Comic hero Essay Example for Free

Comic hero Essay Conventions at the time also saw men as higher in marriage than women; but perhaps views on marriage and old conventions were changing. This may also mean that Shakespeare disagrees with the old conventions. This is why, I believe, he throws a loophole in to Katherinas last speech. She speaks of a wife being obedient to his [the husbands] honest will. Does this mean then that if the husbands will is not honest then the wife need not be obedient? I believe so. I also believe that Katherina has not been tamed at this point of the book, but however she does love Petruchio. This is shown when they arrive outside Lucentios house. Petruchio draws Katherina aside; prithee Kate, lets stand aside and watch the end of this controversy. The pairs agreement to move away from the scene and become an audience here shows their mutual feeling on the controversy and also the pairs new found togertherness. Critics such as Shaw and Billington suggest that there is an interesting incongruity between Katherinas early speeches and her last speech. This suggests to me that Katherina feels that her taming is beneficial, so she goes along with Petruchios act. She does however use subtle hints to show the audience that she is aware of the taming and is using it to her benefit, suggesting she is stronger and in fact is using Petruchio, for example the loophole in her last speech. However, if Katherina is stronger then this interpretation does not work., Petruchio still marries her and gets his way. Katherina is only allowed to be subtle about her opposition and Petruchio is aware of his own behaviour. Also when reading this play it is extremely important to consider at all times, The Taming of the Shrew is a play within a play. It might be deliberately overplayed or ironic in order to make it seem more acted, rather than real. This would also help to make a point about how we set our conventions. So I believe that this mistreatment of Katherina throughout the play is a mockery of the so-called old marriage conventions. The loophole in Katherinas last speech is, I feel, a kind of moral to this story. It helps us to see that the man is perhaps the main force in a marriage but there must also be mutual respect, otherwise it is just sexist. This is the third interpretation of the play that Shakespeare is mocking the conventions of marriage by producing a parody of the plethora of plays at the time like The Taming of A Shrew Act 4 Scene 5 takes place on a public road, it is therefore a neutral location of which nobody has ownership. This neutral location enables the characters to negotiate their roles more freely take for example, Katherina may negotiate who is in control. The audience present, Hortensio and Vincentio, is all male. This may mean that Petruchio is going to simply show-off, in order to show the other males who is in charge of their relationship in order to impress them. The play continues when Katherina starts to play the game, pronouncing Vincentio to be a budding young virgin, fair, fresh and sweet. In a wider context of the play, it seems as thought the play is questioning how women should act in a relationship. Looking back to the induction, the Lord gives the boy many instructions on how to act as a wife, and to talk to his husband with soft low tongue and lowly courtesy, and to say what ist your honour will command wherein your lady and humble wife may show her duty and make known her love?. Also the play is a comedy, therefore is not to be taken too seriously. Petruchio and Katherina often mock the dogmatic viewpoints on both the feminist side, and the side which sees Petruchio as a comic hero.

Casablanca :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The story happened during World War II. It shows how peoples lives were ruined by the Nazis. The effect that this movie had on me was not very great. As the time period that this movie was set in was during WWII, the movie is about a tragic romance and how people are trying to get out of Casablanca which is in Morrocco which is in Africa (just in case you didn‘t know). No real details about WWII are given, except that the Nazi idiots were trying to rid the earth of the religions and races that they thought were inferior. All in all, I thought it was a great movie, that should be remade with recognizable actors, and it had an awesome story line. It made me realize that among all the war and disaster during WWII, peoples lives were still progressing, however different they might be because of the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The impact that this movie might have had on American society is that they got to see a reason why America was being filled by immigrants. The German racist Nazis frightened everyone out of the places they took over. And they all heard about the New World (America) and it’s freedom of everything, so they decided to escape Nazi occupied areas and come here. The percentage of immigrants in the US rose as more and more of them flooded our boats and planes (most of them illegally).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  And so... here is my summary of Casablanca...   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) worked for the American Intelligence Agency in Paris. One day he met with Ilsa Laszlow (Ingrid Bergman) in Paris. They soon fell in love and planned to marry. However, with the German's coming into Paris, they had to give up the plan and instead wished to get to Marseilles by train and marry there. But just before the leaving by train, Rick received a letter from Ilsa, saying that she couldn't go with him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  So instead, Rick went to the French colony Casablanca and started a cafe there. One night, he met Ilsa at his cafe, who escaped with her husband to Casablanca. They hoped to obtain exit visas here and escape to the New World of America. At first, Rick couldn’t forgive Ilsa for going back on her word. He refused to help them get the exit visas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Learning about his refusal, Ilsa goes alone to see Rick.

“Merchant of Venice” Feminist Perspective Essay

The feminist critical perspective examines the roles that women play in literary works and their true significance to the text. Their roles are usually decided on by the society or time period in which the story is set. In â€Å"The Merchant of Venice,† females were suppressed by the societal ideals of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan era, which is portrayed through the characters of Portia and Jessica, who could not establish their own powerful identities because they were women. Portia and Jessica are the main female characters in the play. If they had been given a chance to show their skills, they undoubtedly would’ve been extremely strong women. However, they had to mask their abilities in order to appeal to their male counterparts. Their positions in the story were to show what it was to be the ideal Elizabethan woman. Time and time again, Portia and Jessica were shown to be mere objects that were owned by the male characters in the story. They could not shine or b ecome powerful characters, when they had every capability to. According to Maggi Ros’ â€Å"Life in Elizabethan England: A Compendium of Common Knowledge,† a woman was nothing more than property in Elizabethan society. It states that, â€Å"Children are the property of their parents, and give them the respect a servant gives his master†¦Wives are the property of their husbands†¦Some women are more independent than others. However, every woman expects to be married, and to depend on her male relatives throughout her life.† Throughout the story, we see that Jessica and Portia fit perfectly into this description of Elizabethan women. Jessica was the property of her father. Shylock did not care for his daughter nearly enough as the fact that he owned her. When Jessica eloped with her lover, Lorenzo, Shylock cared only about two things: that his daughter had eloped with a Christian and that she had stolen his money. The reader can see this when Salanio, while gossiping with Salerio, mocks Shylock: â€Å"I never heard a passion so confused / So strange, outrageous, and so variable / As the dog Jew did utter in the streets: / ‘My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! / Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! / Justice! the law! †¦ A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats, †¦ Stol’n by my daughter! Justice! Find the girl!'† (II.viii.13). Jessica’s eloping with Lorenzo signified that Shylock’s source of pride, his Jewish religion, would end  after his death. There would be no continuance of the tradition because Jessica had betrayed him and married a Christian. She could no longer bear him a Jewish heir. After his religion, money was the second most important thing in Shylock’s life. Jessica had taken some of his ducats and precious stones. He begged the law to condemn Jessica, who had stolen his hard-earned money. It was obvious that the loss of his daughter did not affect him one bit. But rather, it was the loss of his money and Jewish bloodline which infuriated him. Sadly, this showed that Jessica’s worth was limited to nothing more than mere property. Portia was, like Jessica, bound by her father. She says: â€Å"If I live to be as old as Sibylla, I will die as chaste as Diana, unless I be obtained by the manner of my father’s will† (I.ii.98). Her deceased father had left behind a will, which contained a riddle. There were three caskets, made of gold, silver, and lead. The man who can correctly choose the casket containing Portia’s picture would become her husband. If Portia had not remained loyal to her father, she could have easily chosen any man to be her husband. However, this shows the power of the male guardian in Elizabethan times. Portia did not dare to be disobedient to her father, even after his death. â€Å"O me, the word ‘choose’! I may neither choose who I would, nor refuse who I dislike, so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father (I.ii.19). Instead, she grudgingly accepted the riddle as the ultimate decider in her fate and love life. In another aspect of Elizabethan society, women were mere objects that belonged to their husbands after ownership was transferred from their fathers. The suitors lasciviously desired Portia for her beauty and wealth. If they could win her as a wife, their reputations and futures would be set. The first suitor to try his luck at the riddle of the caskets was the Prince of Morocco. He chose the gold casket which had an inscription that read: â€Å"Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire† (II.vii.5). This shows that Morocco was a greedy man who desired Portia for materialistic reasons, just like many other men who would desire the gold too. The second suitor to attempt the riddle was the Prince of Arragon, who chose the silver casket. Like Morrocco, Arragon was quite superficial. â€Å"I will assume desert. Give me  a key for this / And instantly unlock my fortunes here† (II.ix.52). He saw Portia as merely a free ride to financial security. He didn’t want her because he loved or cared for her. He only wanted her for her money and power. Women were a prize which men displayed and flaunted. A woman had no true value as a person. A recurring event in the play was the women disguising themselves as men. This is symbolic of the suppression of the women by their male counterparts. They had to mask their true abilities under the guise of men. There was no way in Elizabethan society for a woman to be successful in any field other than wifehood or motherhood. In Act II, Jessica was finally rebelling against the strict rules of Shylock. She was taking extreme measures in order to elope with Lorenzo. â€Å"I am glad ’tis night, you do not look on me / For I am much ashamed of my exchange / But love is blind and lovers cannot see / The pretty follies that themselves commit / For if they could, Cupid himself would blush / To see me thus transformed to a boy† (II.vi.34). Escaping from her father should have empowered her character, but in fact, it didn’t. She had to disguise herself as a pageboy, thus, taking away any feeling of female empowerment that the act of eloping should have brought. She was defying in the costume of a male and this showed that only males had the power to rebel or to be strong. At the end of Act III, Portia and Nerissa dressed up as a male lawyer and clerk and traveled to Venice to defend Antonio. Portia was the most intellectual character in the play and that was made evident by the skill with which she executed Antonio’s defense. When the evidence was clearly stacked against Antonio, using her wit and intelligence, Portia turned the tables on Shylock and made him the victim. Portia’s cleverness was shown when she said: â€Å"This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood / The words expressly are ‘a pound of flesh:’ / Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh / But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed / One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods / Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate Unto the state of Venice† (IV.i.309). Portia knew that Shylock had every right to cut Antonio’s flesh–the law gave him that right. But, she also knew that the law stated that if an attempt was made at a Venetian’s life, the perpetrator  would have his property confiscated. This was a brilliant twist of events that greatly affected the case. Shylock had now turned into the victim and Antonio was completely off the hook. Portia was an utterly brilliant lawyer, which everyone in the courtroom could distinguish. However, Antonio’s defense and the infamous â€Å"quality of mercy speech† were made under the disguise of a male lawyer. No one would ever see the true intelligence that Portia actually beheld, simply because an intelligent female was unfathomable in Shakespeare’s time. Women in Shakespeare’s Elizabethan society were greatly undermined. This is made quite evident in The Merchant of Venice, through the feminist critical perspective. Societal ideals forced Jessica and Portia to mask their abilities and talents. They could not show their true identities or else they would break the mold of a proper Elizabethan woman, which was absolutely unthinkable. Portia and Jessica were both the property by their fathers and could never really break free from that ownership. Also, Portia was desired by men for her wealth and beauty, rather than her intelligence and personality. Women were merely a prize that should be flaunted. Their inner-value was worthless; it was their material value that mattered. Finally, both women had to disguise themselves as men in order to express the independence and power they possessed. The female characters in the story were inferior to the males because of the social stigmas which had existed during Shakespeare’s time period.

Practice Telephone English Using Role Plays for ESL

Role-playing refers to taking parts in a pretend situation to focus on specific English skills. When we telephone others, especially when we telephone business or other professionals for appointments, there is a purpose to our conversation. Using these role plays will help you or your class develop telephone language skills while practicing situations that can also be used in person. Use important telephone phrases to begin your conversation, you can also use these telephone English tips to help negotiate the conversation successfully. Role Playing Suggestions Here are some role plays for you to use in practicing your telephone English. Requesting Travel Information Student A: Choose a city in your country. You are going to travel to this city for a business meeting over the next weekend. Telephone a travel agency and reserve the following: Round-trip flightHotel room for two nightsRestaurant recommendationPrices and departure times Student B: You work in a travel agency. Listen to student A and offer him/her the following solutions: Round-trip flight: Air JW $450 Coach, $790 First ClassHotel room for two nights: Hotel City $120 a night in the downtown area, Hotel Relax $110 a night near the airportRestaurant Recommendation: Chez Marceau - downtown - average price $70 a person Product Information Student A: You need to purchase six new computers for your office. Call JAs Computer World and ask for the following information: Current special offers on computersComputer configuration (RAM, Hard Drive, CPU)GuarantyPossibility of discount for an order of six computers Student B: You work in at JAs Computer World answer student As questions using the following information: Two special offers: Multimedia Monster - with latest Pentium CPU, 256 RAM, 40 GB Hard Drive, Monitor included - $2,500 AND Office Taskmaster - cheaper CPU, 64 RAM, 10 GB Hard Drive, Monitor not included - $1,2001 Year guaranty on all computersDiscount of 5% for orders of more than five computers Leaving a Message Student A: You want to speak to Ms Braun about your account with her company, WW. If Ms Braun isnt in the office, leave the following information: Your nameTelephone number: 347-8910 (or use your own)Calling about changing conditions of your contract with WWYou can be reached until 5 oclock at the above number. If Ms Braun calls after 5 oclock, she should call 458-2416 Student B: You are a receptionist at WW. Student A would like to speak to Ms Braun, but she is out of the office. Take a message and make sure you get the following information: Name and telephone number - ask student A to spell the surnameMessage student A would like to leave for Ms BraunHow late Ms Braun can call student A at the given telephone number Selling Your Product Student A: You are a salesperson for Red Inc. You are telephoning a client who you think might be interested in buying your new line of office supplies. Discuss the following information with your client: New line of office supplies including: copy-paper, pens, stationary, mouse-pads and white boardsYou know the customer hasnt ordered any new products during this past yearSpecial discount of 15% for orders placed before next MondayAny order placed before Monday will not only receive the discount but also have its company logo printed on the products at no extra charge Student B: You work in an office and receive a telephone call from your local office supplier. As a matter of fact, you need some new office supplies so you are definitely interested in what the salesperson has to offer. Talk about the following: New pens, stationary and whiteboardsDo they have any special offersYou would like to place an order for 200 packages of copy paper immediately