Refutation Of A Literary Review On Joyce Carol Oates Where Are You Goi

Refutation Of A Literary Review On Joyce Carol Oate's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Refutation Marie Mitchell Olesen Urbanski reflects on the parallels between a literary work and biblical suggestions in her essay ?Existential Allegory: Joyce Carol Oates ?Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been (Studies in Short Fiction, 1978.) In her criticism, she compares the story of Connie's passive submission to Arnold Friend with the seduction of Eve by the Devil in the biblical myth. She uses Oates' descriptions of Arnold friend to prove that he is the devil and that Connie is an innocent victim. Urbanski does a convincing job of comparing the story of Connie and Arnold to the story of Eve and the Devil. She emphasizes religious metaphors that Oates used in her story, such as the local hang out representing a sacred building with music played religiously as at a church service. Urbanski slips however by stating ?It is apparent that Friend represents the devil who tempts the chaste yet morally vacuous girl-victim.? It may be argued that Arnold Friend resembles the devil in some ways, but Urbanski fails to give sufficient evidence for this claim, and more importantly, fails to acknowledge the many other possibilities for Arnold Friend's identity. Urbanski easily compares Friend to other literary figures. She encounters a problem however when she labels Arnold as Satan simply because it resembles another description of Satan in John Milton's works. Her argument becomes faulty because of a fallacy of composition. She says that Milton's Satan, who sits straight with dark eyes and a dark gold neck, is the same as Arnold Friend because he has slitted eyes with dark lashes, a muscular neck and sits atop a golden jalopy. Simply the use of dark eyes and the color gold does not imply that one is the devil. What may be true for Milton's Satan does not necessarily apply to all other works. The example of Arnold Friend's feet not fitting correctly into his boots and associating that with the cloven feet of the devil, also strikes a faulty chord. Urbanski cannot show any proof of the cause for Friend's feet looking odd because Oates never gives a clear reason for his shoes not fitting correctly. Arnold Friend could be an evil midget, trying to get with Connie to pursue malicious intentions; Simply because one's shoes do not fit, does not mean that one is Satan. Urbanski does not attempt to give another option to the possibilities of Arnold's reality. She contends that Arnold's captivating manipulation is evidence of a superhuman representation. I agree with her argument that Arnold is indeed superhuman, but I strongly disagree with her attempt to label Arnold as one specific force of evil. The facts that Joyce Carol Oates offers to us in her story are that Arnold has shaggy black hair, a tan face and pale body, wears mirrored sunglasses, and his boots fit incorrectly. By those facts, I could infer that Arnold is a man with a bad toupee, using self tanner, and going through his midlife crisis. By his actions and words I am able to add a supernatural force to his appearance and then fully decide that he isn't like any other person or thing Connie has met before. Simply by his actions and appearance though, I do not have enough evidence to prove that Arnold is in fact the devil. In her conclusion, Urbanski offers a grander approach to the symbolism of the characters. She explains that Connie represents everyone realizing their insignificance, and Arnold's representing the furies as a vehicle for that realization. In symbolism of both those characters, I agree with Urbanski. I do believe also that they are representations of a bigger picture that is evident in most people's existence, and by Oates' depiction of it, more severely in suburban life. Still, in the same conclusion, she adheres to her argument of Arnold being an apparent representation of the devil. I am not able to give a definite idea of what Arnold friend may be; still I cannot agree with simply calling him the devil. To me, he can be seen as a devil just as much as he can be seen

Research and Analysis of British Film Idea Essays

Research and Analysis of British Film Idea Essays Research and Analysis of British Film Idea Essay Research and Analysis of British Film Idea Essay The first question I asked myself was what makes a British film? I found out that British films tend to be set in British locations, for instance, Bend it like Beckham and Love Actually were set around London, because it represents Great Britain. Also, these films tend to not include Hollywood actors, but British stars, with English accents, to help determine that these are British films and not American ones. Therefore, my film will also contain British locations and British actors. I found out the difference between a British and an American film is mainly the budget and the narrative codes. American studios are several times larger than British ones, especially due to Fox, Universal and Warner Brothers. Their production value looks more polished, due to the millions of dollars that are put into one film. However, British films rely on Independent film companies, which tend to have low budgets and are sometimes seen as being artistic and edgy, centring serious themes. As money is an issue for British films, I looked at the current trend of UK audiences who go to the cinema. With this information, I can base my film idea to suit the target audience who visit the cinema more frequently, as this would then hopefully increase profits for my film. The graph below shows that even 20 years ago, there was a greater percentage of 15-24 year olds who went to the cinema, and throughout the years, this age range has still been the most frequent visitors. Due to this information, I decided that I would like to work in the Romance/Coming-of-Age genre, as this targets the 15-24 audience range and they will be able to relate to the film, making the film appeal to them. As a result of this, I will be looking at different romantic films, from romcoms to romantic dramas. Therefore, it will help me create my own romantic film idea, as I can develop the same narrative codes from those films into mine. Next, I asked myself what type of audience watch romantic films? I researched by watching popular romantic films, such as, Notting Hill, The Notebook and Twilight. My research showed me that these films are targeted mainly at women, as these films portray a strong representation of women and the genre tends to be very emotive, which is known as a tearjerker and women are known to be more sensitive than men. As well as this, a lot of romantic films are also targeted at couples, as the conflicts normally revolve around relationships and dealing with its issues. Therefore, I will target my film at couples and women, as they will be able to identify with the film. I will have to make sure that my British film is successful aboard too. For instance, Notting Hill is a British film and it was extremely popular in America, as it totalled over $27.7 million on its opening weekend, breaking American box office records. Therefore, I asked myself was what kind of British films have been successful in the UK and aboard recently? The answer is Slumdog Millionaire, as it made over 25 times the amount of money it cost to make the film and won 8 Academy Awards. So why was it so popular? Its because it showed realistic elements of everyday life and contained nail biting drama, with elements of romance, which proves that romance is still a popular genre amongst audiences. With all this research, I have finally created a synopsis, which contains elements of everyday life and romance. My story will follow a teenage girl (Olivia Collette), who is studying her first year of BTech Art ; Design, in College. Her ambition is to make it as an artist, however, her parents dont consider her chosen course to be a suitable enough subject and they dont have any faith in her. She feels shes loosing hope and isnt going to succeed, until she meets a teenage boy (Cameron Fisher), who supports and guides her in the right direction. My film idea follows Vladimir Propps theory about characters, as I have included a princess (Olivia), a hero (Cameron) and villains (Olivias parents). This will help to make my film more interesting, as there will be conflicts/drama between the princess and the villains. This then follows Tzvetan Todorovs theory about equilibrium and disruptions in the narrative. The film will be called Broken Seams, as its a metaphor of how the female protagonist feels before she meets her love interest and the one line pitch is A young artist with no faith in herself, meets an ordinary boy who shows her the meaning of belief. In conclusion, with all my research and findings, this hopefully shows that my British, romantic/coming-of-age drama will be a success in the UK and aboard.

War is not Beneficial to the World Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

War is not Beneficial to the World - Term Paper Example Contrary to beliefs that human beings should not fight each other, there are individuals who have vested interests and used war as a scapegoat to achieve their personal gains. These interests might take the form of resources owned by certain nations. Due to greed, some nations have invaded other nations through war in a bid to embezzle resources from the said countries. Further, it argues that human beings fight each other for revenge purposes, that is, to avenge perceived insults or defeat. The fact that human beings would always want to feel superior over others and thus through war, they are able to prove their superiority. Human beings do fight when they perceive threats from others or chances of losing. It is also argued that war is a natural population control, however, unpleasant, it acts to ease competition for resources, and reduce population. In light of war being a natural control for unhealthy large population, there are other ways to curb the growth. War is inevitable, this is evident from the fact that, over the years, the number of wars has reduced gradually, with regard to first war and the second;   also the casualties of war or violence have reduced with time (Tomsen 532). There has been a significant drop in the number of deaths resulting from wars. This may be attributed to a surge in the number of democracies, 20 to nearly all the countries since the Second World War. Since democracies, rarely wage war against each other, a continuing decline in the magnitude of armed conflicts may as well be seen. Decline of war may as well be credited to the creation of stable states having effective legal systems, and police forces, which eliminates the endless feuding that plagued tribal societies. Increased life expectancy makes people less willing to risk their lives by engaging in violence. Also as a result of globalization and communication, people have ended up being interdependent on each other.   On the other hand, war may not be inevitable this is because human beings have always fought in wars and always will due to the fact that human beings are innately aggressive.

The Rhetorical Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Rhetorical Presidency - Essay Example He managed not only to rescue his presidency but also instill national moral revival which had been diminishing. Now it has become a common phenomenon in contemporary leadership. The Genesis of Rhetoric Presidency Throughout the 19th Century, rhetoric presidency was received with a lot of suspicion and presidents rarely attempted to directly communicate to the people. Even the few speeches delivered by presidents were totally different from the ones delivered today. They were mostly concerned with constitutional matters, patriotism or conduct of war as opposed to today’s domestic policy speeches aimed at moving the nations’ conscience. In the modern times however, presidents have come to believe that they are not effective presidents if they cannot be able to exhort the public. It is now common for presidents to make press conferences, radio or TV coverage speeches, news releases or congressional address every so often. These speeches have a common tone to them, i.e. â €Å"Speaking is governing,† (Ceaser, 159), and are aimed at exhibiting the public’s reaction as if to a real situation. ... President Nixon was aware of the public’s reaction to a lot of rhetoric and came up with his own anti-rhetoric promising to stop it, but the president could not even control himself from ‘shouting back’ at his detractors. And of course there was President Carter who at first was all calm promising to bring sanity back to government but by the mid of his term his speeches were all full of rhetorical forcefulness talking of the decline and revitalization of the country. But what are the implications of these rhetoric speeches that almost all the contemporary presidents find themselves caught into? The Rhetoric Presidency: ‘Pulpit Bully’ or Mere Baloney? Many people term these speeches as mere rhetoric and they know that it’s all talk. But despite the knowledge of this fact, the excess speeches have continued to inflate people’s expectations to the detriment of these leaders. This has developed into an institutional dilemma for all the mode rn governments. These presidents are expected to match their actions with the ideals they created in the public’s mind through their rhetoric speeches. In the end, it is their government that is weakened by this kind of leadership since it is hard to measure up to the peoples’ puffed up expectations. With failure comes criticism and cynicism from the same people they sought to impress. When George Bush was asked about his most disappointing experience in leadership, he admitted that he was not a good communicator. Clinton too wished he had done a good job in communicating to the public according to what he could achieve, (Edwards, 20). So is the president’s office exactly a ‘bully pulpit’ as Roosevelt described it? Most modern

How Does the Iranian Nuclear Program Affect the GCC Countries National Research Paper - 1

How Does the Iranian Nuclear Program Affect the GCC Countries National Security - Research Paper Example the United States and the United Kingdom proved that Iran had the economic strength to support its nuclear program and so the worry arose on the consequences of such an expedition on the security of the world and that of the GCC countries (Hagel & Loeb, 2014). The resistance that the whole project has faced has been as a result of the concerns that such a serious and delicate process can cause to the whole world. While the GCC countries feel that it is their right to take care of the world by controlling such a process involving nuclear power, the Iranians feel that the concerns being raised are pre-textual and malicious and aimed at preventing it from getting the nuclear power that it needs urgently (BBC News, 2014). According to Hagel & Loeb, 2014 the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has expressed its concerns over the Iranian nuclear program. The GCC countries include the Kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates. These countries possess a significant economic interdependence both in economic, politics, culture and also in religion. Since Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are major Oil exporting hubs, they have a significant economic dependence and setting of policies that govern the oil trade. On the other, Qatar is well known for producing natural gas and since this lies in line with the oil production it serves as a uniting factor among the countries. Almost all citizens in the GCC countries are Muslims which serves as a uniting and common factor to help unite them further. The political status of the countries in the GCC umbrella is based on the Islamic religion as it is the dominant one in the region. Though Iran is not a member of the GCC, the nuclear program has been viewed as a direct threat to the GCC countries and so they have resisted it in one accord. The national security of any country involves maintaining the survival of the state through the use of its economic power and setting of foreign

Trail Of Tears :: American America History

Trail Of Tears On September 15, 1830, at Little Dancing Rabbit Creek, the Chiefs of the Choctaw Nation and representatives of the U.S. met to discuss the impact of a bill recently passed by the Congress of the U.S. This bill, with all the same good intentions of those today who believe they know better than we how to conduct our lives, allowed for the removal of all Indian peoples to the West of the Mississippi River. It had been made clear to the Choctaw, that the Whites in Washington cared little for our situation, that either we willingly moved, or by military force we would be moved. We were not ignorant savages, but industrious farmers, merchants, and businessmen of all types. We were educated people, many were Christians. We had an organized system of government and a codified body of law. Some of these people were not even Indians, many strangers and orphans had been taken in over the years. The Chiefs and Warriors signed the treaty, realizing they had no option. For doing this the government officials guaranteed, in the body of the treaty, safe conveyance to our new homes. (Do not forget for a moment that in this treaty, the Choctaw traded 10.3 million acres of land east of the Mississippi for 10.3 acres in Oklahoma and Arkansas that we already owned under previous treaties) Further, it included provisions and monetary annuities, to assist the people to make a new start. One half of the people were to depart almost immediately, the rest the next year. After the signing of the treaty, many saw their land and property sold before their own eyes. The "conveyances" promised turn out to be a forced march. At the point of a gun, the pace killed many of the old, exposure and bad food killed most. Rotten beef and vegetables are poor provisions, even for the idle. Many walked the entire distance without shoes, barely clothed. What supplies were given had been rejected by the whites. This cannot directly blamed on the government, nearly all of this was done by unscrupulous men, interested only in maximizing their profits. They government's fault lies in not being watchful of those taken into their charge. Many of the old and the children died on the road. At each allowed stop, the dead were buried. Hearing of this many escaped. They knew that as they signed the rolls, to be "removed", that this might as well be their death warrants.

Philip Larkin Ambulances Discussion Essay

Throughout his works Philip Larkin shows the ‘emptiness that lies under all we do.’ The way we travel through life riding a wave of superficialities, too caught up in the moment to see what is really going on. Larkin aims to alleviate the blindness created by our deep involvement, attempting to draw the reader out to see the big picture. In Ambulances he acknowledges death as a device powerful enough to allow people to see beyond themselves and the things surrounding them. The thought of their impending demise, â€Å"so permanent blank and true† allows them to ‘get it whole’ and see the truth, the sheer vastness of death pales to insignificance the things that worry about in everyday life. But this realization is a curse, as once you see it whole, see life for what it is, it ‘dulls to distance all we are.’ Things that used to matter loose their importance. It is this that Larkin struggles with throughout his works. It can be seen within Larkin as he strives to fill the gap left by his separation from life and society. Ambulances is really a chronicle of a realization, not a work that stands up by itself but rather supporting evidence created to reside with the messages generated in his other works. Though it does evoke a reaction within the reader, as they begin to realize the truth they whisper â€Å"poor soul †¦ at their own distress.† It is this use of inarguable truths that makes Larkin’s work so powerful. He creates a situation where the reader is forced towards a realization by making them see something within themselves. He does not propose a fully formed interpretation, as that would be just as ‘reprehensibly perfect’ as the closed interpretation presented by the society that he hates. Instead he alludes to an understanding without stating explicitly what it is. This means that the interpretation is dependent on the reader and it is because of this that Larkin’s works relate to so many people. He bases his works on the things that make us essentially human. The ambulance itself is no more than an object, representative of death, this interpretation could be seen to show Larkin’s pessimistic outlook on life as an ambulance could also be said to represent hope, life, rather than death. However, his reasoning is undeniable, there is a grim fascination with ambulances that can only be described through a fear of death. The  knowingness that someone, at the moment of seeing an ambulance pass, is facing their own mortality. Larkin takes this and applies it to all people, ‘all streets in time are visited,’ by doing this he makes the reader see their own mortality, the fragility of their life and in doing so allows them to see the farcical nature of the life they have been living.