Absurd Essays - Theatre Of The Absurd, Philosophy Of Life

Absurd Theatre Influences on Theatre of the Absurd Big feet, stampeding rhinoceroses, and barren sets are typical of the theatre of the absurd. The dramatic content, symbolism, and spectacles are an amazing thing to see and an impossibility to comprehend. The philosophy of the absurd and the dawn of mankind influenced these plays in the twentieth century. The main proponents and works of the theater of the absurd and philosophy were influenced by the chaotic actions of the early and mid-twentieth century. These chaotic actions led them to search for something in literature and drama never seen before. A brief survey of the main proponents and works of the absurd philosophy and theater can lead one to an understanding of this epoch of absurdity. The early to mid-twentieth century has been marked by chaos. The four main events or notions that inspired the absurd writers of this time are World War I, World War II, liberalism, and epidemics. The two world wars had a devastating influence on Europe's landscape and people. The two world wars knocked down everyone's fundamental belief about society. The breakdown of values led to Freud's development of psychoanalysis. Freud, basically, liberalized society with his new perceptions and thoughts on the human mind. He introduced a liberal ideal that brought homosexuality out into the open in Europe. Slowly, people went public about their homosexuality; society also learned to adapt and accept such liberal ideas as the new standard norm for a post-war Europe. Another problem that plagued Europe was the Castro 2 tremendous amount of diseases and epidemics that could not be cured or treated until the discovery, development, and production of penicillin and anti-biotics. One disease that flourished was tuberculosis. This deadly disease spread quickly to many by air. All these events and notions of the early to mid-twentieth century left a scare in the hearts and minds of men about everything. The idea of the absurd grew out of an Algerian born French writer, Albert Camus. His novels and writings expressed a philosophy for man in the twentieth century. Due to the wars, factions, assassinations, and political mess, his ideas expressed the lives of many in the early twentieth century. His life was plagued with death and suffering. He could relate to every man in Europe and North Africa. His great work, the Myth of Sisyphus, proposed the philosophy of the absurd he was trying to build up in The Stranger and The Plague. Basically, Camus states that since the gods punished Sisyphus with eternal work, Sisyphus could only be happy in knowing he existed and this displayed the absurdity of modern man and his lifetime of labor. Albert Camus was influenced by his own absurd life. His father died during his childhood in the Great War. He grew up with an ill grandmother and illiterate mother. He became ill with the spreading tuberculosis of the early twentieth century. Later, he joined the French resistance in World War II. In France, he became the editor for Combat, a newsletter for the resistance. Through his job, he was able to make contacts with the leading European writers of his time. This proved invaluable to him, because with the help of these authors he gained the fame that won him the Nobel Prize in literature. Many critics believe that his idea of the absurd grew out of seeing unspeakable acts during the war. In Camus's Myth of Sisyphus, he actually states that his theory on the absurd is a reaction to the disillusionment in Europe after the two world wars: Castro 3 The Myth of Sisyphus attempts to resolve the problem of suicide, as The Rebel attempts to solve that of murder, in both cases without the aid of eternal values which, temporarily perhaps, are absent or distorted in contemporary Europe. (preface) He drew up the philosophy of the absurd to account for the devastating actions of World War II. He needed an explanation for the misery in his life and the world, and until then Christianity and the other absolute philosophies could provide no valid explanation. The philosophy of the absurd he initiated has three main points. First, life is absurd, and it is useless to find any pattern or regularity within it. Second, man must accept life as the absurd and enjoy the absurdity with happiness. Third, man cannot fight the absurd, but simply accept that life will never have meaning. These three points combine to form the elements in the works he called "the cycle of the absurd." These three points are derived from his

One Thousand Words †Visual Culture Essay

One Thousand Words – Visual Culture Essay Free Online Research Papers One Thousand Words Visual Culture Essay Some time ago our culture realized that our eyes are much quicker at processing images than they do words. This realization has saved many from countless hours of paying attention to words and to then having to interpret such words. After all, â€Å"a picture is worth a thousand words† (Arlen, 1067-1). Some time ago the film industries realized that if they could take a thousand words and turn it into a single picture, perhaps even a motion picture, and distribute it on a massive scale, countless individuals would tune in to view it. And so it began, â€Å"The Tyranny of the Visual†, as Michael J. Arlen so delicately put it. It seems people are no longer interested in the long, romantic soliloquies of the Shakespearian era, but rather they want fun, adventure, pretty lights, bright colours, dark villains (preferably with horns), etc. But, most importantly, no one wants to think when they sit down to be entertained; they don’t want to interpret and rate the believability of any one picture, thus, the assumption is made that the work must be accurate with history, literature, or just life in general. And so, it is these assumptions that are responsible for the intell ectual depletion of recent culture. Though visual effects began as an intriguing new medium, it has somehow monopolized into a culture with little or no verbal intellect. It is so easy to be dazzled by flashy images, which either take us to a happier place or remind us that our own lives are not all that bad, that we rarely bother to weigh the quality of the information being conveyed. Take for instance the film, Zoolander, which actually came with a recommendation to set your brain aside for the duration of the film. The film constituted of a harebrained male model (Derek Zoolander) out to save the Malaysian president from an assassination plot by the corrupt model industry. To demonstrate: after carefully securing the computer with all the information that would provide all the evidence necessary to prove there case against the evil modeling empire, Derek’s counterpart, yet another moronic male model, attempted to retrieve the information from the computer by dropping it a few hundred meters from a second- storey balcony. Needless to say, he was at a loss when the information could not be found amidst the wreckage. Though such blatant stupidity cannot act as a reasonable basis of comparison for all films, the fact that it still grossed 43 million dollars does indicate certain standards among individuals. However, a much more formal movie, Gladiator, which won the Best Picture award, had much more of the heart-stopping, pulse racing, and edge of your seat flashy images and minute dialogue that captivates an audience. Aside from a great deal of yelling and blood, there was little to interpret from this movie. As a matter of fact, half way through the movie, it was all but forgotten how the leading man ended up with such a thirst for vengeance. The director seemed to have forgotten what relevant role the earlier slayings of his wife and child played in the plot. But the audience was still never at a loss because they instinctively knew that a good cause was being fought for and it was well worth every molecule of blood. But, at the very end, there was a small reminder of the worthy cause which the late grieving husband and father died for; and with this new information in-hand, the audience was able to give a well-informed standing-ovation. While directors and producers seem to get away with shabby original works and can even gloss over historical details at whim, as they did in Arlen’s example of The Deer Hunter, there are special considerations to be made when dealing with literary works. In The Deer Hunter the events of the Vietnam War are blemished with more contrived information that would best suit the director’s â€Å"visual effect† pattern; one which would elicit the most â€Å"automated† responses from the audience (be it a yelp or a wince) (Arlen, 1068). However, this technique grows increasingly bothersome when it comes to literary works. Perhaps it is because historical data is there to be manipulated by the most unintelligent of people, but a work of literature is a single idea created by a single person. It conveys with it an individual’s feelings, opinions, and visions; in effect, it is much more personal. To manipulate even a single word would perhaps result in a w hole new meaning from what was intended by the author. In contrast, even if a novel is brought to film production and is accurately laid out word for word, it is considerably difficult to pluck the corresponding thoughts from a writer’s mind and plot them into neat little visuals. Such is the case with Toni Morrison’s, Beloved. The director obviously never anticipated the difficulty a picture to have eliciting sympathy for a woman sawing off the head of her children. How does one use visually convey the severity of slavery to such a degree that any reasonable person could understand an act of infanticide? While the film centered on a single gruesome act and the mother’s subsequent regrets, the literature provided an idea as to the hardships and degradation black slaves endured. This film demonstrated that words cannot always be translated into pictures, for words carry with them ideas which require further interpretations; and when turned into pictures, ideas lose their potential for further interpretation. A good visual masterpiece will leave no room for interpretations. It will say in a single frame what a thousand words would convey. But, is that really so, or are individuals just too lazy to analyze what their eyes perceive? Can a single picture really say a thousand words? It would indeed be unreasonable to blame directors for people’s poor taste; after all, if there was no audience for a film, then that film would most likely not have been developed. So, even though visual effects aid and abet the deterioration of cultural intellect, if people would show some form of discretion the damage could surely be minimized. Furthermore, although it may seem easy to turn words into images, a great deal is often lost in the translation. Words tend to bring with them an influx of new ideas, but a film is generally the idea, it offers few discourses or channels of thought. In essence, while visual effects tend to nourish aesthetic values, words are intended to nourish verbal int ellect. Arlen, Michael J. â€Å"The Tyranny of the Visual.† The Norton Reader: AANP. Ed. Arthur M. Eastman, et al. New York: Norton 2000. 1067-1074 Research Papers on One Thousand Words - Visual Culture EssayWhere Wild and West MeetAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionMind TravelResearch Process Part OneRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaThree Concepts of Psychodynamic

Enviromental Science - Water Quality Parameters Movie Review

Enviromental Science - Water Quality Parameters - Movie Review Example However, group 3 found a turbidity value of 30 downstream and group 4 found a turbidity value of 40 upstream. Temperature – the temperature of the water in the stream is within the normal temperature range. Water is cooler upstream than downstream meaning that metabolism activities in the stream are in the normal range. Temperature also affects reproductive activities in the stream and life cycles in general. Dissolved oxygen – it is the mass of oxygen present in the water, and its units are parts per million (ppm) or milliliter per Liter. The average dissolved oxygen of 7ppm means that the mass of oxygen in the water is within the required range for aquatic life. The values of 5.6 ppm and 5.2 ppm for dissolved oxygen upstream and downstream respectively shows that oxygen levels are lower than average. The amount of dissolved oxygen may be affected by temperature, flow of water, aquatic plants and altitude. Percentage Saturation – the percentage saturation is 62.2% upstream and 59% down stream. This is an indication of high metabolic activities in the stream that result in the production of by-products that increase the saturation of salts in water. This is a key parameter that lowers the water quality in the stream. PH – the pH of water in the stream is extremely crucial. It affects the ecosystem and toxicity of the water. The average pH of water in a stream is 6 – 7. The pH of water in the stream is 8.05 upstream and 7.9 downstream. This pH levels are suitable for aquatic life in the stream. Phosphate (ppm) - phosphate is a limiting nutrient which means that it is in short supply compared to nitrogen. The stream has low phosphate values of 1.6 and 1.4 for upstream and downstream

The debt ceiling Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The debt ceiling - Term Paper Example This happened since the government did not want a repeat of 2001 fiscal crisis, which was because of the Congress refusing to raise the debt ceiling. However, raising the debt ceiling has driven the national debt to wanting levels; $14.3 trillions. In my opinion the debt ceiling should be raise, but as a short-term measure. This is because failure to raise the ceiling would have consequences. The first consequence is that the government may be unable to pay its workforce their salaries. This may lead to unrest in the country. Secondly, the government may default on what it owes other creditors, for examples, holders of government securities. These are monies in terms of bonds’ principal and interest. This would result to the US government having a bad credit rating. Government securities’ risk would go up causing the rate of interest attached to them going up. As a result, the cost of capital in the entire economy would go up thus increasing the cost of doing business. This in turn would lead to economic growth slowing down (Allen, 2012). Thirdly, foreign investors might lose faith to the US government thus refusing to lend to it. They may also sell their US government’s securities. This, in turn, may lead to the dollar losing value against the world currencies. All these may compound the situation and return the economy back to recession (Allen, 2012). Additionally, other conditions should accompany the raising of the debt ceiling. These should be long-term measures. First, the government should cut spending on unproductive activities such as wars and defense. These are some of the government expenses, which do not add value to the economy. Cutting spending on these activities would reduce the budget deficit, which would enable the government to lower the debt ceiling in future. Finally, the government should increase taxes on corporate and the rich to reasonable rates that should not hurt the economy. This too would help in reducing the budget

Macro economics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Macro economics - Coursework Example For instance, this will help boost the manufacturing sector which has faced competition from other countries such as china and the United States. One of the major benefits of the increased growth in exports is reduction in unemployment. Many individuals will be in a position to find jobs in most sectors in the economy due to increased demand of goods and services. Sectors that have been dormant for many years will be revived as a result of increased exports. By increasing exports, the UK will ensure that the cost of these exports is substantially reduced and the quality is enhanced. For example, The UK can achieve to reduce the cost of its exports by reducing the wages. When this happens, the UK will become attractive to other countries, and this will lead to more exports. In addition, by increasing the exports and making them cheaper and of higher quality, the UK will ensure that the population buys local products as opposed to relying on imports. The increase in domestic demand is important for economic growth. Increase in exports will also make the UK currency more valuable compared to other countries in the global economy. If the UK is importing more than exporting, it simply means that it selling its currency in order to buy the foreign currency so that it can import the goods and services. This has the effect of making the exports more expensive and making the imports cheap. In the end, domestic buyers will be encouraged to buy from outside markets. However, when exports are made cheaper, the currency becomes strong, making the UK competitive in the global market. Local manufacturers and service providers are therefore likely to find overseas markets when the currency is strong. Finally, increases in exports and reduction in imports will have a major effective on innovation and creativity. Local firms and individuals will be encouraged to enhance the quality of existing

Straight forward novel about rape

Straight forward novel about rape Discuss the role of supernatural and mythical elements in the representation of childhood in Sylvie Germains LEnfant Mà ©duse. Sylvie Germain could have written a straight forward novel about rape, incest and neglect, but Enfant Mà ©duse is more profound .The novel intertwines magical realism, supernatural and mythical elements which help us understandthe main character Lucie and her childhood. In this novel we find multiple mythological and biblical sources ranging from the Ogre, Eurydice, the Medusa as well as the themes of Vengeance and Redemption from the Old and New Testaments respectively .We aim to discuss the role of these various elements and how it influences the depictions of childhood within this novel. The main character of the story is Lucie Daubignà ©, a little girl who lives a contented childhood in a quiet and rural village of Berry near swamps where magicals creatures lurk in the shadows. This is remisniscent of George Sands novels set during the nineteenth century in the same area where forests and swamps of Berry are linked to traditional beliefs and even sorcery. ()() However this idyllic life stops when the ogre of fairy tales appears, rapes and kills two young girls within the village. Lucie herself is the third rape victim of the Ogre, her step brother Ferdinand. He repeatedly abuses her destroying her innocence and happiness. When Lucie is raped by Ferdinand she erects a mental barrier to shield and distance herself from the brutal truth. Lucie , dont lunique lecture à ©tait celle des contes et des là ©gendes p29 immerges herself within a world of fairy tales. She transforms Ferdinand into the brutal ogre, a common childhood nightmare for all small children. Another element from fairy tales is the presence of Lucies mother, Aloise Daubignà ©. She is Lucies natural mother, but she has all the attributes of the wicked stepmother: a child from a first marriage whom she adores Ferdinand à ©legance , la mà ªme beautà © et cette blondeur rare,, ces cheveux soyeux ornà ©s de boucles dange p80 as well as an attitude and comments that are both unfeeling Voix impà ©rieuse celle qui scande les journà ©es de Lucie, du saut du lit jusquau coucher..la voix de lordre, la voix des ordres p 39 and cruel Tu tamuses à   me ridiculiser tu me fais honte avec ta maigreur de squelette p96 Fairy Tales are written about normal people the child can identify with. They have been used over the centuries to teach important lessons and give moral values. The children themselves use these stories to cope with difficult emotions and anxieties. Bruno Bettelheim explains in one of his books Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales ( ) that fairy tales help children make sense of what happens in their life. The simplicity of the situations and the duality of the characters (good / evil, hero/villain) give the child a way of expressing thoughts or feelings that were repressed in real life. They help the child to understand the adult world. The inevitable happy end gives the child the hope that his problems and pains will end and and that he will conquer all. This cannot be dissociated from myths which show that with efforts we often triumph over lifes trials. This is mentionned by Franà §ois Dolto in her book : La cause des enfants Where as fairy tales deal with emotions, myths speak of great actions, victories and supernatural events. The first myth in LEnfant Mà ©duse is a cosmic event: The Eclipse. Many mythologies have integrated eclipses as a sign of things to come. Les humains sont craintifs. Ils brulent de savoir et seffraient davantage p17 The first eclipse foreshadows the rape of Lucie by the Ogre; Lucie is abused by her brother and her childhood has ended. What should have been a happy childhood is destroyed. Her childhood is returned during the artificial eclipse created by Lou Fà ©s postcard. Sur la table il y a la carte postale, tache blonde sur le bois sombre. (.) Elle se penche vers limage. Et son enfance aussi se penche. p280 The next theme is the myth of Eurydice and the underworld symbolising evil and revenge which Sylvie Germain places opposite the sky symbolising innocence and purity. In the beginning, Lucie has a friend Lou Fà © a future astronomer and great admirer of the stars (Le petit prince des à ©toiles) p21 and later on she is alone. Elle ira seule desormais dans les matins de Septembre. Lou Fà © sera en pension. p71 Like Eurydice who descended into the Underworld, Lucie descends into the swamps. She feels closer to the creatures of the underworld, toads , salamanders and snakes than to humans. Elle avait renià © tous les astres. .. Elle ne dà ©sirait plus que senfoncer dans la terre, creuser dessous la terre A very slow process changes Lucie from a beautiful little child into an unlikable, ugly girl. This is an attempt on her part to stop the abuse, to reclaim her own body defiled by Ferdinand who is always stronger always more powerful than her. The strength of the ogre as an evil character leads Lucie to become an even worse and far more malevolent entity: The Medusa. The Ogre can inflict physical pain, however the Medusa eventually petrifies its victims killing just by looking at them. Lucie is beaten by grief and shame (son regard, il a couvà © au feu de la honte et de la peur longtemps) p 117, but she slowly becomes consumed by hatred pour fourbir en secret son regard de haine et de vengeance p145.The myth of The Medusa is used to describe Lucie who is a helpless child. She has suffered so much that she has transformed herself into a Gorgon, an ugly creature which turns to stone those who dare look at her. When Ferdinand falls over in a drunken state and knocks himself out, Lucie uses this opportunity and for once goes to him instead of him always coming to her. Once she finally reaches him, Lucie only stares at him. Cest un regard qui siffle, et grince, et saigne, et qui verse sur lui les larmes des enfants quil a jetà ©es en terre. .. Un regard de Mà ©duse. p 145. Lucie lives in a world full of magic and like every child she has the feeling that she can make her dreams come true. Her dream is linked to her hatred of Ferdinand, the Ogre. She does not need to cause the Ogre any physical harm as she is the Medusa, her stare will do the deed. Lucie knows what her brother is capable of; he is a rapist and a killer. She is judge and jury. We see the influence of her religious education. The God of the old Testament is a God of revenge and she is his disciple, an avenging angel. Et soudain illuminà ©e par sa haine pour le frà ¨re, Lucie se prà ©pare pour accomplir son oeuvre de vengeance son oeuvre de justice p110 . While she stares at her brother lying on the ground in the garden, Lucie wants him to remember his evil actions. She pins the pictures of the two girls he has raped and killed where he can see them Elle pique une à ©pingle en haut de chaque photo puis avec prà ©caution se penche vers les tomates et y plante les photos p115 and just stares at him Le regard seul est en jeu- un regard fou à ©changà © en miroirla violence de ce regard immense et fixe. 116 Many years later, Lucie receives a post card from her friend Lou Fà © Elle se penche vers limage Et son enfance aussi se penche. p280 . She can look back at her childhood and from then on starts her resurrection, an influence of the New Testament. Une seconde enfance vient de naitre en Lucie p 280. She can cry once again une enfance aux yeux non plus brulà ©s de larmes contenues, mais embuà © de douceur comme au sortir dun songe The child is no longer locked and Lucie can start living. Had it not been for the supernatural and mythical elements in the novel, Sylvie Germains LEnfant Mà ©duse would have been a simple novel about the sufferings of a young girl. However Sylvie Germain has turned the basic story line of LEnfant Mà ©duse into a very profound and meaningful literary work involving age old myths and fairy tales like Euridyce, the Medusa, and the Ogre as well as the Bible.

Frivolous Lawsuits :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Frivolous Lawsuits As children our parents tried to instill in all of us good moral judgment and common sense. However, if I was to open the newspaper I would surely find any number of articles on the latest frivolous lawsuit, these being even more outrageous than the ones in yesterday’s paper. How have we as a society, which is completely capable of rational thinking, allowed ourselves to become so intertwined in the blaming game? Americans file about 15 million lawsuits a year. (Cannell) A fourth of all lawsuits filed are either frivolous or fraudulent. Perhaps, the careless point of view about the seriousness of lawsuits is perpetuated by the false representation on the many law shows on TV, such as Ally McBeal and Law and Order, in which the case is neatly rapped up in an hour. In reality most court cases take about 19 months from start to finish. In order to analyze our â€Å"sue happy† society one must first find out, what actually is a lawsuit? A lawsuit is a legal action brought by a plaintiff, a person who claims to have been wronged, against a defendant, the person being sued. If a judge decides that a case has enough evidence to go to trial then the verdict may be decided by either a judge or a jury. Yet, 90 percent of cases reach a settlement out of court. (Cannell) The scary truth about lawsuits is that anyone can file a suit for anything! It is for the judge to decide if the case meets two criteria: there must have been a wrongful act committed and the plaintiff must have suffered. (Cannell) The way in which liability is determined seems to be an irony in itself. The civil law requires people to act with reasonable care, meaning not hurting others or damaging property. Also it requires the defendant to do what a reasonable person would have done. (Cannell) However, my question is, if a person is not using a reasonable mind then isn’t that person insane or otherwise mentally handicapped?