The Comparison Of Forest Of Ar :: essays research papers

The Comparison of Forest of Arden versus Forest of Eden   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is the innate desire of man to seek a place of freedom, .an utopia, which allows him to escape into fantasies and away from the hardships of reality. In the play 'As you like it'; by William Shakespeare, the playwright indirectly compares the Forest of Arden to the Forest of Eden by exploring the theme of illusions, the idea of the forest as a place of refuge and Arden's mystical powers. The two forests are not only related by the fact that they sound similar but the many imageries and ideas that were mentioned in the play are somewhat related to the story of Genesis. In Duke Senior's first speech, he refers to 'the penalty of Adam'; , reminding the reader of the Fall of Man and the Garden of Eden. Therefore from the start, Arden is associated with a world of innocence and simplicity, in which man did not need to work. In the forest of Eden, the life of man is not controlled by time and ultimately, death. Whereas there are also suggestions of timelessness in the forest of Arden, as when Orlando points out that there is 'no clock in the forest'; . According to geographic sources, the Forest of Arden is in the Ardennes, France. In the play, Duke Senior and his followers live in the forest itself, while the shepherds live in the more open country on the edge of the forest. However, some elements in the play can be found in neither France nor England. For example: the deer, the oak trees, palm-trees; and also exotic animals such as a green-and-golden and a lioness roam the forest. Clearly then, the landscape belongs to the realm of fantasy. Although Arden seems as to be an idealistic world and resembles no known place, it is not merely an escape from real life. It is true that people flee to Arden from the cruelty of the world. The play opens outside Arden, in a world where cruelty, tyranny, and injustice reign; Arden provides a refuge from these evils. However, it is not an easy salvation. It is not even easy to get there: Rosalind, Celia, and Touchstone, and then Orlando and Adam, and finally Oliver, all arrive in Arden in a state of physical exhaustion. This relates to the fact that it is just as hard for us to enter the kingdom of God.

Critically evaluate Samuel Huntington’s claims in “The Clash of Civilizations?” Essay

The abrupt end of the Cold War meant that the bipolar model of thinking which had dominated the sphere of World Politics for decades became obsolete. This new phase led to a renewal in thinking in the study of International Relations dubbed â€Å"the hundred schools of thought† which led to a wide spectrum of visions about the uncertain future of world affairs. One of the more prominent visions was the late Professor Samuel Huntington’s â€Å"Clash of Civilizations? † published in a 1993 Foreign Affairs article, where he predicted a growing pattern of conflict based on differences in cultural, religious and historical identity of entities he labelled civilizations instead of the ideological differences of the Cold War Era. Huntington’s thesis was a Realist response to Fukuyama’s 1992 book, The End of History and the Last Man. Fukuyama argued that the post-1991 world was left with no viable ideological alternative to liberal democracy and the free market economy predicting a new era of global consensus on democracy, justice, human rights and cooperation. ‘The nation will continue to be a central pole of identification, even if more and more nations come to share common economic and political forms of organization. ‘i Huntington’s premise was that ‘The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain as the most powerful actors in world affairs but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. ‘ii The controversial nature of Huntington’s thesis ensured the stern critique by some of his fellow academics for reasons including oversimplification, neglecting contradicting factors and inaccurate predictions. The tragedy of 9/11 and the events that followed revived the confidence in his thesis by his supporters who saw this as the conformation of Huntington’s predictions notably the inconsolable clash between Islam and the West. Huntington begins by describing the historical evolution of the nature of conflicts in the Western World; from the competition between monarchs and emperors for territorial and mercantile expansion leading to the emergence of nation states beginning with the French Revolution, to the rise of ideological conflict after the Bolshevik Revolutioniii. His Eurocentric bias is clear early as he quotes and perpetuates an idea put forward before by William Lind that these were primarily ‘Western Civil Wars’. Labelling World War II, the deadliest military conflict in history which involved the majority of the world’s nations, as such greatly diminishes the involvement and sacrifices made by people across the world. Notably the Soviet Union which was mainly composed of nations Huntington would regard as part of a Slavic-Orthodox civilization sustained the highest amount of casualties totalling at around twenty-seven millioniv. Later in the paragraph, Huntington writes ‘peoples and governments of non-Western civilizations no longer remain the objects of history as targets of Western colonialism but join the West as movers of history’ as if to suggest that events occurring in non-western parts of the world somehow do not constitute as history if they don’t involve or have a felt effect upon Western society. Although the leadership of the West in fields such as science, technology and engineering for the larger part in recent centuries is indisputable; Jewish philosophy, Hindu mathematics, Muslim astronomy and engineering contributed significantly to the foundations of what we know today and this shouldn’t be undermined. The sharing and borrowing of ideas between the different corners of the world through the millennia’s that’s still going on today suggests a long-term cooperation instead of a clash of civilizations in our common pursuit of knowledge. According to Huntington a civilization is ‘ the highest cultural grouping of people and the broadest level of cultural identity’v. He divides the world’s population into seven civilizations as well as hinting at the possibility of a Caribbean and an African civilization; Africa being indeed a continent known for its vast diversity of cultures and traditionsvi. He defines a civilization by what he calls objective elements such as language, history and primarily religion as well as by the subjective self-identification of people. Huntington argues the onset of globalization has led to increased levels of interaction between peoples of different civilizations, which in turn intensifies civilization consciousness and brings to the forefront their cultural differences which unlike ideological and political differences are fundamental and much less mutable and hence less easily compromised. It’s clear that people instinctively identify themselves closely to others who share common traditions, customs and history; I hold the belief however that Huntington downplays the penetration of globalization and focuses on one aspect of its possible consequences. It’s not the differences that drive cultural conflict between peoples; it’s the lack of understanding which in turn creates prejudices and fears. The increased interactions between peoples have led to a wider acceptance of and fascination with other cultures, helping us understand why foreign societies live the way they do. Huntington argues: ‘†¦Russians cannot become Estonians and Azeri’s cannot become Armenian’vii. An Estonian living in Russia will absorb aspects of Russian culture depending on one’s willingness, length of stay and the extent to which one feels alienated or accepted by Russian society. Thus the objective elements invoked are not convincingly definitive in determining one’s identity; an Englishman may choose to convert to Islam while a Chinese citizen in Shanghai may choose to learn French as a pastime. Globalization in itself has penetrated the long-standing limitations in global trade of the past; politicians ever increasingly have to consider the global implications of domestic policy. More than ever national states around the world are dependent upon each other; the United States Demands Chinese goods while China needs the US to buy its goods. Huntington ascribes ideas such as constitutionalism, human rights, the rule of law, free markets and democracy as Western; unable to gain a foothold in other civilizations. He writes: ‘Modern democratic government originated in the West. When it has developed in non-western societies it has usually been the product of the western colonialism or imposition’viii. suggesting that somehow peoples of other civilizations may not be able to sustain or see the benefits of a form of democratic governance. The people of India would point out that democratic government was formed in their country despite, not because of the Westix. Today more than two-thirds of the world’s governments operate in some form of democracy, which reaffirms the idea that democracy is a universal value, contradicting Huntington’s view of its general Western exclusivity. If asked, most Middle-Easterners would prefer the idea of a democratic to authoritarian governancex; the limitation of democratic development in the region however is a product of the unstable and incompatible political landscape rather than the irreconcilability of the culture. Defining the religious aspects of the Western Civilization, Huntington justifies the grouping of Protestant and Catholic Christians into a single entity by emphasizing shared experiences in European history such as the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution which in turn separates them from the Orthodox Christians beyond Central Europexi. Although it is evident that the closer proximity of those events has influenced Protestants and Catholics more than their Orthodox counterparts, the closer resemblance of Catholic and Orthodox practices and beliefs as opposed to Protestants is however neglected. Huntington consistently appeals to religion as the primary source of cultural identity, rightly so, to a Christian the creeds of their religion have a profound influence on their world view and thus how they would identify themselves. When speaking of the Islamic civilization however, Huntington doesn’t seem to make the effort to differentiate between the major denominations of Shia, Sunni and Sufism which have so strongly influenced the historical and especially current political landscape of the Middle-East. In a passionate attempt to warn his fellow Americans of the potential threats that their country may face in the post-Cold War environment, Huntington essentially perpetuated ideas that were dangerous and self-fulfilling. The existence of a Confucian-Islamic connection that may threaten the West described by Huntingtonxii is yet to be empirically verified, as the Chinese and US economies remain inter-linked and Barrack Obama moves towards a policy of dialogue in the Middle-East. Given the history of US foreign policy, legislators would have found Huntington’s paradigm easy to understand and convenient in terms of implementation. A worldview of distrust towards foreign powers that demands the maintaining of military superiority in the name of security panders to the powerful military industrial complex in the US. In order to maintain peace, global stability and have any hopes of dealing with transnational issues such as global warming, policy makers should regard all nations as members of the world community and work closer with international organizations such as the UN and WTO in establishing universal laws. The alienation and coercion of other governments will indeed create an atmosphere of antagonism and hostility.

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay - 2291 Words

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights The female writer Emily Bronte wrote the novel Wuthering Heights in 1847. Brontes father had influenced Emily with his well-known poetry and imagination. Brontes childhood could have also played a part in writing her novel as she used to live in the moors herself before her mother died. The North Yorkshire moors where Wuthering Heights is set is a bleak, desolate and solitary place. The area was very inaccessible and it would have taken days to get to neighbouring small towns as the only method of transport was by horseback or by horse and cart. As the moor was so remote there was a limited social life and close friendships were only usually between other family members. The women†¦show more content†¦The classes in Chile were kept separate by the fact that the wealthy did not appose the military. This is because the military allowed the rich to keep their riches and status. Because the upper classes supported the military, they were spared any torture and public brutality. The novel focuses on youth and resistance. It shows how individuals are prepared to risk their lives to resist. They want to broadcast to the rest of the world how Chile presents a civilised front but the reality is how brutality and viciousness reign. At the time of Talking in Whispers, the military in Chile created fear by people just disappearing. Pinochet enforced his power through fear and terror. Civilians were made to keep to a curfew and public assemblies and trade unions were forbidden. A state of repression was in place by the CNI limiting and controlling the rights and freedoms of individuals in society. People feared the consequences of breaking the curfews and restrictions so much that there was little resistance. However, in the novel youths resisted and this helps reflect hope for the country. It shows how people in Chile if they have the survival of spirit and courage can help bring normal life back to society and overcome unfair ruling. For this piece of coursework I am going to compare both novel, Talking in Whispers and Wuthering Heights. Both contain brutalityShow MoreRelated Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights1668 Words   |  7 Pages Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Emily Jane Bronte, the author of Wuthering heights, was born on July 30, 1818. She was the fifth of six children of Patrick and Maria Bronte and the family moved to their house in Haworth(where Emily would remain for most of her life), with her family having a great influence on her life and work. During her life she encountered a great deal of death, firstly when her mother died of stomach cancer in September of 1821, leaving EmilysRead MoreEmily Brontes Wuthering Heights783 Words   |  4 PagesEmily Bronte was born in 1818 and published Wuthering Heights in 1847. Wuthering Heights, reflects her experience with both the Romantic Era, which existed from 1785 to 1830, and the Victorian Era, which took place from 1830 to 1848. Romantics placed high importance on the individual, nature and human emotion. The Victorian Era, in turn, was a reaction to the Romantic period. The Victorians had a sense of social responsibility, which set them apart from the Romantics. Wuthering Heights exemplifiesRead MoreEmily Brontes Wuthering Heights1590 Words   |  7 PagesEmily Bronte created a book called Wuthering Heights that was published in 1847. The book has been rejected multiple times by the Victorian readers because of its disturbing, unexplained vision of anarchy and decay (Knoepflmacher). I chose the book Wuthering Heights because it has an interesting name. I never thought the boo k was narrated by two people and that it had a dramatic romance to it. Also I have notice that there is a large amount of hate towards the character Heathcliff due to his actionsRead MoreThe Depth of Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights884 Words   |  4 PagesWuthering Heights was written by Emily Bronte’. It would be the least to say her imagination was quite impressive. Through imagination as a child, Bronte’ and her sisters would write children stories, which inspired some popularly known novels. Wuthering Heights contains crossing genres, changing settings, multiple narrators, and unreliable narrators. George R. R. Martin wrote the book Game of Thrones, which is one of the modern day novels that contain several of Emily Bronte’s writing techniquesRead MoreEssay on Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights1127 Words   |  5 PagesEmily Brontes Wuthering Heights       Often in literature, the fictional written word mimics or mirrors the non-fictional actions of the time. These reflections may be social, historical, biographical, or a combination of these. Through setting, characters, and story line, an author can recreate in linear form on paper some of the abstract concepts and ideas from the world s/he is living in. In the case of Emily Bronte, her novel Wuthering Heights very closely mirrors her own life and the livesRead More Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay1221 Words   |  5 Pages Throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontà « effectively utilizes weather and setting as methods of conveying insight to the reader of the personal feeling of the characters. While staying at Thrushcross Grange, Mr. Lockwood made a visit to meet Mr. Heathcliff for a second time, and the horrible snow storm that he encounters is the first piece of evidence that he should have perceived about Heathcliffs personality. The setting of the moors is one that makes them a very special place forRead MoreEmily Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay983 Words   |  4 PagesEmily Brontes Wuthering Heights 1. What techniques are used in the characterization of Heathcliff? Effects? Heathcliff is associated with evil and darkness from the beginning of the novel. I felt his black eyes withdraw so suspiciously under their brows. (1) When LockwoodRead More Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay882 Words   |  4 PagesEmily Brontes Wuthering Heights   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Wuthering Heights, we see tragedies follow one by one, most of which are focused around Heathcliff, the antihero of the novel. After the troubled childhood Heathcliff goes through, he becomes embittered towards the world and loses interest in everything but Catherine Earnshaw –his childhood sweetheart whom he had instantly fallen in love with.—and revenge upon anyone who had tried to keep them apart. The novel begins with a few short introductionRead More Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights Essay458 Words   |  2 PagesIn Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights revenge is a common, reoccurring theme. According to Webster’s Dictionary, revenge is to inflict punishment in return for injury or insult. Within the novel, Wuthering Heights, revenge is an action taken by many people in order to redeem themselves. However, all of the characters end up in misery because of their hearts’ desire to avenge. In many novels, revenge is an action typically taken by the main villain upon the main hero. Revenge occurs often in bothRead MoreFeminist Ideas in Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights2400 Words   |  10 Pageslife as well as attract readers to identify themselves to the characters presented.’ (Online 1) One of the most prominent female writers in 19th century was Emily Brontà « with her novel Wuthering Heights. This essay will concentrate on the representation of feminism by the use of women characters in Emily Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s Wuthering Heights, namely Catherine Earnshaw, Catherine Linton (Cathy), Nelly Dean and Isabella Linton. Each of these characters illustrates the power possessed by women, the hopes