Merchant Of Venice Essays (858 words) - Shakespearean Comedies

Merchant Of Venice When William Shakespeare wrote, The Merchant of Venice, he included a female character that influences the play dramatically. In most of Shakespeare's plays, the women have little power and intelligence. In The Merchant of Venice, however, Portia is a woman that saves the life of a man with her wit and intelligence. Another woman created by Shakespeare that posses qualities similar to Portia is Beatrice, from Much Ado about Nothing. Both women add to the main themes of the play because of their ability to use their intelligence and witty remarks as well as having a loving heart. The women share many similarities as well as many differences which seem to be inevitable because Portia seems to be put on a pedestal that very few can reach. Portia is one of Shakespeare's great heroines, whose beauty, lively intelligence, quick wit, and high moral seriousness have blossomed in a society of wealth and freedom. She is known throughout the world for her beauty and virtue, and she is able to handle any situation with her sharp wit. In many of Shakespeare's plays, he creates female characters that are presented to be clearly inferior to men. The one female, Shakespearean character that is most like Portia would be Beatrice, from Much Ado about Nothing. Both of the women are known for their wit and intelligence. Beatrice is able to defend her views in any situation, as does Portia. Shakespeare gives each of them a sense of power by giving their minds the ability to change words around, use multiple meanings and answer wisely to the men surrounding them. By adding a loving heart to both of these women, Shakespeare makes their intelligence more appealing. Even though Beatrice hides the loving side of her character for most of the play, she still expresses her kindness and love in other ways. Like Portia, she is a dear friend and an obedient daughter. In the fourth act, after Portia has saved the life of Antonio, she uses her wit, just as Beatrice does to test Benedict's love, to convince Bassanio to surrender the ring that he vowed he would never part with. After simply asking for it and being unsuccessful, she decides to use her intelligence and says, "I see sir, you are liberal in offers. / You taught me first to beg, and now methinks / You teach me how a beggar should be answer'd" (IV.ii.438-440). The only main difference between the two women is the way they are perceived by the other characters. Portia is thought of as a perfect angel possessing no flaws, which is shown when Bassanio describes her to Antonio and says, "In Belmont is a lady richly left, / And she is fair and, fairer than that word, / Of wondrous virtues... Nor is the wide world ignorant of her worth, / For the four winds blow in from every coast / Renowned suitors, and her sunny locks / Hang on her temples like a golden fleece, / Which makes her seat of Belmont Colchis' strond, / And many Jasons come in quest of her" (I.i.161-172). Portia displays all the graces of the perfect Renaissance lady. She is not ambitious, she is quiet rather than restrictive. She is modest in her self-estimation. Her generous spirit makes her wish she had more virtue, wealth, and friends so that she can better help those she loves. Beatrice, on the other hand, is not described as beautiful and even though she is well liked in her society, she is not thought of in the same godly way as Portia is. Besides saving the life of Antonio, Portia is also used to convey the theme of deceptive appearances. Throughout the play, Shakespeare uses his characters to show the audience that a person cannot be judged by how they appear to the eye and that a person can truly be identified by their inner soul. Bassanio chooses the lead casket and proves that even though the other caskets appeared to be beautiful and trustworthy, the treasure was found in the casket of lead. Shakespeare foreshadows the theme of appearances when Portia says to her new husband, "You see me, Lord Bassanio, where I stand, / Such as I am... But the full sum of me / Is an unlesson'd girl, unschool'd, unpractic'd, / Happy in this, she is not yet so old / But she may learn; happier than this, / She is not bred so dull but she can learn" (III.ii.149-164). After saying this to her

fragula essays

fragula essays gahhh!!! i dont want to submit a paper but it appears to be neccessary so heres this paper im working on right now... its about alzheimers, and the whole reson im joining is so i can find a closing paragraph to this essay... so needless to say this paper has no closing, nor does it have a bibliography... so anyways... here it is: Forgetfulness, disorientation, moodiness, poor judgment, these are all things that can happen to a common person on a daily basis. Any person can forget where they put their keys. Any perfectly healthy person can have a bad day and seem to have mood swings. And most definitely, every one makes bad decisions from time to time. But in the case of Alzheimers disease these things cause major problems in a persons life. A person with Alzheimer's may often make bad decisions with money. They often give excessive amounts of money to telemarketers or to salesmen. Then can easily be disorientated also. They often forget where they park and then will forget where they are going or even what they were doing. In extreme cases they can even forget very common words or even forget how to talk all together. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting around 500,000 people in the UK. In America Alzheimer's disease currently strikes an estimated 4.2 million to 5.8 million. The Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary defines Alzheimers disease as a degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized especially by premature senile mental deterioration. In laymans terms this means that it is a disease that slowly gets worse and worse. What happens is that the central nervous system or the part of the brain and spinal cord where sensory and speech impulses are transmitted from starts to brake down. This causes unusual and awkward behavior in the person affected. The term Alzheimer's disease dates back to 1906 when Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician ...

Gender and Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Gender and Language - Essay Example 1950’s television programs were ripe with examples of sexist language. The ‘boob tube’ as it was called then simply reflected life and language as it was at that seemingly archaic time. Women were second class citizens as was illustrated by the casual use of the words ‘dame,’ and ‘broad’ on television. Examples of sexist language can be found in any program at that time. In the Honeymooners, Ralph Cramden was the ‘king of the castle,’ and ‘wore the pants’ in his family (of two). Supper had better be on the table as he arrived home and if Alice got out of line he threatened to ‘send her to the moon’ meaning to hit her in the face as hard as the 300+ pound man could. That was the ‘50’s but this type of sexism in language persists even today. Sexist language can be deliberate, concealed or controlled. The deliberate use of obvious and overtly derogatory sexist terminology is generally considered discriminatory and is patently unfair treatment of women as compared to men. The intention of concealed sexism is also deliberate and discriminatory but the delivery is of a covert nature. â€Å"Subtle sexism is particularly interesting from both theoretical and practical perspectives because it may be quite prevalent, and may have an insidious impact on its victims† (Benokraitis & Feagin, 1999). In Sexism as it exists in language is a controlled manner of speaking that perpetuates gender stereotypes and reinforces status disparities between men and women (Parks & Robertson, 1998). Those less sensitive to sexism as a whole tend not to define the demeaning terms they use as sexist language. These people are of the opinion that sexist language does not exist or are either consciously or subconsciously trying to safeguard tra ditional patriarchal social hierarchies. Those persons more receptive to sexism and the harm it causes do attempt to adjust their speech patterns so as

Global Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Business - Essay Example The company has chosen this market as its first international pilot project because it was geographically and culturally/psychologically close market (Ying Fan, 2009). However, the company realised that it was necessary â€Å"to adjust its business model to suit the new markets† (Ying Fan, 2009:285). Thus, the company has learned the Iron Rule of international business, whereas â€Å"in international business, the seller adapts to the buyer† (Gesteland, 2005: 17). The company continued its business expansion across France, Northern Europe, Mexico, and Greece. Thus, Zara has utilised the benefits of cultural convergence – â€Å"the growing similarity between national cultures, including the beliefs, values, aspirations, and the preferences of consumers, partly driven by global brands, media, and common global icons† (Rugman and Collinson, 2011: 137). Also, Zara has opened a store in New York. Even though it was neither geographically nor culturally close market, it was strategic decision enabling the company to build brand awareness and get close to international fashion brands (Ying Fan, 2009: 286). Thus, Zara has gained knowledge, experience and expertise necessary for successful business development in more distant markets. During the period from 1997 to 2005 Zara has adopted aggressive business expansion and entered other markets despite the fact of geographical or cultural proximity (Ying Fan, 2009). As of January 2006, the company was present in 59 countries across Europe, America, Middle East, Asia and Africa. In order to meet the needs of the consumers from different countries, the company has adopted localization strategy (Rugman and Collinson, 2011). It has adopted its products by modifying cloth size, style, and other elements to local tastes and cultures. In order to enter foreign markets, Zara has adopted three entry modes: own subsidiaries, joint ventures, and franchising. Zara entered most European and South American

Mechanisms of Autoimmunity in Animal Models and Humans

Mechanisms of Autoimmunity in Animal Models and Humans Norzawani Binti Buang Genetic and cellular mechanisms of autoimmunity in animal models and humans

Spas in Roman Times :: essays research papers

What is the â€Å"spa†? The word â€Å"spa† is rooted in the Latin language and means â€Å"salus per aquam.† For those of you who are not very polished on your Latin, that means â€Å"health from water.† â€Å"Spa† is also the name of a small village in Belgium where hot mineral springs were discovered by ancient Romans and used by soldiers to treat aching muscles and wounds from battle. When? It is unclear when the Romans used the first public bath, but during the reign of Caesar Augustus from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D., there were approximately 170 baths throughout Rome.At this time, citizens of Rome began to view baths as a way of providing rest, relaxation, and solace to all people, not just those weary of war. Spa in England In 70 A.D., the Romans built a spa and dedicated it, as a shrine consisting of a reservoir around the hot springs at Bath, in what is now England, a complex series of baths, and a temple, to the honor of the goddess Sulis Minerva. As the Roman Empire grew, so did the number of public baths. By the year 300 A.D., there were over 900 baths throughout the empire. The oldest Roman spa still in existence today is located in Merano, Italy, providing evidence of the idea that the Romans used natural springs in an organized manner to provide treatments. Types of Spa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After exercising, bathers entered the tepidarium, a room where they would prepare for their bath. The first step was to remove the oil from their body. Oil was used as a substitute for soap, which was reserved for only the very wealthy in ancient Rome, then scraped off with an implement known as a strigil, removing dirt and grime with it. Upon completing this step, bathers were ready to enter the caladarium. This room was very hot and filled with steam, created by sunken pools of hot water. Some baths also included a room that was very hot and dry, very much like our modern day saunas, called a laconicum. Visits to the hot rooms were followed by a visit to the frigidarium. As the name implies, this room was cold and served to close pores that were open from sweating in the hot rooms. This room also frequently contained either a small pool of cold water for washing away sweat or a large pool of cold water for swimming.

Role of the Insurance Industry in Economic Development

What Role has the Insurance industry In Economic development? The insurance industry has come a long way from ship owners, merchants and underwriters gathering in Edward Lloyd’s coffee house in London to discuss their marine voyages to new colonies of the British Empire. Over the years, Insurance has become essential in our everyday lives. Something we just can’t live without. Our Economics and Societies are growing phenomenal rates and have become more and more interconnected on the rest of the world, the risks exposed to us become more unpredictable and hazardous.The need to protect against unfortunate events has been around as long as human beings existed. Individuals have always recognised their need to alleviate risks that have the potential to ruin the. At the dawn of modern history, widely dispersed groups of tightly knit hunter-gatherers, relied almost exclusively on clan relatedness as their only bulwark against the ever-present risk of death, debilitating inju ry and starvation.For those early ancestors, the concept of risk always existed, exclusively in terms of the physical persons of individuals, mitigated by the guarantee of personal and kin relationships, rather than objects and possessions. (Buckham et al 2011, pp. 1-9). According to Lopez and Raymond 1967, in antiquity, a sea loan was the first sign of transferring risk. A number of German and Italian jurists have regarded it as something close to insurance. It involved a ship owner promising to transport goods belonging to a merchant and at the same time providing a loan, somewhat of a guarantee.If the ship and the goods arrived safely to its intended destination, the merchant returned the loan but if they didn’t arrive safely, the loan was not returned. From its origins in ancient times, the insurance industry has evolved into an essential service in our society and a â€Å"key component for economic development† (Liedtke 2007). Our lives are progressing rapidly, th ere is a significant increase in the general population, technology and science is continuously maturing and the world is becoming smaller.The insurance industry is now faced with challenging obstacles through â€Å"the liberalisation of insurance and capital markets, changing demographics, volatile stock markets, the shifting of climate patterns and the rising numbers of natural and manmade disasters and subsequent losses† (Ayadi and O’Brien 2006). â€Å"The global risk landscape is growing and the size of potential losses is continuously increasing† (Coomber 2006). Society has progressed significantly from ancient times and our need of insurance has drastically transformed accordingly.The increasing sense of ambiguity and uncertainty in our lives regarding our future economic prosperity and the devastating impact of catastrophic events has certainly reinforced the need for insurance to shield us against new and emerging risks. This paper asks the imperative qu estion: What role has the insurance industry in our economy development? The Importance of the insurance industry for an economy can only in part be measured by the sheer size of its business, the number of its employees in a given country, the assets under management, or its contribution to the national GDP.But insurance is not just about employment and the financial compensation of Victims. It actually plays a more fundamental role in the workings of a modern society, it creates huge capital assets. Due to the nature of insurance contracts which usually involve long time periods, money coming from insurance, usually stays in the financial market of a given economy for quite some time. It is not a fickle investment capital that rushes around looking for quick gains, it is oriented toward the medium to long term. It creates a stable environment by allocating assets according to market forces where needed (Liedtke 2007).There are six main areas where the insurance industry fosters ec onomic growth. I will now go into detail on these six areas (CEA 2011). Private insurance improves firm’s financial soundness: Insurance allows firms to expand and take on economic risk without the need to set aside capital. If a firm did not have adequate business insurance cover this could be harmful particularly for small firms. Small firms have limited capital and have difficulty in accessing financial markets which make them particularly vulnerable to adverse events.Without insurance large contingency funds would have to be in place to protect firms against risk. For most small firms this would represent more capital than they presently employ which would not be viable for most small firms and this would lead to a reduction the population of firms. Fostering entrepreneurial attitudes, encouraging investment, innovation, market dynamism, and competition: To be innovative you have to take risks. Since entrepreneurs just like ordinary people are characterised by risk aversi on, the willingness to take risks can be considered a scarce resource (Kugler and Ofoghi 2005).More will be produced if greater risk is taking. Well developed insurance markets contribute to the development of an economy by helping to optimise the allocation of the scarce resource of ‘risk taking’ by moving it from a conservative to an innovative and high profits activities. On the other hand uninsured firms are very conservative and generally do not exploit new business opportunities and invest less in innovation and their degree in the global markets is low. Offering social protection alongside the state, releasing pressure on public sector:In all industrialised countries a major problem is not too far down the line. Due to improvements in healthcare and quality of life population’s structures in industrialised countries are changing where people are living a lot longer and at the same time the birth rate has also decreased. People are also expecting to receive a high level of healthcare, pensions, unemployment allowance and other social benefits. This raises great concern as public expenditure will be put under huge pressure and will lead to significant decreases in economic growth.The role of the insurance industry is vital to provide an additional pillar alongside the protection supplied by the state. Insurance products like payment protection insurance play a vital role in protecting household in times of unemployment in an economic downturn. Many industrialised countries such as the United Kingdom provide free healthcare to its citizens. In the future what we are going to see is the health system in these countries being privatised and individuals buying private health insurance. Currently 47% of the Irish population have health insurance (Nolan 2006).Similar systems will have to be introduced to the pension systems. These measures will help reduce government expenditure on these areas and in the long run help with the development of the economy in the countries. Enhancing financial intermediation, creating liquidity and mobilizing savings: Insurers are massive institutional investors in the economy with over 11% of worldwide assets in 2007 (Munich RE 2007). They therefore see benefit in the development of a modern , competitive financial market that facilities firms access to capital and offers a wide range of investment opportunities.In this respect insurance companies look favourably upon initiatives taken by governments to ensure shareholder rights and to maintain high standards of corporate governance. Promoting sensible risk management by firms and households, contributing to sustainable and responsible development: Insurers risk assessment is reflected through in price and policy conditions. In this way they offer firms and households an indicator of their level of risk. Firms and households in can take action to reduce the risk by engaging in risk management.Risk management is the process of gauging or accessing risk and developing strategies to manage it (Squiddo 2012). Therefore by means of risk pricing insurance encourages sensible risk management. Both the client and the insurer benefits from sensible risk management as the client’s premiums are reduced and the chances of the insurance company having a claim are also reduced. This process influences investment decisions and thus contributes to the development of the economy. Fosters stable consumption throughout life: Consumption is the main driver of economic growth as its accounts for over 80% of GDP.By having insurance it offers lifelong financial protection and allows stable consumption throughout an individual’s life. * Insurance for house and other damages allow individuals to secure assets in case of an adverse event. * Liability insurance covers household for damages that might occur to other people. * Life insurance protects relatives in the event of a death and also provides financial support in retirem ent. * Health and accident insurance provides cover when it is needed most. * Credit insurance eases consumption but does protect against excessive debt through pricing and acceptation policies.Another new phenomenon in the insurance industry is Micro insurance. It aims to alleviate poverty, distribute products in new ways and create sustainable financial growth for individuals, families and small scale businesses in underdeveloped countries. The need to provide insurance products is vital if their economies are to develop. People in underdeveloped countries are most at risk to adverse events and they have a significant negative impact on their lives. When a hurricane, flood or other adverse events occur and their homes are destroyed or their livestock is wiped out, these people have no financial compensation.These communities have to start from scratch. Insurance companies recognise that the poor require a range of insurance products that meet their needs. Zurich was an early mover in micro insurance, when it started its first micro insurance programme in Bolivia in 1999. It hasn’t been an easy move due to a lack of trust and confidence by people in underdeveloped countries but if these problems can be resolved there is huge potential for growth in the market and also for a dramatic improvement in economic development in these countries (Pope 2011).Conclusion: When we think of economic development, most attention is devoted to the relationship between the financial markets and economic development with insurance only receiving a passing mention. However in recent times there have been several interesting lines of research into the role the insurance industry plays in economics development. I have shown in this paper how the insurance sector plays a fundamental role in the development of our economy and without insurance we would live in a world that would be less economically developed and much less stable.Insurance supports research and development, i nnovation and new technologies, it supports economic stability and sustainable growth and also supports the sustainable use of resources and helps modernise social protections systems. The evidence suggests that there is substantial potential for the insurance industry to make a greater contribution to economic growth especially in lower and middle income countries. Currently insurance lags behind financial services in the extent of globalisation, but if we can continue to expand the insurance industry we will see substantial growth opportunities.Bibliography Ayadi, R. and O’Brien, C. (2006) â€Å"The future of insurance regulation and supervision in the EU: New developments, new challenges† Buckham, D. , Wahl, J. and Rose, S. (2011) Executive’s Guide to Solvency II, United States of America: The Wiley and SAS Business Series. Coomber, J. R. (2006) â€Å"Natural and Large Catastrophes– Changing Risk Characteristics and Challenges for the Insurance Indust ry†, The Geneva Papers, 2006, 31, (88-95) Kugler, M. and Ofoghi, R. (2005) Does insurance promote economic growth? Evidence from the U. K. University of Southampton Paper, July 2005. Liedkte, P. M. (2007) â€Å"What’s Insurance to a Modern Economy†, The Geneva Papers, 32, (211-221) Lopez, R. S. and Raymond, I. W. (1967) Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World: Illustrative documents translated with Introductions and Notes, New York: WW Norton & Company Inc. Nolan, B. (2006) â€Å"The Interaction of the Public and Private Health Insurance: Ireland as a Case Study†, The Geneva Papers, 31 (663-649) CEA (2011) â€Å"Better off in Europe: How the EU’s single market benefits you†, available: http://ec. uropa. eu/publications/booklets/move/56/en. pdf Munich RE(2007)â€Å"The fundamental role of insurance†, available: http://www. genevaassociation. org/Portals/0/COP15_Munich_Re_presentation. pdf [accessed 25 October 2012] Pope, C. (2011) â€Å"Do we really need Private Health Insurance†, The Irish Times, 24 Jan, available: http://www. irishtimes. com/newspaper/pricewatch/2011/0124/1224288161882. html Squiddo (2012) â€Å" Principles of risk management†, available : http://www. squidoo. com/the-principles-of-risk-management [accessed 26 October 2012]