Pass the Potato Chips Essay -- Health Nutrition Food Papers

Pass the Potato Chips Has mankind discovered some fantastic substitute for fat to enable people to eat as many snacks as possible without gaining weight? Recently, Proctor & Gamble developed Olestra (sucrose polyester), a zero calorie fat-based substitute, at a cost of $200 million. This product has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) with warning labels. What is olestra? The olestra molecule differs from a fat molecule in that it has six to eight fatty acids on a sucrose core, as opposed to three fatty acids on a glycerol core. The bulkier olestra molecule is not digested, absorbed , or metabolized, and thus provides no calories† (Stern & Hermann-Zaidins ,1992 ). It has the same taste and texture of fat, and even retains this texture in deep frying. One ounce of potato chips with olestra contains only 70 calories, as opposed to the usual 160 calories (http://plainfield.bypass.com/%7Etwilbur/olestra.html). What is the purpose of olestra? The purpose of olestra is two-fold. Consumers believe they can cut calories eating products containing olestra. Since this fat substitute decreases fat intake, the result is weight loss. More importantly, less fat in a person’s daily diet cuts down the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses. What products will contain olestra? Developed by Proctor & Gamble, olestra will be used in potato chips, in corn chips, in crackers, and in other snack foods under the name Olean. Consumers who are interested in purchasing olestra products should try Frito-Lay’s MAX line of snack foods (only sold in limited test markets in the United States). Frito-Lay MAX products will eventually be offered nationwide if test market consumers place these snacks in ... ...n. June 1996, Volume 63, No. 6, 891-895. Greenberg, E., Robert, M.D., et al. Mortality Associated with Low Plasma Concentration of Beta Carotene and the Effect of Oral Supplementation. Journal of American Medical Association. March 6, 1996, Volume 275, No. 9, 699-703. Seddon, Johanna M., M.D., et al. Dietary Carotenoids, Vitamins A, C, and E, and Advance Age-Related Macular Regeneration. Journal of American Medical Association. November 9, 1994, Volume 272, No. 18, 1413-1420. Stern, Judith S., Hermann-Zaidins, Mindy G. Fat Replacements: A New Strategy for Dietary Change. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. January 1992, Volume 92, No. 1, 91-94. Weststrate, Jan., Van hef Hof, Karin H. Sucrose Polyester and plasma carotenoid concentrations in healthy subjects. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. September 1995, Volume 62, No. 3, 591-597. Pass the Potato Chips Essay -- Health Nutrition Food Papers Pass the Potato Chips Has mankind discovered some fantastic substitute for fat to enable people to eat as many snacks as possible without gaining weight? Recently, Proctor & Gamble developed Olestra (sucrose polyester), a zero calorie fat-based substitute, at a cost of $200 million. This product has been approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) with warning labels. What is olestra? The olestra molecule differs from a fat molecule in that it has six to eight fatty acids on a sucrose core, as opposed to three fatty acids on a glycerol core. The bulkier olestra molecule is not digested, absorbed , or metabolized, and thus provides no calories† (Stern & Hermann-Zaidins ,1992 ). It has the same taste and texture of fat, and even retains this texture in deep frying. One ounce of potato chips with olestra contains only 70 calories, as opposed to the usual 160 calories (http://plainfield.bypass.com/%7Etwilbur/olestra.html). What is the purpose of olestra? The purpose of olestra is two-fold. Consumers believe they can cut calories eating products containing olestra. Since this fat substitute decreases fat intake, the result is weight loss. More importantly, less fat in a person’s daily diet cuts down the risk of heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses. What products will contain olestra? Developed by Proctor & Gamble, olestra will be used in potato chips, in corn chips, in crackers, and in other snack foods under the name Olean. Consumers who are interested in purchasing olestra products should try Frito-Lay’s MAX line of snack foods (only sold in limited test markets in the United States). Frito-Lay MAX products will eventually be offered nationwide if test market consumers place these snacks in ... ...n. June 1996, Volume 63, No. 6, 891-895. Greenberg, E., Robert, M.D., et al. Mortality Associated with Low Plasma Concentration of Beta Carotene and the Effect of Oral Supplementation. Journal of American Medical Association. March 6, 1996, Volume 275, No. 9, 699-703. Seddon, Johanna M., M.D., et al. Dietary Carotenoids, Vitamins A, C, and E, and Advance Age-Related Macular Regeneration. Journal of American Medical Association. November 9, 1994, Volume 272, No. 18, 1413-1420. Stern, Judith S., Hermann-Zaidins, Mindy G. Fat Replacements: A New Strategy for Dietary Change. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. January 1992, Volume 92, No. 1, 91-94. Weststrate, Jan., Van hef Hof, Karin H. Sucrose Polyester and plasma carotenoid concentrations in healthy subjects. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. September 1995, Volume 62, No. 3, 591-597.

Why Was Slavery Abolished in 1807/1833?

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade which began in the early 16th century, gained ground in the following three centuries and was eventually abolished in the 1800s. By the late 18th century, the British population began to find the slave trade both morally and financially disagreeable. The four main factors which contributed to the abolition of the slave trade were the campaigns of the white middle class, the mass support from the white working class, the protestations by the black slaves and the economic impracticality of the trade. The abolition was successful mainly due to the effort of the middle class, which surged ahead in its demands for the freedom of the African slaves and was amply backed by the other three factors. _____________ One could argue that the white middle class campaigners were the prime influence in the abolition of the slave trade, as they initiated and persisted with the anti-slavery movement. The campaigners ranged from uneducated yet enlightened people like Granville Sharp, through Methodist clerics like George Fox, to established politicians like William Wilberforce. They were appalled at the inhuman treatment meted out to the African slaves and took it upon themselves to fight for their freedom. This contributed greatly to the final abolition of the trade. George Fox, the pioneer of the movement, founded a group called the ‘Quakers’, which comprised of evangelical white campaigners who believed in the Christian values of equality in the eyes of God. In 1783, they sent their first petition to the Parliament in which they wrote ‘that a nation professing the Christian Faith, should so far counteract the principles of humanity and justice as by a cruel treatment of this oppressed race, to fill their minds with prejudices against the mild and beneficent doctrines of the Gospel’; aiming this argument towards the religious members of Parliament. A similar petition was sent to Parliament two years later. Their speeches, essays and letters conveyed that their ‘fellow-creatures’ who were held in ‘cruel bondage’ were ‘entitled to the natural rights of mankind’, thereby appealing to the moral passions of both the Parliament and the public. While the written word was used to persuade the Parliament to pass the bill, the spoken word was used to raise awareness and convince the masses to join the cause. Granville Sharp, a prominent abolitionist, was an apprentice to a Quaker linen draper until he quit after learning about the treatment of black slaves. He took up the case of a slave, Jonathan Strong, in 1765. Strong ran away after being brutally beaten by his owner. Sharp was moved by Strong’s condition and took the case to court where justice was served to Strong after three years. After the case gained publicity, Sharp became more involved in the abolition of the slave trade. William Wilberforce, a member of the House of Commons and a famous abolitionist also played an important role in the campaign as he gave the blacks and the public a voice in the Parliament. He personally knew William Pitt, the prime minister, and therefore had a lot of influence in the Parliament, which helped him gain support for the campaign. In addition to the abolitionists, white working and middle class women involved themselves in the movement. Names of Mary Birkett, Hannah More, the writer of the ‘Sorrows of Yamba’ and Mary Wollstonecraft are worthy of mention. The cause of the slaves gave women the opportunity to stand up for something they believed strongly in. They, along with the men, boycotted slave-grown products like sugar, rum and cotton. That they contributed considerably to this movement is borne out by the fact that 10% of the subscriptions to the Abolition Society were women. Art and literature also played an important part in the success of the white middle class campaigns. The middle class’ targeted the educated and the Parliament through art and literature. They argued that poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge also wrote about slavery in their works. The abolitionists cited poems like William Cowper’s ‘The Negro’s Complaint’ to convince the Parliament that if ‘enlightened’ romantics like Cowper and Wordsworth found the slave trade unacceptable, they ought to be taken seriously. Josiah Wedgewood, a potter by profession, created the Wedgwood medallion. From 1787 until his death in 1795, Wedgwood actively participated in the abolition of slavery cause. His ‘slave medallion’ with the inscriptions Am I Not a Man and a Brother, showing a black man in a supplicatory pose attracted the public’s attention. It soon became an identity of the campaign and was seen everywhere, on ornaments, tobacco pipes and hair pins. The white middle class campaigners tried to appeal to as many sections of society as possible. Their Christian teachings attracted the evangelicals; they gained mass support from the working class with their speeches and introduced the movement to the upper class and Parliament with petitions. They focused on raising awareness and their emotional arguments convinced the public to espouse the cause of the slaves. _________________ Another factor that greatly affected the abolition of the slave trade was the support of the white working class. Their support was gained through the influence of the white middle class campaigners. The working class took action by signing petitions which were sent to the Parliament. In 1788, over one hundred petitions defending African slaves were presented to the House of Commons in the span of three months. The sheer number of people who had signed these put the Parliament under pressure to comply and deliver to the masses what they wanted, for fear of revolts and rebellions. The British regime had to manage rebellions in the slave colonies of Barbados, Haiti, Cuba, America and such like and could not afford their own people revolting. The working class used mass support a means of forcing the Parliament to agree to their proposition to abolish slavery. In Manchester in 1778, 10,000 people signed a petition to the Parliament and one year later, an additional 10 thousand people signed yet another petition. In 1792, 592 letters and proposals were sent to the Government, once again urging them to take proactive measures. _______________ Because of the vital role the African slaves played in the struggle for their freedom, it could be said that their influence was most crucial to the abolition of the slave trade. Their discontentment and rebellions pushed the Parliament to consider abolition of this trade. They resisted capture and imprisonment and black mutinies, such as the infamous mutiny on the ship Amistad which carried black slaves, were not an uncommon occurrence. Many pregnant slaves preferred abortion to giving birth to a chattel slave. Very few people in Britain knew about the maltreatment of slaves until some slaves like Olaudah Equiano bought their freedom and spoke of their wretched lives in the colonies. Equiano wrote an autobiography titled ‘The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African’ in which he exposed the atrocities perpetrated on slaves, including the mass killing on the slave ship Zong. The impression he made on the British populace inspired many other black slaves to revolt and buy their freedom. Toussaint Louverture, another slave, rebelled against authorities by leading the Haitian Revolutions which put a lot of pressure on the Parliament which feared a chain reaction of similar events. The Parliament could not, however, take action because they had not yet taken a legal stance on the trade. No laws or bills had been passed to legalise the slave trade, nor had any been proposed to abolish it. The Parliament had to make a decision, which they did in 1807, and their choice to abolish the slave trade was influenced greatly by the riots and rebellions of the African slaves. _________________ In addition to reasons cited above, the economic impracticality of continuing with the slave trade contributed to its abolition, although it was relatively less important. With America becoming independent in 1776, it was no longer obliged to trade with British sugar colonies such as Barbados and Jamaica, and instead traded with the French and the Dutch. The import of sugar in Britain also decreased dramatically and was replaced by cotton, causing the textile industry during Industrial Revolution to flourish. The Industrial revolution which began in 1750 and picked up pace by the early 1800s relied on the growth of technology, therefore making manual labour redundant. These economic reasons finally gave everyone a reason to abolish the slave trade and therefore, in 1807 the first bill against slavery was passed. ________________ Of the four factors that spurred the Parliament to abolish slavery, the campaigns made by the white middle class were most important. The revolution was sparked off by the campaigners’ efforts to raise awareness of the condition of the slaves. Although the slave expressed their discontentment through revolts, they did not ruffle the feathers of the Parliament. It was not until the middle class protested against the practice that the Parliament considered abolition of the slave trade. It was the middle class’ campaigning that not only emboldened the black slaves to step up the intensity of their protests, but also swept up the support and empathy of the working class for the cause. The middle class, headed by Wilberforce, also submitted petitions to the Parliament, making them aware of the demands of the public. The middle class campaigning, however, could not have achieved what they did without the support of the masses and the persistence f the black slaves. The fact that the slave trade was not economically viable too was important and finally gave the Parliament a reason to abolish the slave trade. The Parliament had little to lose and could also support a movement that sweeping the nation and therefore, the economic factors created a big change in the Parliament’s final decision to abolish slavery, but had the white middl e class campaigners not initiated the movement, slavery may have taken a considerably long time to be eridicated and this abhorrent practice may have still been alive today. The efforts of the white middle class campaigners, the empathy of the white working class, the perseverant struggles of the African slaves and the realization by the Parliament of the economic futility of continuing with the slave trade bore fruit and the abolition act of 1833 was passed.

Romantic or Classical

Matthew Arnold’s â€Å"The Function of Criticism at the Present Time† is a criticism in itself of what great literary artists could have done and what literature could have become. In depth, Arnold’s work discusses his critical and personal perspectives on the role of criticism in consequentially transforming not only literature but also the landscape of society positively and constructively as well.Furthermore, Arnold sought to strengthen his arguments on the matter and present a rebuttal of the various criticisms put forth against his ideas and points of view, and prove that criticisms are of great importance in fuelling creativity and fostering the advancement of literature. However, Arnold implicitly distinguished differences between the positive and constructive types of criticism as compared to the off-putting and unconstructive nature of some criticism.Arnold argued that â€Å"a critic may with advantage seize an occasion for trying his own conscience, an d for asking himself of what real service, at any given moment, the practice of criticism either is or may be made to his own mind and spirit, and to the minds and spirits of others. † (pp. 414) Arnold’s arguments on the ideal nature of critics formulated his perspectives on how and when criticisms may be considered valuable.Under the pretexts of Arnold’s arguments, we realize that unless criticisms are aimed towards the greater good – that is, to present censures and critiques for the purpose of fuelling creativity, fostering change and advancement, and ultimately to affect a change that would positively and constructively change the lives of man and the landscape of society – they are deemed ineffectual or inadequate. Arnold also discussed creativity under the context of developing literature.Arnold said, â€Å"It is undeniable that the exercise of a creative power, that a free creative activity, is the highest function of man; it is proved to be so by man’s finding in it his true happiness. † (pp. 414) The multifaceted structure of the human mind allows man to express creativity in so many ways and create different outcomes out of it, such as the expression of creativity through developing criticisms and then consequently formulating good literature.The excerpt from Arnold’s â€Å"Sweetness and Light,† he explored the dynamics of culture based on the motivations that constitute a part of its bases or foundations. Arnold said, â€Å"Culture is then properly described not as having its origin in curiosity, but as having its origin in the love of perfection; it is a study of perfection. It moves by the force†¦ but also of the moral and social passion for doing good. † (pp.427-248) Since Arnold has framed the origins of culture not on mere curiosity, but on man’s desire to seek and create perfection, he said that culture then serves a greater purpose to creative positive and constr uctive change, accomplish human needs, and foster the convalescence of human nature. By and large, the arguments of Arnold meet the standards and dynamics of romantic aesthetics and poetry. Based on Wellek’s discussions on the Classical and Romantic movements, classical poetry was defined as â€Å"poetry for the dead† while romantic poetry was defined as â€Å"poetry for the living.† (pp. 259) The primary difference between the Classical and Romantic movements that set the distinction between the nature of classical and romantic poetry lies in the major themes that constitute the dynamics of each style. Wellek said, â€Å"Ancient religion and the life are past and gone, and hence classical, while for instance, America, discovered in modern times, is romantic. † (pp. 260) Since Arnold’s perspectives and arguments were related to the development of the present time, the society, and expansion of human nature, his views on poetry are romantic in natur e.2. Abram’s Theories of Art Abrams’ theories on art were primarily tied to the modernist perspective of criticism. In the discussion on the â€Å"Orientation of Critical Theories,† which were attributed to art, the modernist perspective of viewing, realizing the significance, and interpreting art focused on a single perspective, and that is of the artist, and not on the many factors that exist in art’s external environment that contribute criticism and interpretations to it.The aesthetic theory, as Abrams defined, â€Å"displays its full measure of rhetoric and logomachy which seem and inseparable part of man’s discourse about all things that really matter†¦ Its aim, however, is not to establish correlations between facts which will enable us to predict the future by reference to the past, but to establish principles enabling us to justify, order, and clarify our interpretation and appraisal of the aesthetic facts themselves. † (pp.2) Abrams’ definition of the aesthetic theory of viewing art leads us to understand that interpreting and labeling meanings on pieces of art should be based on established principles of aesthetics. On the other hand, the critical theory of viewing art â€Å"has its own kind of validity†¦ Such a criterion will, of course, justify not one, but a number of valid theories, all in their several ways of self-consistent, applicable, and relatively adequate to the range of aesthetic phenomena. † (pp.3) If the aesthetic theory of poetry lies in the principles and nature of aesthetics as seen on the perspective of the artist, the critical theory of viewing art is dependent on the existence of standards and decisive factors, which literally and actually define the features that make up art and the pennants that define aesthetics. Another theory of art criticism discussed by Abrams is the view of art within four elements or coordinates – the universe, the work, the artist , and the audience.In this theory, the interpretations of art are oriented in the perspectives of one of the factors within the external environment of art. The pragmatic theory, as opposed to the aesthetic and critical theories of viewing art sees art as a vehicle for the artist’s accomplishment of a higher goal or objective. Art, in this case, becomes a tool utilized to achieve something meaningful to the artist, or even the factors that constitute art’s external environment.If the pragmatic theory sees art as an instrument to do something, the expressive theory on the other hand, sees art as a vehicle to express the artist’s thoughts and emotions. Art, in this case, is personal that results from the artist’s thoughts and emotion translated to a concrete piece of art. Another theory defined by Abrams is the objective theory of viewing art. This particular theory focuses on the facts and standards of art.The act of viewing art is by looking at the art in itself, and not considering the thoughts and perspectives contributed by the factors existing in its external environment. Art, in this case, is seen and interpreted as is. Based on the definitions of Abrams of the different theories of viewing art, Eliot’s poetry subscribes the orientation of perspectives and interpretations of art to the four factors elements of coordinates of art, specifically the perspectives and interpretations of the audience, while Hulme’s poetry subscribes to the expressive and pragmatic theories of art criticism.Eliot himself defined the views and perspectives of art as something that should be personal and experienced by the audience, that is because the audience â€Å"enjoy the poetry† and not because the audience â€Å"acquired the scholarship† to appreciate art. (Scofield, pp. 1) Hulme’s poetry, on the other hand, was defined as an instrument to express language that is real, affecting or appealing to human emotions. (Comentale & Gasiorek, pp. 98) 3. Abram’s Theories in Virginia Woolf’s â€Å"Modern Fiction†Virginia Woolf’s â€Å"Modern Fiction† is an exploration of the features of art and literature from the past until present time, which sets apart classical art and literature and the modern representations of art and literature. Woolf discussed the two arguments on the difference between the concrete art and literature materials that constitute the classical and modernist perspectives, but ultimately admired the simplicity yet timelessness of classical works on art and literature.Woolf said, that the works of classical artists or writers â€Å"certainly have a strange air of simplicity† but were representations of â€Å"accomplishments that we can scarcely refrain from whispering that the fight was not so fierce for them as for us† considering the complexity and the demands of writing in our modern world. (Woolf) Certainly, there is something a bout the features of the classical perspectives on art and literature that allow them to withstand the passage of time and modernity, that is â€Å"the flesh of their work has a living, breathing, everyday imperfection which bids us take liberties with it we choose.† (Woolf) Woolf continues to set the distinction between the classical and modern literature in order to construct the framework of the foundations of modern literature that makes it incomparable to the eminence and distinction awarded to classical arts and literature. However, Woolf ascertained one thing, and that is, the dynamics and position of modern literature is still uncertain as compared to the solid standing of classical literature.After all, Woolf said, â€Å"We only know that certain gratitudes and hostilities inspire us, that certain paths seem to lead to fertile land, others to the dust and the desert, and of this perhaps it may be worthwhile to attempt some account. † (â€Å"Modern Fictionâ₠¬ ) By this, Woolf meant that art and literature is something unprompted and natural, which are borne out of the creativity of artists or literary writers. At this point, the foundations of modern literature have been presented as something that is compliant and accommodating to the artist or literary writer.While on the other hand, classical art and literature remains as forceful and influential because it talks about the realities of life. This feature or characteristic of classical art and literature seem to blur the standing or position of modern art and literature because its dynamics cannot be contained in a single word of definition due to its compliance to various factors, and that is on the varying perspectives of modern artists and writers. Woolf said, â€Å"this may be, the problem before the novelist at present, as we suppose it to have been in the past, is to contrive means of being free to set down what he chooses.He has to have the courage to say that what interests him is not longer ‘this’ but ‘that’: out of ‘that’ alone must he construct his work. † (â€Å"Modern Fiction†) In simpler terms, the desire and inclination of modern artists and literary writers to present something that deviates from established classical arts and literature become the problems and difficulties that challenge their courage and capability to present artistic and literary works set against the backdrop of our modern world.Based on the thoughts and points of view discussed by Woolf in â€Å"Modern Fiction,† we realize that it subscribes to the expressive theory and the coordinates of art criticism, specifically on the varying perspectives of art and literature from the viewpoint of the artist, the audience, and society or the world. Woolf has comprehensively discussed how modern literature constitutes the individual and unique expression of the artist or the writer, according to his personal perspectives and interest that deviate from established standards from the classical movement.4. Modernism The emergence of modernism as a trend in arts and literature, which consequently influenced the changes in the cultural and aesthetic identities in the West, was as Lewis put it, â€Å"has been gradual and imperceptible. † (â€Å"De Descriptione Temporum†) However, as a means to discuss how the world has suddenly witnessed the inception of modernist perspectives, Lewis explored the fusion between the Medieval and Renaissance movements that have brought about changes in the culture and aesthetic identities of society as a whole.Lewis said that although the force and influence of modernism was unnoticed by many, it may be felt or realized by contrasting society’s culture and aesthetic identities with the culture and aesthetic identities of the past. Lewis continues to reiterate that the changes and transformations that we see at present time were borne out of the continuous e volution of the past. Therefore, it was safe for Lewis to say that our culture and aesthetic identities at present time were a fusion between the Medieval and Renaissance movements that evolved and continually changed through the passage of time.As Lewis said, â€Å"nothing is quite new; it was always somehow anticipated or prepared for. † (â€Å"De Descriptione Temporum†) From Lewis’ discussions, we understand that between the periods of time as defined by the author, that is in a metaphorical sense â€Å"Between Jane Austen and us, but not between her and Shakespeare, Chaucer, Alfred, Virgil, or the Pharaohs, comes the birth of the machines.† (â€Å"De Descriptione Temporum†) I believe that beyond Lewis’ thoughts and perspectives on the matter, the persistent creativity and conscious and curious nature of human beings have progressively influenced the shift in the culture and aesthetic identity in the West. In Scott’s book â€Å"Re figuring Modernism: Postmodern Feminist Readings of Woolf, West, and Barnes,† the author’s definition of modernism was similar to Lewis’ discussions on how the continuous evolution of culture and aesthetic identities through the passage of time have been the precursor to modernism.According to Scott, the inception of modernism is similar to a spider web. â€Å"The spider’s actions of repeatedly attaching, launching out into the unknown, and landing for the next anchoring point suggests agency, poly valence, and the ability to make selective use of existing structures, or to seek new ones – not all of them man-made. † (Scott, pp. xv) What Scott meant was that growth and development is a natural part of life. Man is continually learning, which consequently influences the introduction of new theories and ideas that are integrated into man’s way of life and nature.Therefore, the changes in culture and aesthetic identities are brought about the desire of man to make something more out of art and his creativity. This same inclination of human nature to change and look to transform culture and aesthetic identities have been the same reason for the formation of different periods in time, from the Medieval to the Renaissance in the West, and so on. Lewis said, â€Å"our assumption that everything is provisional and soon to be superseded, that the attainment of goods we have never yet had, rather than the defence and conservation of those we have already, is the cardinal business of life.† (â€Å"De Descriptione Temporum†) The transformation of the Old Western Culture and aesthetic identities during that period of time to modernism, may then be defined as a fusion of man’s desire to reveal or express change that is meant to overpower the existing cultural, social, and political landscape of society during that time to develop a more progressive and vanguard culture and aesthetic identity that sets itse lf as a better society than the past.Works Cited Comentale, Edward P. & Gasiorek, Andrzej. T. E. Hulme and the Question of Modernism. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. , 2006. Lewis, C. S. â€Å"De Descriptione Temporum, an Inaugural Lecture from The Chair of Mediaeval and Renaissance Literature in Cambridge University, 1954. † In C. S. Lewis, They Asked for a Paper. London, Geoffrey Bles, 1962, pp. 9-25. Retrieved from The University of Cincinnati. 06 May 2009. Scofield, Martin. T. S. Eliot: The Poems. Cambridge University Press, 1988. Scott, Bonnie Kim. Refiguring Modernism: Postmodern Feminist Readings of Woolf, West, and Barnes. Indiana University Press, 1995. Wellek, Rene. A History of Modern Criticism 1750-1950. CUP Archive, 1981. Woolf, Virginia. (2004). Modern Fiction. Retrieved from [email  protected] 06 May 2009.

Othello Essay

In the play of â€Å"Othello†, Shakespeare skillfully uses the opposition of light and darkness to express the ironic conflict of race and Othello’s internal conflict propelled by his sense of otherness and jealousy. By doing so, Shakespeare challenges the audience’s traditional associations of light and darkness. He also allows us to see the how internal conflict could lead to one’s complete destruction. Shakespeare uses the opposition of light and darkness to express the racial conflict in â€Å"Othello†. Literally, light and darkness can be represented as white and black. The time period during which the play is set has an Elizabethan audience who made general associations with these two colours. White was generally associated with fairness and nobility; whereas black was usually assigned to negative connotations such as evil and corruption. However in this play, Iago and Othello are portrayed inversely against this traditional generalization. Othello has a black physical appearance but inside, he’s a fair and noble hero at the beginning of the play. This is supported when the Duke of Venice comforts Brabantio about the marriage of Othello and Desdemona by saying that â€Å"Your son-in-law is far more fair than black†. In contrast of Othello, Iago is a white man in the Venetian society with an absolute black soul. He plots against Othello throughout the play for his own benefits and to satisfy his professional jealousy. In his revenge plan, Iago remarks that Othello â€Å"will as tenderly be led by th’nose/ As asses are†. Iago’s duplicity is also proved by his confession to Roderigo. He states he belongs to the kind of people who â€Å"trimmed in forms and visages of duty. Keep yet their hearts attending on themselves†. Through the traditional associations around light and darkness as well as black and white, Shakespeare shows us the ironic contrast between Othello and Iago, while the black-skinned Othello is pure and the white- skinned Iago is corrupt, a Machiavellian, a personality type, someone who was not true to their word, and it’s the one that the Elizabethan audience feared. In this manner, Shakespeare challenged the general ideas of the Elizabethan society which ranked black people racially to be lower. Shakespeare also allows us to consider the representation of appearance versus reality. What we see with our own eyes is not always the truth, so it’s not necessary for anyone to have racial bias. Shakespeare also employs the opposition of light and darkness to express Othello’s internal conflict. Figuratively, light can be associated with love and honesty, whilst darkness can be used to represent suspicion and jealousy. Throughout the play, Othello always views himself honourable, as the light, and so is his love for Desdemona, which is also associated with light. However, after Iago has manipulated him into believing Desdemona is unfaithful, he starts to suspect his wife’s fidelity, â€Å"I think my wife be honest, and think she is not†. His solution to his internal conflict is to kill Desdemona. But the metaphor â€Å"put out the light, and then put out the light† suggests that he still doubts whether his wife is truly unfaithful or not, as he refers to Desdemona as the light. Ultimately, he regrets his commitment of killing Desdemona by referring to her as a â€Å"pearl† and himself â€Å"the base Judean† who throws it away. Yet in his final speech, Othello presents to the audience his insistence that he is â€Å"not easily jealous†. This brings us, the audience, to see the tragedy of the play, the power that Iago wielded, and the great loss of love. Through the use of the opposition of light and darkness, Shakespeare expresses how Othello has kept switching his belief and judgment from rightness to falseness. The fact that Othello is a black man being in a white world is vital. His sense of feeling himself as â€Å"other† exacerbates his insecurity. This dark side of Othello’s character as a result causes him to lose self-control and commit a series of irrational actions. We witness his shift away from his original lightness. Shakespeare therefore shows us that the Moor has become internally darkened through his internal conflict in terms of feeling jealous and his sense of otherness. In conclusion, Shakespeare uses the opposition of light and darkness to show us the racial conflict in the Elizabethan society and the internal conflict of Othello. He inverts Iago, a white man, as evil, and Othello, a black good man who does wrong because of Iago. Shakespeare therefore challenges the Elizabethan audience’s traditional associations of black and white. â€Å"Othello† is the play that allows us to connect with Othello’s action. We are shown how people can complete an absolute destruction when they are caught by their internal conflict, just as the noble Othello has been darkened by his sense of insecurity and jealousy.

Puritanism in American Literature

Puritanism in American Literature The Puritans had a large influence in American literature and still influence moral judgment and religious beliefs in the United States to this day. Puritan writing was used to glorify God and to relate God more directly to our world. Puritan literature was commonly a realistic approach to life. â€Å"Puritanism as a historical phenomenon and as a living presence in American life has enriched American literature in ways far too numerous to detail here. † (G. Perkins B. Perkins Phillip Leininger 888) Puritanism is a collection of many different religious and political beliefs. Common styles of Puritan writing are protestant, Calvinist, purposiveness, and the writings also directly reflected the character of the readers who were literate and strongly religious. Pragmaticism and both political and religious Idealism are frequently themes in Puritan literature. Puritanism thus laid the basis for Americanism. It did so on the basis not of philosophical or legal argument, but of Christian belief based on the Bible. Gelernter 25)The Calvinist ideology, which was popular in Puritanism was based off of the Five Points, which are total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the â€Å"saints. † Total depravity is the idea that all humans are born sinful. Unconditional election means that God chooses who he wants to save and also contains the concept of predestination, which is an ideology that God damns certain individuals for the salvation of others. This also ties in with limited atonement, the ideology that Jesus only died for a selected group of individuals, not for everyone. The ideology of irresistible grace is that â€Å"the saving and transfiguring power of God,† cannot be either earned or denied. Perseverance of the â€Å"saints† is the ideological belief that elected individuals have the power to interpret the will of God and to live in an upright fashion. The Puritans had secular concerns as well as religious. Puritans believed in working hard, and doing selfless things to help others. Puritans also believed in typology, the belief that God's intentions are present in human action and in natural phenomenon. Failures to understand these intentions are human limitations. (â€Å"American Puritanism: A Brief Introduction†) In 1620, William Bradford formed the Plymouth Plantation with a group of Europeans that came with him to America. In only a year, their number of survivors decreased by half. Bradford kept a journal that chronicled the first 30 years of Plymouth Colony. Plain speech was the high literary value of this society, as expressed by William Bradford, who enjoined â€Å"a plain style, with singular regard to the simple truth in all things. (â€Å"The Influence of Puritanism on American Literature†) In this journal, he exhibited diplomacy and integrity, the ability to assure the colony’s survival, and made a contribution in avoiding potential disasters. His principles established religious freedom and self-government that later shaped American colonial government. John Winthrop wrote A Modell of Christian Charity either before he crossed into America in 1630 or along his journey to the New World. In this book, the struggles that were to be faced in the New World are discussed along with Winthrop’s ideas and plan’s to overcome them. Winthrop was considered to be a contributor to the concept of American exceptionalism, the idea that the New World is unique to other countries by ideology based on laissez-faire and egalitarianism along with liberty. Winthrop has also portrayed that Puritans were neither visionaries nor self-conscious heroes. They were a part of society that believed in solid work such as building homes, trading, farming, and government. Anne Bradstreet was unique to authors of her time because her work had literary creativity and artistic merit and was written for literature. In contrast, works of Winthrop and Bradford were written for historical purposes and to express their positions and political beliefs on certain positions. In England in 1650, some of Bradstreet's poems compiled together by her brother-in-law who named them The Tenth Muse. The first of these poems was the Four Elements, which are fire, water, earth, and air. The Constitutions were the four temperaments of man kind as they were seen by medieval and Renaissance physiology, choleric, melancholic, phlegmatic, and sanguine. The four Ages of Man, which are child, teen, adult, and elder as Seasons of the Year which are Fall, Spring, Summer and Winter were described and explained. Bradstreet was better with her knowledge of literature rather than her own personal opinions directly. In some poems, Bradstreet displays deep affections of the patriarchal Puritan household and a sensuous response to nature. Bradstreet’s literature showed both sides of the spectrum by upholding puritan beliefs as well as creating artistic merit. The American writings of the seventeenth century possess as a whole no great artistic merit. They are valuable chiefly as a study in origins and as a complex mirror of early American experience. The world that they reflect is that of the Renaissance and Reformation, of Raleigh and Calvin and Cromwell, modified by its contact with the American wilderness. (â€Å"American Literature Lectures, Part I†) They are valuable in the sense as it is a study in origins of popular religious and political ideology of the early American experience that helped shape present day America. This experience was one that reflected the Renaissance and Reformation of individuals such as Calvin and Bradstreet. The branch of Reformation in Puritan ideology was one of the main topics of early American literature. In this Puritan literature, the mind of the a Puritan is shown through its consciousness of sin, Calvinistic beliefs, superstitions, contradicting beliefs of orthodoxy and nonconformity, and its preference to moral value over aesthetic value. Puritan tradition was a major influence in our nations government through establishments of principles such as the relationship between church and state and government’s popular sovereignty. Puritanism has contributed to the way our day-to-day lives are carried on. It has also contributed the way literature has transformed over the years. Many political and religious ideologies from Puritan literature are still upheld today. Works Cited Gelernter, David. â€Å"Puritanism lives. † The American Enterprise17. 4 (2006): 25+. Student Edition. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. â€Å"Puritans and Puritanism. † Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. George B. Perkins, Barbara Perkins, and Phillip Leininger. Vol. 1. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 888. Student Edition. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. â€Å"PAL: American Puritanism: A Brief Introduction. † California State University Stanislaus | Home. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. . Renaissance, the, the Reformation. â€Å"American Literature Lectures, Part I. † Texas. Net Lonestar. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. < http://lonestar. texas. net/~mseifert/amlit1. html> Signet, Theodore Dreiser. New York:, and 1964. 815-28.. â€Å"The Influence of Puritanism on American Literature :: The Compulsive Reader :: A Haven for Book Lovers. † Compulsive Reader. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. .

Jose Enrique Rodo's Ariel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Jose Enrique Rodo's Ariel - Essay Example As Carlos Fuentes explains in the prologue, "Ariel appears as the emotional and intellectual response of Latin American thought and Latin American spirituality to growing North American imperial arrogance, gunboat diplomacy, and big stick policies."1 United States utilitarianism is seen negatively by Rodo, since it represents a cultural conquest that could easily take over the Spanish American way of life. Rodo criticizes the United States drive to dominate the world and force his ideals onto the world, causing "the axis of the world to shift in the direction of a new Capitol". Jos Enrique Rodo published Ariel in 1900, at the turn of a new century and at times where modernists were discussing and questioning the role of society, as well as the idea of powerful masses versus the individual self. This text basically deals with the question of how Latin American culture is to survive in a modern mass society that often admires the United States democratic and utilitarian way of life. The essay, one of Rodo's most influential works, uses Shakespeare's characters from ''Tempest,'' Ariel who represents the spiritual values, and Prospero, a teacher who represents the intellectual, and is faced with a choice between losing power or allying himself with the masses. In Prospero's character, the author incarnates the Latin American concern of whether succumbing to the ut

Standardizing Data Center Energy Efficiency Metrics in Preparation for Term Paper

Standardizing Data Center Energy Efficiency Metrics in Preparation for Global Competition - Term Paper Example Information technology is believed to provide the benefit of operational brilliance, fresh services, products, business models, customer as well as supplier familiarity, enhanced decision making, competitive advantage and most importantly sustained survival in the industry. Information technology is also being applied in the field of community services or rather in the area of humanities as well as social sciences. Thus, this paper will intend to focus on a particular technology along with its application in terms of business problems in the field of community services or development. The business problem selected for the study will be related to the management of information services or communication for the elderly in various areas that includes health, finance and entertainment along with sports. The technology or strategy that has been chosen for the reason of overcoming this problem is reshaping of the data center. Therefore, the paper will intend to substantiate and to validate the application of the technology of reshaping the data center for the purpose of enhancing a social-related cause (Girju, â€Å"Toward a New Generation of Tools and Technologies for Social Sciences: The Intertwined Roles of the Humanities, Social Sciences and Engineering†). ... For instance, the current discoveries made in the fields of neuroscience, imaging, genomics and computing along with various other fields have formulated the need for fresh tools with regard to the purpose of conducting scientific study in SBE. It has been observed in this regard that various sectors such as sports, finance, health and entertainment are extensively making the use of information technology. The businesses carrying out operations for the reason of providing the mentioned kind of services are constantly identifying the need of applying relevant technologies that are believed to enhance their business operations. The recent state of affairs in relation to information technologies with regard to SBE researches are measured to call for the requirement of a fresh generation of technologies, infrastructure and tools. It turns out to be imperative to mention in this regard that this stated fresh iteration has been measured to recognize the need for the involvement of humanist ic consciousness in association with the prevailing computational systems. Therefore, the need of new and sophisticated technologies in the field of humanities as well as social sciences can be well identified from the provided explanation (Girju, â€Å"Toward a New Generation of Tools and Technologies for Social Sciences: The Intertwined Roles of the Humanities, Social Sciences and Engineering†). Business Idea The sector of information technology is learnt to be growing presently across the globe extensively but it also has been observed in this respect that the existing companies providing services of offering custom made technologies for business houses often fail to cater to the overall requirements of the organizations or the clients owing to the lack of comprehension of the