Saturday, November 30, 2019

Stan Lee, Comic Books and a World in Crisis Essay Example For Students

Stan Lee, Comic Books and a World in Crisis Essay For the last century, humanity has endured some of its greatest tragedies; the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War to name a few. Throughout these darkest hours, mankind suffered so greatly that morale was lowering with ever passing day. As such, the need for a method of captioning the low morale, and turning it into something positive for mankind’s sake was dire. At the ready to fill this need were the superhero comic books that since the early 20th century have helped change our perspective of American culture, as well as the role America played in the aforementioned historical events. We will write a custom essay on Stan Lee, Comic Books and a World in Crisis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Though comic books were already being published in the 1920s and 1930s for humor purposes, it was not until 1938, when the first Superman comic book became available to the public that mankind would finally fill that need. After that first run of Superman comic books, superheroes took the world, especially North America, by storm. In North American culture of the 20th century, superheroes represented the common man’s contempt for the Axis powers, his thirst for more power during the Cold War, as well as the literal â€Å"superpower,† pun intended, that America had become following the victory of the Allied powers of World War II. While many of the superheroes we know and love today come from the DC universe, no person related to comic books, real or fictional, has been as important in the superhero world as Stanley Martin Lieber. Stanley Martin Lieber, more commonly known by his pseudonym Stan Lee, is an American comic book writer and editor, and the former Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Comics. As a writer for Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, having worked with such artists as Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, helped co-create such popular superheroes as Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, along with many other characters. Following his 3-year stint in the military from 1942 to 1945, Stan Lee began his extensive career of co-creating Marvel’s most popular superheroes, and writing the dialogue. While he originally considered switching career paths, Stan Lee, upon the advice of his family of having nothing to lose, began with his creation of the Fantastic Four. Unlike DC Comics’ superheroes, who were idealistically perfect people with no serious, enduring problems, Marvel’s/Stan Lee’s superheroes had flawed lives/personalities. These heroes had bad tempers, melancholy fits, vanity, greed, etc. Not only did Marvel’s superheroes capture the imagination of teens and young adults who were part of the population spike, known as the post-World War II â€Å"baby boom,† but they were, and still are to this day, as a result of these aforementioned shortcomings, more relatable to the common man, inside and outside of the comics, as well. Of all the historical events mentioned above, the worst one by far has to be the Second World War from 1939 to 1945. From this one war, more than 50 million people lost their lives on both sides, the Allied powers and the Axis powers alike. With all of the American men having been sent overseas to fight, the war had a huge impact on women, both positively and negatively, though the latter to a much greater extent than the former. With all of the men overseas, job positions needed to be filled, and women were the best alternative. Women began to enter the workforce at an, obviously, unprecedented rate. It was at this point that the role of women in society began to take long strides away from the simple roles of the then idealistic trophy wife. On the other hand, while there was the extant glass ceiling shattering at the time, there was also widespread sadness among women, as their fathers, uncles, husbands, boyfriends, and, in some cases, sons were being gunned down by the hundreds, if not the thousands, every single day that they fought in the war. .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 , .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .postImageUrl , .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 , .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273:hover , .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273:visited , .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273:active { border:0!important; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273:active , .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273 .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u0fff818fdc76218177341828fe7d0273:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Cuban Missile Crisis EssayFor the people in the comic book world, this seemed like a good opportunity to create a militaristic, patriotic superhero, known today as Captain America, who would fight on the front lines of the battlefield his shield slinging talents against the Nazis (Maslon Kantor, 249). While Stan Lee is not credited with the creation of Captain America in any way, he did do the writing of the dialogue and the editing for the comic book series when it debuted in 1941, and continued to do so upon completion of his military stint the following three years (1942-1945). Captain America quickly became a cultural icon among comic book fanatics. For people in the comic book world, many of whom were Jewish, Captain America served as a means of dishing out vengeance on the Nazis, and by extension, Hitler himself, as the American Jews still had many relatives who lived in Nazi occupied countries such as Poland, Germany, and Hungary, to name a few (Maslon Kantor, 250). Having actually been in the military definitely helped Stan Lee to paint a better picture, figuratively speaking, of the war-ridden atmosphere of Europe. Following the defeat of the Axis powers of World War II in 1945, everything seemed to be getting slightly better for the northern hemisphere. That is until in 1950, when the US and the Soviet Union entered the Cold War. What is meant by â€Å"Cold War† is the fact that neither side attacked each other, out of fear, as well as acceptance of the notion of mutually assured destruction via nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Thus began the age of nuclear experimentation, in which both the Americans and the Soviets were in constant competition with each other to see who could produce the most, and best quality nuclear weapons. The general American populace lived every day in fear that the Soviets would attack and destroy as much of the country as they could. Stan Lee fed off this fear to create, along with artist Jack Kirby, a new anger-driven anti-hero, known today as the Incredible Hulk in 1962 (Maslon Kantor, 303). In the comic books, the Incredible Hulk was a result of Dr. Bruce Banner absorbing a huge amount of gamma radiation when his government-funded research into weaponizing gamma radiation into a bomb went terribly awry. The context in which the Incredible Hulk was created reflects the arms race between the US and the Soviet Union. Much like Robert Louis Stevenson’s all-time classic Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde story, Dr. Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk are two natures constantly at war with each other within the same body trying to dominate each other for complete control. This can also relate to the context of the Cold War between the Americans and the Soviets, who constantly tried to best each other with new weapons, all to see who would be the number one superpower of the world. During the postwar period, and especially during the Cold War, a new American identity was unearthing itself, so as to stimulate nation-wide unity. It must be noted, however, that this unity applied strictly to whites. This identity comprised the typical Protestant white American men/women, who needed to come together to rise above their fear of the Soviets. With this identity came much discrimination of not just the blacks, but also the Catholics, the Jews, among several other religious/ethnic groups that did not fit the bill of this new American identity. If one was not a devout white Protestant, he/she was discriminated against and alienated in society, which led to widespread racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia. From this context, Stan Lee, along with Jack Kirby, both Jews, co-created the superhero team known as the X-Men in 1963 (Maslon Kantor, 505). The X-Men are a team of mutants, or Homo Superior, with extraordinary powers that are, in the comics, believed to be the next step in the Darwinian evolutionary chain (Maslon Kantor, 510). As a result of these powers, the general populace shuns the mutants, much like the blacks and the Jews were for much of the Cold War period. These mutants come in many shapes, sizes, and represent a wide array of ethnicities. .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a , .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .postImageUrl , .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a , .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a:hover , .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a:visited , .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a:active { border:0!important; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a:active , .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ud7bd9da65d4c42238012a952e963330a:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: So often, when books or plays get made into movies, the whole story is butchered, and the final outcome is uninteresting EssayFor instance, there are American mutants such as Jean Grey, a telepath, and Cyclops, who can shoot laser beams out of his eyes; there are British mutants such as Charles Xavier, or Professor x, the telepathic namesake and leader of the X-Men; there are African mutants such as Ororo Munroe, or Storm, who can manipulate weather as she chooses; there are Canadian mutants such as Wolverine, who has healing powers, as well as a near-invincible adamantium-infused skeleton; and there is even a Russian mutant, Piotr Rasputin, otherwise known as Colossus, wh o can turn his entire body into organic steel, giving him superhuman strength, stamina, and durability. By working together as a team, the X-Men join together to stop the evil Brotherhood of Mutants, who seek revenge on the common man for shunning them (Maslon Kantor, 510). The X-Men stimulated the desire of the mutants not only to resist a variety of repressive social norms – such as racial segregation, sexism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia – but also to contribute to the foundation from which new kinds of preferences pertaining to political affiliation and self-identification could be practiced/adhered to (Fawaz, 361). In my final analysis, much of the tragic historical events of the 20th century, such as World War II, the postwar period, and the Cold War, which stimulated widespread depression, fear, and pent up anger, led to the creation of superheroes in comic books. These superheroes, many of which were created by Stanley Martin Lieber, more commonly known as Stan Lee, captioned the emotions felt by the general populace during the period in which they were created. For instance, Captain America represented the patriotism of the Americans, as well as their utter hatred for the Nazis. The Incredible Hulk represented the Americans’ anger toward the Soviets, and their desire to develop nuclear weapons to remain the strongest nation in the world. Lastly, the mutated band of superheroes known as the X-Men represented the prevalent racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia of the white American Protestants against other races, ethnicities, and religions to whom they were neighbors. All this to say that whenever people say that in a perfect world, there would be no racism, war, poverty, and so on, they dont realize that comic books can act as a form of release from the existential terrors of existence. In other words, comic book series, such as the X-Men, not only depict the racism and segregation of the 1960s and 1970s, but they also show how the victim group, in this case the mutant superheroes, not only work together to fight the bad guys, but also to prove their segregators that they (mutants) wont lower themselves to their level, and how they choose to be the better people. All in all, superheroes are paragons of humanity and morality that each and every person should aspire to be like. Bibliography: Fawaz, Ramzi. Where No X-Man Has Gone Before! Mutant Superheroes and the Cultural Politics of Popular Fantasy in Postwar America. American Literature 83.2 (2011): 355-88. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. Maslon, Laurence, and Michael Kantor. Superheroes!: Capes, Cowls, and the Creation of the Comic Book Culture. New York: Random House, 2013. Print. *Page numbers according to e-book. Stan The Man Lee Stanley Martin Lieber. Comic Book Database. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Free Essays on Accounting And Financial Decision Making

Most executives and business owners ascertain company health based purely on the financial end result. However, impropriety does not always reveal itself on the balance sheets. In an article by Joseph T. Wells in the Journal of Accountancy the problem of cash register theft is addressed and illustrates the effect on a company’s financial health. In the article, an internal auditor was ask to investigate why on particular store had lost money for three consecutive years. The author, a fraud examiner, worked with the auditor to determine where the money was going and the method used to obtain it. The first clue was when refund slips were discovered that were for exact even amounts, which is not typical of refunds. It was found that the company’s accounting method of verifying net sales against bank deposits aid the culprit in the embezzlement of thousands of dollars in cash over the previous three years. If the company had at any time performed a horizontal analysis of income statements a red flag would have appeared because of increased refunds in comparison to sales. A former manager, no longer with the company, was soon discovered to be the culprit. The former employee’s personal finances were going to have to be examined in order to solidify the case and provide concrete evidence against the employee. There are three ways that these personal records could be acquired, through an attorney, through the police or both. The company’s CEO elected to have the police subpoena the former manager for all his personal banking information over the last three years. By examination the auditor was able to match the amounts from refund receipts to exact unexplained cash deposits in the former manager's bank account. One of the most surprising discoveries was more than $600,000 of the missing $800,000 total had been openly deposited into the manager’s account. The final outcome to the case was unfortunate and all too common. The Pros... Free Essays on Accounting And Financial Decision Making Free Essays on Accounting And Financial Decision Making Most executives and business owners ascertain company health based purely on the financial end result. However, impropriety does not always reveal itself on the balance sheets. In an article by Joseph T. Wells in the Journal of Accountancy the problem of cash register theft is addressed and illustrates the effect on a company’s financial health. In the article, an internal auditor was ask to investigate why on particular store had lost money for three consecutive years. The author, a fraud examiner, worked with the auditor to determine where the money was going and the method used to obtain it. The first clue was when refund slips were discovered that were for exact even amounts, which is not typical of refunds. It was found that the company’s accounting method of verifying net sales against bank deposits aid the culprit in the embezzlement of thousands of dollars in cash over the previous three years. If the company had at any time performed a horizontal analysis of income statements a red flag would have appeared because of increased refunds in comparison to sales. A former manager, no longer with the company, was soon discovered to be the culprit. The former employee’s personal finances were going to have to be examined in order to solidify the case and provide concrete evidence against the employee. There are three ways that these personal records could be acquired, through an attorney, through the police or both. The company’s CEO elected to have the police subpoena the former manager for all his personal banking information over the last three years. By examination the auditor was able to match the amounts from refund receipts to exact unexplained cash deposits in the former manager's bank account. One of the most surprising discoveries was more than $600,000 of the missing $800,000 total had been openly deposited into the manager’s account. The final outcome to the case was unfortunate and all too common. The Pros...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Presidents Without a College Degree

Presidents Without a College Degree There are very few presidents without college degrees in American history. Thats not to say there havent been any, or that its impossible to work in politics without a college degree. Legally, you can be elected president of the United States  even if you didnt go to college.  The U.S. Constitution  does not set forth any education requirements for presidents.   But its a  pretty extraordinary achievement for a president without a college degree to be elected today. Every chief executive elected to  the White House in modern history  has held at least a bachelors degree. Most have earned advanced degrees or law degrees from Ivy League schools. In fact, every president since George H.W. Bush has held a degree from an Ivy League university.   Bush was a graduate of Yale University. So was his son, George W. Bush, the 43rd president, and Bill Clinton. Barack Obama got his law degree from Harvard University. Donald Trump, the billionaire real-estate developer and businessman elected president in 2016, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, another Ivy League school. The trend is clear: not only do modern presidents have college degrees, but theyve also earned degrees from the most elite universities in the United States. But it wasnt always common for presidents to have earned degrees or even attended college. In fact, educational attainment wasnt a prime consideration among voters. Education of Early Presidents Fewer than half of the nations first 24 presidents held college degrees. Thats because they just didnt need to. For much of the nation’s history a college education was a prerequisite for the rich, well-connected or both; of the first 24 men who became president, 11 had not graduated from college at all (though three of those had attended some college without earning a degree), wrote  Drew DeSilver, a senior writer at the Pew Research Center. The most recent president without a college degree was Harry S. Truman, who served until 1953. The 33rd president of the United States, Truman attended business college and law school but graduated from neither. List of Presidents Without College Degrees George Washington: The nations first president never took college courses but did earn a  surveyors certificate.James Monroe: The nations fifth president attended William Mary College but didnt graduate.Andrew Jackson: The seventh president did not attend college.Martin Van Buren: The nations eighth president did not attend college.William Henry Harrison: The ninth president of the United States  attended both  Hampden-Sydney College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; he didnt graduate from either.Zachary Taylor: The nations 12th president did not attend college.Millard Fillmore: The 13th president did not attend college.Abraham Lincoln: The 16th president did not attend college.Andrew Johnson: The 17th president did not attend college.Grover Cleveland: The 22nd president did not attend college.William McKinley: The 25th president took courses at both Allegheny College and Albany Law School but did not graduate from either.Harry S. Truman: The 33rd presiden t took courses at Spaldings Commercial College  and the University of Kansas City School of Law but didnt earn degrees from either. Why Presidents Need College Degrees Now Even though nearly a dozen U.S. presidents - including some very successful ones - never earned degrees, every White House occupant since Truman has earned at least a bachelors degree. Would the likes of Lincoln and Washington be elected today without degrees? Probably not, wrote  Caitlin Anderson on CollegePlus, an organization that works with students to earn degrees.  Our information saturated society believes education must take place in the traditional classroom setting. Having a college degree makes candidates attractive. It makes anyone attractive. It’s essential.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Bad News Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bad News - Essay Example I am social and enjoy the good company of my friends. Since I was young, living in Minnesota has been a fun and enjoyable experience. Growing up I enjoyed being outside and When I was young I was the oldest of my four friends. Every day after school, three of my friends and I would meet in our playhouse we made. The playhouse was made of materials we found and I can still smell the distinctive smell of the inside. The inside smelt of a worn leather smell. Just the four of us would play together for hours and do normal things kids our age did. We went on adventures and got into a little trouble. Our favorite game to play was a CSI type investigators game. We would pretend that we were crime solvers on an unsolvable case. I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was a cool summer Sunday. The wind was blowing just slightly and enough to cool one form the heat. It wasn’t too humid and to breath in the air was very refreshing. My friends and I were pretending we were investigato rs working on a serious crime. Our playhouse was located in my backyard right up next to the neighbor’s property line between a few oak trees. The neighbor next to where are play house was, was the prime suspect. His name was Jim. My family knew the neighbor very well and he didn’t mind us playing in his yard. We knew that he would not be home until after 4:30pm because he worked as an usher at a local church on Sundays.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Read and Respond to (IMMANUEL KANT) What is Enlightenment Research Paper

Read and Respond to (IMMANUEL KANT) What is Enlightenment - Research Paper Example Kant describes enlightenment as â€Å"Man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity† (Kant 1784), where immaturity essentially refers to an individual’s inability to use their own understanding in actions and instead depend on tutelage or guidance from others. Kant explains that this immaturity is self-imposed due to â€Å"lack of resolve to use it without guidance from another† (1784). He argues that the guardians who are depended upon by the unenlightened are keen to ensure that matters remain this way hence discourage their dependants through indicating that lack of their guidance will lead to danger. The guardians have been quite successful at discouraging maturity and enlightenment of the populace that only a few individuals have been able to become enlightened â€Å"by cultivating their own minds, in freeing themselves from immaturity and pursuing a secure course† (1784). However, Kant argues that enlightenment is inevitable and that the wo rld heads toward it with each age. He identifies two forms of freedom of using one’s reason as determinants of enlightenment whether public and private. Only public reasoning can succeed in bringing about enlightenment although holders of office and other individuals can privately reason and still publicly defend the symbols they represent. Kant uses the rest of his work to showcase that nothing can stand in the way of enlightenment, not religion, authority or even society itself. He also argues that we are not living in an enlightened age but rather in the age of enlightenment which translates to the gateway to enlightenment. A central theme in Kant’s work is that rational autonomy is achievable in the society albeit slowly; â€Å"But that the public should enlighten itself is more likely; indeed, if it is only allowed freedom, enlightenment is almost inevitable† (1784). He presents the view that enlightenment of the entire society is

Saturday, November 16, 2019

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay Example for Free

One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey tells the story of Randle McMurphy, a rebellious, boisterous and overtly sexual man who utilizes his extroverted qualities to win over his fellow patients in the mental institution. McMurphy’s confident nature and non-conforming attitude brings hope to everyone living in the ward. Ultimately, he sparks dissent and inspires them to go against the oppressive head nurse, Nurse Ratchet. McMurphy’s confidence does not waver until he realizes that Nurse Ratchet will always have the upper hand over the patients. Nevertheless, this does not stop him from concocting plans to provoke and get rid of her. McMurphy receives many harsh punishments for his actions and eventually loses the battle against the head nurse. Not only does he lose against Nurse Ratchet, but he eventually loses himself through the process. Additionally, in the film The Experiment, the protagonist Travis, undergoes an adversity which is comparable to what McMurphy faces in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The development of both characters can parallel each other through the similarities of their actions. Kesey first introduces McMurphy to readers when he is brought to the mental institution. At first glance, McMurphy can be viewed as a con man. He committed the crime of statutory rape but instead of accepting a jail sentence he convinces the judge that he is not straight in the head and is thus sent to a mental institution. Most patients at the ward are unresponsive, yet when he first arrives at the institution, he introduces himself to everyone. The patients and nurses are taken aback by McMurphy’s feisty attitude. Unlike the other patients, McMurphy is loud, arrogant, and capable and it is evident to everyone that he does not belong in a place like that. After the wards group meeting, McMurphy sees firsthand how Nurse Ratchet abuses her power as head nurse. He makes a bet with all the patients in the ward that he can make lose her temper. The patients warn him and insist that Nurse Ratchet not one to be messed with but he still acts otherwise. In this instance, McMurphy’s rebellious nature shines through. It is made clear to readers that he will not allow Nurse Ratchet to win over the patients for long. He wants to give her a hard time and hopefully get rid of her. Nurse Ratchet sees McMurphy’s deviance and knows that she must break him, just like she broke all the other patients so she can continue her oppressive leadership over the ward. After numerous confrontations between McMurphy and Nurse Ratchet, the patients in the ward find the incidents quite amusing. Eventually, McMurphy is able to rile up all the patients and encourage them to watch the World Series on the television. Although it was not their allotted time to watch the television, they all participate in the rebellion. Through McMurphy actions, the patients see that they should not view Nurse Ratchet as an oppressive and domineering force. They begin to feel hope inside themselves and begin to envision that living in the ward will not be as miserable as it once was. Nurse Ratchet’s patience begins to wear thin and once McMurphy physically attacks her, she quickly makes the decision to have him lobotomized and leaves him neurologically disabled. After this event, the patients can no longer live in the ward. McMurphy was a friend to all and they could not stand living under Nurse Ratchet’s rule. She loses all control and the patients transfer to other wards or check out of the institution completely. McMurphy’s eventual destruction and death was not out of vain as he was able to transform the patients into believing that each person was an individual and should be able to freely express themselves. He left them with a belief that would aid them for the rest of their lives. Randle McMurphy’s feisty and strong-willed character can easily parallel many dominant male characters in films. For example, in the 2010 film The Experiment, Paul T. Scheuring directs the story of 26 men who are selected to take part in a 14 day experiment where some participants act as guards and others as inmates. The guards have only one rule to follow they must make sure the inmates obey the basic rules of living in a prison. Eventually the power wielded by the guards gets to their heads. They abuse their roles and exploit and humiliate the inmates. They become great oppressors and being to forget that the inmates are only human. Violence begins to ensue. The protagonist, Travis, is selected to be an inmate in the prison. From the beginning, it is made apparent that Travis is not buying into the whole prisoner concept. Just like McMurphy, Travis acts out as an individual. He is not one to follow others and ceases any opportunity to give the guards a difficult time. He then begins to act out in defiant ways. He mobilizes the inmates and leads rebellions against the guards. He and many other inmates firmly decide that they will not be silenced into submission. Eventually, the experiment goes wildly out of control and is stopped by researchers. Like Randle McMurphy, Travis fights back against the oppressors. He did not like seeing his fellow inmates get taken advantage of. Travis begins rebelling and disobeying the rules in small ways, such as refusing to eat his meals. Eventually, he uses physical force to end the tyranny in the prison. Randle McMurphy and Travis are similar characters in many ways. They both were able to unite the group of men that were facing the same adversity. They did not like seeing any of their own getting harmed. Furthermore, just like McMurphy, Travis acts in defiant ways to get into the guards heads. And finally, both use physical force to hurt their oppressors at the very end. To sum it up, they are the spark that brings hope to the oppressed and lead the rebellions against the oppressors.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

The Shakespearian Play: Hamlet Essay -- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Tom Stoppard creates a life off the stage for the characters of the poplar Shakespearian play, Hamlet. He provided a dramatic and comedic effect through the story of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two childhood companions of Hamlet. In the setting of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, two different worlds exist. There is the onstage world of Hamlet, in which all of the characters are caught up in the story line of the play, and the offstage world of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The odd and void-like world of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern provides these characters with little information and forces them to believe that nothing is happening in their lives. They come to realize that they solely exist within this story to provide their services to the needs of the story happening around them. They barely take part in this story, as the other characters are completely unaware of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s existence. The characters of Hamlet only seem to exist within th e play and are provided with no other reasons to believe that their world might not be real. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern finally show up in the play, they are discomforted and do not spend enough time onstage to gather enough information to understand this alternate life. None of the other characters show concern for the duo and do not seem to be interested in their lives once they leave the stage. However, they spark the interest of The Player. He illustrates the capability of being able to easily move between the two worlds. He is the leader of the Tragedians and displays a sense of understanding to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The Player seems to be the only character that can easily transition between both worlds and has an understanding of th... ...ut the play, even though death is determined, that fulfillment of life is enough for anyone. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not realize this throughout the play and they become distraught to know that portrayed them to be insignificant. Through the Player, Stoppard creates a character that is able to appreciate the pointlessness of the absurd world he lives in, and discover significance in it by creating it for himself. The Player’s habit to mix the lines between theatre and reality by asserting he does not distinguish the two is a statement that the two require the same thing in order to be understood: suspension of disbelief. (2.81) Works Cited Shakespeare, William. â€Å"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark† Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print The Shakespearian Play: Hamlet Essay -- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Tom Stoppard creates a life off the stage for the characters of the poplar Shakespearian play, Hamlet. He provided a dramatic and comedic effect through the story of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two childhood companions of Hamlet. In the setting of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, two different worlds exist. There is the onstage world of Hamlet, in which all of the characters are caught up in the story line of the play, and the offstage world of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The odd and void-like world of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern provides these characters with little information and forces them to believe that nothing is happening in their lives. They come to realize that they solely exist within this story to provide their services to the needs of the story happening around them. They barely take part in this story, as the other characters are completely unaware of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s existence. The characters of Hamlet only seem to exist within th e play and are provided with no other reasons to believe that their world might not be real. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern finally show up in the play, they are discomforted and do not spend enough time onstage to gather enough information to understand this alternate life. None of the other characters show concern for the duo and do not seem to be interested in their lives once they leave the stage. However, they spark the interest of The Player. He illustrates the capability of being able to easily move between the two worlds. He is the leader of the Tragedians and displays a sense of understanding to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The Player seems to be the only character that can easily transition between both worlds and has an understanding of th... ...ut the play, even though death is determined, that fulfillment of life is enough for anyone. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern do not realize this throughout the play and they become distraught to know that portrayed them to be insignificant. Through the Player, Stoppard creates a character that is able to appreciate the pointlessness of the absurd world he lives in, and discover significance in it by creating it for himself. The Player’s habit to mix the lines between theatre and reality by asserting he does not distinguish the two is a statement that the two require the same thing in order to be understood: suspension of disbelief. (2.81) Works Cited Shakespeare, William. â€Å"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark† Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 9th Ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print