face will be her last vision. If anything is obsessive, this statement she makes wins it all. Anonymous is young and she is inexperienced, because of that she has no idea what she is doing, and all the things she does not notice herself doing. However the things she does not notice such as her unawareness of obsession seems all a little unrealistic although it does happen. A love relationship is something that should not be complex especially at a young age, because it takes away from the important things such as family, friends and school. In the poem, it does not mention anything about her family, friends or education; her world only consists of herself and her lover. As the definition of obsession was stated before, her life fits exactly into the definition. She is not exposed to society but since her lover does not even love her, he might tell his friends about the story, and his friends posing as society would look at her an insane and mad human being since she is again viewed as someone who is not normal. Instead of making her boyfriend love her, she makes him dislike her more and more which will hurt herself in return because she suffocates him emotionally so much. Unawareness is not only causing one’s emotional distress over the differences between love and obsession, it causes them to not even realize the condition they are in such as isolation and a strong unnatural love. Humbert’s unnatural love in Lolita is finding girls too young for him, he works hard detaching himself from society thinking about Lolita and not conscious that he is possessed by thoughts about her. A similar thing happens to Grenouille in Perfume, he detaches once again himself from society for society, in other words his aim to reach the goal of the perfect scent is to satisfy society’s outlook on him and to fit in it as well. He becomes obsessed unknowingly, but because his obsession is so twisted and odd, society views him as someone who is different. Finally in Obsession, Anonymous is unaware that her love for her lover is pushing him farther instead of closer. In all these literature works, one thing they have in common is that their obsession hurts others as well as themselves physically and emotionally and they are unconscious of it happening. Because of that, the characters suffer thinking that they are satisfying others but in reality, they are just hurting them which is opposite of what they wanted to do in the first place. Thus being unaware of the problem is worse than being conscious of it. In terms of obsession vs. ove, there isn’t a major difference in the three characters because they all cannot distinguish between the two. However there is some kind of difference to when readers discover their unawareness. For example, Humbert only had obsession in his life since his first love in his life, and for Grenouille, it started when he realized people were abandoning him due to his lack of smell. Finally, for Anonymo us, it all starts when her boyfriend leads her on and she falls for the trap of his invisible love. Obsession does not only exist in storybooks, but they also exist in the real world. It’s happened to young kids, teenagers and adults. Let’s face it, it has happened to the vast majority of everyone. First, learning that your inspiration is a person or object, and then loving them so much, one would do anything to fulfill their desire associated with them. Finally, obsession rises and nothing can stop their love for that person or object. For example, a Chinese actor named Andy Lau had an obsessive fan. It seems nothing out of the ordinary but this particular obsessive fan had a father as a reporter and demanded to get a signature and photo from her favourite actor. However, when the father failed to do so, not only was he disappointed, but he was so disappointed and did not want to disappoint her daughter he committed suicide. The moral of the story: the media brain washes us into thinking that being the rich and the famous is the only goal in life thus why obsession exists today. Humbert, Grenouille and Anonymous are just like the daughter and father have an unawareness of their obsession with something or someone leads them to their downfall. The story also proves that an obsession of one person does not just affect themselves, it affects the people they care for and the people that they influence everyday. Works Cited Ackroyd, Peter. â€Å"Patrick Suskind. † Contemporary Literary Criticism. 1986. Adams, Robert M. â€Å"Patrick Suskind. † Contemporary Literary Criticism. 1986. Barber, Charles. â€Å"The brain: a mindless obsession. † The Wilson Quarterly 32. 1 (Wntr 2008): 32(13). General OneFile. Gale. Markham Public Libraries (CELPLO). 26 May 2008 . Hayat, Marc. â€Å"Psychoanalysis: Obsession. † Large Print Press 24 May 2008 . Pifer, Ellen. His monster, his nymphet: Nabokov and Mary Shelley. New York: Cambridge University Press , 1999. Prescott, Peter S. â€Å"Patrick Suskind. † Contemporary Literary Criticism. 1986. Simon, Schama. â€Å"Patrick Suskind. † Contemporary Literary Criticism. 1986. Quin, John D.. Nabokov’s World. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Updike, John. â€Å"Patrick Suskind. † Contemporary Literary Criticism. 1986. Annotated Bibliography Ackroyd, Peter. â€Å"Patrick Suskind. â€Å"Contemporary Literary Criticism. 1986. This author writes his opinion on Patrick Suskind’s novel, Perfume. It is written in an encyclopedia format where they critique an author’s works. In this critique he describes the setting and idea of Perfume that it’s a story about odour and the whole surprising fact that Jean-Baptiste Grenouille does not have a scent at all. I took a quote from this author’s critique and it helped proved my point which was that Grenouille’s obsession is so strong that it has a separate presence. It is relevant to my essay because my thesis is to prove that they are unaware of the character’s obsessions. Hayat, Marc. â€Å"Psychoanalysis: Obsession. † Large Print Press 24 May 2008 . The author is writing what the definition of obsession is in an online journal and article. Many people are not aware of what obsession is because everyone may have a different definition. However, society will always portray one definition of obsession so I took a quote that defined the way society viewed obsession. It is relevant to my essay because one of my arguments is obsession vs. love. Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher. Nabokov’s World. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt wrote a very long and intriguing critique on Perfume, however I found no use for it. It talked a lot about how we feel sympathy for Grenouille’s character because he was born destined to have no scent and to ultimately be a killer. It didn’t really help me because it didn’t support my thesis nor any of my arguments. Pifer, Ellen. His monster, his nymphet: Nabokov and Mary Shelley. New York: Cambridge University Press , 1999. This author compares the monster in Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein to Vladimir Nabokov’s novel Lolita. In the comparison, she describes Humbert indirectly as a person who may be questionable about his love for Lolita. He almost describes her like an object or animal in the quote I found. It is relevant to my essay because it fits right in to my argument of obsession vs. love and whether or not he knows the line between it. Quin, John D.. Nabokov’s World. New York: Penguin Books, 1998. This author talked a lot about Humbert’s obsession with nymphets. He talked about Humbert’s feelings when he went and decided to kill Lolita’s other lover. I took a quote from it which described how far Humbert was willing to go for love. This source is relevant to my essay because it shows the unnatural obsession of Humbert which is again one of my arguments. How to cite Obsessions and the Downfall It Brings Upon Life, Essay examples

Black Death (509 words) Essay Example For Students

Black Death (509 words) Essay Black Death?The Black Death serves as a major turning point in the history of European civilization.?The arrival of both the bubonic and pneumonic plagues threw Europe as a whole into an economic, social, and political tailspin. Europe was already on its collective way down economically due to declining areas of cultivation and the effects of prolonged warfare when, in 1347, the Black Death set upon the Europeans. For the next 100 years, Europeans would have to adapt to an extremely different and difficult lifestyle. The Plague cut through Europe like a giant scythe. Toulouse and the rural areas surrounding Pistoia lost close to two-thirds of their respective populations. Citizens began to seek isolation from each other, trying desperately to avoid infection. Cities were abandoned by their populations who were fleeing to the countryside. Farmers and other rural inhabitants were forced to move because of the vast numbers of people moving away from their cities and towns. With many dead and others not coming to work, crops were not harvested and factories and plants were slowed. Thus prices for everyday items skyrocketed. The Black Death severely accelerated and intensified Europes depression. The Plague also contributed to many of the citizen uprisings. Common people began to see that the rich and those in power were not exempt from the rules of the Black Death. The Plague could and did attack the papacy. When the common citizens realized the high class and the rulers were dying and suffering just as they were, commoners started insurrections. Lay people all over Europe saw that the rich were not much different from them as they were told to believe. The church was also attacked due to the Black Death. In Rome, the pope decided to move to Avignon because of the turmoil in Central Italy. Many different factions and subcultures developed. Radical religious leaders urged people to go their own way or seek isolation because man is good in nature whereas the church had always preached man is born into sin. Eckhart, Wyclif, and Hus all preached and taught beliefs that were not church sanctioned. Politically Europe was in shambles. Countries fought each other while their citizen s fought themselves. France and England were engaged in the Hundred Years War that was a series of battles that went on from 1337-1453. Germany was in a state of anarchy from 1350 to 1450. The many independent princes of Germany continually fought against each other. England was hit hard at home as well. Of the nine kings that came to power between 1307 and 1485, five died at the hands of conspirators or due to revolts. Also, Englands incompetent government helped fan the flames of the War or the Roses between House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Black Plague played a pivotal rule in shaping Europe into its present day state. The Black Death was a setback but it also served as a reminder and experience needed to show human drive and will to live by our own means. European History