Saturday, December 28, 2019

Arthur Miller s The Crucible - 1191 Words

In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the normal criteria that a central character fits, is not met by the protagonist, John Proctor. Common traits one might expect to find in a traditional hero are humility, patience and caring. John Proctor, while he is the principal, has many qualities that could instead assume him the role of the antagonist and land him in the adversary box. His background and slight character flaws cause him to take on the the personalities of both a protagonist and antagonist. Proctor, because he exhibits qualities of both types of characters, is what is known as a tragic hero. Tragic heroes are characters within stories that due to a judgment error, is the cause of his/her own demise. In the case of Proctor, his error was made when he refuses to give up the names of other alleged witches, and refuses to allow the court to hang his confession in the center of town. John Proctor embodies three major signs of tragic heroism. Proctor, even through the rest of th e village perceives him as great, knows deep down inside that because of past sins, he will never be able to live up to his reputation. As well, John Proctor is a tragic hero because he had the power to stop his own execution, therefore his downfall was no one s’ fault but his own. This reluctance to could be seen as a character flaw. The final criteria that Proctor meets for a tragic hero is that the punishment given is way too severe for the â€Å"crime† committed. His sentence to death for being a wizardShow MoreRelatedArthur Miller s The Crucible2214 Words   |  9 PagesJohn Proctor: A tragic hero A man s reputation in many forms is his, life’s work. To have your reputation dismantled is like taking away one s accomplishments and life’s work. Arthur Miller s The Crucible is a play about justice and injustice, and how our justice system can be easily corrupted. The story revolves around a man named John Proctor, the tragic hero of this story. John Protector is a symbolic character created by Arthur Miller, because he faced the justice system head on. Proctor’sRead MoreArthur Miller s The Crucible Essay1194 Words   |  5 Pages In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the normal criteria that a central character fits, is not met by the apparent protagonist, John Proctor. Common traits one might expect to find in a traditional hero are humility, patience and caring. John Proctor, while he is the principal, has many qualities that could instead assume him the role of the antagonist and land him in the adversary box. His background and slight character flaw s cause him to take on the personalities of both a protagonist and antagonistRead MoreArthur Miller s The Crucible833 Words   |  4 PagesThere are an array of Aristotelian tragic heroes throughout American literature. One of which includes John Proctor, main character farmer in mid-30s, from Arthur Miller s play, The Crucible. Yet, in order for him to obtain such a title he must possess specific characteristics. Five of which include possession of hubris, a flaw or decision leading to desire for revenge, a reversal of good fortune brought forth by the error of judgement, acceptance of poor fortune brought forth by their actions,Read MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 1457 Words   |  6 PagesSteven Huang Ms. Folkrod English 3, Period 7 26 October 2014 Proctor’s Pride and Downfall A tragic hero is a hero in a story whose natural flaws or wrong judgments, associates with bad fate, causes his downfall or death. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are tragic heroes. In the late 1600s, there are a series of witch trials happens at Salem, MA. John Proctor, a farmer who lives in a farm with his wife Elizabeth Proctor, is the protagonist during the Salem witch trial. John is a candid, frankRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 961 Words   |  4 Pages Movie paper analysis of The crucible The circumstance brought upon a person can change them greatly. The Crucible edited and rewritten by Arthur Miller, is a movie which takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The leading actors are Daniel Day-Lewis as Proctor, Winona Ryder as Abigail, Paul Scofield as Judge Danforth, Joan Allen as Elizabeth, Bruce Davison as Parris, and Rob Campbell as Hale. It was directed by Nicholas Hytner and was Based on the witch hunt which surrounded MassachusettsRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 1732 Words   |  7 Pagesin the world. II. Biographical Arthur Miller was a controversial playwright during the 1950’s and 60’s, note because of the material that he choose to write about, but because of the events that took place surrounding one of his best works: The Crucible. One of his friends and a fellow playwright Elia Kazan was accused of being a Communist by the house Un-American Activities Committee. Elia, who had admitted to being previously a Communist during the 1930’s (long before the cold war) was askedRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 1052 Words   |  5 PagesArthur Miller was one of the leading American playwrights in the 20th century. Arthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915 in Harlem New York City to Isidore and Augusta Miller (GradeSaver). After graduating from high school, Miller worked a variety of odd jobs including hosting a radio program; this was before the University of Michigan accepted him. At school, he studied journalism, became the night editor of the Michigan Daily, and began experimenting with theater and writing plays. He lived throughRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 908 Words   |  4 PagesDel Giudice Mrs. Schmiedeler English 2F 21 October 2015 Crucible Essay â€Å"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.† This is a quote by Benjamin Franklin and it explains how the puritan society in The Crucible work. this quote shows how fragile a reputation can be, you can spend your whole life increasing your reputation, but one wrong move and it’s completely wrong. In The Crucible, many of Arthur Miller’s characters are very concerned with their reputationRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Miller s The Crucible 2138 Words   |  9 Pages Crucible Character Essay - John Proctor #6 In Arthur Miller’s â€Å"The Crucible† the protagonist is a man by the name of John Proctor. Proctor is a very complex character because he doesn t have the cleanest history. He is a man in about his forties who had committed the sin of cheating on his wife with a young girl. This act of his gives a bad first impression to the reader. Proctor however does try to become a better man and do the right thing to save his wife s life, which changes feelingsRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter And Arthur Miller s The Crucible1050 Words   |  5 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, the repercussions of committing adultery are exhibited through characters in two different puritanical societies. Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, John Proctor, and Abigail Williams are all victims to this. Despite living in sincere societies, these characters behave hypocritically in order to hide a concealed truth, resulting in internal ignomi ny, until they ultimately confess. Arthur Dimmesdale shows his guilt and hypocritical

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Paintings of the Old Masters - 1189 Words

Look at the color red, a color known for its beauty and while it may not be in everybody’s catalogue of beauty, it cannot be denied of its intensity. If one is showed a stunning painting of a red rose, one of the descriptions that could apply to that paining is beauty: seeing such an elegant spectacle of nature being emulated on paper can be quite stimulating. Another description that could be associated with a red rose is passion, as such a color may leave one energized and spontaneous; however how would one respond if they were told that the painting of the rose was painted with blood. Now a painting that once may have suggested the aspects of beauty and passion, may stir descriptions such as fear, aggression, danger and yet passion as well; therefore, bringing one to the understanding that â€Å"Every image embodies a way of seeing† (Berger, 142). This is why paintings should be viewed as a spectacle; hence, this brings me to the painting I was presented with by Joh n Berger in his book Ways of seeing in which he argues how through reproduction the modern context of the Old Masters’ paintings severed them from what they meant in the time of their production. The painting that demanded my attention was Wheatfield with Crows by Van Gogh, something that may seem simple at first but is rich with emotion. Through such a work of art I’ve come to understand that paintings are a medium where an artist can illustrate his words/feelings and expressShow MoreRelatedAn Explication of W.H. Auden quot;Musee Des Beaux Artsquot;665 Words   |  3 Pagesof connecting those elements as well as enriching the meaning of the current work through associations with the other. In his poem Musee des Beaux Arts, W.H. Auden uses allusions as a way of drawing connections between his poem, Peter Brueghels painting The Fall of Icarus, the myth, and the humanity indifference toward ones suffering. Icarus, the subject of this poem, was a figure from Greek mythology. He was the son of Dedalus, who, in order to escape from prison in Crete, made two pairsRead MoreThe Old Masters And The Racer By Amit Chaudhuri968 Words   |  4 Pagesmany concepts such as emotions, thoughts, actions, and situations. These concepts can often be categorized into two atmospheres: positive and negative. In â€Å"The Old Masters† and â€Å"The Racer,† Amit Chaudhuri and Hanif Kureishi convey their atmospheres through character relationships involving greed and symbolic ideas. Within â€Å"The Old Masters,† the reader is focused on the relationship between Pramathesh and Ranjit--two colleagues who work together--and their lives as time progresses. Throughout â€Å"TheRead MoreClement Greenberg Modernist Painting1062 Words   |  5 PagesClement Greenberg, â€Å"Modernist Painting† In his text entitled â€Å"Modernist Painting†, Greenberg focuses on the development of painting between the 14th and 19th century and emphasizes on what distinguishes Modernist painting from previous forms of painting, particularly those of the Old Masters. Greenberg begins by relating Modernist art to Kantian philosophy claiming that, the same way Kant used reason in order to examine the limits of reason, Modernist art is when art became self critical becauseRead MorePros and Cons of Taking the Clothing Store Online617 Words   |  3 Pagesincorporated a number of art historical references in his paintings of the 1860s, adding visual quotations into his paintings. Although this was not the reason why Manet was considered avant-garde, it reveals some of the artists underlying philosophies and theories. Manets visual allusions also serve the purpose of anchoring the artist in his own historical context. The social commentary Manet is famous for reveals itself in paintings lik e Olympia and Luncheon on the Grass. Similar techniqueRead MoreImpressionism as a Avant-garde Movement970 Words   |  4 Pagesavant-garde. The Impressionists took the first steps into modernism as a self-critical movement (Greenberg 1992:755). To a modern understanding, the Impressionist paintings are among the most instantly enjoyable works of art (Thomas 1987:9). The first Modernist paintings were produced by Edouard Manet (Greenberg 1992:756). His paintings declared the â€Å"frankness† of the surface on which they were created (Greenberg 1992:756). Manet, along with other Impressionists, did not fight the battle of drawingRead MoreModernist Painting By Clement Greenberg1325 Words   |  6 Pageshis essay, â€Å"Modernist Painting† (1960), Clement Greenberg seeks to lay principles for evaluating the progression of art to modern painting. Greenberg makes a lot of evaluations and assessments about modern paintings that are credible and can be held to a high standard. Despite his best efforts, some of his assertions are shrouded in generalizations and lack the necessary premises to be established as entirely objective and affirmative. Greenberg claims that the Old Masters created space one couldRead MoreMusà ©e des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden Essay1106 Words   |  5 Pagescontent is conveyed. Auden’s poem appears to be divided into two separate parts. The first thirteen lines provide the reader with a general overview or introduction to humanities indifference to suffering. The second half, alluding to a Peter Breughel painting, provides an example of this indifference. A possible explanation as to why Auden may have separated the poem in this manner could be to first, make people stop and acknowledge humanities tendency to be indifferent to suffering. People are oftenRead MoreRenaissance Painting Restoration1186 Words   |  5 PagesVirgin, Child and St. John the Baptist (1480-65), by Jacopo del Sellaio (1440-93), and Madonna and Child with St. John the Baptist and Angel (1518-20), by Domenico di Bartolomeo Ubaldini or Puligo (1492-1527), are small (83-86 cm), oil-on-wood paintings by Florentine artists of the second rank, and were most probably commissioned by churches are decorative altarpieces. Their style, color, subject matter and composition are very technically competent but dull, repetit ive, imitative and uninspiredRead MoreEssay about Picasso and Cubism982 Words   |  4 Pagesinfluential of all movements in twentieth century art . Before Picasso did any cubism paintings, there were works exibititing a raw intensity and violence due to his reading of non western art aligned with European primitivism. This contrasting position provided the dynamic for Picasso’s work. In his paintings such as Mother and Child, Picasso showed the fetishistic and simplifying aspects of primitivism. In his paintings Picasso used bright hues and subdued grays and earth colors. Picasso found out thatRead MoreEssay about Theme of Suffering in Musee des Beaux Arts by W.H. Auden989 Words   |  4 Pagesnot matter if they saw him or not. Each person just continued what they were doing and lived their lives. ?About suffering they were wrong, the Old Masters, how well, they understood.? This is the first line of the poem by Auden. The sentence is straight to the point about how the Old Masters knew and understood suffering. One of the more famous Old Masters is Pieter Breughel. Unlike the other painters, he painted scenes (landscapes) of peasants living their lives. In these works you can see the normality

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Explicit and Implicit Language Knowledge

Question: Discuss about the Explicit and Implicit Language Knowledge. Answer: Introduction: Second language learners are more benefited from the explicit instruction as compared to the implicit instruction. In the literature, it has been mentioned that Chinese as a foreign language cannot taught unless useful cues in the orthographic forms are taught explicitly. Study comprising of native Australian English speakers demonstrated that knowledge about the semantic radicals in the initial phase of the training exhibited good results as compared to the participants with demonstration of semantic radicals in the late phase of the training (Taft Chung, 1999). These participants were presented with 24 Chinese characters and meaning pairs. In a study comprising of native American English, learners received varied explicit feedback. Learners those received hints in the form of relation between form and meaning, benefited more as compared to the learners those didnt received any type of hints. From these studies it was evident that, learners those received explicit training to apply related cues got more language acquisition (Ellis, 2005; Norris Ortega, 2000). However, it was evident that explicit learning was not useful in all aspects of foreign language learning. In case of complex grammatical systems, it was evident that implicit learners performed better as compared to the explicit learners. In these cases, explicit learners put more cognitive efforts and it results in the incorrect identification of words. Hence, there is possibility of false impression development in explicit learners and that can be carried forward for whole life. Hence, it would be difficult to decide upon superiority of explicit or implicit learning for meanings of Chinese characters. From the literature, it is evident From the results it can be seen that explicit learners performed better as compared to the implicit learners in semantically regular characters. Percentage mean accuracy obtained for explicit and implicit learners is 46.67 22.09 and 43.89 18.70 respectively. However, variability is more among the members of explicit learners as compared to the implicit learners. Implicit learners performed better as compared to the explicit learners in case of semantically irregular characters. Percentage mean accuracy obtained for explicit and implicit learners is 33.19 18.83 and 43.33 22.38 respectively. Regularity (F = 22.84) is significantly different p Results of this study showed that, participants in explicit group exhibited more accuracy as compared to the participants of implicit group in case of semantically regular Chinese characters. However, participant in the implicit group exhibited more accuracy as compared to the participants in the explicit group in case irregular Chinese characters. Hence, it is evident from this study that explicit learning didnt exhibited additional benefit for the Chinese character learning. It is evident from the study that provision of semantic cues helped participants to learn about the target characters. This reflects, these participants transferred acquired knowledge of semantic cues in the identification of cues. This idea of radicals was initially described by Craik and Lockhart (1972). In their study entitled levels of processing, they described that more the processing of stimulus, improved the learning ability. Thus participants involving semantic radicals require more processing as compa red to the participants without semantic radicals. This processing of stimulus is solely dependent on the situation and there is no theoretical basis for this processing. Shu and Anderson, (1997) described in their study that use of semantic radicals is good in native Chinese learners. In current study it is evident that these participants are native Chinese and similar results obtained for semantic radicals. In the previous studies it was found that exposure to the semantic radicals at the same time of character exposure proved better as compared to the prior exposure than characters. Hence, semantic radical and character should be set at the same time to get beneficial outcome. Literature also mentioned that application of semantic radicals at the later stage of learning would not be helpful at all. As a result, group with late radicals would be almost similar to the no radical group. It should be noted that radicals early and before groups are almost similar to the late radicals groups, if evaluation carried out after one week. However, in delayed evaluation outcome of all the groups such as early, before and late radicals are very low. In this study, radicals were taught based on structure and meaning. It helped the participants to remember characters more effectively. In the previous studies also it was established that incorporation of more parameters like pronunciation and structure are more beneficial as compared to the single parameter either structure, pronunciation or meaning. It would be helpful in forming association between semantic clue and character. In semantically regular group standard deviation is more in explicit learners as compared to the implicit learners. It reflects, members of the explicit learning group exhibited varied response. Few members might have exhibited more response as compared to the other members. Reverse is the case in semantically irregular group. In this group, implicit members exhibited more individual response differences (Dunlap et al., 2001; Taft Chung, 1999). In the literature, it was mentioned that incorporation of the semantic radicals in the learning process can lead to the confusion in understanding and learning characters. This scenario can happen in cases where similar types of semantic radicals are available for different characters. However, this confusion is less in the native Chinese learners (Feldman Siok, 1997; Taft Zhu, 1997). This study also incorporated Chinese people as learners and same results were obtained in this study. In the literature, it was evident that semantic irregular group exhibited confusion in the initial period. Same was the observation made in this study also. By virtue of this, implicit learners exhibited better results as compared to the explicit learners. In this study it was observed that explicit training helped participants to learn more Chinese characters as compared to the implicit training. There is abundant literature is available which exhibits similar type of results. Recruitment of less number of participants was one of the major drawbacks of this study. More number of participants in each group would have been helpful in more valid results. More number of participants also would have been helpful in achieving statistically significant results. If this study would have been conducted on participants of different native languages and from different geographic regions, validity of semantic radicals would have been more. Outcome of this study was evaluated within a short duration after training. However, outcome should be evaluated after gap of long duration to understand sustained effect and long term outcomes of this training. References: Craik, F. I. M., Lockhart, R. S. (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behauior, 11, 671-684. Dunlap, S., Perfetti, C. A., Liu, Y., Wu, S.-M. (2011). Learning vocabulary in Chinese as a foreign language: Effects of explicit instruction and semantic cue reliability.Retrieved from https://www.pitt.edu/~perfetti/PDF/DunlapLearningVocabulary.pdf Ellis, N. C. (2005). At the interface: Dynamic interactions of explicit and implicit language knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 305-352. Feldman, L. B., Siok, W. W. T. (1997). The role of component function in visual recognition of Chinese characters. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 23, 776-781. Norris, J., Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50, 417-528. Shu, H., Anderson, R. C. (1997). Role of radical awareness in the character and word acquisition of Chinese children. Reading Research Quarterly, 32,78-89. Taft, M., Chung, K. (1999). Using radicals in teaching Chinese characters to second language learners. Psychologia, 42, 243-251. Taft, M., Zhu, X. (1997). Sub-morphemic processing in reading Chinese. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 23, 76I-775. Ullman, M. T. (2001). The declarative/procedural model of lexicon and grammar. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 30, 37-69.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Marlene Dietrich, Madonna And The Male Gaze Essays - Feminist Theory

Marlene Dietrich, Madonna And The Male Gaze Marlene Dietrich, Madonna, and the Male Gaze in Blonde Venus and Desperately Seeking for Susan As audiences, we subconsciously identify the male protagonists and take female as spectacle during the film watching, due to the social function of narrative films. (Turner 72)1 Thus feminists have been slashing the objection of female body in male gaze in the narrative films over the decades. Male gaze is in term of the fetishistic scopophilia and sadistic voyeurism. Fetishistic scopophilia deals with male visual control over females for the aesthetic presentation, which influence the presence of female body in films. And sadistic voyeurism is the erotic gaze in pains, which shapes the female characterization in films. Thus, the female characters in narrative films share the common pattern beautiful and fragile, in other words, not intellectual and dependent on men. Nevertheless, Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus and Madonna in Desperately Seeking for Susan smash this pattern. They breaks the rule first by being the leading characters in films and such concentration of the female protagonist also means the depiction of male as peripheral to the plot. ( Turner 171)2 Another breaking-rule is their characterization different from the conventional female role. Marlene in the Blonde Venus as Helen Jones is intellectual and capable of mens role of raising a family and Madonnas role, Susan, plays with men, mentioned by Jimmy, Susans boyfriend. But the most alienated from the conventional female role in films is in their way of performing. And even though they all pose some challenge to male gaze, their ways of role-playing are at opposite poles. Their role-playing can discuss from the three elements to shape their characters, camera movement, mise-en-scene and the performance of star. The camera always shoots Marlene from a relative low angle when shes with other male characters. The only two shots shooting her from high angle is when shes questioned by the judge in court and shes gazing her husband for rejoining the family again in the end. Plus those constantly close ups of her face with indifferent eyes all apparently indicates her aloofness and detachment except for her son, while in the Desperately Seeking for Susan most Madonnas shots are packed up with some quick cuts of focus on her spicy body with fire in her eyes for searching something dazzling, like glittering shoes, gold earrings, etc.. While they all appeal to audience in same visual and sensational pleasures, the camera movements create different perspectives for Marlene Dietrich and Madonna. Marlenes high angle shot indicates her relative superior position to male characters and Madonnas body sequences carries one contradictory message, female body freedom or female body spectacle. The crucial reas on is because that Marlene presents it by not looking sexy but being sexy and Madonna does it by looking sexy in dressing less and exposing herself. Though in the opening sequences of the Blonde Venus begins with the naked blondes swimming, what audiences enjoy watching is not the stripped body itself but the way it is presented. The art is in seeming. This pattern carries tremendous pleasures through the Blonde Venus, we appreciate Marlenes legs from the perspective of identifying with the sense of beauty rather than actual sexually desire. Marlene is positioned as a sexual subject rather than sex object in the Blonde Venus. Audiences expect to see whats she going to do or what happen to her next not which part of her body shes going to expose. Shes being viewed and identified as sexy figure not a spectacle of sex. Mise-en-scene is also important for Marlene Dietrichs role-playing, especially costumes. Marlenes cross-dressed figure is constantly showed in the films. Whether with top hats and tails moving her long cigarette holder, taking one dancing girl by the sleeve and pinching her on the cheek in a parody of phallic power (Kaplan126)3 and with fur-trimmed coat and stiletto heels in the conventional codes of female roles (Turner 81)4 work together for her cross-gender representation. And we never see Marlene shake her hips during the show time like what the other dancing girls do in film. When we see her performs on stage, she appears in gorilla suit singing Hot Voodoo or in males