Friday, January 24, 2020

A Comparison of Hawthornes Works :: essays papers

A Comparison of Hawthornes Works A Comparison of Hawthorne's Works In both of Hawthorne's short stories and The Scarlet Letter, the author uses distinct symbolisms that have more than one meaning. In The Scarlet Letter, the red rose bush and the weeds located at the entrance of the prison symbolize both good and evil. Throughout the novel, the rose bush represents Pearl, and how good things can come out of bad experiences. Hawthorne suggests the red rose as being "some sweet moral blossom", and represents Hester's relationship as a love both good and bad. Also in The Scarlet Letter, the letter "A" symbolizes more than one thing. The first and clearest form of the letter is that of "Adultery". It is apparent that Hester is guilty of cheating on her husband when she surfaces from the prison with a three-month-old-child in her arms, while her husband has been away for two years. The second form that it takes is "Angel." When Governor Winthrop passes away, a giant "A" appears in the sky. People from the church feel that, "For as our good Govern or Winthrop was made an angel this past night, it was doubtless held fit that there should be some notice thereof!" The final form that the scarlet letter take is "Able." Hester helped the people of the town so unselfishly that Hawthorne wrote that because such helpfulness was found in her, "The people refused to interpret the scarlet "A" by its original significance". They said that it meant Able; "So strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength." While the letter "A" is a most complex and misunderstood symbol, Pearl is even more so. Throughout the story, she develops into a dynamic symbol - one that is always changing. God's treatment of Hester for her sin was quite different than just a physical token: He gave Hester the punishment of bearing a very unique child which she named Pearl. This punishment handed down from God was a constant mental and physical reminder to Hester of what she had done wrong, and she could not escape it. In this aspect, Pearl symbolized God's way of punishing Hester for adultery. In Hawthorne's short stories, The Minister's Black Veil, in particular, the black veil worn by the minister suggests more than one meaning. It shows sin, darkness, concealment, and death all in one.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

How Does Othello’s Character Change Throughout the Play? Essay

In order to understand how Othello changes throughout the play, we have to first take a look at the types of the relationships in the play as his behaviour changes directly links to the influences by the other people whom he has deep relationships. There are two types of relationships, one that is between female characters and between male characters. Both have deep bonds between each other. However women friendships are more emotional. Emotions are very strong and are deeply intertwined with trust. Love, hatred, jealousy and admiration are often mixed up and polar emotions show how strong the bond is. This also links that women are more vulnerable to be influenced, however once a strong bond is formed, it is hard to tear it apart, even though they can be quite sensitive. Within the men friendships, it is apparent that men do not heavily rely on their emotions and they have mutual understanding, â€Å"I have your back and you have my back†. Othello did try to not believe Iago so easily but the circumstances were in his favour because Iago’s wife was doing Iago’s dirty work without even knowing. He was also wrong about Iago not only about the fact that he was honest but the fact that he thought Iago would be truthful to him even after not giving the promotion to him. Shakespeare transformed the one he found in the story, and invented the character of Roderigo to bear that vulgar part. Then he invents a second motive for Iago, and makes him hate Othello also for his supposed relations with Emilia. By way of revenge for this offence, Iago’s first impulse is to try to corrupt Desdemona, and thus get even with Othello. But how little this was his intention is seen by the fact that he never seems to have seriously considered it. In place of this, however, he has an alternative that becomes his ruling motive, to put Othello into a jealousy of Cassio. This he thinks will serve to revenge himself on Othello for both offences at one blow: And nothing can, or shall content my soul Till I am even’d with him, wife, for wife. Or failing so, yet that I put the Moor At least into a jealousy so strong That judgment cannot cure. (II. i. 331-5.) Othello is also gullible, he trusts men more than women because he might not understand women and their relationships. He gives us feeling that he believes in stereotype women which are wicked, vulnerable, twisted and are traitors who lie all the time. Ironically, that stereotype applies to Iago whom Othello trusts more than his beloved Desdemona. The main villain who affected Othello the most has a hatred motive however hatred is supposed to have a cause, some concrete event or insult that inspires a lasting rage. But in Othello, the play’s villain is motivated by a hatred that seems to elude any reasonable definition. Iago’s hatred and his determination to destroy his boss Othello, seems out of proportion with the reasons he gives for it: anger that Othello did not promote him or jealousy that Othello might have slept with Iago’s wife. Iago’s loathing has been famously called a â€Å"motiveless malignancy† that redefines our understanding of hatred, making it seem a self-propelling passion rather than the consequence of any particular action.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Sanskrit

Sanskrit is an ancient Indo-European language, the root of many modern Indian languages, and it remains one of Indias 22 official languages to this day.  Sanskrit also functions as the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and Jainism, and it plays an important role in the Buddhist scripture as well.  Where did Sanskrit come from, and why is it controversial in India? Sanskrit The word Sanskrit means sanctified or refined.  The earliest known work in Sanskrit is the Rigveda, a collection of Brahmanical texts, which dates to c. 1500 to 1200 BCE.  (Brahmanism was the early precursor to Hinduism.)  The Sanskrit language developed out of proto-Indo-European, which is the root of most languages in Europe, Persia (Iran), and India.  Its closest cousins are Old Persian, and Avestan, which is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. Pre-Classical Sanskrit, including the language of the Rigveda, is called Vedic Sanskrit.  A later form, called Classical Sanskrit, is distinguished by the grammar standards laid out by a scholar called Panini, writing in the 4th century BCE.  Panini defined a bewildering 3,996 rules for syntax, semantics, and morphology in Sanskrit. Classical Sanskrit spawned the majority of the hundreds of modern languages spoken across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka today.  Some of its daughter languages include Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Nepali, Balochi, Gujarati, Sinhalese, and Bengali. The array of spoken languages that arose from Sanskrit is matched by the vast number of different scripts in which Sanskrit can be written.  Most commonly, people use the Devanagari alphabet.  However, almost every other Indic alphabet has been used to write in Sanskrit at one time or another.  The Siddham, Sharda, and Grantha alphabets are used exclusively for Sanskrit, and the language is also written in scripts from other countries, such as Thai, Khmer, and Tibetan. As of the most recent census, only 14,000 people out of 1,252,000,000 in India speak Sanskrit as their primary language.  It is used widely in religious ceremonies; thousands of Hindu hymns and mantras are recited in Sanskrit.  In addition, many of the oldest Buddhist scriptures are written in Sanskrit, and Buddhist chants also commonly feature the liturgical language that was familiar to Siddhartha Gautama, the Indian prince who became the Buddha.  Many of the Brahmins and Buddhist monks who chant in Sanskrit today do not understand the actual meaning of the words they speak.  Most linguists thus consider Sanskrit a dead language.   A movement in modern India is seeking to revive Sanskrit as a spoken language for everyday use.  This movement is tied to Indian nationalism, but is opposed by speakers of non-Indo-European languages including the Dravidic-language speakers of southern India, such as the Tamils.  Given the antiquity of the language, its relative rarity in daily use today, and its lack of universality, the fact that it remains one of Indias official languages is somewhat odd.  Its as if the European Union made Latin an official language of all of its member-states.