English Coursework †Crucible Essay

The Crucible’ is a play, based on a true event in American history. Written by Arthur Miller in 1953, The Crucible was set in the small Puritan village called Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. This town can be seen to be extremely oppressive, and a place in which people had no freedom or individuality.  Miller wrote the play during the period in which McCarthy’s anti-Communist campaign was at its height. Miller saw many parallels between this period and the ‘witch hunts’ in Salem, for example unsupported accusations, fear of individual difference, and people being encouraged to inform on their friends. Senator Joe McCarthy organized a twentieth-century version of ‘witch-hunting’. In the early 1950’s he exploited the US fears about Communism and managed to create a national campaign against Communists. As chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, McCarthy interrogated many witnesses and tried to make them inform on their friends. Anyone suspected of communist views was arrested for taking part in ‘Un-American Activities’. Between 1950 and 1954 McCarthy investigated and accused a wide range of famous people such as Walt Disney, John Lennon, and Marilyn Monroe. Even Miller was investigated as many of his plays were seen as an attack on capitalism. This was very similar to what happened in Salem in the 17th century. Salem can be seen as a corrupted society in which people were trapped by the strict rules of Puritanism. The accusations of witchcraft and dealing with the Devil in Salem were all started off by a group of girls who were caught chanting, dancing and conjuring spirits in the woods. Dancing and partying was forbidden at this time, due to the strict puritan rules. The forest was thought to be where the Devil ‘carried out his work’, which led people to believe that the girls were witches. This was a prime example of when people’s longing for individuality and or spiritual freedom was undermined by the rules within society. This can be compared to the anti-communists during the McCarthy years, in which people’s political freedom was undermined. Also in both situations the allegations lead to hysteria.  However, many people may argue that Salem is like any other society, even today, full of good and bad people, the exploited and the exploiters. The plot in the Crucible starts after the girls were found dancing and conjuring spirits in the woods, and there were already suspicions of witchcraft. After being accused of witchcraft the girls begin to accuse other people in the town in order to deflect the attention away from themselves. The court believes these accusations made by the girls, and many are named as witches, and are sentenced to death. This then leads to many hangings of innocent individuals, who would rather die than commit the sin of lying and having their names tarnished. John Proctor and Abigail Williams are two central characters in the play. Their secretive affair results in Abigail conjuring spirits, as she was obsessed with rekindling their relationship. However John rejected her, which led to her becoming even more desperate to be with him. Her desperate act led to a catalogue of events, resulting in the death of many innocent people. John is one of those suspected of witchcraft. When given the opportunity to confess, he does so. However after signing the confession, John suddenly changes his mind. He takes back his confessions as he realises that he could not live with a name associated with witchcraft, and would therefore rather die. This can be linked to the themes of integrity and courage. Both of these themes are explored throughout the play through many different characters. Another central theme within the play is envy, which is mainly shown through the character of Abigail Williams. Tyranny, purification, justice and bigotry are also key themes in the Crucible as they all contribute to the oppressive society in which the play is set. They also show how people at the time felt a deep religious need to cleanse the town of any association with the devil. This was due to fear and intolerance of any cultural or religious difference or spiritual freedom. All of the themes explored are linked to the individual as well as the society.

Free Essays on Useless Facts

â€Å"Any Class, Any Day, Any Subject† As I looked into my classroom I saw â€Å"mindless students in perfect rows bombarded by useless facts.† As usual I was late because I needed books for the next class, but there was not enough time to get to my locker. (Compound Complex) I walk in to class and my teacher just gives me a nasty look because we have had this conversation why I am always late. Once I get seated my teacher continues his lecture in a monotone voice that is asking you to go to sleep. (Complex) Next, the clock watching starts, this famous ritual consists of looking at your teacher, yet you don’t really hear what they are saying. Then you start watching the every clock every five minutes, or that is what it seems until look and see the little red hand had not made a single one of it’s sacred revolutions. After twenty minutes of rambling and repeating himself the teacher gives us an asignment that will probably teach us very little and is do at the end of the period. It takes me about five minutes to complete the assignment. After putting my head down in my book for another five minutes I find my self bored enough to play my prehistoric video games on my calculator. Immediately after pulling my calculator out, my friend who is suffering from the same boredom begs me if he can play some games. I really don’t want to, but he is my partner in Spanish and my only chance at a â€Å"C† so I give it to him. There are ten minutes left this is the longest ten minutes of the period because the only thing you have to do is watch the clock. Every second feels like five. It seems as though you can hear the second hand moving. With five minutes left everyone packs up and starts talking which makes time fly by. As the bell rings we turn in our work and go to our next class. Every classroom has a different characteristic. Most of that depends on the teacher but, some subjects can not be taught c... Free Essays on Useless Facts Free Essays on Useless Facts â€Å"Any Class, Any Day, Any Subject† As I looked into my classroom I saw â€Å"mindless students in perfect rows bombarded by useless facts.† As usual I was late because I needed books for the next class, but there was not enough time to get to my locker. (Compound Complex) I walk in to class and my teacher just gives me a nasty look because we have had this conversation why I am always late. Once I get seated my teacher continues his lecture in a monotone voice that is asking you to go to sleep. (Complex) Next, the clock watching starts, this famous ritual consists of looking at your teacher, yet you don’t really hear what they are saying. Then you start watching the every clock every five minutes, or that is what it seems until look and see the little red hand had not made a single one of it’s sacred revolutions. After twenty minutes of rambling and repeating himself the teacher gives us an asignment that will probably teach us very little and is do at the end of the period. It takes me about five minutes to complete the assignment. After putting my head down in my book for another five minutes I find my self bored enough to play my prehistoric video games on my calculator. Immediately after pulling my calculator out, my friend who is suffering from the same boredom begs me if he can play some games. I really don’t want to, but he is my partner in Spanish and my only chance at a â€Å"C† so I give it to him. There are ten minutes left this is the longest ten minutes of the period because the only thing you have to do is watch the clock. Every second feels like five. It seems as though you can hear the second hand moving. With five minutes left everyone packs up and starts talking which makes time fly by. As the bell rings we turn in our work and go to our next class. Every classroom has a different characteristic. Most of that depends on the teacher but, some subjects can not be taught c...

A Comparison Of Night Walker And Roselily Essays - Fiction

A Comparison Of Night Walker And Roselily Essays - Fiction A Comparison of Night Walker and Roselily Brent Staples' Night Walker and Alice Walker's Roselily both present a glimpse into the world view of African-American culture through human characters set in ironic situations. The tone of Roselily is one of sardonic condemnation, whereas the tone of Night Walker is one of melancholy and anger in the face of alienation. Both deal with victimization, Night Walker's being derived from being mistaken for a criminal, and Roselily's dealing with the confines of a traditional marriage and the anxieties which result. Walker and Staples' stories hold an unusual irony as the perceived innocent are victims, and the perceived aggressors are the persecuted. Walker makes use of many descriptive images from the young woman who begins, "...dragging herself across the world."(P 335) to the "...crush of well-wishing people..." Each paragraph is anchored to the marriage by a preceding verse from a traditional marriage ceremony. Staples' descriptive images, though more contemporary in time, rely upon heavy contrast to sharply underscore his points. For instance describing, "...a relatively affluent neighborhood in an otherwise mean, impoverished section of Chicago." Morgan Glines English AP April 12, 1997

Biography of Fernand Leger, Forerunner of Pop Art

Biography of Fernand Leger, Forerunner of Pop Art Fernand Legà ©r, born Joseph Fernand Henri Là ©ger (February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955), was a French artist, specializing in paintings, sculpture, and film. His innovative variants on cubism and figurative art led to him being regarded as a forerunner of the pop art movement. Fast Facts: Fernand Là ©ger Full Name: Joseph  Fernand  Henri  Là ©gerOccupation: Painter, sculptor, filmmakerBorn: February 4, 1881 in  Argentan, FranceDied: August 17, 1955 in  Gif-sur-Yvette, FranceSpouses: Jeanne-Augustine Lohy (m. 1919-1950), Nadia Khodossevitch  (m. 1952-1955)Key Accomplishments: Influenced by the industrial age and the two world wars, Fernand Leger developed a unique artistic outlook that preceded the developments and concerns of Pop Art. Early Life Fernand Legà ©r was born in Argentan, in the Normandy (then Lower Normandy) region of France. His father was a cattle farmer. Little is known about his early life until he began his schooling and professional career. Initially, Legà ©r did not train in the arts. At the age of sixteen, he began training as an architect. He finished his formal architectural training in 1899, and the following year, he moved to Paris. For about a year or two, he worked as an architectural draftsman, but in 1902, he shifted into the military. Legà ©r spent 1902 and 1903 in military service, based out of the city of Versailles. French expatriate artist Fernand Leger standing in front of his completed murals. John Gutmann / Getty Images After his military service ended, Legà ©r attempted to get more formal art training. He applied to the École des Beaux-Arts but was rejected. Instead, he enrolled at the School of Decorative Arts. Ultimately, he attended the École des Beaux-Arts in a non-enrolled capacity for three years while also studying at the Acadà ©mie Julian. It was not until the age of 25 that Legà ©r began working as an artist in earnest. In those early days, his work was in the mold of the impressionists; later in his life, he destroyed many of these early paintings. Developing His Art In 1909, Legà ©r moved to Montparnasse, an area of Paris known for being home to a wide array of creative artists, many of whom lived in poverty in order to pursue their art. While there, he met several other artists of the era. In 1910, he had his first exhibition, with his art displayed at the Salon dAutomne in the same room as that of Jean Metzinger and Henri Le Fauconnie. His most important painting at the time was Nudes in the Forest, which displayed his particular variation on cubism, dubbed â€Å"tubism† by art critic Louis Vauxcelles for its emphasis on cylindrical shapes. Sothebys employees pose for photographers with Fernand Legers Cubist masterpiece Etude pour La Femme Bleu, on April 21, 2008 in London, England. Cate Gillon / Getty Images Cubism was a relatively new movement at the time, and in 1911, Legà ©r was part of a group that displayed the development to the general public for the first time. The Salon des Indà ©pendants displayed together the work by painters identified as cubists: Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Henri Le Fauconnier, Robert Delaunay, and Fernand Là ©ger. In 1912, Legà ©r again exhibited work with the Indà ©pendants and was part of a group of artists dubbed the â€Å"Section d’Or†- the â€Å"Gold Section.† His works of this era mostly were in palettes of primary colors or green, black, and white. After the Great War Like many of his countrymen, Fernand Legà ©r served in World War I, then called the â€Å"Great War.† In 1914, he joined the army, and he spent the next two years serving at the Argonne. Although he was far from the studios and salons of Paris, he continued to make art. During his service, Legà ©r sketched the instruments of war that he was surrounded by, along with some of his fellow soldiers. He nearly died from a mustard gas attack in 1916, and during his recovery, he painted The Card Players, full of frightening, mechanized figures that reflected his horror of what he had seen in the war. His experiences in the war, which was the first massive war of the industrialized era, significantly influenced the next several years of his work. Referred to as his â€Å"mechanical† period, his work from the postwar years through the 1920s featured sleek, mechanical-looking shapes. As the world attempted to return to normalcy following the war, Legà ©r made similar attempts, returning to â€Å"normal† subject matter: mothers and children, landscapes, female figure drawings, etc. However, his works continued to have that mechanical, orderly look to them. Fernand Legers Builders with Aloe, is seen at the Post-War European Art Exhibition at Pushkin Museum, in Moscow, Russia, March 6, 2017.   Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images It was during this time that Legà ©r also got married. In December 1919, he wed Jeanne-Augustine Lohy. The couple did not have any children over the course of their three-decade marriage. In many ways, his work fell under the umbrella of purism, an answer to cubism that focused on mathematical proportions and rationality, rather than intense emotions and impulses. Legà ©r also was fascinated by the dawn of filmmaking, and for a time, he even considered abandoning his visual art to pursue cinema. In 1924, he produced and directed the film Ballet Mà ©canique, a Dadaist art film consisting of images of women’s facial features, everyday activities, and ordinary objects. He also experimented with murals, which became the most abstract of his paintings. Later Career By the end of the 1920s, Fernand Legà ©r’s work had begun to evolve. Instead of sleek, cylindrical forms that evoked the machinery of industry and war alike, more organic influences- and irregular, lively shapes- took center stage. His figures took on more color and even some humor and playfulness. He began teaching more, starting a free school in 1924 along with Alexandra Exter and Marie Laurencin. Painter Fernand Leger sits among his works in his Left Bank studio in 1948, following a trip to New York.   Bettmann  /  Contributor In the 1930s, Legà ©r made his first trips to the United States, traveling to the major hubs of New York City and Chicago. His artwork was displayed for the first time in America in 1935 with an exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. A few years later, he was commissioned by American politician Nelson Rockefeller to decorate his personal apartment. During World War II, Legà ©r lived and worked in America, teaching at Yale University. His work from this era often juxtaposed organic or natural elements with industrial or mechanical imagery. He also found new inspiration for brightly colored paintings in the neon lights of New York, resulting in paintings that included bright stripes of color and starkly outlined figures. Legà ©r returned to France in 1945, after the war ended. There, he joined the Communist Party, although he was more of a humanist with socialist beliefs rather than a fervent, devoted Marxist. During this time, his paintings took a turn to depict more scenes of everyday life featuring the â€Å"common folk.† His work also became less abstract, emphasizing his stronger focus on ordinary people rather than the avant-garde world. French painter Fernand Leger straddeling a chair in front of an incomplete painting, holding paintbrushes, wearing a flannel plaid shirt and a striped tie, Venice 1950. Archivio Cameraphoto Epoche / Getty Images In 1950, his wife Jeanne-Augustine died, and he remarried in 1952 to French artist Nadia Khodassevitch. Legà ©r spent the next few years teaching in Switzerland and working on a variety of projects including stained glass windows, sculptures, mosaics, paintings, and even set and costume design. His final, unfinished project was a mosaic for the So Paulo Opera. Fernand Legà ©r died on August 17, 1955 at his home in France. As the first artist to focus on the industrial and machine age, creating images that reflected modern consumer society, he is considered a forerunner of pop art. Sources Buck, Robert T. et al.  Fernand Là ©ger. New York: Abbeville Publishers, 1982.â€Å"Fernand Là ©ger.† Guggenheim, https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/fernand-leger.Nà ©ret, Gilles. F. Là ©ger. New York: BDD Illustrated Books, 1993.

Usefulness of Accounting Theory to Practicing Accountants Today Research Proposal

Usefulness of Accounting Theory to Practicing Accountants Today - Research Proposal Example Throughout history, the need for a single and unified conceptual framework which will embody the needs of the business organization for financial reporting has been a pressing concern. The lack of established accounting theory to support the reporting of financial transactions and the production of financial reports called for the foundation of financial reporting. Without accounting theory, accountants grapple with the difficulty of producing reports which will clearly represent the company’s performance. Comparison and benchmarking cannot be accomplished since reporting is not supported by the same foundation. The need for a conceptual framework is even highlighted by the era of globalization which aims the creation of a single global village. However, it should also be noted that the usefulness of accounting theory is limited by the adherence of accountants which utilizes it. The financial fiascos that shook the global community highlight the need for a more stringent contr ol and adherence to the reporting process in order to produce financial reports which fully embodies the financial position of a business organization. In the early 1800s, accounting theories were random and ill-defined. Development was unstructured and the formalization of existing practices was still in the very preliminary stages. Scientific development was also quite ad hoc and inconsistent, yet 42 bulletins were already developed before 1970. These facts help magnify the importance of having a united adaptable system for the accounting profession to work consistently. The normative period began to emerge in 1956 and developed until 1970. This stage allowed the development of a set of norms for accounting practices and the commencement of the conceptual framework for accounting. It was divided into two dominant groups—the conceptual framework and the critics of historical cost. As the normative era was not being successfully accepted by the community the period ended as financial theories, and computer databases led to empirical research.

SHOULD ETHANOL BE REQUIRED IN GASOLINE Research Paper - 2

SHOULD ETHANOL BE REQUIRED IN GASOLINE - Research Paper Example However, many others argue that ethanol is neither economical nor environmental friendly and it cannot cater the energy needs of America even if the whole lands in America are cultivated with ethanol producing plants. This paper tries to find answers to the question; SHOULD ETHANOL BE REQUIRED IN GASOLINE? Korzeniewski, (2009) argued that ethanol is cheap compared to gasoline and it helps mixers generate higher octane ratings (Korzeniewski, 2009). Oil prices are growing day by day and more over, the oil sources are exhausting every day. Some experts pointed out that the available oil sources may last for only 30-40 years more if the consumptions continue at the present rate. Under such circumstances, it is necessary for us to find an alternate energy source and many people believe that biofuel may replace oil fuels in future. However, Taylor and Van Doren, (2007) have questioned above argument. In their opinion, the perception about ethanol as an economical fuel is only a myth. They have quoted a 2005 report issued by the Agriculture Department, and argued that corn ethanol costs an average of $2.53 to produce, or several times what it costs to produce a gallon of gasoline (Taylor and Van Doren, 2007). In other words, ethanol use cannot be encouraged in America without giving subsidie s. It is difficult for the government to spend huge amounts as subsidies for encouraging ethanol use, especially in the present economic crisis situations. Another major question raised by the critics of ethanol is the feasibility of ethanol fuel in old cars. These people argued that ethanol may create major problems in old car engines and the engine could be damaged if ethanol fuels used for a prolonged period. In their opinion, new engines and new cars compatible with ethanol is required to encourage the ethanol use in America. Korzeniewski, (2009) has pointed out that â€Å"todays cars and trucks are all fully

Animal Eyes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Animal Eyes - Essay Example When light passes through the retina, it captures some while the rest passes proceeds to the Tapetum Licidum (Winifred & Krause 16). The mirror like layer of cells sequentially reflects light back to the retina (Winifred & Krause 16). This ricocheting of light is what gives off the green like flash in the animal’s eye at night (Winifred & Krause 16). Reflected light in the retina facilitates concentration of light, which enhances visualization. This process gives the animal greater and higher vision besides enabling them to hunt or scavenge their prey at night. Conversely, the â€Å"red eye† color characterizes animals that do not have Tapetum Licidum (Pendergrast 23). Therefore, this implies their eyes are not ready for the sudden entry of light except during incidences characterized by much light, which then penetrates into the eye, for instance, photographing. The â€Å"red eye† glow appears when thick light passes through the pupil of the eye and bounces off the red organs and blood capillaries in the eye. The amount of melanin in the eye can also cause â€Å"red eye† effect. People with high melanin level in the eye tend to absorb higher light intensity. Therefore, little light reflects on the red blood capillaries and body tissues leading to the absence of the â€Å"red eye† effect. Presently, numerous cameras have an installed feature meant to reduce â€Å"red eye† effect that works when flash goes off twice. The first flash makes eye pupils contract, hence making them smaller. The second flash, which is the actual one for taking pictures, finds the pupils smaller and reflects light on fewer blood vessels. This strategy reduces the â€Å"red eye† effect while taking a