Literature

The effect that a narrative or a particular character has on the reader constitutes one of the major goals of most great authors.  If a reader does not respond to a particular story, situation or human plight, the work does not succeed in this arena.  As a result, many characters are presented as worthy of some amount of sympathy despite negative qualities to their characters.  To this end, all three major male figures – Macbeth, Victor Frankenstein, and John Proctor – all deserve some degree of sympathy even though they made mistakes which sealed their doom.

    Macbeth, from Shakespeare’s play by the same name, deserves a small amount of sympathy from the reader.  Initially he is presented as a bold, courageous and successful warrior who has “unseamed” his enemy “from the nave to the chops.”  His King denotes him as a “valiant cousin” and “worthy gentleman,” a sentiment shared by the other thanes as well.  Unfortunately, Macbeth willingly allows himself to be led astray.  He succumbs to the prophecies of the witches and the belittling efforts of his wife to kill Duncan and take his throne.  Most readers can understand how hard it is to avoid pressure from one’s significant other and to shy away from even the lure of great power.  Even Macbeth understands that his flaw is “vaulting ambition which overleaps itself.”  This type of self awareness and Macbeth’s subsequent loss of his friends, wife, throne and life do impart a bit of sympathy, though probably based in pity, from the reader.  The reader can feel as if he might learn from Macbeth’s plight, even though he does not excuse Macbeth’s murderous methods.

    More deserving of reader sympathy is Victor Frankenstein from the novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus.   This main character follows his passion, dreaming for a way to create life.  While he did desire to be famous for it, he also truly felt that this project might help the world.  Most readers can understand the drive of passion, whether it be in a hobby, sport or work.  Yet, Frankenstein erred when he toyed with life and then abandoned his creation, who ultimately lamented the isolation and loneliness this caused by saying “yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us” (Shelly 94).  Frankenstein has shirked his responsibility as a “father” to his creature and sent him on a murderous rampage from which Frankenstein himself loses his brother, father, friend and wife.  Unlike Macbeth, Frankenstein tries to undo his error by ultimately destroying the mate he had promised to make for the creature, despite the warning that “I [the creature] shall be with you on your wedding night!” (Shelly 168).  The loss of these individuals merits Frankenstein some sympathy because everybody knows how it feels to try to do the right thing and end up losing something or someone he loves.  In fact, Frankenstein even tries to atone by attempting to steer Captain Walton away from his fate by issuing the warning, “Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!” (Shelly 18-19).   This enables the reader to offer more sympathy to Frankenstein than to Macbeth.

    Finally the reader should impart the most sympathy onto John Proctor of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.  Proctor is guilty of Puritan-era infidelity, yet he is clearly a victim of what today’s society would term a ‘stalker’.”  A young girl, Abigail, flirts with him incessantly and carries out a fiendish plot against him when he denies her and turns to his wife. Unfortunately for him, Abigail is no meek child.  She is a master manipulator, evidenced in her ability to get her friends to say and do whatever she says.  Her threats, such as “And mark this.  Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (I, ii) strike fear into Betty and Mary’s hearts and guarantee their dedication to her.  Proctor is not so lucky.  He has fallen victim to Abigail’s advances, as many men unfortunately will.  Yet, he does see the error of his ways and confesses it to the men at the trial.    She thinks to dance with me on my wife's grave! And well she might, for I thought of her softly.  God help me, I lusted, and there is a promise in such sweat.  But it is a whore's vengeance, and you must see it (III,i).   He not only refuses to leave or slander his own wife, but he refuses Abigail as well. While he confesses his own sin, he refuses to hurt anyone else: “I speak my own sins; I cannot judge another.  I have no tongue for it” (III,iii).  Thus, the reader sympathizes with Proctor’s plight, forgiving his infidelity because of his courage and strength in the end.

    All men deserve and attain varying degrees of sympathy from the reader for their misfortunes and sins.  Macbeth deserves the least because he learned the least from his ordeal.  Frankenstein understood his sin, but learned a bit too late, so he deserves a slightly higher level of sympathy.  John Proctor, who is seen as the biggest victim despite his lust, earns the highest level of sympathy.

Mandela and King Speech, a Comparison
    The inaugural speech of Nelson Mandela and the “I Have a Dream” speech of Martin Luther King ring of freedom. In both cases they talk of suppression of their people and the need for freedom. They inspire us to look at the issues and feel the needs of their people. The methods in which they deliver these speeches are quite different, however. What they desire to accomplish with their speech is in many ways the same but the situation in which they must deliver it is different. In this paper, we will attempt to understand what those differences are by comparing the two speeches.

    Martin Luther King gave the “I Have A Dream” speech on August 28, 1963. He talks about the history of his people and the need to be treated equal. He tells us that the Emancipation Proclamation proclaimed freedom for the black man. However, he tells us, that freedom has never happened. He says that the Declaration of Independence has given us all, everyone of color or white, the right to the pursuit of happiness and the right of liberty (King, 1963). He now demands in his brilliant speech that black people are truly freed to pursue happiness and this would mean jobs and better civil rights legislation. I cannot wonder what he might think today with President O’Bama in office.

    Martin Luther King is a very inspirational speaker. Reading his speech alone makes you want to join the march. Some of us have actually heard the speech on the history channel and it inspires us at every note. He has a voice that inspires you to listen. His message is well thought out and well delivered. It is very emotional. I believe it must bring tears to the eyes of any of those who listen whether they are black or white. I was especially impressed with the visual effect of the statement, “America has given its colored people a bad check, a check that has come back marked “insufficient funds” (King, 1963). This is the kind of visual ability he has with his words. He also repeats, “I Have A Dream” many times throughout the speech. This is a man that already has the respect of his people and many others. “I Have A Dream” even today brings us back to that speech.

    The Inaugural Speech of Nelson Mandela was delivered in May of 1994. Nelson Mandela attempts to bring his people to the belief of a better life. He talks about the way they all feel about a country that has been torn apart (Mandela, 1994) and has many things to accomplish. He tries to motivate his people to move past the pain of their past so they can build their future. He is very visual in his attempts to do this by using such words as “each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees…” (Mandela, 1994). There has been a change in their country including the release of Mr. Mandela from prison. He has chosen to fan the flames of this change and move his country forward.
    Nelson Mandela does not inspire in his speech quite like Martin Luther King. His words are more fatherly in their feel. Mr. King’s words are much more fiery. Mr. Mandela wants his people to understand that they are all important to their country, no matter what their origin. Mr. King, in a sense, segregates his people in order to show that they have not been treated fairly.  Nelson Mandela’s speech feels more like a prayer while Martin Luther Kings, a rousing sermon.

    “We have triumphed in the effort to implant hope in the breasts of the millions of our people” (Mandela, 1994). “We dedicate this day…”(Mandela, 1994). Through this speech Mr. Mandela joins his people together in an attempt to further the needs of the country as a whole. He inspires them to remember their dedication to the country the love and to work together to move forward.

    In conclusion, the two speeches are really quite different in many ways, though each was given at a time when their people most needed them. Marin Luther King gave a strong rousing speech that feels more like that of a rebel or a Preacher lighting the fire under his people. Nelson Mandela spoke more mild and through he inspires his people to come together, he does not attempt to build a fire. The situations and times under which the speeches were given were different yet it is interesting how closely the need of the people appears to be.

In real life as well as in the fictional life, the people or readers always want happy endings. However, in fictions, the authors sometimes will avoid happy ending and instead use tragic ending to make an impact on the spectator or audience or reader. They argue that creating tragic endings will make the reader of a play, hold on to the creation for a longer time. So, tragic ending is a ploy, used by many writers including the greatest of them all, William Shakespeare. And in the play, “Othello”, Shakespeare achieves the tragic ending by focusing on the character’s failure to see the differences between the appearance and the reality. That is, sometimes, what one sees is not the real thing, it may be a façade with some other things behind. The characters in the play fail to see the difference between appearance and reality, and thereby develop false notions in their minds.

Appearance and Reality
In the play “Othello” Shakespeare uses this theme of differences in appearance and reality in scenes or situations involving all the main characters. That is, among the main characters in “Othello”, the character of Othello and Brabantio unintentionally utilize this difference or actually become victims of this difference, leading to the suffering of their related and associated lives. On the other hand, Iago use this difference intentionally and wrongfully for meeting his own selfish ends. So, this theme of difference is relevant to the main characters of Othello, Iago and also Brabantio.

Othello becomes the victim of this difference, when he doubts Cassio, after Cassio has a private conversation with his wife, Desdemona. Actually, both of them conversed about how to get Cassio’s job, which got lost due to Iago’s machinations. And, it was the same Iago’s deluding words which only pushes Othello to forget the reality and instead believe the false appearance that his wife Desdemona and Cassio are having an illegal affair. “…I cannot think it, that he would steal away so guilty like.” (Shakespeare lll.iii,42) - Iago tells to Othello. Therefore, Othello without finding what really transpired in the meeting between Desdemona and Cassio starts to suspect his wife deceived by Iago’s words and by Cassio’s fast stride. It is the first in the series of incidents, in which Othello in spite being a noble king, fails to see the difference between the appearance and reality.

While speaking about Othello’s misinterpretation of appearance and reality, actually his own appearance is far from reality. That is, in Shakespeare's time, black was considered as the bad, unwanted color, and even as the representation of evil. As an ironical situation, Othello is actually a black (racial identity) but in reality he is actually a noble king who was known for his honesty. Here also there is a difference between appearance and reality with tragic consequences. “However attractive Othello may be to Desdemona, his physical appearance clearly exhibits the reverse of this. He is black (devil’s color), ugly (by Elizabethan standards), and bizarre to the eyes of a somewhat enclosed society.” (Hawkes 102). Talking about Othello’s nobility, it was this noble nature, which attracted Desdemona to choose him as her life partner, but which gave the feeling of deception to her father, Brabantio.  That is, Brabantio thinks Desdemona is an innocent, naïve girl who was wooed by Othello using manipulative methods. Othello’s appearance also raises issues with the Brabantio’s statement that his daughter got attracted to

Othello mainly because he is black, “run from her guardage to the sooty bosom of a thing such as thou,” (Shakespeare l. ii,71). But, Brabantio’s notions about person’s appearance and the actions they commit, do not match each other. That is, he thinks that her innocent looking daughter (physically) will not take the extreme step of marrying without his permission and only Othello should have deceived her. But, Desdemona did not take this decision because of Othello’s compulsion or deception as perceived by her father, but because of her loyalty to him. It is due to the same reason of loyalty; she decided to marry him also, and not due to the color of his skin. So, Brabantio’s views based on appearance and are far from the reality. He also unknowingly becomes a victim to this difference.

Moreover, the character who epitomizes and manipulates this difference between appearance and reality is Iago. That is, from the beginning of the play, Iago’s mission is to overthrow Othello’s close confidante Cassio and reach that position. So, even though, he looks pure he has lot of evil inside him. To achieve his dangerous urges, he manipulates Othello leading to tragic consequences, which included his own death. That is, in all the scenes in which Othello suspects Desdemona of infidelity, it is lago, who heightens the charge by adding inappropriate versions of the events or situations.

The characters in the play “Othello” are caught in the situations where they find it difficult to differentiate between fake or setup appearance and the original reality. This failure only leads to the development of misleading thoughts and the consequent death of all the major characters including Othello, Desdemona, Iago and Emilia and gave Othello the tag of tragedy.

The generation during the dawn and dusk of the First World War has been characterized by a great depression. This generation was marked by the depressed state of humanity which has been brought by the wrath and atrocity of the war. During this gloomy generation, the cultural ideals of love, peace and hope have been greatly challenged by the dreadful realities that the world faced. This saddening truth has been depicted in literature where a lot of authors creatively portrayed the destruction of humanity as well as the downfall of the values and ideals that were previously seen to change the world. During this part of the twentieth century, a lot of people relied on literature in enriching their consciousness and wisdom about the realities of life. This made the field of literature gain a considerable amount of power during that time. Authors became popular like celebrities, and people's inclination to novels and poetry became unequaled. One of the most renowned authors in the generation was Thomas Sterns Eliot who was eventually more popularly known as T. S. Eliot. His poems were observed to carry the truest yet also the most painful realities in the society. One of his most valued works throughout his entire career was The Wasteland (1922). This story has been regarded as one of Eliot's most important works and one of his most relevant masterpieces as it conveys and reflects the climate and environment during its time (Rai 1). In this story, Eliot was not just able to depict the destruction of the human consciousness as well as humanity, but he was also able to present clearly, what made literature so powerful during this era. This piece of literary work has become one of the most reviewed and  appraised novels during Eliot's time. Its themes that have explored on different aspects of humanity have been perceived to create dramatic implication in the 20th century society. But aside from depicting the saddening truth about the loss of humanity after the World War I, it was also observed how Eliot creatively portrayed the roles of women during that time. Aside from the destruction of values and morals, Eliot was also able to display the harsh and suppressive lives of women during the Victorian era. During this age, the implicative roles of gender and sexuality was realized through literary works like The Wasteland of T. S. Eliot. This work apparently served as an eye-opener about the realities of sexuality that, during that time, were intentionally taken for granted. Hence, after perceiving the considerable significance of Eliot's The Wasteland, this discussion shall delve on exploring the major themes and ideals presented in this work. This discussion shall also work on building up the claim that Eliot's The Wasteland is an appropriate exemplar of a piece of literature which presents the punishing and painful realities of women's life during the twentieth century, as well as their enslaved role during the repressive Victorian era.
An Analysis of The Waste land Through Ideologies, Themes and Characterizations Applied

The Waste Land: An Over View

In this endeavor of analyzing and exploring how Eliot's work depicted the roles of women during the twentieth century, it may appear important to understand the meaning and message poem first before going deep into the technical literary aspects. As a whole, Eliot's The Waste Land basically delves on the ideals of death, sex and unhappiness. In the first part, Eliot immediately counters the notion of Chaucer about the month of April. Instead of depicting this month as the season of life and regeneration, Eliot prefers presenting this month as the darkest, as what can be perceived in  his opening line which says, “April is the cruellest month” (Eliot 55). Some critics even  regard Eliot's depiction as a depiction of hell. Fernan Nuhn once remarked that “it may be useful to look upon The Waste Land as one of a series of poetic 'descents into hell''” (Nuhn, qtd. in Donker 164).What follows in this introductory chapter is the discussion of the natural cycle of death. In the succeeding parts of the poem, Eliot reveals how death can steal positivism away from the world. The author also depicts death in a lot of ways such as through work, war and unhappiness. As the poem runs along, the author then transits from the theme of death to sexuality. In this part of the poem, the author reveals the association of women to sex slavery. The author appears to empathize with women who were seen as mere sex objects during the repressive generation of the Victorian Era. There were also explicit  representations of loveless sexual intercourses that somehow present the painful reality that during those times, some women were just regarded as sex objects of men. Hopelessness and despair were also portrayed through phrases as “As a rat crept softly through the vegetation / Dragging its slimy belly on the bank” (61). From this part, Eliot then transits to images that depict sex, death and rape. And again, the gruesome torture and maltreatment on women as mere sex objects was portrayed. Basically, the poem presented a gloomy and distressing atmosphere. It was able to depict the depression caused by the war, as well as the depression which emanated from women who have been abused and maltreated during the repressive generation of the Victorian era.

These are the major ideals and themes presented in the poem. These ideals can already present how women were portrayed during the twentieth century; however, this can still be further explicated by going into the ideologies and perspectives the author applied in this piece of literature.
Modernism and Gender in The Waste Land

Modernism can easily be associated to T. S. Eliot's works. This is because the height of his career can be perceived to be characterized by this genre. Modernism has been tried to define by several thinkers over the years. However, up to this date, there appears no concrete
definition of modernism. According to Peter Childs, who explicated on the ideal of modernism in his book, Modernism, this genre cannot be defined in a single view. According to Childs, there are several perspectives in defining this term. In talking under the time-bound perspective, modernism can be defined as a genre “located in the years 1890, 1930, with a wider acknowledgement that it develops from the mid-nineteenth century and begins to lose its influence in the mid-twentieth century” (Childs 18). Considering this definition, Eliot's work can easily be categorized as modernist piece of work as it falls under the time frame. Aside from this, Childs notes that the meaning of modernism can also be viewed according to the genre-bound perspective. In this view, “modernism is associated with innovation and novelty”, and is “stretched to include such British and Irish figures as John Donne, William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Laurence Sterne” (18). Although Eliot was not mentioned in this roster of popular modernists, his works nonetheless fall under the categories of innovation as it tackles some of the newest and most controversial issues that were not touched by popular literature during his time.

Modernism has been very dominant during Eliot's course of completing The Waste Land. This might have been the greatest factor which made him lean on such a genre during the completion of the poem. However, aside from this, it appears that the context of the poem, as well as the author's environment during that time also played important roles. Modernism was found to be greatly affected by humanism (Kirkham 15). This was observed not just in literature but also in arts and in architecture. Considering the generation when The Waste Land was published, it can be recalled that the society was filled with issues concerning humanism. During this period, a lot of issues on morality were realized. Since people were dealing with post-war days, it was inevitable that some people was not yet getting over the atrocity and violence the war brought. During this time, the society, especially the English and American societies have been clouded by gloom and hostility that gave way to serious societal predicaments such as crimes and corruption. People's minds have also been clouded evil and greed as people seek for resources that have been left after the war. However aside from this ideology, Eliot's leaning to gender issues has been apparent in his work. Over the years, issues on gender and sexuality seem to never grow old. It has been perceived as an embedded ideal in the patriarchal structure of the society especially during the earlier times (Bondi 245). Any literary work which depicts these issues seem to be regarded highly by the society despite the controversies and the perceived sensitivity of such topics. The world's introduction to gender issues has also been set in time with Eliot's ideation of The Waste Land. In 1990s, gender was officially explicated by a team of collaborators who worked on the ideals of both gender and modernism. In their study of gender, it has been explicated as,

“a category constructed through cultural and social systems. Unlike sex, it is not a biological fact determined as conception […] Gender is more fluid, flexible, and multiple in its options than the (so far) unchanging biological binary of male and female. In history, across cultures, and in the lifetime development of the individual, there are variations in what it means to be masculine, or feminine, in the availability of identifications such as asexual and androgynous, and in the social implications of lesbian, homosexual, and heterosexual orientations.” (Scott 1)
Considering this explication of what gender is, it can be observed through Eliot's work that he completely understood this concept. In The Waste Land, Eliot's consideration to homosexual issues were clearly depicted in the explicit desire of the character, Mr. Eugenides to have a homosexual affair with the poet. Eliot, unlike several poets from his generation, was never afraid to present such sensitive and crucial issues on gender. During the decade when this work was published, the society was not yet that tolerant on homosexual issues. But in his endeavor to encourage discourses on this subject matter, Eliot daringly explored on this aspect of gender alongside other sensitive issues that deal with gender discrimination and inequality.

It has indeed been apparent that Eliot never became disinclined in presenting sensitive societal issues such as homosexuality. However, as compared to this issue, it can be observed that the author delved more on the issue regarding the roles of women during the Victorian era. The Victorian era was characterized by the repressive nature of its society. This was the time when women were never granted the opportunities and privileges that were able to men enjoy education, freedom of expression and professional opportunities. This predicament has long been attributed to the traditional nature of this period; however, what makes this issue more problematic are the events abusive and discriminant treatments against women that caused several feminist movements. In The Wasteland, several depictions of maltreatment and abuse of women were depicted. In lines 96 to 104, the function of women as mere sex objects by men was portrayed, but in a rather symbolical manner:

“In which sad light a carved dolphin swam.

Above the antique mantel was displayed

As though a window gave upon the sylvan scene

The change of Philomel, by the barbarous king

So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale

Filled all the desert with inviolable vice

And still she cried, and still the world pursues

'Jug Jug' to dirty ears.

And other withered stumps of time.” (Eliot 58)
In these lines, a rape scenario can be observed through lines like “so rudely forced” which explicitly portrays an intimate act which is against the Philomel's will. In a lot of ways, this event represents the reality which is incontestable during that period of the Victorian era. During that time, hearing about cases of women being raped either by some unknown attacker or their own husbands do not seem like odd or surprising events. People have been used to hearing cases like this, and people were not enforced to act on such cases as if they were illegal or unjust. This presents a painful reality that there was really a time in the past when women do not have the right to protest whenever they were being forced into a sexual intercourse. In the context of today's law, this is popularly known as rape; however, back in the old times, this is but a case where a woman had to submit to whatever her husband commands, since she is bound to serve him. In a lot of ways, Eliot appeared very concerned about the painful realities of gender and sexuality during his time. As it appears, during the time when the entire society was being blinded by the unacceptable roles of women, Eliot was already aware that the situation does appear objectionable. Eliot was also able to present his thoughts on the perceived roles of women in a rather implicit manner. If today, women are already seen as independent and competent members of the society, during that time, Eliot witnessed a different thing. During those days, Eliot has been used to seeing women like slaved not just of their own husbands but also slaves of the torturous and maltreating society. These appear to be the main reasons why this work appears to be very expressive on the author's views on the issues regarding gender and sexuality. Apparently, the society during the Victorian era has been so repressive of women's rights that gender inequality and insensitivity was easily perceived. Aside from the apparent issues on morality from which the society is suffering during that time, Eliot preferred to capture one of the most sensitive issues which he thinks the society needs to address (Scott 113). Indeed, this explains why gender appears to be one of the most dominant themes in this work alongside modernism. Apparently, these ideals are the two most talked-about concepts during the time.
Perceived Significance of Eliot's Work

Eliot regards consistency in poetry as one of its most powerful features. With this he considers poets, like Shakespeare, as 'great' since they are able to create one single meaning out of their works. Eliot specifically notes,

“the whole of Shakespeare's work is one poem […] and it is the poetry of it in this sense, not the poetry of isolated lines and passages or the poetry of single figures which he created, that matters most […] one significant consistent and developing personality.” (Eliot, qtd. in Raine xix)
Considering this, Eliot must have also considered himself as 'great'. Although The Waste Land portrayed several issues and ideals of the twentieth century, it was nonetheless able to displace one single message. As it appears, Eliot's utmost concern was the moral stability of the society during the Victorian era. Considering the wrath and hostility that were brought by the war, a lot of people found it hard to bring back the positivity and pleasingness in their environment. Because of this several societal issues inevitably rose, such as issues on Gender and Sexuality. Gender inequality was just one of the major issues that branched out from the moral instability after the First World War. And Eliot's depiction of this issue can be considered as one of the major milestone which brought about the larger feminist movement which fought against gender inequality and discrimination.  Although critics have already tagged Eliot's poetic style as humorously vulgar and somewhat ribald (Chinitz 329), they were unable to defy the significance of this work in terms of reflecting the painful realities of the Victorian era. It was not denied that this work of Eliot has to be considered as one of the best portrayal of how grueling and absurd the roles of women have been during that period. Moreover, it can not also be denied that this work of Eliot touches several other issues which helped people be awakened about how bad the society has got. Considering this, the significance of this work by T. S. Eliot can indeed be regarded as one of his most valuable works. It proves the claim that literature during the Victorian era has indeed played a powerful and implicative role as his work, The Waste Land, was able to induce some positive effects on the general awareness on gender equality. This work has has also given birth to a lot of feminist movements that fought against gender discrimination, which is one concrete sign of how suggestive and relevant this work has been over the years.

After having read and analyzed Eliot's The Waste Land, it can be said that Eliot has been one of the most daring and fearless authors of the twentieth century. Considering how venturesome he was in depicting the most sensitive issues on morality and sexuality, Eliot's ability avant-garde nature appears incontestable. His ability to package his words in a stirring manner has also influenced “his poetry, drama, and critical ideas far more heavily than has been generally realized” (Hargrove 62). But above all this, what appears commendable in this work was the explicit representation of the reality on women's roles during the Victorian era. This work by Eliot undeniably serves as one of the best reflections on how repressive the Victorian was really like. Thus, it can be said that Eliot's The Wasteland serves as an appropriate exemplar of a piece of literature which presents the punishing and painful realities of women's life during the twentieth century, as well as their enslaved role during the repressive Victorian era.

The view of Aristotle to acquire virtue is to follow the path of middle between the extreme and the least which is very much different from the early Christian scholars who have advocated to accept the path of one side either of grace or sin, devils or angels, hell or heaven, good or bad, light or dark, death or life. This concept of moderation by Aristotle will remain relevant in each and every society irrespective of the race and country in the world. According to him the virtue lie in the mean and if anyone is exceeding this mean it will be termed as sin. To attain the happiness in life and to live the life comfortably one has to adopt the path of mean. By following this modus operandi the personal of Renaissance who follow the Church, were allowed to become rich and at the same time to acquire more wealth at any point of time was sinful activity. This limitation of mean pathway is left on the virtue to determine the limitation as how much wealth should be acquired (Toole). “King Lear” by Shakespeare is a great tragedy, in which the protagonist King Lear, ignoring the concept of moderation, always follows the path of extreme, right from the beginning to the end, which caused him to suffer a lot throughout his life even to loose his empire.

Right from the beginning of the play, say at the time of King Lear’s determination of the loyalty of all his daughters, Regan, Goneril and Cordelia, the path of extreme was adopted by the King without any concept of moderation. The elder two daughters used their professional wit, concealing their original black heart to prove most loyal and the younger daughter Cordelia was proved to be the most disloyal as she speaks the truth and was not able to disclose her love and loyalty for his father in the public instead of having real love for his father for which she was expelled from the kingdom by the king himself.

The King did not ever follow the concept of moderation (by Aristotle). The path he chooses to determine the loyalty of his daughters was extreme. He had determined to test the virtue of his daughters by asking them to speak in the court in the public about their faithfulness. This determination is the extreme decision taken by the King, if he had chosen the path of moderation then he would have tested his daughter differently, secretly and intelligently so that the daughter could not understand that their father is going to have a test for their loyalty and at the same time the king could have been able to find out the real followers at the beginning as the wicked elder daughters could not have got the opportunity to mock the king with false admiration. So that he could not have expelled from his kingdom his younger daughter whose answer was “Nothing my Lord” when the king asked her to speak about the loyalty. This answer embarrasses the king and compelled him to take the extreme decision of expulsing her from his kingdom. Following the path of moderation he could have understand the situation of adolescent experiences of any sensitive person, here the feelings of Cordelia, as she is suffering from devastating paralysis of the will which not uncommonly grips a young and emotional girl when commanded to exhibit in public her secret loyalties (A Board of Professors). It is a wound that parents so often inflict on their children through sheer pride, and the reaction is usually fierce, cruel and incomprehensible. Because the love of Cordelia for her foolish old father is deep, sacred and inexpressible, she cannot exhibit it before a gaping Court or a pair of sneering sisters (A Board of Professors). But the father king does not take the path of moderation to reach at proper solution.

Expulsion of loyal servant Kent, who just supported the Cordelia for his extreme loyalty to defend her was another deviation of the moderation concept by the King Lear; but the servant took the moderation path and go away with her but latter return with disguise to serve and protect to win the faith of the king.

Goneril, with whom the king remains, deviating from the moderation path conspired to through out his father from her house. If she had virtue, she could have been learnt the art of moderation and before conspiring such heinous act she could have made another arrangement for her father but she did the wrongs in absence of any good moral character. Again the king does not follow the path of moderation by deciding not to remain with any of the daughters when Regan allow him to remain with her but without any followers.

Those who will take the path of extreme are the person with evil and those who take the path of moderation are the person of virtue. The King, Regan, and Goneril all follow the path of evil by following the extreme condition in their life. But Cordelia tries to follow the path of moderation, though she went to France and become the queen of the King of France, she always remains loyal to her father and returns to defend him in the time of crisis and even she prefers to die with her father at the end only in want of loyalty of king and love to father but the king dies in the absence of moderation.

“Children Need to Play, not Compete” by Jessica Statsky: An Evaluation by Christine Romano is an essay evaluating Statsky’s argument on competitive sports. Romano appreciates the piece but she thinks that there are important elements that are absent and should be considered. Romano presents her ideas by giving citations what parents might predictably ask regarding Statsky’s argument in both noncontact and contact sports.

Romano cited that Statsky’s work was incomplete because it fails to anticipate certain objections and questions that some parents may raise. Although she showed that she considers about the reaction of the reader, still she didn’t go deeper regarding this matter. She didn’t recognize the reasonable possibilities of her arguments.

The author also cited that Statsky’s work overlooks examples of noncontact team sports that are less likely to be physically and psychologically damaging for a child.  There are sports that focus individual performance like swimming and tennis. Statsky didn’t recognize these possibilities that are so important, and because of these the author thinks the arguments were weak.

The evaluation of Romano is focused mainly on the strengths and weaknesses of Statsky’s work. Statsky’s argument was appropriate, believable and consistent, still it is incomplete. According to Romano, “It seems incomplete because it neglects to anticipate parents' predictable questions and objections and because it fails to support certain parts fully.” She didn’t tackle the possible effects it might bring to the parents who enjoy, support and advocate competitive sports. Such parents have positive experience and thinks that the gains, such as the principle of social cooperation and collaboration, in competitive sports are worth the risks involve.

Romano’s evaluation on the argument considers the effect of Statsky’s work on some parents who patronize competitive sports. She is pointing out elements that are lacking to improve Statsky’s argument.

Romano’s observation about Statsky’s argument was right regarding the opinions and the reaction of the parents. I think Romano was just thinking of the effects it might give to the readers about Statsky’s work. The readers might believe in it and avoid competitive sports. Maybe she (Statsky) was right in some aspects were children might get hurt but this are not the only thing to consider. There are lots of angles to consider in this matter, this includes the skills a child may develop in these kinds of sports. Statsky was focusing only on the bad effects, he is just looking on one side, he didn’t consider that there are lots of good things in competitive sports and this are worth the risks.

The evaluation was just trying to propose that competitive sports shouldn’t be avoided by the parents for their children. Even though there might accidents that can occur during the game it is just worth the lessons and the skills a child can learn. There are also competitive sports that are safe for children. Competitive sports teach child teamwork, patience, coordination, facing fears, and to discover many things that can help them grow. It is not right for parents to avoid competitive sports just to avoid accidents to their children, all things have purpose and this might be the only way a child can learn. In order to grow, you must introduce a lot of things to a child in order for him to understand all the things in this world, even if this means to let them get hurt. Parents don’t like their children to get hurt but they should consider this to let their child grow, because feeling pain is a part of growing.
Source: “Children Need to Play, not Compete” by Jessica Statsky

The experiences one has during the growing up years have lasting impact on the mind of the individual. Childhood memories are with a person throughout his/her life. If the memories are pleasant, one derives pleasure from them while if they are painful they hurt extremely. Another phase of life that brings new experiences along with it is adolescence. This is the period of life when the wonderful feeling of love enters into one’s life. This stage of life and the blooming of love feelings are very well captured in the short story “Araby” by James Joyce. It narrates the story of a young boy who falls for his friend’s sister. The protagonist of the story pursues the girl he loves, thinking that his love for her is true and will make her to reciprocate but he is dejected when he realizes his vainness in seeking the fulfillment of an unachievable dream.  

    The young boy in the short story “Araby” is expressing his love for the girl whose thoughts have occupied his mind, “her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood.” (Joyce).  Although the young boy has rarely spoken to her, he seems to be captivated by her beauty. The feeling of love has changed his attitude towards life. He is enjoying life and the thoughts of the girl are making even the simple things of life more interesting. The boy imagines himself to be a knight or prince who is fighting with his enemies and protecting his prized possession from them. And his prized possession is the girl whom he loves deeply and intensely. He thinks that his dreams would turn into reality one day, for he believes that his love for the girl is true, and so she would also reciprocate his love.

    The young boy promises his friend’s sister that he will bring her a gift from Araby, a
bazaar in Dublin, when he goes there. Although the boy goes to the bazaar and is given

the required money by his uncle, he returns empty-handed from the bazaar. The reaction of the
woman watching the goods at the stall makes the young boy to feel that his presence at the stall is not being liked by the woman. “Observing me, the young lady came over and asked me did I wish to buy anything. The tone of her voice was not encouraging; she seemed to have spoken to me out of a sense of duty.” (Joyce). The boy turns away from the stall realizing his inability to buy any of the things at the stall. At this moment, the boy realizes his vainness in pursuing his friend’s sister, for he is not sure whether the girl will accept his love.

    The young boy loved the girl intensely and thought that his dreams about the girl would come true. But in the end, he has to change his mind and give up the thoughts of the girl. His poverty and his uncertain future compel him to change his mind. All his frustration and sad feelings are presented in his last line, “Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger. (Joyce). The new knowledge affects him deeply, as he is engulfed by sorrow and pain. When he fails to achieve his dream of meeting the girl, his life seems futile for him. His narration starts with happy thoughts and ends with dejection.

    The young boy is so attracted to his friend’s sister that he begins to imagine himself as a knight who is protecting his prized possession, the girl. He believes that his love for the girl is true and will make the girl to love him in return. But he realizes his vanity in chasing a dream which cannot be fulfilled, when he fails to bring a gift for her from Araby. His realization makes him dejected and depressed, as life seems to be meaningless for him. The thought that he will never be able to get the love of his life is so disheartening that his attitude towards life suddenly turns gloomy.

The family is the basic unit of society. It is the place where a child begins to interact and respond to other people which will eventually turn into socializing. The parents are seen as the individuals who have the responsibility to guide their children through life and more fundamentally to provide them with the basic necessities needed to live which basically consists of food, shelter and clothing. This paper aims to explore more on the role of parents towards their children and vice versa; the basic expectations and what is likely to happen if these “expectations” were not met. This paper aims to focus on the role of the Father and his son and each one’s responsibilities to the other; what image does each have to portray and how they are expected to behave in the presence of each other. There is somehow a universal rule of some sort written ever since the beginning of time that Fathers and sons should only show filial love and affection to each other and that if this “natural thing” has not been achieved, frustration and resentment will occur to each one, if not, to both.

There is no evidence that these feelings of resentment and frustration will develop to become outward unfortunate events in the lives of the subjects but there may just be a possibility that it is more likely to happen. This paper thus aims to further seek the causes of such events, if the filial affection and love that should have stem out from the Father and from the son did not materialize. To be able to study examples, the texts “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley and “The Odyssey” by Homer was used by the researcher to develop and justify his claims. The researcher will give focus on the story of Victor Frankenstein and the monster; and Odysseus and Telemachus respectively; taking note of the Father-son relationships between the subjects.

Body
Frankenstein is the most celebrated novel of Mary Shelley. It chronicles the story of a scientist named Victor Frankenstein who created the famous monster which is still very much famous until today. Victor Frankenstein, the son of a well to do couple Alphonse and Caroline Beaufort came from a happy and domesticated childhood. As a young boy, he exhibited a hunger for knowledge when it comes from the ancient study of Alchemy. He grew up to be a voracious Scientist who constantly hungers for innovativeness.

He was so keen in always being “one up” in the field of Science that he went to the extent of being God-like by creating life. In the story, the monster related Victor as his maker who has abandoned him: “remember, that I am thy creature: I ought to be thy Adam; but I am rather the fallen angel” (Shelley). The monster compared Victor to God and by this, he burdened upon his evil deeds for the neglectful nature of his maker to give him a nourishing environment. From this statement we can clearly evaluate that the relationship between Victor and the monster was not filial but one that was full of hate and contempt, which originated from Victor. However, the readers are also opened to the view that the monster does not initially meant to be evil or does not meant to do anyone harm, rather it was just a response from the initial contempt and negative feeling that his maker has bestowed upon him from the start. The monster’s most evil actions which is killing the members of Victor’s beloved family including his childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth is but a like a call or a desperate plea for someone to accept him as he truly is, for someone to give him the love, security and humane treatment that he deserved- which he did not received from the person who should have be the first to give it to him- his creator. This father-son relationship which was full of hatred, fear, guilt and contempt from both parties resulted in very unfortunate events as the story progressed.

Many people died because of how they tend to “destroy the balance of nature” by having these negative feelings towards each other which could have been that of a filial and affectionate one- as what it should naturally be. The father-son relationship of the Frankenstein text is very much contrasted to The Odyssey where the father role, Odysseus and the son role of Telemachus displayed enormous love and affection to each other. Perhaps one similarity that the two texts possess is how there are more times that the Father and the son role were away from each other or not together. The Odysseus text showed that “distance made the heart grow fonder” and the love of the father and the son for each other became more intense and affectionate.

As Homer puts it in his novel: “salt tears rose from the wells of longing in both men..../So helpless they cried pouring out tears,/ and might have gone on weeping til sundown (Homer 268). As a contrast, the very thought of the monster made Victor’s health suffer and his sight never fails to give him a huge fright. In the Odyssey, Homer recounts the voyage of Telemachus to redeem his long lost father. It also talks about the journey of Odysseus back to his family after he has been detained by the goddess Calypso after he just came out of his success from the Trojan War. The Odyssey then is a text which inhabits “journey” or “travel” as its central theme: the journey of both the father and the son towards the arms of each other and the “inner journey” of Telemachus towards maturity or manhood. By observing the Odysseus and some well-known Greek literature, we are to realize that the Greeks made great impressions on men of power and courage as those that should be honored and venerated. The roles of sons on the other hand, especially when they followed the footsteps of their father’s greatness, should be admired and respected.

White Noise is the eigth novel of Don DeLillo which follows a year in a life of Jack Gladney, a professor and department head who became well-known for pioneering Hitler studies in a midwestern college known only as The-College-on –the-Hill. The book is divided into three parts. The first part entitled “Waves and Radiation”, sets the scene for the rest of the book and establishes the important characters. This section chronicles the absurd family life of Jack with his wife Babette and stepchildren, Heinrich, Denise, Steffie and Wildre, who are living with them. Jack and Babette’s usual conversation revolves around the topic of death. They are both afraid and frequently wonder who will be the first to go. The question of “who will die first” enters both the narrative and their conversations abruptly, and it further puts the idea of death into the story. I think that death is a weird topic to talk about, especially between a couple who seems to be happy and contented with their lives. They debate about it, comparing their potential grief and misery when the other one die first. Each claims to want to die first, because a life without the other is unimaginable for both of them. The irony, however, is that each is so terrified of death that they can hardly bear to live.

    Rampant consumerism also emerged as an important theme introduced in the first part of the novel. The whole family goes out in the supermarket which represents both the banality and the resonance of capitalist consumerism. A time in the supermarket is a happy bonding time for the family. Jack does not usually buy unnecessary staff but when he finally did, he found himself feeling fulfilled. He muses on how much comfort and reassurance he finds in the supermarket. Both Jack and Babette find that the sheer number of brightly colored products in their crowded bags lends their lives a sense of fullness. They feel a sense of completeness rooted in the quantity of their purchases. Consumerism has the power to complete the individual, and the supermarket stands at the center of that commodity-driven world.

    In the book’s second part, “The Airborne Toxic Event”, a chemical spill happened in Jack’s region which prompted the family’s evacuation and the rest of their neighbors. While driving towards the evacuation camp, Jack was exposed to the toxin for more than two minutes. A SIMUVAC employee told him that this is a relatively high degree of risk. I think that in this part of the book the reader can verify and confirmed Jack’s vague fear of death. The toxins in the environment become more than just metaphorical, and the ominous sense of looming death and tragedy finally gains shape. While his son, Heinrich, shines during this catastrophic event, Jack retreats from the potential consequences of the event and refuses to entertain even the threat of danger. He pays the bills, an act that reminds us of the power of consumerism and displays Jack’s authority as the head of the household. Jack’s authority has always provided a shield, from behind which he can avoid tragedy and death. His distinguished status as a college professor and chairman of Hitler studies, as well as the placid nature of his small, quaint town, are all supposed to act as barriers to precisely this type of tragic experience. Jack refused to acknowledge the dangerous situation speaks to his fundamental belief in the security that prestige can provide.

    In part three of the book, "Dylarama," Jack realizes that Babette has been cheating on him in order to gain access to a fictional drug called Dylar, an experimental treatment for the fear of death. Babette’s dual confessions shattered the very foundation of Jack’s illusion. Jack has always insisted on the total honesty of his relationship with Babette. For him, their ability to share everything was not only a sign of a healthy, loving relationship but also a relief from his own fear and anxiety. Their openness was the antithesis to the conspiracies, intrigue, and secrecy that marked his previous marriages. Now, however, it is revealed that Babette has been lying, and the aura of sincerity that Jack has fostered so carefully, and remained so invested in, seems like a sham. Soon the novel becomes a meditation on modern society's fear of death and its obsession with chemical cures as Jack seeks to obtain his own black market supply of Dylar.
In conclusion, White Noise is about internal struggle against Jack’s overwhelming fear of death. Jack’s arrival at the cheap motel occupied by Willie Mink, the project manager behind Dylar, marks his complete surrender.

Introduction
    William Shakespeare did not simply write his plays for the sole purpose of entertainment during the Elizabethan era. It can be assumed that it was his way of criticizing the society around him at the time. In his two most famous plays, Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, he was able to use his players, the role-playing and the play itself to dissect human behavior, politics, and other societal issues such as feminism. He made use of complex characters and not simply oversimplified ones to emphasize the depth of human behavior and their reactions towards what was currently happening to the society they were born with.

Romeo and Juliet
    Romeo and Juliet is known for its archetypal characters because of the play’s “star-crossed lovers”. Romeo and Juliet are an epitome of a young aggressive love gone wrong. Their deaths are also a product of a family feud which is a common situation for wealthy families in the Elizabethan era. Apparently, through the double suicide of the lovers and the vengeful feuds of their families, Shakespeare was able to inculcate the idea of human struggle and politics in the play. He uses the character of the Prince of Verona to represent the conflicting political and legal ideologies about how a particular state in the Elizabethan Age operates. The play also demonstrates the duties of the Prince as a ruler trying to maintain peace and order to his community. It also represents the type of government to which the milieu of the play is based.

The family feuds and vengeful attempts of the characters transfer the audience attention from the old habit of simply seeing the emphasis on the whole community to the idea of individuality. In the play, soliloquies are often delivered to provide audience the thoughts and ideas of the character who is speaking. They are able to hear them through their own thoughts and musings. Shakespeare enabled the viewers of the Elizabethan era to look closely and consider the individuals or players doing the role-play to be able to distinguish the roots of the expected tragedy.

Hamlet
Similar can be said with regards to the events that took place in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The playwright was able to criticize the current government in which he had lived with by portraying Claudius as the self-centered and power-hungry brother of King Hamlet. However, aside from Shakespeare’s criticism towards the monarchy’s criminal tendencies to achieve power, he also portrayed the characters with complexities in their behavior to emphasize the issues which are prevalent at the time. There was Claudius and Ophelia whose actions and decisions were triggered by social issues such as religion and sexual oppression.

Without prior knowledge that it was Claudius who murdered the late King Hamlet, King Claudius can be easily dismissed as a gentleman and concerned surrogate father to Hamlet. He is very polite and sympathetic in his words which charmed and gained the respect of his people so as to avert suspicions of his previous murderous activity. His skill in the usage of language is evident in the first part of the story where he is speaking to his courtiers after King Hamlet’s death: “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death / The memory be green, and that it us befitted / To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom / To be contracted in one brow of woe” (1.2.1-4).

It is also worthy to consider that Claudius does feel a fatherly concern towards Hamlet. When Hamlet pretends to be mad, Claudius orders his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to accompany him. He also speaks to Hamlet in a polite manner. However, the sincerity of his feelings and actions towards his nephew is later questioned when he planned the murder of Hamlet with the help of Laertes. His reactions with regard to the key moments of the plot also reveal that he is a person of transparency. His guilt is triggered by the play which led him to kneel and pray. He longs to be forgiven but confesses that he is not ready to renounce his throne and wife.

Claudius’ personality is complex. He is the antagonist in the story, but his villainy is dramatic as he possesses a human side that sometimes gains the sympathy of the readers. He is not oversimplified as an evil ruler only but rather his religious side is revealed. His selfishness is evident all throughout the story, but his tendency to long for forgiveness and his admittance that his deeds were wrong make him a man of understanding, if not of wisdom. However, it can be assumed that the character of Claudius is Shakespeare’s own personal attack towards the hypocrisy of some religious persons.

There is also Ophelia whose character dissects with the very essential issue of sexual oppression during the Elizabethan era. She is most commonly referred to as the title character's mad lover. She is believed to have killed herself out of madness by drowning herself in a river. Interpretations about Ophelia's character have ranged from being a woman who lost her sanity upon her father, Polonius' death to being the object of hatred by Hamlet. However, despite her supporting character in the play, her personality has roused numerous criticisms and interpretations from philosophers and critics. This is probably due to the fact that her role in the play is more of a descriptive character rather than a speaking one. There are also various symbolisms towards the current society such as gender issues which her character represents. The character of Ophelia portrays relevant symbolisms to the feminine history which is continuously open to different interpretations from the sixteenth century up to this present day. Ophelia's character embodies the intrinsic sexual struggle that women in her time have commonly encountered.

Like Claudius’ character, Shakespeare inculcated the concept of religion in Ophelia’s tragedy. The cost of such religions refers to the madness and ultimately the death of Ophelia. Apparently, the history of England's religion reflects that of Ophelia's time as Gertrude reports her drowning while “chanting snatches of old lauds / As one incapable of her own distress” (4.7.176-77).

It can be presumed through Chapman's statement that the Catholic religion puts more pressure down on Ophelia as she tries to overcome her marriage problems and her sexual desires. Ironically though, instead of feeling ashamed, Ophelia resorts to the “old lauds” to assure herself of peace and solace. Therefore, it is also safe to conclude that it is her religion or piety which takes away her fear. This is evident in the fact that she drowns just after she chanted such “old lauds”.