Free Essays on Judith

Judith’s identity as woman warrior put the poem in the social scope of old English times. It was rare that a woman was portrayed as having power, even super-power based on God working through a woman, yet alone acknowledged as being supreme during the time old English times. Surprisingly not, Christian themes are featured in the poem (which reflects the Anglo Saxons vs. Pagan invaders). The most outstanding and important theme in the poem is Judith, the Christian heroin symbolizing good, vs. Holofernes, the Devil symbolizing evil. It is one poem with two very important victories. First of all a woman has been portrayed as the unlikely hero of the time and shines flawlessly on the journey to triumph. This is seen as a symbolic depiction of contemporary literary issues. Through a display of extreme faith Judith is able to overcome adversity and triumph. This is a very powerful message brought about in the poem showing woman everywhere anything is possible through having faith and male dominance will not continue to triumph. In the times where all hero’s and superiors were males, this poem brings about a curve in the history of literature as well as the world. Something as small as changing the sex of a character in a story or poem can have countless effects on the world. Male dominance of the time was based on the mentality of winning and taking, this is exactly what Holofernes was expecting to do. Conquering the woman through rape and taking her prison as a sign of weakness, but the woman warrior prevailed. The second triumph in the poem is good (God) prevailing over evil (the devil). Judith’s faith in the Lord is far more powerful then the temptation of evil by the devil. Darkness represented by a drunken man’s idea to rape a â€Å"helpless woman† is denied by the bright light of heaven shining onto the earth to bring courage and strength to a child of the Lord. Brightness proves to be a sign of good life on earth will preva... Free Essays on Judith Free Essays on Judith Judith’s identity as woman warrior put the poem in the social scope of old English times. It was rare that a woman was portrayed as having power, even super-power based on God working through a woman, yet alone acknowledged as being supreme during the time old English times. Surprisingly not, Christian themes are featured in the poem (which reflects the Anglo Saxons vs. Pagan invaders). The most outstanding and important theme in the poem is Judith, the Christian heroin symbolizing good, vs. Holofernes, the Devil symbolizing evil. It is one poem with two very important victories. First of all a woman has been portrayed as the unlikely hero of the time and shines flawlessly on the journey to triumph. This is seen as a symbolic depiction of contemporary literary issues. Through a display of extreme faith Judith is able to overcome adversity and triumph. This is a very powerful message brought about in the poem showing woman everywhere anything is possible through having faith and male dominance will not continue to triumph. In the times where all hero’s and superiors were males, this poem brings about a curve in the history of literature as well as the world. Something as small as changing the sex of a character in a story or poem can have countless effects on the world. Male dominance of the time was based on the mentality of winning and taking, this is exactly what Holofernes was expecting to do. Conquering the woman through rape and taking her prison as a sign of weakness, but the woman warrior prevailed. The second triumph in the poem is good (God) prevailing over evil (the devil). Judith’s faith in the Lord is far more powerful then the temptation of evil by the devil. Darkness represented by a drunken man’s idea to rape a â€Å"helpless woman† is denied by the bright light of heaven shining onto the earth to bring courage and strength to a child of the Lord. Brightness proves to be a sign of good life on earth will preva...

Conservative Views on Immigration Reform

Conservative Views on Immigration Reform In 2006, liberal documentarian Morgan Spurlock devoted a segment of his show 30 Days Latest Developments His resolve may seem surprising, considering how close he became with the Gonzalez family, but his position was vilified in 2009 as a rash of kidnappings occurred in Arizona as a direct result of illegal immigration. Members of Mexican drug cartels, in the US illegally, would kidnap American citizens for ransom, and send the money across the border, where its value was inflated. While the kidnap victims were often the relative of a drug-trafficker, they were just as often the relative of an immigrant smuggler. Phoenix became the kidnap capitol of the US in 2009, with more incidents than any city in the world except for Mexico City.Immigrant smuggling has become more popular in US states bordering Mexico because a load of 30 immigrants can net the smuggler anywhere from $45,000 to $75,000.Very often, conservatives favoring immigration reform will couch the issue in terms of national security. Illegal immigration goes well beyond the US/Mexico border, and kidnapping isnt the only prob lem. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, it was revealed that all 19 hijackers entered the US with valid documents. Some, however, had committed fraud to obtain them. The fraud was easily perpetrated thanks to glaring and easy-to-fix loopholes in the US visa system. Background The issue of illegal immigration is very different from the issue of immigration itself. While most conservatives have no problem with immigrants, there are conflicting opinions about illegal aliens. Conservative opinions are as complex as the issue itself.So-called law and order conservatives favor tightening the US border and deporting illegal aliens back to their countries of origin wherever they may be. Reflecting the growing dependency on illegal labor in the US, so-called business interest conservatives favor easing immigration restrictions and acknowledging the economic importance of immigrant workers. Americans willing to work hard should be able to make a decent living. President Barack Obama to One of the major contributing factors to illegal immigration is the fact that the employment rate in Mexico, which has never been especially sturdy, is reaching alarming lows. Solutions Resolving illegal immigration isnt easy.For example, most people, even immigration reform advocates, would agree that denying anyone emergency medical care is morally wrong. Yet, they would also agree that access to American medical care shouldnt be a perk for illegal immigrants and yet it is. Illegal laborers injured during the course of a menial job are treated by topnotch American physicians.Separating families is also morally wrong, yet when two illegal aliens have a child in America, the child becomes a US citizen, which means deporting the parents creates an American orphan. Heres an example of illegal aliens accessing US medical facilities, and also creating an avenue to permanent US residency without the necessity of becoming an American citizen.Americans consider things like medical care and family unity basic human rights, but for many immigrants who arent afforded the same rights in their countries of origin, these rights are often seen as rewards for making it to America . While rewarding people who come to America illegally only encourages more people to come illegally, the solution is not to deny them their basic human rights.If the giant moat we call the Atlantic Ocean isnt enough to deter illegal immigration, building bigger and stronger fences at the US/Mexico border wont be either. As conservative humorist PJ ORourke observed, Fence the border and give a huge boost to the Mexican ladder industry.About the only viable solution to the problem of illegal immigration is removing the incentive to emigrate to America. If people have no reason to leave home, they wont. Poverty, persecution and opportunity are the main reasons people flee their country of origin. Better foreign aid and a more engaged foreign policy may be the only options to stem the tide of illegal immigration. The Trouble With Amnesty From USAmnesty.org: An amnesty for illegal aliens forgives their acts of illegal immigration and implicitly forgives other related illegal acts such as driving and working with false documents. The result of an amnesty is that large numbers of foreigners who illegally gained entry into the United States are rewarded with legal status (Green Card) for breaking immigration laws. Where It Stands Liberals claim that resident illegals do pay taxes, albeit indirectly. When they pay rent, their landlord uses that money to pay property taxes. When they buy groceries, clothing or other household items, they pay sales tax. This, the liberals say, supports the economy.What they do not realize, however, is how much illegal immigration costs as a result of the taxes illegal immigrants do not pay.For example, when children are brought into the country illegally and use the American educational system, their parents are not paying the local municipal taxes that provide for their childrens education. The problems are more than financial, however. As weve shown, American citizens in the employment sector are denied opportunities every day thanks to illegal immigration. Opportunities are also blocked in the academic community, as well. A college mandated to meet a racial quota may reject an American citizen or a legal immigrant in favor of an illegal immigrant with the appropriate cultural background. Despite the urgent need to pass comprehensive immigration reform, President Barack Obama recently announced his administration will do nothing to address the problem this year. Somehow Obama believes the trouble with the economy and the trouble with immigration are mutually exclusive.Dont expect to see much from the Obama administration on immigration reform at all, unless it is to ease the way for illegals. There are rumors that Obama will make some sort of policy statement regarding illegal immigration in May.Its important to remember that in 2006, Obamas support for a national amnesty movement was apparent as he marched down the streets of Chicago arm-in-arm with illegal immigrants. Then, last year, he promised Latinos that he would develop a plan to make legal status possible for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. If the rumors are true, conservatives should brace themselves for a proposal from the administration along these lines.

The Role Of Contemporary War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Role Of Contemporary War - Essay Example They were also employed as air raid wardens, members of the fire service and also in various voluntary jobs helping their community to get through the war. The services of women are not required only during the war but even after an armed conflict, as they frequently play a key role in the rebuilding of the communities. Usually, in rural areas, they are the chief beneficiaries of the supply of tools, seeds, and livestock to support economic security in the wake of a war. Women also play a significant part in preventing injury from and raising awareness of, landmines, which may continue to cause harm and death to children after the end of hostilities. There is growing acknowledgment that women and children play multiple roles during the conflict. They are not only victims who face violence at the hands of the enemy and sometimes their own people, but can also be active participants in the war, directly as combatants, or indirectly, by facilitating fighting through fundraising or stirr ing their male relatives to commit acts of bravery required at the times or wars. During the war, women often become heads of households; women and children learn new skills and play a part in rebuilding local economies and communities and peacemaking (Lindsay, n.d.). There has always been a need for women to assist with the war efforts. But historically, they were never allowed to join the military. Women helped as nurses and cooks; in short, they were never at the forefront but assisted the men behind the scenes.

Does the governor of Texas need more power Essay

Does the governor of Texas need more power - Essay Example The debate has been mainly informed by the fact that there is a consensus that the governor of Texas has fairly less powers particularly when compared to governors’ offices of other states. Considering this fact, there is debate on whether the governor of Texas need more power or not. There are those who believe that the governor needs more powers in order to match the powers of governors in other states. On the other hand, there are those who believe that additional power is not necessary (Maxwell, Ernest and Adolfo 21). This paper will discuss why the governor of Texas does not need more powers. The Governor’s office in Texas is considered to be extremely weak especially when compared to the powers of governors in other states. A governor of Texas must use the charismatic ability, the power of media, personality and persuasion in order to govern the state more effectively (Brown 17). The power of the Texas state governor is weakened by the fact that the executive office powers are spread throughout a number of series of elected boards, commissions, and offices. Executive powers in Texas is what is termed as â€Å"plural executive† where there are several elected officials who share most of the powers invested typically in one office (Ginsberg 66). In Texas, voters elect several key offices that include the Attorney General, Comptroller of Public Accounts, and the Lieutenant Governor. Since these officials may not have a greater degree of loyalty to the governor and might therefore seek to undermine his term of office (Wilson 55). The powers of the Governor is further undermined by the fact that he has less influence in the budgeting process compared to governors of the other states around the United States of America. The state law allows the governor to transfer funds between agencies or programs to meet emergency needs, even though such process should be approved by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB). It should be noted

Perspectives on Fear :: Personal Narrative Writing

â€Å"At the University of California at Irvine, experiments in rats indicate that the brain’s hormonal reaction to fear can be inhibited, softening the formation of memories and the emotions they evoke† (Baard). Sometimes I have trouble sleeping. I lie in bed for hours while my mind churns through endless streams of fragmented thoughts and memories, bits of brain matter that I do not have time for in my waking life. I have tried the homeopathic remedies. I drink â€Å"calming† teas, take showers, and inhale scents advertised to promote sleep and relaxation. I even have a lavender neck pillow. Nevertheless, when I am inflicted with a bout of sleeplessness, there is usually very little I can do but wait it out. I stay away from sleep drugs. The streetlamp outside paints shapes across the wall next to my bed. I can see them in the darkness, dull orange lines that have become familiar in my many restless nights. At the heart of their canvas, they intersect to form a rectangle. A rectangle? For months I believed in this reality of form with the inborn certainty that accompanies that which is obvious. I didn’t have to think about it. Nightly, I would study the shape in a sleep haze, unconsciously harboring knowledge of its regularity. Except that it is not a rectangle. Two forty seven. Nearly three hours after my first attempt at sleep, I stared up at the wall and realized for the first time the distortion within the orange light. Where the lines connected to form the shape, the rectangle, were angles. Obtuse and acute, they had none of the symmetrical regularity that geometry dictates of a true rectangle. The outline on the wall was crooked, skewed, an imperfect representation of the form. I tend to think of my memories as shoeboxes, precise, neatly uniform components that stack tidily in the mind. Somehow I have trained myself to believe that in regularity and order I will uncover the diagram of my true self, a clear-cut explanation for all that I think, say, and do. But in sleepless nights I realize that even old recurring thoughts can be strangely misshapen, and I am thrown into a tailspin. My memories of experiencing fear seem contorted. Among the most vivid of my recollections, they stand out with their potent doses of color, emotion, and experience. They have been with me so long that I rarely question the nature of their composition.

Trainspotting

The Uncanny in Trainspotting I am interested in analyzing the â€Å"repression† element of the term uncanny in the way it is used in the â€Å"cold turkey† scene of Trainspotting. Repression is the way in which one pushes a memory or feeling to the back of one’s mind, in the hope that it will never come about in one’s train of thought again. If it does however, it would create an uncomfortable and unnerving situation. Trainspotting revolves around characters that are aiming to repress life itself by shooting up heroin all hours of the day.The â€Å"cold turkey† scene of this movie in particular is the most uncanny scene of all because it encompasses many of the thoughts and emotions that Renton, the main character, is trying to repress, but is forced to face. Paranoia, depression, hallucinations, and zombie babies are all a part of this timeless scene that truly leaves the viewer in an uneasy and ambivalent state of mind. Danny Boyle does not waste time easing the audience into Renton’s withdrawal symptoms, but rather throws them right into the scene.From the second Renton is locked in his room, a feeling of uncanniness sweeps over the audience, for as awful as Renton may feel, the audience is left unsympathetic to the whole situation. Renton, as he states throughout the film, is a bad person, and the audience will never sympathize with the bad person. Therefore, as the scene progresses, there is a sense of cognitive dissonance between wanting to feel sorry for Renton, and feeling that he is getting what he deserves. The uncanniness of the scene continues as Renton’s bedroom comes into perspective.It takes place in his childhood room which is covered in trains. It is uncanny that Renton is locked in a room like this, for it perfectly embodies the theme of the movie. The word â€Å"trainspotting† has many meanings, all of which can be applied to Renton’s life. First, it literally stands for one who s pots trains and takes note of when it comes and goes, which therefore translates to an utterly useless life. It also refers to the track marks that are left in the veins after shooting up. Users typically shoot along one main vein, therefore adapting the term, â€Å"station to station,† to this action.A child’s bedroom is typically a place of innocence and safety, however in Renton’s case, it is his doomed sarcophagus. His bed soon starts moving backwards, and the room starts elongating, as if to personify the notion that Renton is being pulled into limbo where he will be forced to face the reality of his oncoming hallucinations. What he soon starts seeing is rather uncanny, for he believes he is being visited by his family and friends, but in reality they are all figments of his imagination made up in his ongoing heroin derived/deprived mind.In particular, he imagines his friend Diane singing the song â€Å"Temptation. † It is coincidental that she is si nging this song because it is about being enamored and drawn to certain people and situations, but having to cope with the reality that they or it will no longer be there. The crawling, dead baby is another vital character of Renton’s hallucination. Baby Dawn, whom Renton has repressed his feelings for since her poor demise, crawls across the room, stops right above Renton’s body, and stares lifelessly into his eyes.The term uncanny is most brilliantly personified through this scene because this baby that was once familiar to Renton, is now altered, creepy, and morbid, creating immense uneasiness due to the uncertainty of her state of being. Danny Boyle masterfully articulates the horrors of withdrawals in the â€Å"cold turkey† scene of Trainspotting, which is why it is considered one of the greatest movies of all time. This was only achieved, however, through the presence of the uncanny, for it was the quintessential factor that made the scene that much more i nsightful and visceral.

Essay on Passionate Gertrude in Shakespeares Hamlet

Passionate Gertrude in Hamlet Like so many of the characters in Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, Gertrude appears to be dominated by passion. This essay will explore this and other aspects of her interesting character. Lilly B. Campbell comments in â€Å"Grief That Leads to Tragedy† on Queen Gertrude’s sinful state: Shakespeare’s picture of the Queen is explained to us by Hamlet’s speech to her in her closet. There we see again the picture of sin as evil willed by a reason perverted by passion, for so much Hamlet explains in his accusation of his mother: You cannot call it love, for at your age The hey-day in the blood is tame, it’s humble, And waits upon the judgement; and what judgement†¦show more content†¦The queen obviously considers her son’s dejection to result from his father’s demise. Angela Pitt considers Gertrude â€Å"a kindly, slow-witted, rather self-indulgent woman. . . .† (47). She joins in with the king in requesting Hamlet’s stay in Elsinore rather than returning to Wittenberg to study. Respectfully the son replies, â€Å"I shall in all my best obey you, madam.† So at the outset the audience notes a decidedly good relationship between Gertrude and those about her in the drama, even though Hamlet’s â€Å"suit of mourning has been a visible and public protest against the royal marriage, a protest in which he is completely alone, and in which he has hurt his mother† (Burton â€Å"Hamlet†). Hamlet’s first soliloquy expresses his anger at the quickness of his mother’s marriage to Claudius, an â€Å"o’erhasty marriage† (Gordon 128), and its incestuousness since it is between family: â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman! . . . .† Rebecca Smith interprets his anti-motherly feelings: â€Å"Hamlet’s violent emotions toward his mother are obvious from his first soliloquy, in which 23 of the 31 lines express his anger and disgust at what he perceives to be Gertrude’s weakness, insensitivity, and, most important, bestiality. . . .(80). When the ghost talks privately to Hamlet, he learns not only about the murder of his father, but also about the unfaithfulness and adultery of his mother, â€Å"the human truth† (Abrams 467). Philip Edwards’ â€Å"The Ghost:Show MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet745 Words   |  3 PagesIn William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Hamlet is a unique character due to his unpredictability. 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Women in Shakespearean plays have always had important roles, sometimes even the leading role. Whether they create the main conflicts and base of the plays, or bring up interesting moral and cultural questions, they have always been put in challenging