King Lear Essays (1042 words) - King Lear, Films, British Films

King Lear Shakespeare's dynamic use of irony in King Lear aids the microcosmic illustration of not only 16th century Britain, but of all times and places. The theme that best develops this illustration is the discussion of fools and their foolishness. This discussion allows Shakespeare not only to portray human nature, but also to elicit a sort of Socratic introspection into the nature of society's own ignorance as well. One type of fool that Shakespeare involves in King Lear is the immoral fool. Edmund, for instance, may be seen as a fool in the sense that he is morally weak. His foolishness lies in the fact that he has no sense of right or justice, which rewards him with an untimely, ironic death. He discusses this as his father, Gloucester, leaves to ponder the "plotting" of his son Edgar. Edmund soliloquizes, "This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune... ...we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and stars, as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion." (I. ii. 32) for the sole purpose of illustrating his wickedness. Edmund realizes that his evil is self- taught. This soliloquy shows the audience Edgar's foolishness in his belief that malevolence is the force that drives one to greatness or prosperity. It also illustrates the bastard's mistaken belief that by fooling his father, he might be able to eliminate Edgar, the competition for Gloucester's title, and possibly rid himself of his father in the same act. This is a prime example of immoral foolishness in King Lear. Another type of fool in King Lear is the ignorant fool. Whereas characters such as Goneril, Regan, and Edmund are fools because of their tendency to harm others for self- gain, the ignorant foolish are not necessarily driven to evil. However, the evil are almost always driven to foolish actions. Gloucester, arguably Lear's foil, puts forth an interesting perspective in the play. His character is presented as one who is blind to the truth, and ironically, one who becomes physically blind in the end. In actuality, it is his blindness to the truth of Edgar's love and Edmund's greed and apathy that ultimately brings about Gloucester's demise. When he says, "I have no way and therefore want no eyes, / I stumbled when I saw" (IV.i.173), he seems to be illustrating the realization of his own foolishness. Gloucester illustrates, through his use of verbal irony, that his foolishness lies in the fact that he never truly saw anything (e.g. the true nature of Edmund or Edgar) until he was blind. Another example of Gloucester's ignorant foolishness is the misfortune he predicts at the beginning of the play. He says, "These late eclipses in the sun and moon portend no good to us. Though the wisdom of nature can reason it thus and thus, yet nature finds itself scourged by the sequent effects. Love cools, friendship falls off, brothers divide...in palaces, treason; and the bond cracked 'twixt son and father" (I, ii, 103-109). This statement ironically predicts the vast majority of the play with uncanny accuracy. Shakespeare seems to be using Gloucester as a tool to provide more insight into the nature of foolishness. Another ignorant fool, and obviously one of the most important, is King Lear himself. Shakespeare deliberately uses Lear as a representation of the darker side of human foolishness. He appears to be illustrating the folly of not listening to one's inner voice, as well as discussing the corruption of power and wealth. He first demonstrates his foolishness by saying to his daughters, "Only we shall retain the name, and all the addition of a king" (I, i, 15). His wish is to maintain the kingdom without all the accompanying responsibility of the crown. However, in a more complicated manner, Lear's foolishness is derived from his inability to see that although he was king, he was a simple man as well. As a king, he wished to have his daughters openly display an undying affection for him. He shows that his practices are derived from that of a king, in that he can only see life through the eyes of a king, not a simple man. Unfortunately for Lear, his reason comes to him in madness. He states "When we are born, we cry that we come to this great stage of fools" (IV.vi.178-179) as if he finally had come to realization that everyone is a human being, be they king or beggar. By far the most influential medium used by

The Values of the Shawshank Redemption Essay Example

The Values of the Shawshank Redemption Essay Example The Values of the Shawshank Redemption Paper The Values of the Shawshank Redemption Paper Essay Topic: The Shawshank Redemption The Shawano Redemption is about a banker, Andy Defense who is wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and his lover, Is sentenced to Shawano Prison for two life sentences. As time passes, Andy becomes friends with Red and other Inmates. Andy brings the guards and other prisoners on his side when he helps them with tax problems. Over the years, he gains reputation and is more respected. More significantly, he never drops hope which makes him wanting to be free. In the end, Andy escapes prison by breaking through the prison wall by using a rock emmer which Red smuggled. The film is narrated by Red because Morgan Freeman (Red) has an incredible smooth voice that makes anything sound nice. Things Fall Apart is a novel about a man called Awoken who is a leader and warrior of his village, one of the Nine Villages and has a high level of respect. He was three wives with many children. Awoken does not show his true feelings as he considers this as not masculine. HIS village is very cultural; It Is very strong in its traditions, gods and beliefs. Awoken breaks one of their beliefs, and Is forced to leave the illegal. Then the missionaries and the white men come In the village and try to brainwash them with Christianity. The use of African terms such as chi Indicates a more strong sense of tradition. Through the two texts, Red and Awoken both show examples of respect. Red does not care about the amount of prison work he does and he helps other peoples wants and needs. Awoken respects his villages beliefs, religion, customs and heritage. When the missionary wanted him to convert to Christianity he refused and rebelled. In life, people often follow the rules, regulations and traditions of their local community because that Is what they know within their knowledge. People would not want to shatter the tradition because they dont want to create chaos In the community. In Things Fall Apart, Awoken respectfully obeys the villages beliefs, religion and customs. When Awoken kills his son, he is told to that his family must De put Into exile Ana must erelong special Items to ten g sees. Nils snows respect towards his own (and the villages) belief. In the film, The Shawano Redemption, Red is a hard worker and respects the prison guards. He will obey anything they say and do anything they say. He gives advice to others and silently keeps out of trouble. The other value is hope. In The Shawano Redemption, Andy believes that hope gives a sense of freedom. This is because he knows he is innocent. As he gets used to the prison, Andy thinks he is so free that puts Mozart on the PA system. This is hope gone too far. Later on, Andy put in enough effort and determination to plan a successful escape. In Things Fall Apart, Awoken gains hope when things start to get out of hand. He also hopes to generate wealth from the yams. However, he is not capable of change because he has always been the same person. When Awoken is protesting against the new religion, no one was on his side so his only choice was to kill himself by hanging. The values I have researched has affected my personal values and attitudes by releasing the harshness in a prison or being forced to be taught a religion can be negated with the right determination by believing in your values.

Knowledge and skills expected to acquire from M.Sc in Project Essay

Knowledge and skills expected to acquire from M.Sc in Project Management - Essay Example "Like any other manager, the project manager has to have team building skills, leadership skills, planning skills, administrative skills and organizational skills. But there are more skills such as entrepreneurial skills, resource allocation skills and management of technical expertise"(Russell, 55). These skills can be acquired only through the exposure to professional project management techniques.Knowledge about various project management tools are very essential for the planning of resources and execution of the project. "Project management has become a necessity in many corporations because of the increasing pressure due to increase in technology, more money invested in R & D, more information available and shortening of project life cycles"(Kerzner, 31). A person without special knowledge about the risks involved and the techniques to handle the risks cannot make the project a success. Hence, I aspire to acquire knowledge about special tools and techniques, skills related to te am development, resources utilization and entrepreneurship which are essential to avoid duplication of work, wastage of resources and conflicts among team members. These skills and knowledge is very essential because, "when a person is appointed as a project manager, as he assumes accountability for the resources used and the result achieved"(Kerzner and Thamhain, 195- 197) 2. Development of my career in future with M. Sc in Project Management "When a person is exposed to information from different sources, the person develops strategies for processing information, these strategies may be habitual or ingrained". (David Whetton, 68). To explain further, to be successful, a person has to learn continuously and it is clear from Whetton's argument that knowledge base is essential for competitive advantage which is very essential for my career. "The other characters essential for senior level executives are problem solving ability, capacity to generate alternatives and to encourage innovation" (Riley, 67). The management skills and project management skills acquired can make me more fluent with the ideas from different sources and can increase my flexibility in making decisions. "Fluency of ideas and flexibility of thought are the ways to generate alternatives to solve problems" (Sternberg, 23). The creative problem solving techniques which I acquire in this course will be very helpful in fostering innovation and critical thinking of my team members and set priorities with my superiors. Another major way in which this course can be useful in my career development is by helping me to influence others. "Influencing others is a major factor to build effective teams and to lead the team to success"(Cuming, 19). A manager can influence others to achieve a common goal only when he is able to set priorities, clear about the goal and aware of the errors that are commonly done. The manager has to be able to communicate the ideas, encourage participation and lead the team. To effectively overcome interpersonal conflicts on the job, the project manager should be able to positively influence others. All these characteristics mentioned above are essential hence, this course will be very vital for my growth as I like challenges. 3. Academic strengths and weaknesses The major strength academically is that I was able to apply my knowledge I acquired in my B.Sc (Honors) degree in my job. "Conceptual knowledge should be met with opportunities to practice and apply observable behavior"(Bandura, 43). My current job is very useful to apply the knowledge I gathered from