The Book Thief Review Essay Example for Free

The Book Thief Review Essay In,The Book Thief,we learn about the different types of human nature, from the kindness to the cruelty. Death is the narrator and struggles to come to terms with the difference between the evil plans of the Nazi government and the goodwill and courage of a few German people. His curiosity leads him to uncovering Liesel’s story and he becomes attached to certain features for characters such as; Liesel, Rudy, Hans Hubermann and Rosa Hubermann. The Book Thief goes through some of the most evil things in history and it takes us through these various times. We witness the torture of the Jews in the book, from when Liesel and Rudy witness the streets with the destroyed houses and shops. The Nazi’s classify them as subhumans and make them march through Molching, while they are being tortured by the Nazi soldiers which is totally wrong. Hans Hubermann showed great compassion and pity even though there would be consequences, as he rushes to a crowd of Jews and gives and old man a piece of bread. â€Å"The Jew stood before him, expecting another handful of derision, but he watched with everyone else as Hans Hubermann held his hand out and presented a piece of bread, like magic†. This quote says, that even though his punishment is being sent to the war, it is connected to his act of kindness and he provides a much needed role model for both Liesel and Rudy. Ilsa Hermann displays a great amount of warmth and goodwill by inviting Liesel into her library. Although this character may look lonely over the loss of her son, she manages to teach Liesel into her love of literature. She does not react angrily to the fact that Liesel had stolen books from her library, this in turns show compassion in human nature. Even though Liesel and Rudy stole books, death shows this as acts of courage, rather than a criminal offence. The Hubermann’s ( Rosa and Hans) consent to take care of Liesel as a foster child is wonderful and this is also further more explained as they promised to Max’s family, even though knowing being caught hiding a Jew leass to death. The Hubermann family don’t just take in Max, but they also make him feel loved and part of the family. Liesel defies Nazi rules and regulations, by taking education into her own hands, as Rudy puts it after their fathers were sent to war, â€Å"It feels good doesn’t it? To steal something back.† Liesel further more defies the Nazi model of hate of Jews as she grows closer to Max and help each other develop as individuals and also show a lot of affection towards one another. Rudy is a very loveable character and in the start, goes from stealing bread, to giving it to the marching Jews. This act is selfless because at the time he and his family were starving â€Å"Proof again of the contradictory nature of human beings† – Death. Furthermore, â€Å"From the toolbox the boy took out, of all things, a teddy bear. He reached in through the torn windshield and placed it on the pilot’s chest†. This shows a compassionate act of human nature even though the pilot was from an opposite side of the war. Even though, harsh punishments were experienced during the time of Nazi Germany, many examples of human spirit were exposed to overpower the evil and shows that we can have some sort of integrity to face evil times.

Scientific Management Approach by Frederick W. Taylor

Scientific Management Approach by Frederick W. Taylor Scientific management approach was developed by Frederick W. Taylor in the late 19th century. This management approach can be defined as a scientific study done on the work methods aimed at improving the efficiency of the workers in order to achieve simplification, specialization, standardization and the overall efficiency in the organization. The approach further aimed at increasing productivity through mutual trust between the workers and the management. Through this, Taylor aimed at improving the level of trust with level of productivity improvement going to the workers. He also aimed at eliminating at eliminating anxiety and physical stress through training the workers and getting rid of the traditional boss concept (Anderson, 1988). In report, principles of scientific management approach are discussed. The relevance of the approach in the modern business world is highlighted with specific examples of its appropriateness and influence given To achieve this, Taylor developed four principles of scientific management approach that uniquely identifies it. The first principle is that uses science and not the rule of the thumb old rules. The principle further argues that the old rules of the thumb be further supported by scientific approaches to ones work. Scientific selection of workers is the second principle. The principle states that members to the organization should be selected according to some analysis. The y should then be taught, trained and developed (Anderson, 1988). The third principle is the management and labor corporation. Rather than managing conflicts, the management should collaborate with the members of the organization. This corporation makes it possible for the work to be done in such a in accordance to the set scientific principles. Scientific training of workers is the fourth principle. The principle points out that worker should be trained by experts based on scientific methods. Relating this to the modern business world, it is evident how Taylors ideas have influenced and still shape the business environment. On the first principle, the laws and scientific principles have replaced the traditional methods that are old fashioned. This is seen in factory automation where tasks performed by workers are optimized using scientific methods and approaches with the aim of increasing productivity and being able to get optimal results. The most production lines are largely determined by the mechanical approaches chosen but have always been improved using emerging scientific methods (Albrecht, 1983). The quality of the product has been improved by uses of scientific methods like ISO quality standards. In New Zealand for instance the use of ISO 9001 is a relevant example of a situation where the quality of the product is assured by the set work tasks. This management tool has been used widely to improve the quality of the products by most organizations in New Zealand. The tool proves to reduce waste, customer returns and rework. In the long run the end result is that efficiency is achieved. The second principle of scientific selection of workers has widely been used in the modern business environment. The principle is deemed as the most relevant one today as most organizations endeavor to hire the right person for to various positions. One common example where this scientific principle is the use of psychologists to conduct interviews in order to determine the use the suitability of an applicant to take up certain position. Use of business training programme and training Curve in New Zealand is an example of how science has been used to perform in selecting the right persons to undertake various tasks. Bringing together the trained worker and the science in order to offer opportunities for expression of employees need and better treatment is illustrated by the third principle in scientific management. The concept is evident today in the form of human relations. Problems related to human relations have however not been seen as been advocated by scientific management but according to (Gilbreth, 1914) scientific management has been beneficial to productivity. Most managers try to maintain safe and healthy workforce in order to improve their productivity. This has lead to the coming up of legislations such as the safe and Healthy in Employment Act of 1992 in New Zealand. The legislation is aimed at ensuring employees are happy and work in safe environment. The last principle emphasizes the need for distinguishing the roles played by each group in an organization. This is done by dividing the work in the organization into two large components. These are the one for the management and workers. This division gives the management higher responsibility than the workers as the functions of the management is further by fostering the importance and need for the management to exercise the for management functions effectively. These functions include but not limited to planning, organizing, controlling and leading. This are the major functions of management that do are fundamental without which the textbooks on management would not exist. (Boone, Bowden, 1987) argues that, going beyond the four principles of scientific management, the approach has proven to be vital in the development of contemporary business. It also remained relevant. Businesses in the technology industry have had their quality and efficiency improves like in the case Group technologies in Australia where the quality of their products have been improved with the use of specification and standardization process as well as the using production control. This concept of group technologies was introduced by Taylor in 1919 and is used even in todays factory automation. The concept has worked well especially in situations where thousands of parts are designed and classified. Most manufacturing plants today use group technology which it small and more flexible plants. An example of such plants is the Vertex pacific. This a plastic manufacturing company in New Zealand that has factories all over the country. The machine forming the plastic in each plant is flexible hence able to change the product its manufacturing within a very short time. This has enabled the efficiencies of group technology to be realized as they reduce the number of tools required. The process is however standardized by having the machines together in close proximity and production control (Hough White, 2001). The scientific management is old relevant in the modern business has it has shaped the practices in the modern accounting. The management method is exceptionally derived from the classical management that was practiced in the early days. This is where only the derivations were reported to the management. This is a common phenomenon in the modern accounting system where if budgets are overrun the accountants can notice and be able to inform their relevant higher management. Continuous improvement in the performance of the workers and improved efficiency is always attributed to improved quality management. All this are valued as the goals of the scientific management. However it is argued that securing harder works by the workers is necessary. According to (Hough White, 2001), though history has always considered scientific management as being narrow minded, it has always failed to point out the human elements in an organization that have more often been the cause of the problem. Human element has been an important part of the scientific management. This is the work length. Taylor has always advocated shortening of the working hour in order improve efficiency and productivity. This is evident in the recent years where organizations are shifting away from the traditional working eight hours in the office to working from home, selection of working hour and the increasing the availability of communication systems hence changing the contemporary business environment. To further the idea of scientific management being relevant in the modern world of business, Parker Lewis (1995) state that business environment in the modern day is similar to the early days scientific management. Service and product diversification, corporate mergers, intense competition, technological changes, pre-occupation and national economic recessions are examples of how the system has remained the same. This reason as to why scientific management approach can still be used today. Streamlining of business systems existing in two or more merged companies can be done by use of scientific analysis. Increasing the productivity of an organization in times of recessions and compete well in a competitive business environment are some of the valuable thing that can only be achieved with use of the scientific management. An example of this is the application of management theories and practices in a global setting based on the scientific management in the rebuilding of many businesses after the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York which caused a major negative impact on the tourism sector in most parts of the world. Its world noting that this Taylors work has faced some criticism. Perroni Wrege (2001) argue that Taylor was inconsistent in his pig-iron handling experiments as has data was consistent .They therefore concluded that his pig-tale used to illustrate the scientific management approach was morally unacceptable. They suggested the message was more important than the accuracy that Taylor shown in has research. It would unjust however for managers to discredit scientific management approach on this basis ignoring the possibilities that scientific management can offer increased productivity and efficiency. Hough White (2001) showed how the current disciplines like operations management, systems reengineering and work designs use many aspects in Taylors work. In conclusion it is imperative to say that scientific management has contributed immensely to the successful management in the current business world worldwide. The ideas propagated by Frederick Taylor in the late 19th century and early 20th century still have a place in the modern day management thinking. Its therefore advisable every manager regardless of the position one hold to embrace scientific management and use it carefully bearing in mind it is limited to the mechanistic organization. It is also possible to make improvements by carefully learning the work processes, designing and implementing relevant changes. This is however possible when considered in a holistic of the organization (Albrecht, 1983).

Life Of The Settlers :: essays research papers

The Life of the Settlers ( Book Report ) Book : Tubman Harriet Ross Tubman was one of the youngest of the eleven children born to Benjamin Ross and Araminta Rittia Green Ross. Since her parents both were slaves, she was born a slave. Harriet was the fourth generation of her family to be enslaved in the United States. Harriet lived in Bucktown, Maryland as a slave. When she was five years old, Edward Brodas, her owner, hired her out to other people, who would pay him for her services. As a custom for slaves, she took another name when she was hired out, calling herself Araminta or "Minty." As a slave Harriet was treated brutally. She was beaten and whipped about her face, neck and back. She had the scars for the rest of her life. This all happened because her owners said it wasn’t good enough, without thinking that the work she did was to the best of her abilities because she was five years old. She received no education and so she couldn’t read or write. Yet in later life she gave speeches in support of women’s rights. Harriet was described as a wilful and moody child. She was determined to do outdoor work, and Brodas finally gave in when she was nine years old. She was hired out as a field hand. She did well in the fields. She enjoyed the outdoors, feeling of almost being free since she wasn’t being closely monitored. It also gave her strength and endurance, both of which later served her well. It also brought her in contact with slaves who travelled north with their owners. Harriet almost killed herself while trying to help Jim, another slave, escape. McCracken, Jim’s owner, had chased him and finally caught him. He demanded Harriet to tie Jim up, but she refused. Jim then bounded out the door and Harriet blocked the door. McCracken responded by throwing an iron which hit Harriet on the forehead. Since the head injuries she suffered sleeping seizures. Harriet, at the age of 24 got married to John Tubman, a freed black man. When Harriet learned from John how he gained freedom, she checked out from a lawyer and found out that her mother was supposed to be free but was tricked into thinking she was a slave. In 1849 Harriet over heard that her and two of her brother’s were to be sold far south. Life Of The Settlers :: essays research papers The Life of the Settlers ( Book Report ) Book : Tubman Harriet Ross Tubman was one of the youngest of the eleven children born to Benjamin Ross and Araminta Rittia Green Ross. Since her parents both were slaves, she was born a slave. Harriet was the fourth generation of her family to be enslaved in the United States. Harriet lived in Bucktown, Maryland as a slave. When she was five years old, Edward Brodas, her owner, hired her out to other people, who would pay him for her services. As a custom for slaves, she took another name when she was hired out, calling herself Araminta or "Minty." As a slave Harriet was treated brutally. She was beaten and whipped about her face, neck and back. She had the scars for the rest of her life. This all happened because her owners said it wasn’t good enough, without thinking that the work she did was to the best of her abilities because she was five years old. She received no education and so she couldn’t read or write. Yet in later life she gave speeches in support of women’s rights. Harriet was described as a wilful and moody child. She was determined to do outdoor work, and Brodas finally gave in when she was nine years old. She was hired out as a field hand. She did well in the fields. She enjoyed the outdoors, feeling of almost being free since she wasn’t being closely monitored. It also gave her strength and endurance, both of which later served her well. It also brought her in contact with slaves who travelled north with their owners. Harriet almost killed herself while trying to help Jim, another slave, escape. McCracken, Jim’s owner, had chased him and finally caught him. He demanded Harriet to tie Jim up, but she refused. Jim then bounded out the door and Harriet blocked the door. McCracken responded by throwing an iron which hit Harriet on the forehead. Since the head injuries she suffered sleeping seizures. Harriet, at the age of 24 got married to John Tubman, a freed black man. When Harriet learned from John how he gained freedom, she checked out from a lawyer and found out that her mother was supposed to be free but was tricked into thinking she was a slave. In 1849 Harriet over heard that her and two of her brother’s were to be sold far south.

moralant Essay on the Moral Dilemma in Sophocles Antigone

Antigone:   Barbaric King, Hopeful Princess and Moral Dilemma Antigone is a play that mainly deals with differences among characters that cause life long drawbacks and threatening resolutions. The drama is portrayed through Antigone and Creon's characters who undoubtedly resemble each other. Although they try to be masters of their own fate and eventually succumb to grieving outcomes, they both seem to have the values of a tragic hero. Although, they have their differences, their battle with one another illustrates them both as moral characters full of pride and arrogance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Antigone was born full of superiority and courage, yet leaves the world as a conquered person. She respects her family despite what has happened in the past and always seems to be loyal towards her brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, as well as her sister, Ismene. Antigone feels that abiding by the laws of the gods, is a valuable merit to follow. This theory gradually affects her actions and behavior towards Creon. The tragic flaw of Antigone leads to many lamenting events in the play. The manner she poses her characteristics in such as being stubborn and her raggedness portrays her flaw in the play. Antigone attempts to challenge Creon's love for power and accepts the punishment given to her. She bows to death because she is aware that she has done a good deed and she will inhale her last breath in honor. Whether Creon thinks of her as a traitor or not, Antigone knew the gods would reserve their judgment in favor of her. She never once reg rets burying her brother, which makes her character all the more admirable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Alt... ...ys. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Be careful not to write sentence fragments. If your sentence does not have a subject and a verb, then tack it on to the end of the last sentence. . Who is the moral one of them? A barbaric king or a hopeful princess?   The last phrase is a sentence fragment because there is no verb.   Putting it onto the end of the last question would solve the problem.   Who is the moral one of them, a barbaric king or a hopeful princess? 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Proofread carefully, there are several misspelled words in the paper. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Use quotes to strengthen your argument.   Using a quote for each point that you make backs up what you are saying.   You are giving proof that your argument is valid by pointing out where in the play the characters act as you say they do.     

Image Processing :: essays research papers

Adaptive Shape Contour Tracing Algorithm ABSTRACT In this paper we are going to present a new shape contour tracing algorithm called  ¡Ã‚ §Adaptive Contour Tracing Algorithm ¡Ã‚ ¨. The algorithm can trace open and closed discontinuous digital shapes and return an ordered set of boundary points that represent the contour of the shape. Unlike other algorithms that return boundary points that are part of the traced shape, our algorithm returns background points that are adjacent to the shape ¡Ã‚ ¦s contour. Furthermore, the algorithm is not hindered by shapes that are noisy and ill-defined as it can adapt to interruptions in the shape ¡Ã‚ ¦s contour using a pre-set tolerance and is able to scan multiple neighbors of a given point. The algorithm has a low complexity and no restrictions on the type or size of the traced shape. The extracted ordered set of boundary points represents the contour of a given shape and is important for curvature-based shape descriptors. Categories and Subject Descriptors I.4.6 [Image Processing and Computer Vision]: Segmentation  ¡V Edge and feature detection, Pixel classification General Terms Algorithms. Keywords Image Processing; Contour Tracing; Shape Boundary Extraction. 1. INTRODUCTION Contour tracing is an important process in boundary-based shape matching. All shapes are represented by a pattern of pixels and the contour pixels are usually a small subset of that pattern. Curvature-based shape matching methods rely on the contour pixels to describe the irregularities in shapes and a reliable contour-tracing algorithm is needed to extract the boundary of shapes. If the shape has holes then another hole search algorithm need to be applied to extract the hole pattern and such an algorithm is not part of this article. We developed a sequential contour-tracing algorithm denoted the  ¡Ã‚ §Adaptive Contour Tracing Algorithm ¡Ã‚ ¨. The algorithm computes the surrounding contour of any shape and adapts to all types of closed curve representations whether they are filled or partially filled digital shapes. Any pixel, 1-pixel wide lines, and full shapes could be traced and represented by closed curves. The algorithm also accounts for discontinuities in the shape contour and can reach nearby pixels. The contour trace starts from the top left point or pixel closest to the shape and proceeds clockwise following the surrounding of the contour of the shape rather than the contour itself. The path around the contour is traced in a look-forward sweep pattern to find the next surrounding point that is closest to the contour. The path is then closed when the start point is found.

Audience Reactions and Attitudes to Much Ado About Nothing Essay

In â€Å"Much Ado About Nothing† Shakespeare captures many of the social standards in Elizabethan society whether they are fair or not. In Act 2 Scene 2 of the play, Don John plots to frame Hero and make it look like she has been unfaithful to her fiancà ©e the night before they are due to marry. This then sparks outrage from the male characters, which in turn shows a male bias in their society. The way Hero’s father takes a mans word over hers shows how strong trust and respect was for men compared to that shown towards women. Even though this play was written in a time when England was ruled by a woman (Queen Elizabeth) society was still dominated by men. Even Queen Elizabeth said she had the stomach of a man, implying that men are tougher than women purely because they are of a different gender. This left women with two roles in society; they were seen as prostitutes to be bought or wives to be owned. On top of this, women were also used as scapegoats for the faults of the world, this idea spawns from the beginning of time and Eve eating the apple and having mankind banished from the garden of Eden. This attitude is similar to the opinion of the Nazis towards the Jews, blaming the Jews for all the bad and evil in the world. At the start of act 4 scene 1, the arranged marriage between Claudio and Hero is about to take place, Claudio, Don Pedro and Don Pedro think that Hero has been unfaithful and is no longer a virgin. However, they have been misled and the other characters are not yet aware of their feelings. As Claudio turns down Hero at the altar and lets everyone know, men’s attitudes towards women become clear. The first person to speak on the subject is Claudio, he turns to Leonato and says â€Å"Give me this maid your Daughter?† He is making a statement because as far as he knows Hero is not a â€Å"Maid† (virgin), he is challenging Leonato because he has been given Hero like a gift but she is not what he expected. This quote is also interesting because is shows us that women are seen as possessions of their fathers. Claudio has to ask for permission from her father to â€Å"give† Hero to him, almost like a present. This would spark a  reaction with a modern day audience as women are now seen as equals and independent in society. However, in Elizabethan times this is what they were used to so they would probably not give it a second thought. Claudio then refers to Hero as â€Å"a rich and precious gift,† this confirms what I have already said that women were seen as possessions to be given to people. Claudio then goes on to say, â€Å"Give not this rotten orange to your friend.† He is using the orange as a metaphor for Hero, a rotten orange can appear fine until you peel it or taste it and see what is inside. He is saying that Hero appeared to be an innocent virgin but now he has seen that maybe that isn’t true. He is saying she is â€Å"spoilt goods.† However, this quote also shows us that Claudio is putting part of the responsibility of Hero’s actions onto Leonato, he is saying that Leonato should not have given a woman who isn’t a virgin to him. Because Leonato gave Hero to Claudio like a gift he is now responsible for any mishaps she may have with Claudio. This really shows how women were thought of as objects, that a woman could be compared to an orange, which is amongst the lowest forms of living things. I think this would have an impact on a modern audience as they would be more sensitive towards sexist treatment of women, and women being treated as objects. Claudio then uses Dian and Venus to show what he thinks of Hero. He says that Hero â€Å"seemed† like Dian, Dian was a true virgin so he is using this imagery to show that he feels Hero deceived his as being a virgin. He then uses Venus the adulteress as the other extreme, saying that Hero is more intemperate than Venus. These two extremes give us a scale on which to picture Hero he has given us the best (Dian) and the worst (Venus), he has then left us thinking that Hero is at the worst end of the scale with Venus. Claudio later says, â€Å"like a maid she blushes there,† he is saying she is deceitful, pretending to be a virgin when she isn’t. I think this would be effective both modern and Elizabethan audiences because of the frustration it makes an audience feel. The â€Å"dramatic irony† would be especially popular with an Elizabethan audience as it was a popular form of humour at the time and common in Shakespeare’s comedies. The audience really feel Hero’s frustration because they know that she is innocent and have to watch on helplessly as Claudio makes a huge mistake because the audience know more than his character does. One of the first real comments on the situation by Leonato is, â€Å"Hath no man’s dagger here a point for me?† This really shows the shame Leonato feels that his own daughter has done such a thing; it also shows how he feels it is all about him. He is not worried about his daughter but by how she has affected him, she has damaged his honour and pride, these things would have been very important in Elizabethan times and not something you can get back as easily as you can lose. This shows the importance in Elizabethan England of the family name and how you can be judged by your name. It also shows the responsibility Leonato has for giving his â€Å"wanton† daughter to Claudio, he wants to kill himself due to the shame and guilt she he has brought upon himself because of his daughter. Leonato next says, â€Å"death is the fairest cover for her shame,† he feels that she has brought such shame upon herself that it would be fair for her to die for it. This woul d have a large impact upon an audience, for them to hear a father saying his daughter should die before he even hears her side of the story or even before he really finds out what has happened. It is especially effective because the audience knows that she is innocent and the fact that she is being told she should die for her crime leads the audience to think that there is no justice. However, an Elizabethan audience may sympathise with Leonato as they would be likely to react in a similar way if it happened to them, as this play is a real reflection of Elizabethan society it would have happened therefore his situation would be very real to them. Leonato then has a long speech in which he seems to no longer love his daughter, where shortly before the wedding he could not have been happier for her. This really shows the strength of opinions on pre-marital sex and adultery in Elizabethan times. Probably one of the most shocking and effective statements made by Leonato in his speech is, â€Å"Myself would on the reward of reproaches strike at thy life.† If it was not shock enough to an audience to hear Leonato say he it was fair for his daughter to die, he is now saying that he is willing to kill her himself. Especially in modern times it is almost unthinkable for a mentally sane father to threaten his daughter with death when he cannot be 100% sure that she is guilty of what is a unthinkable crime. This shows us two things,  firstly it shows yet again how strong views were on adultery, but it also shows us how strong a man’s word was against a woman’s in Elizabethan England. Leonato is threatening to kill his daughter purely on the word of a few men who he does not know that well, he wont believe his daughter who he has raised and known all her life. It is like he has just switched of all his love and trust for his daughter, this shows that he values his respect and honour more than he values her. Friar Francis is interesting in this scene because as a vicar he is maybe expected to speak the side of the church, which we would expect to be very against what Hero has allegedly done. However, Friar Francis plays the middle man in the way that he does not condone what she has supposed to have done. But he sees that she may not be guilty of the accusations so he defends her when almost nobody else will. This may be to represent the church as a voice of reason and as a comfort in times of trouble, the belief that if she has done wrong then God will right it himself. The first thing Friar Francis says during the accusations is â€Å"have comfort lady,† the audience will be relieved that someone is seeing reason and will possibly warm to the character of the Friar. However, they might be slightly shocked to see this comfort coming from a man of the church as it does say in the bible â€Å"thou shalt not commit adultery.† After everyone has said what they think about Hero , Friar Francis interrupts with â€Å"hear me a little.† The effect of this is almost like a hero coming to the rescue, he has seen that Hero is defenceless and he now steps in to reason with everyone and protect her. He refers to her â€Å"maiden truth,† this shows us that he really has faith in her as a person while everyone else takes the word of the princes. By â€Å"maiden truth† he is saying that she is telling the truth when she says she is a virgin, this is interesting from an audience perspective because they would expect these words to come from her father. Friar Francis then makes a plan to save Hero’s dignity. He decides that they should pretend that she died with shock or shame and then Claudio would feel guilty and love her more than when she was alive. They can then reveal that she is still alive and they can happily marry again. At this point it becomes clear why Friar Francis has to be the one to save Hero, it is because he is a trusted man in society and seen as a respectable figure of the church. This puts him in a  position to advise people as Benedick says after the Friar’s speech, â€Å"Signior Leonato, let the Friar advise you.† It works as they all agree with his idea and the Friar has saved Hero from shame making himself almost the true Hero of the play. When you analyse Hero’s self defence and appeal of innocence it becomes less surprising that she was thought to be guilty and that the mans words were taken over hers. Her defence is weak and spoken with little passion or convincing tone, she says very little to her defence except that she is guilty but cannot prove it or offer any alternative solution to how the mistake came about. She says, â€Å"O God defend me,† this shows how helpless she is that she is calling upon God to help her because she cannot help herself. This may make an audience angry because she is so weak, especially in a modern audience where women are seen as stronger and more independent. Women were seen as the weaker gender in Elizabethan society but with Hero’s terrible defence and cry to God for help, she is causing herself to be treated weak because she is acting in that way. I think that audiences would also be amazed at the happy ending to the play when Hero appears to accept the mistakes that were made and forgive for the insults they made without a second thought. This really shows how weak she is and how she is expected to react as a female. An audience would be expecting her to make some kind of speech at the end along the lines of â€Å"I told you so† or something on the way she was appallingly treated by most of the men. However, she says nothing and is happily married to Claudio forgetting about anything that was previously said. I feel this would shock an audience because it gives the message that you can treat women like that and get away with it because they are in no position to argue back. An Elizabethan audience may expect her to be submissive because it is what they are used to, however, a modern audience would be disappointed in the message she is giving. They would be especially disappointed because they have seen Beatrice act strongly and independently against the stereotype placed on women, this makes Hero look even worse because if Beatrice has managed to be strong then there is no reason why Hero cant do the same. I found that what was most shocking in this play was not how the Hero was treated, but how she was representing women and just took all the mislead abuse without any kind of defence or anger. What I found interesting about this play is how it appears to have different appeals for a modern audience and an Elizabethan audience. I felt that a modern audience would be very sympathetic on Hero’s side but also slightly angry at her lack of defence and self respect. They would also feel shocked by the male characters and their treatment of Hero as a woman. However, an Elizabethan audience would sympathise with Hero because she is innocent but they would not be shocked by her lack of defence as that is what they would expect in their society. Similarly, they would sympathise with Leonato and the men where we would be angry, this is because they would be used to a similar reaction in their lives if a woman was thought to have been unfaithful. They would understand the shame Leonato feels in the play. This shows how amazingly Shakespeare can cross not just generation but centuries, his plays are made to entertain a wide range of people with different beliefs and social or religious views. I believe that it is because of this that Shakespeare is seen as one of the greatest playwrights of all time.

Succubus Blues EPILOGUE

â€Å"Casey's out sick,† Paige told me briskly, putting on her coat. â€Å"So you'll probably have to cover for her on the registers.† â€Å"It's no problem.† I leaned against her office wall. â€Å"Keeps things interesting, you know?† Pausing, she gave me a brief smile. â€Å"I really appreciate you coming in like this – on such short notice.† She patted her stomach absentmindedly. â€Å"I'm sure it's nothing, but I've had this pain all day – â€Å" â€Å"No, it's fine. Go. You have to take care of yourself. You have to take care of both of you.† She smiled at me again, picking up her purse and walking to the door. â€Å"Doug's skulking around here somewhere if you need help, so make him do it. Hmm†¦ there was one other thing I needed to tell you†¦ Oh yeah – there's something for you in your office. I left it on your chair.† Butterflies shot through my stomach at her words. â€Å"W-what is it?† â€Å"You'll have to see. I've got to go.† I followed Paige out of her office and turned uncertainly into my own. The last thing left on my chair had been an envelope from Roman, one more piece in his twisted game of love and hate. Oh God, I thought. I knew it wouldn't be as easy as Carter had said. Roman's back, starting it all up again, waiting for me to – I stared, swallowing a gasp. The Glasgow Pact sat on my chair. Gingerly, I picked up the book, handling it like fine china. It was my copy, the one I had given Seth to sign over a month ago. I'd forgotten all about it. Opening up the inside cover, I saw lavender rose petals fall out. There were only a handful of them, but they were more precious to me than any of the bouquets I'd received this month. Trying to catch them, I read: To Thetis, Long overdue, I know, but very often the things we most desire come only after much patience and struggle. That is a human truth, I think. Even Peleus knew that. – Seth â€Å"He's back, you know.† â€Å"Huh?† I looked up from the baffling inscription to see Doug leaning against the doorframe. He nodded toward my book. â€Å"Mortensen. He's up in the cafe again, typing away as usual.† I closed the book, holding it tightly with both hands. â€Å"Doug†¦ are you up on your Greek mythology?† He snorted. â€Å"Don't insult me, Kincaid.† † Thetisand Peleus†¦ they were Achilles' parents, right?† â€Å"Indeed they were,† he told me, smug with the confidence of his area of expertise. For my part, I was simply puzzled. I didn't really get the inscription or understand why Seth would reference the Trojan War's greatest warrior. â€Å"Do you know the rest?† Doug asked me expectantly. â€Å"What? That Achilles was a dysfunctional psychopath? Yeah, I know that.† â€Å"Well, yeah, everyone knows that. I mean the really cool part. About Thetis and Peleus.† I shook my head, and he continued, professor-like, † Thetiswas a sea nymph, and Peleus was a mortal who loved her. Only, when he went to woo her, she was a real bitch about it.† â€Å"How so?† â€Å"She was a shape-shifter.† I nearly dropped the book. â€Å"What?† Doug nodded. â€Å"He approached her, and she turned into all sorts of shit to scare him off – wild animals, forces of nature, monsters, whatever.† â€Å"What†¦what'd he do?† â€Å"He held on. Grabbed her and wouldn't let go through all of those terrible transformations. No matter what she turned into, he just held on.† â€Å"Then what?† I could barely hear my own voice. â€Å"She finally turned back into a woman and stayed a woman. Then they got married.† I had stopped breathing somewhere around the word â€Å"shape-shifter.† Still clutching the book, I stared off into space, a great winged feeling swelling in my chest. â€Å"You all right, Kincaid? Christ, you've been weird lately.† I blinked, tuning back in to reality. The feeling in my chest burst out, launching into glorious flight. I started breathing again. â€Å"Yeah. Sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind.† Forcing levity, I added, â€Å"I'll do my best not to be too weird from now on.† Doug looked relieved. â€Å"Coming from you, that might be a long shot, but here's to hoping.† â€Å"Yes,† I agreed, smiling. â€Å"Here's to hoping.†