Superstition in Julius Caesar :: Classics, Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Superstition was an important concept in the Roman times, as it was the driving force in countless actions of the populace at that time. Shakespeare conveys the idea that many people tried to circumvent what the future held, such as unfortunate events, by being superstitious. This is exceedingly eminent in Julius Caesar, as it influences the basic daily life of the Roman citizens. From naked thonged men to ghosts, almost every person has to deal with superstition, a task that many seem to take as life changing. In Julius Caesar, superstitious feelings within the characters alter their choices regarding life, death, and revenge. The setting of the first scene with Caesar is based upon a superstitious belief, The Feast of Lupercal. Marullus states â€Å"You know, it is the feast of Lupercal† (I.i.67). This was a time of sexual glorification when infertile women attempted to procreate while fertile women sought more offsprings. Caesar’s apprehension concerning his wife’s infertility is illustrated here when he commands Antony, â€Å"Forget not in your speed, Antonius/ To touch Calphurnia.†(I.ii.6-7) He greatly anticipates that she will bear him a child as a result, which exhibits pronounced superstition. However, he (like many others) will change his view on superstitious actions. In the beginning of the scene, a soothsayer, old in his age, cautions Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March,"(I.ii.18) an admonition of Caesar's portending death. Out of Caesar’s haughtiness, and his low regards towards the old man, he overlooks it saying he is a dreamer. However, it was not only Caesar who took superstition into account; many other citizens were afflicted by their conviction in omens as well. Casca’s chronicle of the seven portentous phenomenon he witnessed gives notice to the fact that he believes it is a message from the gods that an evil was going to befall Rome. â€Å"Do so conjointly meet, let not men say/ 'These are their reasons; they are natural; / For, I believe, they are portentous things.†(I.iii.29-31) Furthermore, people sometimes couldn’t make decisions on their own, so they would go to the Augerers. Augerers were what you would call today, â€Å"psychics† and people would often seek their counsel on crucial affairs. When Caesar requests consultation with them after getting an earful of Calphurnia’s shrieks whilst asleep, he does not like what he hears. His servant returns and relays to him, â€Å"They (the Augerers) could not find a heart within the beast.†(II.ii.40). This unfavorable omen implies that calamity awaits Caesar should he leave his house that day.

How the Political Control the Military

â€Å"No new taxes. † This is a quote that most all of us remember from the 1992 presidential election. Along with it we remember that there were new taxes during that presidents term in office. There are a myriad of promises made and things done in a presidential election year that have questionable motives as to whether they are done in the best interest of the people or in the interests of the presidential candidate. These hidden interests are one of the biggest problems with the political aspects of government in modern society. One of the prime examples of this is the Vietnam War. Although South Vietnam asked for our help, which we had previously promised, the entire conflict was managed in order to meet personal political agendas and to remain politically correct in the world†s eyes rather than to bring a quick and decisive end to the conflict. This can be seen in the selective bombing of Hanoi throughout the course of the Vietnam War. Politically this strategy looked very good. However, militarily it was ludicrous. War is the one arena in which politicians have no place. War is the military†s sole purpose. Therefore, the U. S. Military should be allowed to conduct any war, conflict, or police action that it has been committed to without political interference or control because of the problems and hidden interests which are always present when dealing with polit United States involvement in the Vietnam War actually began in 1950 when the U. S. began to subsidize the French Army in South Vietnam. This involvement continued to escalate throughout the 1950†³s and into the early 1960†³s. On August 4, 1964 the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred in which American Naval Vessels in South Vietnamese waters were fired upon by North Vietnam. On August 5, 1964 President Johnson requested a resolution expressing the determination of the United Sates in supporting freedom and in protecting peace in southeast Asia ( Johnson ). On August 7, 1964, in response to the presidential request, Congress authorized President Johnson to take all necessary measures to repel any attack and to prevent aggression against the U. S. n southeast Asia ( United States ). The selective bombing of North Vietnam began immediately in response to this resolution. In March of the following year U. S. troops began to arrive. Although the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution specifically stated that we had no military, political, or territorial ambitions in southeast Asia, the interests back home were quite a different story ( Johnson ). The political involvement in Vietnam was about much more than just promised aid to a weak country in order to prevent the spread of communism. It was about money. After all, wars require equipment, guns, tools and machinery. Most of which was produced in the United States. It was about proving America†s commitment to stop communism. Or rather to confine communism in its present boundaries But most of all it was about politics. The presidential political involvement in Vietnam had little to do with Vietnam at all. It was about China for Eisenhower, about Russia for Kennedy, about Washington D. C. for Johnson, and about himself for Nixon ( Post ). The last two of which were the major players in America†s involvement in regards to U. S. Troops being used ( Wittman ). The military involvement in Vietnam is directly related to the political management of the military throughout the war. The military controlled by the politicians. The micro management of the military by the White House for political gain is the primary reason for both the length and cost, both monetary and human, of the Vietnam War ( Pelland ). One of the largest problems was the lack of a clear objective in the war and the support to accomplish it. The predominant military opinion of the military†s role in Vietnam in respect to the political involvement is seen in the following quote by General Colin Powell, â€Å"If you†re going to put into something then you owe the armed forces, you owe the American People, you owe just you†re own desire to succeed, a clear statement of what political objective you†re trying to achieve and then you put the sufficient force to that objective so that you know when you†ve accomplished it. The politicians dictated the war in Vietnam, it was a limited war, the military was never allowed to fight the war in the manner that they thought that they needed to in order to win it ( Baker ). To conclude on the Vietnam War, the political management of the war made it unwinnable. The military was at the mercy of politicians who knew very little about what needed to be done militarily in order to win the war. There is an enormous difference between political judgment and military judgment. This difference is the primary reason for the outcome of the Vietnam War ( Schwarzkopf ). The Gulf War in the Middle East was almost the exact opposite in respect to the political influence on the war. In respect to the military objective of the war the two are relatively similar. The objective was to liberate a weaker country from their aggressor. The United Nation†s resolution was explicit in its wording regarding military force in the Persian Gulf. The resolution specifically stated â€Å"by all means necessary. â€Å"( Schwarzkopf ). The President was very aware of the problems with political management of warfare throughout the war. He was very determined to let the military call the shots about how the war was conducted. He made a specific effort to prevent the suggestion that civilians were going to try to run the war ( Baker ). Painful lessons had been learned in the Vietnam War, which was still fresh on the minds of many of those involved in this war ( Baker ). The military was given full control to use force as they saw fit. Many of the top military leaders had also been involved in the Vietnam War. These men exhibited a very strong never again attitude throughout the planning stages of this war. General Schwarzkopf made the following statement about the proposed bombing of Iraq in regards to the limited bombing in Vietnam, â€Å"I had no doubt we would bomb Iraq if I was going to be the Military Commander. † He went on to say that it would be absolutely stupid to go into a military campaign against his, Iraq†s, forces who had a tremendous advantage on us on the ground, numbers wise. It would be ludicrous not to fight the war in the air as much, if not more, than on the ground ( Schwarzkopf ). The result of the Gulf War in which the military was given control, as we know, was a quick, decisive victory. There were many other factors involved in this than just the military being given control, particularly in contrast to Vietnam, but the military having control played a major part in this victory. In conclusion, although there are some major differences between the two conflicts one fact can be seen very clearly. That is the fact that the military is best suited for conducting wars. Politicians are not. It is not the place of a politicians to be involved in the decision making process in regards to war or military strategy. The White House has significant control in military matters. That control should be used to help the military in achieving its goals as it was in the Gulf War where George Bush said specifically to let the military do its job. The only alternative to this is to use political influence in the same way that it was used in Vietnam. If we do not learn from these lessons that are so obvious in the differences between these two conflicts then we are condemned to repeat the same mistakes. Lets just pray that it does not take the death of another 58,000 of America†s men to learn that the politicians place is not in war but in peace ( Roush ).

Literary Analysis of Macbeth Essay

The scene opens to Macbeth contemplating to himself about the murder that he and Lady Macbeth are planning. He starts off by saying , â€Å"If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly â€Å" This means that if Macbeth can guarantee that no difficulties happen from the murder, and the murder can be done so no evidence is left, then it would be best to kill Duncan and kill him quickly. He wants to get the deed over with as soon as possible. This exposes Macbeth’s reluctance, denial and periphrasis of murdering Duncan, because he refers to the murder simply as â€Å"it†. Diction becomes significant because instead of referring to the murder as â€Å"the murder†, he refers to it as â€Å"it.†He is trying to avoid saying murder, because he is very hesitant about murdering Duncan. The verb â€Å"to do† is used in with many different meanings in this sentence. By replacing all the meanings of done in the sentence you get If it were finished with when ’tis accomplished, then ’twere well It were performed quickly. By using the verb â€Å"to do† it also adds to Macbeths reluctance to commit the murder because he just wants to get the deed over with. Macbeth continues saying if th’ assassination Could trammel up the consequence, and catch With his surcease success, that but this blow Might be the be-all and the end-all here,† This means that the murder must have no consequences and must can be the with the end of success. By referring to the murder as â€Å"assassination,† it illustrates Macbeth’s departure from periphrasis. It shows he is no longer going in circles about the committing the murder. He again does not refer to the murder as â€Å"the murder,† but refers to it as â€Å"assassination, surcease, and the blow.† This might indicate that he might not be totally out of periphrasis, and still doubts killing Duncan because he can’t say murder or kill. The diction, â€Å"if† to start off the first two sentences indicates the possibility of not going through with the crime. Shakespeare uses the diction â€Å"trammel up† which refers to catching something in a net. In context, it means to catch the wicked â€Å"consequences† in a net. This creates powerful imagery and personifies â€Å"consequences† as if they can be cached in a net. Alliteration of the letter â€Å"s† is used when Macbeth says â€Å"surcease success.† This denotes snake imagery because snakes make hissing noises, and the letter â€Å"s† sounds like a snake’s  hiss. This indicates Macbeth’s wickedness for considering Duncan’s murder, because snakes are usually associated with evil. When Macbeth says, â€Å"be-all and end-all† it shows that Duncanà ¢â‚¬â„¢s murder will be the best of the best and the most essential factor for Macbeth’s success. As Macbeth continues his soliloquy however, we hear a sudden change in his thinking. He says, â€Å"But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, We’ld jump the life to come. But in these cases We still have judgment here, that we but teach Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return To plague the inventor.† The word â€Å"But† indicates that he is changing his thinking. When he says, â€Å"bank and shoal of time,† it is a metaphor fro life itself, because sandbars when constantly plagued with wave after wave from the sea, eventually crumble, so does our life. If Macbeth kills the king he acknowledges the fate of his soul in the afterlife by saying, â€Å"jump the life to come.† This reveals Macbeth clearly as a Christian, because he acknowledges he will be accountable for his deeds and may be sent to hell. This is ironic partly because his â€Å"dearest partner of Greatness,† Lady Macbeth is a pagan spirit worshiper and believes in the power of spirits. This also reveals Macbeths yearning and belief that he should be king, because he uses â€Å"We† when he is speaking singularly about himself. This type of â€Å"we† is called the royal we and is used by kings. By using â€Å"we† Macbeth not only recognizes his hunger to be king, but also reveals that he will do anything including murdering Duncan to become king. The line, â€Å"return To plague the inventor† is like the Hindu philosophy of Karma, which is that the effects of all deeds will come back, making you responsible for your own life, and the pain and joy you bring to others. Macbeth realizes and accepts that he will be punished for Duncan’s murder. Macbeth continues to say, â€Å"This even-handed justice Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice To our own lips. He’s here in double trust; First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself† Over here Macbeth acknowledges the justice of Karma by saying it is â€Å"even- handed. He knows that if he kills Duncan, whether by poison or stabbing or explosion, then he will have the same destruction because others  might want the kingship and they might kill him to get it. This could also be an allusion to the witch’s prediction that Banquo’s sons will become king. Maybe Banquo’s sons will kill Macbeth just like Macbeth killed the king. This possible foreshadowing is the even handed justice that Macbeth might be referring to. Macbeth again uses the royal we to denote his passion for the kingship. Even though he is not king yet, he still believes that he is king. Soon however, Macbeth begins to list the reasons not to kill Duncan. This supports Shakespeare’s theory that people are essentially good because Macbeth used reason to go back to virtue. He says, â€Å"He’s here in double trust: First as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed.† Macbeth is Duncan’s cousin, and he has sworn allegiance to Duncan as his king. These are powerful arguments against the murder. Another reason why murdering Duncan would be wrong, is because Macbeth is † his host† When you visit someone house, you expect them to protect you. For example, this would be like me having a sleepover and me murdering everyone there. I am supposed to protect the people, not back stab them. As Macbeth concludes his soliloquie, he says, â€Å"Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtues Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against The deep damnation of his taking-off; And pity, like a naked new-born babe, Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubins, horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air, Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on the other —â€Å" Duncan is depicted as a saintly, good, virtuous king who has governed well. If Duncan is murdered, the angels in consequence would vociferously speak out against the awful murder and would let everybody know who did it and how. Heavy imagery is used by Shakespeare here to portray the king as some flawless individual who is comparable to angels. The personification of â€Å"A naked newborn babe† to pity creates powerful imagery. Babies are sinless so this would mean that pity is needed to commit the murder. Macbeth must have pity for Duncan, or he will never be able to carry out the plan to murder him. The ultimate hyperbole is used when Macbeth says, â€Å" heaven’s cherubins, horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air, Shall blow the horrid deed in  every eye, That tears shall drown the wind† This portrays Duncan’s righteous and kindness to the point that the universe will feel bad at the death of Duncan, to the point that people will cry so much that the wind would not be able to blow anymore. Macbeth metaphorically imagines he is on an invincible horse, without eyes that will still deliver the message of the murder as a courier. He is going to need a â€Å"spur† to make the horse go faster to go above any difficulties he might encounter. While he is on his way back to virtue and thoughts of not killing the king, Lady Macbeth interrupts him as illustrated by the punctuation â€Å"-â€Å" Maybe Macbeth would have fully overcome the wicked intentions he had of killing the king if Lady Macbeth did not come. However because she interrupted him on his journey back to virtue, she left a small crack open, which could increases back to murderous thoughts. Macbeth is deeply troubled by the terror of murdering Duncan, who is his cousin, a honest man, and a loyal friend. Macbeth’s greatest obstacle in the way of killing Duncan is the guilt he has towards the deed.

Shades children essays

Shade's children essays This book seems to be one of Garth Nixs better works because he expands the mind more then he did in the last novel that I read by him, (Pullmans journey). Pullmans Journey took place in the mid 1700s and was about a poor man struggling to support his family. When he struck upon a bright moon rock, that was said to give him power over night and day. This way he could make his life easier, and essentially control time itself. The overall consequence of this was that whenever he awoke it was day and whenever he slept it was night. This sense of strange happenings made me feel like I wasnt really getting into the book. I never knew what was going to happen and I didnt feel that any of this book was relevant to anything. Most of the books I read I like to make a connection with. In Shades Children, it differed from my life completely in everything except, that it expanded my thought into an area where we rarely see. This book talked about what the future could be like, although it is highly unlikely, theres always a chance. Children were kept in large dormitories and raised to be soldiers with chips placed in the back of their heads to keep them controlled. Large monster type beings called Myzophers controlled these childrens lives. The way it all got this way was when a government corporation took over and stole away every family and killed the adults. Now, a few selected kids have been brought to safety by escaping and being helped to their destination by Shade and his sidekicks. All Shade is in the book, is a computer program and a floating television. Everything in his little society is well organized and under control. He is trying to eventually take back over the world, and re-gain fr eedom. Sure this all seems very puzzling, which it is in fact. I had to read a paragraph over a couple times to finally get wha ...

History Essay

History Essay History Essay Hoover’s Response to Great Depression: He believed it was a crisis of confidence not of capitalism. The market is self-correcting. Hoover had a Laissez-Faire approach to the economy. He encouraged organizations of farmers, industrialists, and bankers to share information, bolster one another’s spirits, and devise policies to aid economic recovery. He urged farmers to restrict output, industrialists to hold wages at pre-depression levels, and bankers to help each other remain solvent. The federal government would provide them with information, strategies of mutual aid, occasional loans, and morale-boosting speeches. He relied heavily on volunteerism. Bread and soup lines were very popular during this time. He enacted the Smoot Hawley Tariff in 1930 which raised tariffs by 30%. The idea was that it would protect American farmers from international competition. Because of this world trade plummeted and it deepened depression in Europe, which hurt the US because they were paying back the US for war debts. Then Hoover declared a 1 year moratorium on European war debts which deepened the US depression. He also tried to balance the budget by raising taxes and the US GDP went down. He then created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1932. It gave $2 billion loan to banks, railroads and state governments. He did not give money to the poor. It was a form of trickle-down economics and it was too little too late for Hoover. Roosevelt’s Response to Great Depression: FDR believed strongly that action needed to be taken immediately. He started off with The First New Deal. It was a dizzying array of laws, agencies and programs to bolster the economy. It was experimental in nature not ideological. Its three basic components were Industrial recovery, agricultural recovery, and short term relief for the jobless. One of the first things he did was put a 4 day bank holiday, and called an emergency session of congress. If after the 4 days the bank reopened, then it was deemed in good shape. This restored confidence to the American people and ended bank runs. For industrial recovery he created the National Recovery Act which had many different components for everybody. Examples were lifting anti-trust laws for business, Created jobs by giving money for public works, right to collective bargaining for workers, created the FDIC and SEC for regulation and confidence. For agricultural he created the Agricultura l Adjustment Act which extended credit to farmers. It also bolstered crop and livestock prices by reducing production, by paying farmers to plow over crops and kill livestock. For the jobless he created the Civilian Conservation Corps which created jobs for young men. The built state parks, roads, playgrounds etc. There was also the Tennessee Valley Authority which used dams to create electricity for poor people throughout the Tennessee valley area. There was some criticism of The First New deal and the Supreme Court ruled the NRA and AAA unconstitutional, this led to the Second New Deal. Started out with direct aid to the needy and created the Works Project Administration, which employed 8.5 million people. They were concerned with public works projects, as well as, writing, theater, art and youth projects. Another part of the Second New Deal was the Social Security Act to protect the elderly. It was just the very beginning of Social Security and it excluded many professions. Why Hoover responded that Way: Hoover was a strong believer in Lassiez-Faire economics. He believed that the economy has periods of ups and downs and that when the economy goes down it will eventually come back up again. He believed that the government must intervene as little as possible. As Secretary of Commerce did not want government to control industry but he wanted the government to persuade corporations to cooperate and make things better for industry as a whole. Another reason he may have responded that way is History essay History essay What were the most significant events in helping Indigenous Australians achieve positive change since World War II? World War 2 was an atrocity for many, its crimes spread far and wide including the execution of Jews, and torturing prisoners of war. But in its wake came a call for change, and all through the world people started to see human rights in a new way and improvements were made all round including for our own Aborigines. The first major changes were to come in 1949, which came with Australian citizenship for all Aboriginals. 1949 also brought them the right to vote in federal elections, if they had served in the army during the world wars, or if they were allowed to vote in their state election. This was countered however in Queensland where voting was entirely disallowed for Aborigines, and in Western Australia and the Northern Territory the right was conditional and was rarely granted. 1949 brought several other changes but most were delayed or simply refused, the major changes would have to wait until later. In 1962 the common wealth electoral act Gave Aborigines the option to vote in all federal elections, regardless of state or location. 1965 brought the integration policy which replaced the white Australia policy and sought to end discrimination towards Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, it also allowed the federal government to overrule state policy if they saw that the states were mistreating Aborigines or ignoring their policies. On the 27th of May 1967 the commonwealth referendum to have aboriginals counted in the national census. It also made changes to our constitution removing section 127 of the constitution which stated â€Å"In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted.† And changed section 51 paragraph 26, which then allowed the federal government to make laws regarding the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. On the 1st of June 1975 the Racial Discrimination Act was passed allowing the federal government to History Essay History Essay For writing History essays such as US history essays, American history essays, European history essays and world history essays, the first thing that is obligatory is the knowledge of the historical topic on which on which you have opted to write. For gaining that knowledge, you can read the history books, journals and articles depicting any historical event or incident. In a history essay, you have to concentrate on only one topic and have to write paragraphs dealing with that topic only. Remember that you should not include irrelevant information in history essays, as it will spoil your history essays. The paragraphs that you write in your history essays should be connected to each other and should be continuous until the argument is over or until the historical essay topics on which you are writing are justified. In a history essay, you have to deal with a number of paragraphs and each of these paragraphs deals with a particular idea or thought. No paragraph should discuss more than one idea or thought or it will look like a rambling paragraph that will have nothing particular and precise. History essays should be written with a clear idea in mind. First of all, an outline should be made that can help you arrange your ideas in a particular format. Before writing the final copy of your history essay, always write a draft. A draft will always inform you about your mistakes and errors regarding to the essays on history. For writing essays in history, students should gather relevant and authorized information from authorized sources to write a history essay. World history essays require enough hard work from the student, as they are very crucial and should not contain any mistake in terms of factual information. In case of delivering incorrect information, the history essays are completely rejected. World history essays require a lot of researching and analysis for the final drafting of a history essay. You have to arrange all the paragraphs using the format of introduction, body and conclusion. The introductory paragraph should introduce the topic fully while the conclusi on should summarize your stated information and the results that you have obtained from all your research. The history essay should be concluded in such a manner that it gives the writer and the reader a sense of completion. The body paragraph of history essays should contain all the information that you want to discuss in your history essay. Art history essay should also be written by following the same format that is described above. The above stated details must have added to your knowledge related to history essay writing. If you still want some sort of assistance related to history essays, you can get non-plagiarized essays on History from our essay writing company, which is there for your service and assistance. You can get AP history essays from our company and you will not be disappointed. You can get all kinds of history essays an all kinds of history essay topics from our custom essay service.

A Story Of A Bird Essays - Great Happiness, Fear Death, God Didn

Story of a Bird ric bird was flying through a forest and had very luckily and eventually found his best tree to build a nest to stay, to enjoy and to love in his lifetime. When he flied towards the tree with great happiness and hope, he was shot ruthlessly, however. But the shoot didn't cause an immediate death to the bird. And he asked why he couldn't be shot early - before he had found his best tree. 'I don't fear death, but I fear the death with regret' said the bird. he bird was looking at his best tree as much as he could before his breathing stopped while he was bleeding badly. 'If God didn't like me to build a nest at my best tree, why did God lead me to find it?' 'Does God like to see my deepest disappointment?' cried the bird. he breathing of the bird had become slower and weaker. But his eyes were still kept on his best tree. He didn't try to seek help because he didn't want to waste a little bit time from looking at his best tree. 'All my attention, my concern and my mind belong to my best tree.' said the bird, with smile. His sight became slimmer and slimmer, and his eyes were going to close. 'My heart and regret are eternal' cried the bird. And then his breathing stopped. His body was made to be a specimen put in the house of a Canadian family.

Empowerment and Goal Setting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Empowerment and Goal Setting - Essay Example It is management's responsibility to create an environment in which that knowledge is brought out and used for the benefit of the people and the organisation. An employee's ability to solve problems, make decisions and take actions based on those decisions, management has often encouraged the first two but has failed to allow the third. (Holbeche 2004, p.60). Three organisations utilising the empowerment process are Delphi Packard (Delphi), Virgin Mobile and Ritz Carlton Hotels, all three organisations are applying the process differently and with differing results. Delphi is applying empowerment as stated in the Holbeche quote from a management perspective, the lead engineer responsible for the day to day engineering management of the Ford Transit Project, has been empowered to request overtime for contractors and permanent staff. The necessity for it and the amount of time required needs to be agreed by senior management. The lead engineer also has the responsibility for giving appraisals and assigning staff responsibilities. All of which merely removes some of the repetitive tasks from the HR department. In opposition the junior staff at Delphi have been given more empowerment as an engineer can act on his decision to make changes to the system without the need to consult the lead engineer.