Free Essays on Sparta Vs. Athens

As Greece ascended from the dark ages, two very distinct city-states, Sparta and Athens, each possessing its own unique values, defined its development. Athens emphasized the importance of democracy and shared justice, while Sparta prided its military prowess. Athenians boasted their superior form of democracy, while the Spartans would subject the youth to rigorous military training. A good education and a superior political system define the society in Athens, while aspiration for manliness and military glory shapes Sparta’s sociological structure. The ideal for Sparta was to train soldiers from their youth- to have a country full of able fighters and warriors. In fact, despite the relatively sparse population of Spartans, the community had a strong military presence, and extraordinary power. The ideal life was one striving towards the military. Obedience was the main subject of study among young Spartans, as they were sent to a public guardian, known as a paidonomos, instead of being treated by a private tutor. At the same time that life as a warrior was held in highest regard, death as a soldier was also the most lauded form of decease, as can be seen from the first line of a poem written by Tyrtaeus, a poet active around the Second Messenian War in the mid-sixth century B.C.E, â€Å"Beautiful and honorable it is for a brave warrior to die, fallen among the foremost fighters, in battle for his native land†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tyrtaeus promotes soldiers to â€Å"not begin shameful flight of fear†¦and do not show love for you r lives when you are fighting with warriors.† When a young soldier falls in battle, it is â€Å"beautiful and honorable when he lies among the foremost fighters.† The Spartans are taught here that he most important ideal in life is the military. The Spartan youth were subjected to a life that would prepare them for every possible situation bound to arise in a military scenario. They did not wear shoes, which would serve only ... Free Essays on Sparta Vs. Athens Free Essays on Sparta Vs. Athens As Greece ascended from the dark ages, two very distinct city-states, Sparta and Athens, each possessing its own unique values, defined its development. Athens emphasized the importance of democracy and shared justice, while Sparta prided its military prowess. Athenians boasted their superior form of democracy, while the Spartans would subject the youth to rigorous military training. A good education and a superior political system define the society in Athens, while aspiration for manliness and military glory shapes Sparta’s sociological structure. The ideal for Sparta was to train soldiers from their youth- to have a country full of able fighters and warriors. In fact, despite the relatively sparse population of Spartans, the community had a strong military presence, and extraordinary power. The ideal life was one striving towards the military. Obedience was the main subject of study among young Spartans, as they were sent to a public guardian, known as a paidonomos, instead of being treated by a private tutor. At the same time that life as a warrior was held in highest regard, death as a soldier was also the most lauded form of decease, as can be seen from the first line of a poem written by Tyrtaeus, a poet active around the Second Messenian War in the mid-sixth century B.C.E, â€Å"Beautiful and honorable it is for a brave warrior to die, fallen among the foremost fighters, in battle for his native land†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tyrtaeus promotes soldiers to â€Å"not begin shameful flight of fear†¦and do not show love for you r lives when you are fighting with warriors.† When a young soldier falls in battle, it is â€Å"beautiful and honorable when he lies among the foremost fighters.† The Spartans are taught here that he most important ideal in life is the military. The Spartan youth were subjected to a life that would prepare them for every possible situation bound to arise in a military scenario. They did not wear shoes, which would serve only ...

Poem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Poem - Essay Example It is a plausible assertion to make that the â€Å"voice† in the poem is that of William Stafford who is presenting a realistic account to the reader. Of much significance is the tone of the poem and how Stafford chooses to address his audience. What may appear as the poet’s indifference towards the dead deer is soon transformed into sympathy as he touches the animal’s belly and feels the warmth of the life that is growing inside of her. The seemingly compassionate nature of this action, however, is short lived as the progress towards the fourth stanza of the poem brings into light the inner conflicts of the speaker. "It is usually best to roll them into the canyon: that road is narrow; to swerve might make more dead† (Stafford 11): the speaker had initially thought upon encountering the deer that her carcass must be removed from the path of traffic, but he soon drifted into his thoughts before the action could materialize. In this moment in the poem the to ne shifts to a display of sympathy, however, the poet’s removal of the deer as he had aimed to do is a representation of the ironic tone of the poem which reappears in the forefront towards the departure of the blank verse. The symbolism of the word â€Å"Dark† is a notion which is central to the literary work. Even though, the literal meaning of the term is obvious from the title itself the figurative meaning of the word holds the immense significance due to its multidimensional interpretations. Stafford’s use of the word â€Å"Dark† represents shock, confusion, destruction, threat, struggle, death, destiny, and even failure; humanity’s failure to synchronize and harmonize what it invented and what God created. Like the dead deer lying on the edge of Wilson River road, death is the fate of every living creature, and this is a fact that cannot be denied. Therefore, the darkness in the literary work is also the darkness of death. The beauty of the i magery used by Stafford in the poem is that the poet allows it to be open for interpretation rather than being unequivocally clear about its purpose and intention in the context of the literary work. An intriguing line with respect to this observation says, â€Å"I stood in the glare of the warm exhaust turning red† (Stafford 11), where the reader is provided with the liberty to imagine the poet standing against his car with red light on his face. Certainly, this image can be interpreted in numerous ways, primarily because the connotations associated with this depiction can be comprehended as a plethora of emotions. If the red light is believed to be indicating danger then what or who is in danger? Is it the incoming cars that might meet with an accident if the poet decides that the animal carcass should not be removed? Or is it humanity itself which is in jeopardy as it refuses to mend its ways and revere nature as it is meant to be revered? Furthermore, the imagery of the à ¢â‚¬Å"warm exhaust turning red† can also be associated with the emotions being felt by the speaker himself; these emotions that range from confusion, aggression to even embarrassment represent the challenges and complexity of the situation. Furthermore, Stafford’s use of imagery in the literary w

Marketing for Southwest Airline Company Case Study

Marketing for Southwest Airline Company - Case Study Example The main reason for this is the dissatisfaction that the individuals and companies experience from the complex pricing strategy if the airline industry. This is a negative implication for the industry since it results in loss of customers and thereby placing it at a risk of making losses or yielding lower returns for the potential and existing investors. The industry is also at the threat of facing external attacks such as by the terrorists whose impact is negative on the operation of the industry. The attacks result in losses that take a long time to recover. They also result in loss of the significant number of customers as some flights need to be canceled while others still need to be rescheduled. These inconveniences result to traffics experienced by customers which end up inconveniencing many, leading to dissatisfaction in the passengers. This inconvenience also results in many passengers shifting to the competitors of the industries and others substituting air transport to other means of transportation. This as well results in losses that are either irrecoverable or take some time to be recovered. This further ends up lowering returns for the investors both the existing and the potential (Rouse 4). An agreement to Buffet’s assertion is also based on the fact that the airline industry is highly competitive and profitability is highly sensitive to capital and operating cost changes. The industry, therefore, lacks stability in terms of expected profits. This also results from the threat of competitors who tend to set their fares and prices by reviewing the prices set by the industry. This leads to them engaging in an unhealthy competition which is price based. This leads the industry to not being able to determine what it needs to stabilize its profitability.

Econ 335 4th assignment lee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Econ 335 4th assignment lee - Essay Example In the contemporary times, the situation has somewhat changed in the favour of emerging new economies like Japan, Korea, China etc. who manage their currencies relative to US Dollar and have consistently diverted their surplus to the US through export. The developing economies, at the same time, have considerably increased their forex reserves to keep an edge in the new transformed global business environment. Since the role of emerging new economies is seemingly like that of Europe, when Bretton Woods I system was initiated, the current system is called Bretton Woods II system. Triffin Dilemma seems to have reappeared in the current global economy of recessive trend only to some extent. Triffin Dilemma primarily refers to Robert Triffin’s contentions that Bretton Woods I would not offer long term economic stability because its inner ‘workings contained contradictions†¦ The Triffin Dilemma posited that the world therefore confronted a choice between running short of liquidity and undermining confidence in the dollar, which was destined sooner or later to produce a crisis (Triffin, 1960). Indeed, his prophecy had come true and Bretton Woods I system crashed eventually. In the recent years, the American Economy has undergone a rapid downfall and the increasing US Account deficit has devalued the dollar to the extent that it has generated new concern in the international trade arena. Though it seems quite probable that Triffin’s Dilemma can reappear in the current global economic situation in the near future but the recovery in the American economy have forestalled the speculations. The emerging new dynamics of oil and globalization give further credence to the stability of Bretton Woods II system The main similarity between the two systems is that both have pegged their exchange rates of their currencies against the US dollar which had greatly facilitated export for the countries in Europe, when BW I was adopted and now the

Controversial novels Essay Example for Free

Controversial novels Essay Argued to be one of Hardys most controversial novels, published in 1891 during an era when the underprivileged classes of society, were submissive to superstitious beliefs in particular those such as luck spiritual beings and ultimately fate which were the foundations of lower class civilisation, Tess of the DUrbervilles presents a story of Fate toying with the life of the Heroine Tess. Fate is an influential part of the plot because it is what dictates her life. Events in the beginning of the novel begin a domino effect that cannot be reverse, thus Her fate is already chosen and all she can do is live through the events that happen to her. Whilst Walkers Colour purple is written during an era of gender social and racial inequalities narrated through Celie whose life consisting of an abundance of obstacles refuses to give into the Fate which determined the lives of poor uneducated black females during the 1930s. What exactly is Fate, is it in our personalities, actions and character or are our lives controlled by a supposed force or power which predetermines events in our lifes, meaning regardless of what we do we are unable to change our destiny. This theme is explored thoroughly by Thomas Hardy through his heroine Tess who is portrayed as a victim of fate throughout the novel, chance and coincidence bring about disasters in the novel that we can claim occur due to fate, it appears the main characters are subject to forces beyond their control. The author employs a very fatalistic plot throughout the novel making Tess endure whatever is thrown at her . In the first chapter of the book the horse Prince dies, this is seen as Tess fault as she falls as sleep due to being exhausted, this happens at night when the weather is very depressed. Hardy uses pathetic fallacy by claiming the atmosphere was pale, this makes the reader feel tension and also an expectation of tragedy . This scene is similar to that of the one at the chase when Alec finds Tess unconscious and may have raped her which is ultimately up to speculation. It is clear that Hardy uses the death of prince to create a sense of foreboding as this episode and the one at the chase are extremely similar, on both occasions Tess has fallen asleep due to tiredness and also the weather is used as an indication for what is to follow. From this we can question whether these events are down to fate and also ask if Hardy pre-determines Tess fate and future through her early actions thus her future is unalterable so there is nothing she can do to change. This has lead to the critic The Irvine Howe has writing: May we see her purely as a victim, like the white horse, the pheasants, the animals who are killed at harvest time? Hers is a poor wounded name This supports The interpretation that Tess life was controlled by Fate the just like the events in the novel such as the horses death and the death of the pheasants which all acted as a sense of foreboding and events which pre determine Tess death. Towards the latter stages of the novel during chapter 46, Hardy again emphasises the significant role Fate has played in Tess life and misfortunes. Firstly at the bottom of page 320 Tess states How can I pray for you? When I am forbidden to believe that the great power who moves the world would alter his plans on my account? Tess is telling Alec that she has lost her belief in God as her prayers do not move him. Therefore she is indicating this is happening because God already has his plans made and what she wants makes no difference because she is not important enough for him to change them, thus empowering the element of Fate and its restrictions on her ability to change. Alice Walker, author of The Colour Purple approaches the theme of Fate and destiny in a similar way to Hardy to a certain extent, in The Colour Purple the character Celie goes through a series of events at the beginning of the novel, she is raped by her father on several occasions is forced to give away the children that she conceived through him then her sister Nettie is forced to leave the home in which Celie lives due to her Husband Mr , but later on in the novel we learn that Nettie is now living with the family that adopted her sisters children. This shows that Alice Walker purposely portrayed Celies life as a victim of Fate, but gives her character an opportunity to resist this fate which results in a positive outcome for Celie. Its possible to say that Walker highlights the fact that although we may be victims of Fate we are able to control this Fate and our, she does this by showing that Celie is in fact not a victim of fate and unlike Tess her own actions are what allow her to change her destiny. We can say this because Celie confides in God through her letters, giving her hope and belief and she restrains herself from killing the man who has brought her pain and suffering, Mr , unlike Tess . Celies ability to change and prevent Fate from controlling her life is ultimately down to the letters she writes to God, she tells her sister Nettie Long as I can spell G-o-d I got somebody along She believes she is never alone or hopeless as long as she has God in her life, writing to God gives her hope, this hope is what helps her overcome the negative aspects of her Fatalistic path that seemed as though her life would be controlled by abusive males that would drive her to murder her husband just like Tess did. On the other hand Tess Fate is once again predetermined by Hardy in chapter 41 when she stumbles upon dying pheasents and puts them out of their misery by bringing their inevitable deaths to an end prematurely Poor darlings-to suppose myself the most miserable being on earth in the sight o such misery as yours! she exclaimed, her tears running down as she killed the birds tenderly. This Fatalistic event represents Tess destiny as she to will die due to her neck breaking as she will later be hung, Hardy uses this sense of foreboding once again signifying the belief that her character is her Fate, she is unable to change this, nothing she does will alter it. Similarly but with a contrasting outcome, in Colour Purple Fate re-emerges as killin Mr begins to dawn on Celies mind. How Im gon keep from killing him Naw I think I feel better if I kill him, I say I feels sickish. Numb, now. Mr has abused Celie to the extent that she contemplates killing him, at this stage of the book readers are likely to speculate whether Fate has chosen this path for Tess, is this her destiny? Will she have to emulate Tess action to end her misfortunes? Or will she be able to alter her Fate through her hope in God and rational actions? Although she doesnt go on to murder Mr , through God and her companion Celie she finds the courage to speak up against Mr and leave him, ultimately changing her Fate which is something Tess was unable to do You a low down dog is whats wrong. Its time to leave you and enter into the creation. And your dead body just the welcome mat I need. Here Walker shows her strength and courage obtained through her hope in God. The authors use of foreboding throughout the novel can be seen as a representative of fate, Hardy believed that what happened to us was a product of our personality, class, status and the way in which we view life therefore Tess pride and her concern for Angels reputation after he leaves her prevents her from seeking help at an early stage of her troubles can be seen as her own actions but in Hardys view our own actions were down to fate , she ends up confiding in Alec which leads to disaster. From this we can question whether Tess actions lead to her downfall or was it Fate? This is demonstrated at the beginning of the final paragraph, hardy writes Justice was done, the president of immortals had ended his sport with Tess. Hardy is telling us Fate has finished playing with its victim, Tess. He may have done this to further draw attention to his beliefs that we are subject to a immoral force beyond our control that we are forced to endure and that religion does not have bearing on any events in our life. This is a viewpoint that was developed by critic Irving Howe who too believed Tess fate had already been predetermined, Proposing this is why Hardy named the final phase of the novel fulfilment. Furthermore, another way Hardy depicts Tess as a victim of Fate is through the language he uses, particularly in the last phase of the novel as he named it fulfilment thus this is a play on words as we are left to question what has been fulfilled. It is possible to say Hardy believed Fate had been fulfilled it had played its role in bringing Tess to her tragic downfall. Walker presents Celie as a victim of Fate like Hardy does Tess, however Walker stresses the point that we are able to change our Fate and destiny, this is significant as the colour purple which is the colour of the purple flowers represent spirituality hope. She is almost trying to convey the message that, Fate can be overcome as long as hope is present, where as Hardy purposely doesnt give Tess any chance of overcoming her Fate, he deliberately does this to assert his negative view on religion, Walker gives her character hope through God, this is what enables Celie to overcome her so called Fate or Destiny whilst Hardys pessimistic belief of religion deters him from doing this. Through his novels Hardy repeatedly articulated that chance and coincidence that bring about disaster are ultimately Fate, thus he empowers his belief through Tess that characters are subject to forces beyond their control. This is similar to another of his novels, The Return of the Native. Throughout The Return of the Native bad things happen to good people, this is a depiction of his atheist perception that God does not exist and if there is a God it is lacking in morals, because good people, such as Tess are the victims of bad events and tragedy in life due to Fate. Like Hardy himself said Once a victim, always a victim of fate.

herody Free Essays on Homers Odyssey - Odysseus Is Not A Hero :: Homer Odyssey Essays

Odysseus Is Not A Hero A hero is "a man noted for his special achievements" according to the dictionary, but if you ask most people what a hero is, you will get the same general response. They will probably say "someone who does something for other people out of the goodness of his heart." Odysseus, who is the main character of the book "The Odyssey" written by Homer, would fit the dictionary's definition of a hero; but if you go deeper, looking at what people feel a hero is, he doesn't even come close. In the book, Odysseus does nothing out of the goodness of his heart. Even if Odysseus fought in the Trojan War, he is not a hero because he is self-centered and ignorant to other people's values and needs. There are multiple examples of Odysseus being self-centered, such as not taking people's advice. Odysseus was given advice from Circe that said not to try to fight Scylla even when she takes six of your men, but Odysseus tried to fight her and he lost three more men than the six he already lost. He also neglected to take the advice from his crew member, Eurylochus. Eurylochus told Odysseus not to send men to see what was on Circe's island and because he sent them anyway, they ended up being turned into pigs. Odysseus also neglects other people's lives when he takes action; such as when he tried to fight Scylla after strictly being told not to. Because of this ignorant action, he lost three more men on top of the other six. He also sacrificed men when he waited at the Cyclops' home for "gifts." Odysseus was very self-centered where real heroes are not. Odysseus also lacks the part of the hero profile which includes having a good heart. Odysseus definitely does not have this because he kills people without giving them a chance. Odysseus killed every one of the suitors in cold blood when most of them didn't commit a crime suitable for the death penalty. He also killed all of the maids who were raped by the suitors as if the had a choice in the matter. Odysseus also doesn't care about his crew members.

Intrapsychic Omnipresence in Bodily Symptoms :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Intrapsychic Omnipresence in Bodily Symptoms Sometimes disease and illness just show up. For these medical conditions, a doctor usually tells us what is "wrong" physically. These scientific observations determining diseases or symptoms leave people wondering if there is something behind the cell that created the malfunction. Perhaps one's psyche; which is the mind functioning as the center of thought, conscious or unconscious, and interconnected with the physical environment, can effect the body positively and negatively. An indirect way of dealing with psychological conflict is to intuitively or unconsciously convert it into symptomatic illness. However, this does not get rid of the emotions or the symptoms, for this is not the root of the problem. It is only through recognition of the their intuition or repressed emotions that people may come to heal themselves. It is difficult although possible for some to assign every illness or symptom to some underlying psychic cause; but that is usually whimsically referred to as "new ag e" and "mystical". It is a person's own personal belief whether she created her diabetes, or whether he created his cancer as a result of psychological and emotional conflict and trauma. Therefore, we can only look at the facts to postulate the argument that a lack of psychological well being manifests itself somatically. The best way to examine the notion that psychological factors affect medical conditions is with the neurosis Hysteria. Hysteria is also known now as Conversion Disorder or Dissociation, in which unconscious or emotional psychological conflict converts into a bodily disturbance (2). An example of this is anxiety. Hysteria is diagnosed as psychological stress accompanied with physical symptoms. Interestingly, despite the multiple physical symptoms there is no anatomical or organic basis for any of them. Although conversion disorder is a physical manifestation, there is no physical cause. In the case of hysteria, the mind or the psyche is neglected by the person who represses emotional trauma, and these then divert themselves into the body as a means of expression or escape. These patients often times do not know what is wrong with themselves because the repression was unconscious and out of their control. Accordingly, the physical symptoms in hysteria are a result of the person's lack of psychological control, which is unconscious not voluntary. During the 19th century, French Neurologist J.M. Charcot and Psychologist P. Janet emphasized that "morbid ideas could produce physical manifestations" and that hysteria was caused by the psyche not the body (1).