Friday, March 20, 2020

Aeroflot essays

Aeroflot essays When discussing the airline to take when traveling to Russia, the name Aeroflot would always be the first choice. But with the break up of the former Soviet Union, Aeroflot found themselves on the brink of decreasing profit from rival companies. The adjustment from super monopoly in its market to falling far behind private Russian airline Transaero placed them in a search for market share. Aeroflot was stuck in a jam looking for the right mix to bring them back to the front line of Russian air transportation. Aeroflot's attempt to become a world-class airline has been hampered by a poor safety record, bad food, surly service, dilapidated cabins and frequently canceled or late flights. This did not hurt them when they where the only airline in its market, but when competition comes in, things begin to change. It is known that competition can only help the customers as this forces both companies to continue to improve to gain market share. Another problem with Aeroflot is that paid customers had occupied only 60% of their seats on flights. The next step for Aeroflot was to research and develop which marketing mix would help bring them back to an international airline. With some major problems involving customer service and overall product service to the consumers, Aeroflot searched for the right way to bring back their name to the market. The image the airline has selected for itself in its advertising campaign attempts to convince skeptical consumers that the airline has solved its safety and service problems. The campaign uses magazine, billboard and TV commercials, and features a flying elephant with a slogan that translates into "light on its feet." The not so subtle message means that if elephants can fly, so can Aeroflot (aeroflot.org). The meaning behind that advertising campaign using the elephant as the company symbol showed that something big like an airplane could fly freely in the sky. Lig...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Kill Two Birds With One Stone in French

Kill Two Birds With One Stone in French The French proverb faire dune pierre deux coups seems a little more humane than its English equivalent, to kill two birds with one stone, but theres no telling what the two jobs are- the proverbial stone could be killing birds, or it might be knocking cans off a wall or striking two windows at once. Of course, this is all very literal; the proverb is really talking about efficiency, getting two things done at the same time instead of just one. Pronunciation: [fehr dun pyehr deu koo] Meaning: to kill two birds with one stone Literal translation: to strike twice with one stone, to do two jobs with one stone Register: normal Examples Si tu viens avec moi, on peut faire dune pierre deux coups. If you come with me, we can kill two birds with one stone. Jai fait dune pierre deux coups  : en rentrant de la poste, je suis passà © par le pressing pour rà ©cupà ©rer ta veste. I killed two birds with one stone: on my way back from the post office, I went to the dry-cleaners and picked up your jacket. Synonymous expression: Faire coup double Related expression: Faire un coup (informal) - to do a job, particularly something illegal

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Mentorship program Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Mentorship program - Research Paper Example Salami (2010) presented both formal and informal mentorship as manifesting sufficient efficacy in reducing turnovers of nurses, where the former is created through administrative partnership, while the latter is through unstructured mutual understanding. Marginally, the paper adapts formal mentoring program as resolution to high turnovers in The Jackson Veteran Health Administration (JVHA). Several steps are succinctly followed to determine overall reliance and appropriateness of proposed structure. General Steps in Implementation On mentorship program in JVHA, aspects on job satisfaction and social interaction in surgical wards are investigated. Complete project draft requires consensual approval from the Office of Policy and Planning and Office of Human Resource and Administration before proceeding (United States Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010). The program is also to obtain financial and administrative support through this department accordingly (Canadian Nurses Association, 2004). As the overall details of the program are smoothly planned out, the plan is ready for pilot implementation. With 1-year mentor program, phases orientation, training, and evaluation are performed. The committee-in-charge prepares for mentoring tasks ahead, with 16 staff nurses as mentors for the whole three work shifts--the number of mentees depend on job vacancies in surgical ward (VA hospital, 2011). In orientation, the program is extensively introduced and functional expectations are mutually established. This lasts for 15-20 weeks, as initial theories and practical nursing applications are reviewed and applied. In training, mentors serve as mentees’ active partners and support them in clinical practice and social interactions. As training proceeds, mentors not only act as role models for mentees to emulate, trusting associations support mentees’ psychological status. Through months of collaborative partnership, mentors gradually wean as educational coach, an d more as referred guide to practice. Periodically, communication patterns from nurses to involved administrative personnel are maintained through constant inspections and written memos. In evaluation, collected data determines whether the program fulfilled the parameters on work satisfaction. Should results meet expected outcomes, the program can proceed as formal policy in JVHA. Resource Identification Availability of resources in clinical areas is part of preparatory task. Block, Claffey, Korow, and McCaffrey (2005) emphasized mentors as prime indicator in a positive working environment. They are instructed on â€Å"phases of a mentor relationship, how to individualize the relationship...deal with any issues the mentor/mentee pair encounters,† while reviewing personal and professional attitudes (Hurst & Koplin-Baucum, 2005). Together with mentors, administrative personnel objectively monitor the progress of the program and existence of conducive functional environment (Al- Hussami, 2008). Resources are composed of materials during information campaigns and episodic post-tests. Written questionnaires are administered, requiring stocks of paper for reproducing copies. Sufficiently, resources for experiential learning are already available in actual settings, from medical equipments to patient charts, as well as conference halls for scheduled meetings. Aside from mentor compensation (minimum of $2/hour) and minimal educational expenditures, projected expenditure is lesser (Almada, Carafoli, Flattery, French, &

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Creations of Ancient Egypt Visual Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Creations of Ancient Egypt Visual Art - Essay Example This perfection in art brings out the fact that to some extent the art these people create shaped and formed them to become who they are. The Egyptian sculptures and paintings portrayed nature and everyday activities like hunting sprees, family life, and daily chores among others. Apart from the paintings and sculptures, relief art was also used mostly to show all forms of activities from feasting to working, and from learning to dance and so on. Art formed a very vital component of the Egyptian’s lifestyle, through it they learned to adorn themselves with beauty and enhance their lives in the world by using elegant jewelry, finely carved furniture, and other cosmetic vessels. The great influence of art in the Egyptian culture at this time can be attributed to the strong art base that was instituted in previous kingdoms. The previous kingdoms and specifically the old Egyptian kingdom saw the birth of some of the most sophisticated forms of arts never seen in history. It is in this time period that hieroglyphic writing reached its sophistication with other techniques of craft being developed to a high level of professionalism. Ever since this time Egyptian art has become the epitome of the importance of religion and a means of offering respect to death and the dead. Art was esteemed in nearly all spheres making it possible for it to influence and to some level create the Egyptian, culture and belief system. Lloyd argues that the Egyptian art influenced almost everything ranging from their day to day activities to major events and ceremonies.

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Individual Choice In A Clockwork Orange English Literature Essay

Individual Choice In A Clockwork Orange English Literature Essay A Clockwork Orange is a novel that shocks with its explicit violent images, its savage protagonist, difficult language and a cruel prophesy of the future. It is a novel which, with a help of Stanley Kubricks film adaptation, became the main work associated with the name of Anthony Burgess. Burgess, however, was a very prolific artist. He wrote thirty-four works of fiction, fifteen nonfiction books including reviews and criticism, two biographies, plays, screenplays, translations and a great deal of music (Keen 10). Burgess never considered A Clockwork Orange his best novel and have always stayed disappointed that only this one brought him such a huge public attention. He believed he wrote far better, mature books and worried that he would become something of a shadow behind Kubricks film adaptation (Clockwork vii). The authors anxieties came true, in a way, but the truth remains that although it is Stanley Kubrick who made A Clockwork Orange famous, it is Anthony Burgess who created a rare masterpiece that very few readers could stay indifferent to. As Burgess himself admitted, A Clockwork Orange is a rather didactic novel. At one point of his life he became aware of the growing aggression and violence among the youth. In A thousand words before breakfast interview Burgess admitted, that however he despised teenage gangs, he strongly opposed to the proposals of using Pavlovian techniques to deal with violent citizens. He always believed in free will and freedom of choice. Burgess, as a Catholic, was sure, that only by choosing to do good ones soul can be saved. A Clockwork Orange condemns human conditioning and intends to promote the notion of individual choice (Clockwork ix). According to Burgess, it is better for human being to choose evil than not to have a freedom of choice at all. Free will is humans greatest gift that should never be taken away. Burgess admitted, that promoting mens freedom is what he have always been trying to do in his work. What distinguishes A Clockwork Orange from other of his works, is also the speci al language he created for the novel and the fact, that for the first time he made such an explicit use of violence. As an author of a book such full of cruel and sexual images, Burgess was exposed to much criticism and accusation of promoting violence. The novel became to be read as a pure controversy and the intended didactic role was by many readers overlooked. Have the book became famous for its moral values, and not been read as a shocker, it would bring Burgess a completely different fame. Unfortunately for the author, for most people he would always be the one who dared to describe most abhorrent acts of violence and young people with a taste for hatred, blood and rape. But Burgess, in fact, does not like violence and presenting sex in his books. During the interview in Italy in 1974, Burgess said that he also included a biographic element in the book. His first wife have been attacked by a group of soldiers and despite it has not been a sexual attack but the act of robbery, it resulted in her having a miscarriage and supposedly, her eventual death. Burgess wrote a novel that seems to be pornographic but at the same time tries to preach, because such combination had a great chance to make A Clockwork Orange popular. In the same, Italian interview, Burgess stated: Pornography and violence, and the teachy, preachy quality; and when you get these two together you normally produce a book that can become a bestseller. A Clockwork Orange is a very controversial novel. Some call it pornographic, for others its violent imagery is almost impossible to stand. But Anthony Burgess surely did not mean to write a shocker. He aimed the novel to preach, even more than any of his previous works did before. Burgess meant to promote freedom of individual choice and to criticize anyone who would ever dare to take this precious gift away from the human being. Man is not to be conditioned and manipulated, since when a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man (Clockwork 63). 2. Pelagian and Augustinian points of view on Original Sin and Free Will and their reflection in Anthony Burgesss A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess frequently returned in his works to the conflict of authoritarian and libertarian ideas, which he called Pelagian and Augustinian points of view. Pelagianism is named after a monk who argued against the notion of Original Sin, Pelagius. According to G.F. Wiggerss Historical Presentation of Augustinism and Pelagianism from the Original Sources, Pelagius stated, that each infant is born in the same state as Adam has been before he sinned. Adams sin injured only him and not his posterity, so there is no propagation of sin on the following generations. What follows, bodily death is not a punishment, but a necessity of nature. Pelagius believed that man was given free will and salvation is in humans hands, so he is able to do both good and evil. Man is even able, through repentance, to become good again after he has sinned. Consequently, there is an abstract possibility that all man can be perfect. Pelagius, thus, appears as an advocate of libertarian views. The doctrine of Augustinism was quite the contrary. First of all, Adams sin was propagated among all men, so each child is born with the Original Sin. The sin will always be propagated by the sensual lust in the act of procreation and all men are under the power of the devil from the very first moment they are born. As a consequence of the first sin, people suffer the punishment of physical death, pains of parturition and toil of labourers. Augustinism denied the notion of free will, and stated that the only freedom that man has is to sin. Freedom to resists sin has been lost also as a punishment. According to Augustinians, the nature of man is entirely corrupted. Man is always more likely to choose evil rather than good and the only help for a human being is Gods grace (Wiggers 83-115). Burgess often presents history as a cyclical shifts of Pelagian (libertarian) and Augustinian (authoritarian) parties. With authoritarians in power, stability is achieved by strict rules, laws and societal control. The faith in human perfectibility is growing, strict control of authoritarians seems unnecessary and finally, libertarian government gains control. This brings more freedom to the society, but with the contentment comes anarchy and the social stability is lost. There again, society cries for law and order and the new authoritarian party comes to rule. Such a change of governments in power is visible in A Clockwork Orange. The novel begins clearly with a portrayal of an anarchic society and Pelagians in power. After Alex, the protagonist, is released from jail, he realizes that new laws were established and the police forces grown bigger, which indicates that the country is run by Augustinians (Rabinovitz 43-46). The conflict of Pelagianism and Augustinism is also visible in the novels characters. The writer F. Alexander is a libertarian. He believes in human perfectibility. F. Alexander is an author of a book, A Clockwork Orange (a fair gloopy title (Clockwork 18), according to Alex) which presents its authors strongest libertarian views. For F. Alexander, human being is a creature of growth and capable of sweetness (Clockwork 18). Later in the novel, however, his hypocrisy comes to light, and when F. Alexander learns that Alex is the one who raped his wife, he agrees to the plan of driving the young criminal to suicide. Burgess here, by the inability of F. Alexander to stick to his faith, seems to slightly criticize Pelagianism. Young Alex, in opposition to F. Alexander, has many Augustinian characteristics. He is brutal, enjoys crime, holds power (at least at the beginning of the novel) among his droogs and does not believe in the goodness of the human being. 3. Radical behaviourism limiting the freedom of individual choice Burgess strongly opposed to politicians who openly discussed possibilities of introducing conditioning as a way of eliminating criminal instincts. Very popular at that time became the doctrine of B.F. Skinner (1904- 1990) called radical behaviourism. According to Skinner, human behaviour can always be explained in purely physical terms and it can be shaped by operant conditioning through reinforcement and punishment (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Burgess was very much frightened by these new ideas of people-control, conditioning techniques and behaviourists methods of reforming criminals. After the attack on a cat-lady, Alex is deceived by his gang who no longer wants him as a leader and is caught by the police. This is a significant moment in the novel, since for the first time, Alex would be charged with a real punishment. He is taken away to Staja (State Jail) and becomes 6655321 and not your little droog Alex not no longer (Clockwork 57). But however hard is life in prison for the young protagonist, Alex manages to adapt to the conditions rather well. He becomes a help to the prison chaplain and is allowed to listen to his beloved classical music of J.S. Bach or G.F. Handel. What is more, Alex finds a way to enjoy violence by reading the Bible: I would read of these starry yahoodies tolchocking each other and then peeting their Hebrew vino and getting on to the bed with their wives like hand-maidens, real horrorshow. That kept me going, brothers. (Clockwork 60) Alex also, while listening to the classical music, imagines himself helping in the crucifixion of Christ and he generally concludes that being in Staja 84F was not all that wasted (Clockwork 60). Despite everything, however, Alex wanted to be free and saw his chance in Ludovicos Technique. He hears about this new treatment in prison and volunteers to take part in the experiment. Alex is sure that the technique would get him out of prison, he thinks it would be the beginning of his freedom. Ludovicos Technique turns out to be a cruel conditioning method, turning Alex into a mindless and weak machine. The Ludovicos Technique rests on Alex being strapped to a chair and forced to watch movies that consists of cruel and disgusting scenes of violence. He has both his hands and legs chained to the chair, and clips on his forehead so that he could not close his eyes. The movies scenes include the beating of an old man by the young boys, with lots of blood all around, or a multiple rape on a young girl. He is also presented with a film about a Japanese torture during the World War II, where the soldiers are fixed to trees with nails, with fire set under them. The soldiers have their tongues cut off and there is also a scene of one soldiers head being sliced off with a sword. One of such movies is accompanied by the music of Ludwig van Beethoven so from then on, Alex is no longer able to listen to it, which means he is being bereaved of the one and only passion he has got apart from violence in his life, his love for classical music. Watching all the movies is a great torture for Alex, he screams, cries and feels really sick. But the reason of it is not his aversion to blood and violence, it is only the effect of the injections he gets. His personal, psychological attitude toward violence does not change at all. When the Discharge Officer asks him whether he want to hit him, he does, when asked about a job he might get after being set free, his first thought goes to theft. Day by day, however, Alexs organism begins to associate the sight of violence with the feeling of nausea. One time, he begins to crash his head against the wall out of desperation, but has to stop as soon as he realizes that this kind of violence is just like the violence from the films he sees every day. Alex feels sick at the very thought of violence but the treatment still goes on: Every day, my brothers, these films were like the same, all kicking and tolchocking and red red krovvy dripping off of litsos and plots and spattering all over the camera lenses. It was usually grinning and smecking malchicks in the height of nadsat fashion or else teeheeheeing Jap tortures or brutal Nazi kickers and shooters. And each day the feeling of wanting to die with sickness and Gulliver pains and aches in the zoobies and horrible horrible thirst grew really worse. (Clockwork 87-88) The Ludovicos Technique succeeds in making Alex a good boy. He cannot commit any act of violence any longer as gets sick even when thinking about crime. But the state of Alexs consciousness does not change, he does not understand that his violent ways were evil. He is now simply conditioned not to raise his fists against anyone, to the point that he is not even able to defend himself. Anthony Burgess creates a portrait of a human being deprived of his freedom and the right to choose, stripped out of his humanity. The Ludovicos Technique creates a clockwork- machine, which without understanding how and why, never again would dare to think about any acts of force. 4. The concepts of liberty What is liberty has been discussed by philosophers from the beginning of our times. Generally, two kinds of liberty can be distinguished: the abstract one in our minds, the inner feeling of being free and freedom that we achieve by not being restrained by external circumstances. One can lack freedom to achieve goals because he/she has not got enough courage, power or abilities. The amount of freedom can also depend on laws, political order and other external forces. The two basic notions of liberty has been thoroughly discussed by Isaiah Berlin, the British liberal philosopher. In Berlins Two Concepts of Liberty he established the notions of positive and negative liberty. The negative liberty defines to what degree one has, or should have control over his/her actions without the interference of other people, whereas the need of a person to be the master of ones own will and not to feel restrained by others is described as the positive liberty. Restricting ones freedom by others is usually considered a negative phenomenon. However, the individual freedom cannot stay entirely unrestricted as it would lead to a complete social chaos. Philosophers such as Locke and Mill in England, or Constant and Tocqueville from France agreed, that there should exist a minimum amount of personal freedom that cannot be violated under any circumstances. The violation of such freedom makes the moral growth impossible, it prevents one from setting and pursuing goals. The line between the private life of the individual and the public authority should be drawn very clearly (Berlin 117). Philosophers which were optimistic about human nature believed that it is possible to have a wide area of personal freedom and maintain the social order at the same time. Others, such as Hobbes, argued that humans need strict control of authorities to avoid their mutual destruction (121). Mill also agreed that coercion is to be justified whenever we want to prevent depriving people of each others freedom. 4.1. The concepts of positive and negative liberty in A Clockwork Orange before the operation of the Ludovicos technique At the beginning of the novel, Alex is completely free, meaning that he does whatever he wants and whenever he wants it. The police and the authorities are unable to control the young criminalist and he is fully aware of that. Alex breaks the law constantly but until the incident at the cat-ladys house, he has not suffered any consequences of his violent activities. Referring to the terminology of Berlin, the novels protagonist enjoyed a total positive freedom, as he was self- confident and convinced of his impunity. The government, at least at the beginning of the novel seems powerless and unable to control the society, so Alexs negative freedom also stayed unrestricted. The reader may get the idea of how carefree is Alex about the violence and crime just in the very first paragraphs of the novel: Our pockets were full of deng, so there was no real need from the point of view of crasting any more pretty polly to tolchock some old veck in an alley and viddy him swim in his blood while we counted the takings divided by four, not to do the ultra- violent on some shivering starry grey-haired ptitsa in shop and go smecking off with the tills guts. (Clockwork 3) Alex talks about the horrid violent activities as if they were simple childlike games. Neither does he care about his victims, nor he fears being punished. It seems like for him, other human beings are just puppets which can be used whenever he needs to steal money or have a little fun over the sight of their blood. Alex and his friends spends their time in a Korova Milk Bar, drinking milk laced with drugs, waiting for the drugs to start to kick, so they could go out and enjoy themselves in stealing and assaulting other citizens. When they attack an innocent man, rip his clothes, books and beats him very hard, Alex refers to it as of the nice beginning of the evening: We hadnt done much, I know, but that was only like the start of the evening and I make no appy polly loggies to thee or thine for that. The knives in the milk plus were stabbing away nice and horrorshow now. (Clockwork 8) Later that evening they attack a nearby shop. The boys are then sure to provide themselves with the alibi by buying drinks to some old women sitting at the bar but that does not mean they are afraid of being caught by the police. Indeed, when two young police officers come and ask questions, they are unable to arrest the young criminals although they seem to know they are guilty of the assault. The authorities appear as having no control at all over the gang and Alex comments on the whole situation: But myself, I couldnt help a bit of disappointment at things as they were those days. Nothing to fight against really. Everything as easy as kiss-my-sharries. (Clockwork 12) The society in the first chapters of A Clockwork Orange is given too much of a negative liberty, there is chaos and nearly anarchy. Another Alexs victim, the old drunkard singing on the side of the road complains bitterly about the current state of the world. He doesnt want to live in a stinking world like this (Clockwork 12). When men are flying to the moon and spinning around the earth, there is no attention paid to earthly law nor order no more (Clockwork 13). Again, after the bloody fight with the rival gang (this would be real, this would be proper, this would be the nosh, the oozy, the britva, not just fisties and boots (Clockwork 13)) the police comes but the boys manage to run away and the police officers does not even make an attempt to chase them. As Alexs Post-Corrective Adviser, P.R. Deltoid comments, nobody can prove anything about anybody (Clockwork 30). Out of the two groups, the authorities and the young criminals, it is the latter who appears much smarter, while the police is slow and clearly powerless. Still during the same night, Alex and his gang arrives (with the stolen car) at the cottage outside the town borders. The place is called HOME and to Alex, it is a gloomy sort of a name (Clockwork 17). The passages that follows here are filled with a horrible descriptions of violence and hatred. Ironically, the resident of the house, F. Alexander, is an author of a book, A Clockwork Orange, which preaches about the belief in human goodness and praises liberal values. Alex manages to read an excerpt from it: The attempt to impose upon man, a creature of growth and capable of sweetness, to ooze juicily at the last round the bearded lips of God, the attempt to impose, I say, laws and conditions appropriate to a mechanical creation, against this I rise my sword-pen. (Clockwork 18) What happens to the person who believes in the human race, is that he is being cruelly beaten up and is made to watch his wife being raped by all of the young criminals in turns. In Stanley Kubricks movie the scene was made even more revolting, as the gang members, while raping the innocent woman, were humming the joyful song- Singin in the Rain. To many readers, the violence in the novel is so horrifying that it is hard to stand and the protagonist seems to be a psychopath. But Alex is fully aware of his actions. He knows what is right and what is wrong and he consciously chooses to be bad. He finds evil a natural part of human nature and is irritated with all the discussions about the causes of it: But brothers, this biting of their toe-nails over what is the cause of badness is what turns me into a fine laughing malchick. They dont go into the cause of goodness, so why the other shop? If lewdies are good thats because they like it, and I wouldnt ever interfere with their pleasures, and so of the other shop. And I was patronizing the other shop. More, badness is of the self, the one, the you or me on our oddy knockies, and that self is made by old Bog or God and is his great pride and radosty. But the not-self cannot have the bad, meaning they of the government and the judges and the schools cannot allow the bad because they cannot allow the self. And is not our modern history, my brothers, the story of brave malenky selves fighting these big machines? I am serious with you, brothers, over this. But what I do I do because I like to do. (Clockwork 31) Alex is surely a very bright boy. His thoughts very often struck the reader with quite an intelligence as for a teenager. He is right about the natural existence of both good and evil in the world and very accurately notices a general tendency to discuss the causes of human bad and not good behavior. Alex also argues for the human right of individual choice and opposes all the attempts to restrict his personal freedom. What Alex does not realize, is that he already has a great amount of freedom. No authorities hold any power over him, neither the police, nor school or his parents. He lives in nearly a lawless world in which came true the most pessimistic ideas of philosophers: human beings, when given too much freedom, turn against one another and create a dark and chaotic kind of world. Another aspect of which Alex seems to be completely unaware of is the fact, that while enjoying his freedom to act as he pleases, he infringes the rights of others. The freedom of an individual should end when it starts to violate the liberty of another human being. 4.2. The end of Alexs limitless freedom At the beginning of the novel Alex is presented as an unquestionable leader of his gang. But the other boys slowly grow tired of the dictatorship and decide to rebel. During the attack on the house of the rich old lady, Alex is tricked by his friends and is left behind to be caught by the police. This is the first time that the young criminal would meet the consequences of his actions. The police treats him badly. He is being beaten and offended, just as he used to treat his own victims. Nevertheless, Alex seems to be rather shocked that he can actually become a victim of violence too and the thought that he is being fairly punished does not ever cross his mind, not even after his victims death. After his imprisonment, Alexs moods switches from feeling pity for himself (I was not your handsome young Narrator any longer but a real strack of a sight (Clockwork 51)), humiliating himself (like some real bezoomny veck, I even said: Sorry, brothers, that was not the right thing at all. Sor ry sorry sorry. (Clockwork 52)), to real anger and the feeling of injustice (I thought to myself, Hell and blast you all, if all you bastards are on the side of the Good then Im glad I belong to the other shop (Clockwork 53)). The last of Alexs thought carries a very important message for the whole novel. It underlines the hypocrisy of those, who called themselves good people. The ones who are supposed to be the epitomes of goodness and defend the law, come out as capable of the same vulgarity and violence as Alex and his gang. Anthony Burgess manages to show how difficult and risky it is to classify the world in terms of goodness and evil. On the one hand, Alex only gets what he deserves, but on the other, how can the good be distinguished from the evil, if both turn out to be capable of committing a great wrong? While doing his time in prison, one day, Alex hears about the new like treatment that gets you out of prison in no time at all and makes sure that you never get back in again (Clockwork 62). Alex becomes excited about the new technique but is not aware that what seems as an easy way to regain his freedom, would actually be a brutal end of it. From the very beginning, the prison chaplain warns Alex, that not only is the treatment still in its experimental stage, but it is also an extremely drastic technique. It seems that Anthony Burgess expresses here his deepest concern, the one about the necessity for the human being to have a freedom of individual choice. The very fundamental doubt, for the prison chaplain, is whether a man can be artificially made good: The question is whether such technique can really make a man good. Goodness comes from within, 6655321. Goodness is something chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man. (Clockwork 63) The chaplain also thinks, that perhaps the one who chooses to be bad is in some way better than a person who has goodness imposed upon him (Clockwork 70). Also the Governor is against the Ludovicos Technique, as he sees a desire to get ones revenge as a natural part of human nature. Despite everything, however, after Alex beats another prisoner to death, he gets a chance to become a volunteer for the new treatment. He sees the event as the new beginning of his freedom. Now his criminal instinct will be killed. The evil will be turned into good. At the beginning, Alex feels wonderful and very lucky. He is taken to a new white building, has a whole cell with a bed for himself, he gets a new clean pajamas, and is told that the whole treatment consists only in watching movies and getting an injection of vitamins after every meal. Ludovicos Technique however, turns out to be a cruel form of medical conditioning. Alex is stripped to a chair and forced to watch very drastic and abhorrent movies. The scenes he watches do not disgust him, as Alex himself used to take part in many awful acts of violence, but the injections he gets causes illness. His organism begins to associate the sight of the movies and nausea, so that he begins to feel sick even at the very thought of violence. After the treatment Alex is no longer violent, he is not even able to fight back or defend himself. A day before Alex is to be set free, he goes through a trial. He is given his clothes, boots and razor back and is put in the middle of the big room with a full audience of important figures watching him. After the lights goes down and the spotlight comes on Alex, he sees a man coming up to him. The man welcomes Alex, referring to him as a heap of dirt (Clockwork 92. He stamps of Alexs feet, scratches his face with a fingernail and goes on with offending him. When Alex attempts to get his razor out of his pocket, he immediately feels very sick. Knowing that to stop nausea he has to change his way of thinking, he becomes over-polite and even gets on his knees and licks the mans shoes. Later, on the scene appears a young and very beautiful girl. Alex comment on the impression that she made on him is very point-blank: She came up towards me with the light like it was the like light of heavenly grace and all that cal coming with her, and the first thing that flashed into my gulliver was that I would like to have her right down there on the floor with the old in-out real savage (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) (Clockwork 95) But again he is quickly overtaken by the feeling of nausea and headaches and he has to think of some other way to get close to the girl. Alex assumes a very courteous tone, let me worship you and be like your helper and protector from the wicked like world, he says, let me be like your true king (Clockwork 96). Everyone except the prison chaplain is impressed by how the new techniques changed Alex. The chaplain although alcoholic and a slightly pathetic figure in the novel, is the only person who realizes the great wrong that has been done to the boy and he is certainly a spokesman for Burgesss views in a book: Choice. He has no real choice, has he? Self-interest, fear of physical pain, drove him to that grotesque act of self-abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases to be a wrongdoer. He ceases also to be a creature of moral choice. (Clockwork 94) What Burgess presents is not the success of the behavioural conditioning, but a man stripped out of his freedom of choice and what follows, of his humanity. Even Alex, at first so excited about the Ludovicos Technique, suddenly realizes what have been done to him: Am I just to be like a clock-work orange? (Clockwork 94), he screams at one point. Alex is turned into a true, but clockwork Christian. He is now always ready to turn the other cheek, ready to be crucified rather than crucify. He feels sick even at the thought of killing a fly: And that was right, brothers, because when he said that I thought of killing a fly and felt just that tiny bit sick, but I pushed the sickness and pain back by thinking of the fly being fed with bits of sugar and looked after like a bleeding pet and all that cal. (Clockwork 96) Burgesss message is very clear. An ideal citizen should always decide for himself and not only be artificially made to be good. To have a chance for salvation, man has to choose good over evil. Either conditioned by Pavlovian, Skinners or invented by Burgess Ludovicos technique, human being becomes not only weak but is also deprived of his dignity. What makes the man is his freedom, pride and ability to choose. Without them, he becomes nothing more but a machine, powerless creature in the hands of overwhelming science. 4.3. A clockwork orange set free When Alex is set free again and out in the world, from the local newspaper he gets to know that the world he knew has changed dramatically. The streets are now clean, there is no anarchy anymore and the police is much tougher with the local crime. The freedom of citizens, especially their negative freedom has been restricted. The peace-loving ladies and gentlemen can stroll through the streets again, without the fear of being attacked by any young hooligans. Alex no longer feels like he rules the world, what surrounds him is all unknown to him, he feels sick all the time and do not have a place to go. He is no longer welcome to his home, his possessions have been sold and the new guy called Joy has taken his place and acts like a son to Alexs parents. People look different, fashion has changed and the music shop is now filled with pop music. But Alex in no longer able to enjoy his beloved classical music: It was that these doctor bratchnies had so fix things that any music that was like for the emotions would make me sick just like viddying or wanting to do violence. It was because all those violence films had music with them. And I remembered especially that horrible Nazi film with the Beethoven Fifth, last movement. And now here was lovely Mozart made horrible. (Clockwork 104) Feeling horrible all the time, Alex thinks of committing suicide and goes to the public library to find how to do it without pain, but again he gets nauseous at the sight of illustrations in medical books and the attempt to read the Bible fails him too. He is hopeless and cannot find himself in the new world. When he begins to cry and a very old man tells him he is far too young to die and still has everything in front of him, Alex replies bitterly: Yes. Like a pair of false groodies (Clockwork 107). Alexs situations goes from bad to worse, when

Friday, January 17, 2020

Evolution of Zombies on Film

The term zombie is referred to as a corpse reanimated through unnatural means, and in some cases, is usually depicted to have a knack for human flesh (Clute & Grant, 1999). Zombies are believed to have originated in the Caribbean Republic of Haiti where witch doctors revive dead people to do their bidding (Chevallier, 2006). This concept and origin of the Zombie was first introduced to the United States by W. S. Seabrook's Magic Island (Mumble-Jumble,1940). Seabrook's publication then spawned other works encompassing resurrected mindless corpses which subsequently became elements elements of interest for filmmakers. From paper to reel, the process of creating Zombies has tremendously evolved with the birth of computer generating image technology. The Epic of Gilgamesh (1960) also alluded the Zombie's concept, as the goddess Ishtar pledged to â€Å"knock down the gates of the Netherworld, and let the dead outnumber and devour the living. † Though the epic does not give any description of the appearance of the dead, the concept of flesh eating dead creatures are still synonymous to the idea of Zombies. While William Seabrook's Magic Island brought the idea of Zombies to the United States, Howard Phillips Lovecraft's Herbert West – Reanimator fully furnished the concept of Zombies in American Popular Culture (Braun, 2008). The story entails scientist Herbert West reanimating corpses that result to vile horrible beastly creatures with violent tendencies (Joshi & Cannon,1999), The Idea of Zombies was first introduced to the motion picture industry upon the release of the 1932 independent cult film, White Zombie. The film drew its idea of Zombies from the Haitian folklore of using paranormal powers to revive the dead. As the film's title suggests, the story revolves around couple, Neil and Madeleine who decide to accept an invitation Charles, a common acquaintance, to exchange vows in his plantation in Haiti. In an attempt to fulfill his hidden desires for Madeleine, Charles persuades the former to marry him instead. Madeleine immediately rejects Charles, who in return vindicates himself by consulting voodoo master Legendre to momentarily turn her in to a Zombie, to fake her death, send Neil back to the United States grieving, and bring Madeleine back to reality to pursue her again. Legendre meanwhile has his own selfish ploys which are thwarted by Charles with the aid of a missionary who goes by the name Dr. Bruner (Halperin & Halperin, 1932). In white Zombie, there is simplicity in presentation, as far as the Zombies appearance is concerned, considering that it is the first film to tackle such subject, the Zombies appeared a little close to human, but the mindless unwilled personality is already obvious. Though there is not much technique or technology available during the time, it is quite blatant that the Zombie interpretation was innovative. While the film was considered pioneer in Zombies, the concept of reanimated corpses do not have apocalyptic implications similar to later films, the concept of the Zombie strictly conformed to the Haitian voodoo practice which does not involve any scientific procedures or freak accidents. Soon after the release of White Zombie, Zombies on film have evolved, notable films such as Things to Come and Plan 9 From Outer Space further shaped the zombie as an element of horror. 936's Things to Come did not really focus on Zombies that were reanimated as living dead but the effects of a viral outbreak that causes the infected to mindlessly ramble without a definite purpose, which is synonymous to the mindlessness of zombies. In he film, the Zombie like creatures do not stray away from human appearance. Science Fiction met with Horror as 1959's Plan 9 From Outer Space tells the story of aliens who planned to stop human endeavor on a Doomsday Weapon that would bring the Universe in to oblivion . The aliens then executed plan 9 which concerns reanimation of the dead to divert human attention. The appearance of zombies in the film do not differ from human appearance, the only distinctive quality among zombies are the absence of the pupil. Though special effects were not sophisticated, zombies reanimated by alien technology is still a conceptual breakthrough. Despite the seemingly incompetent zombies of classic horror films, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead became the mother of all zombie films, and is considered the greatest zombie movie of all time (Braun, 2008). The film is highly influential in the tradition of zombies as it revolutionized the zombie appearance in motion pictures and influenced zombie oriented films. The secret behind the horrifying appearance of the zombies in Night of the Living Dead is credited to the use of primitive techniques for special effects. (Williams, 2003). In night of the Living Dead, costumes consisted of second-hand apparel and the zombie appearance was complemented by mortician wax (Hardman & Eastman, 1997). Some of the blood used were just chocolate syrup, it looked like blood smears when shot on black and white (Homepage of the Dead, 2008). The materials used proved to be a little stingy for a successful film, but the efficiency of it has set a standard in the field of special effects. George Romero's follow up to Night of the Living Dead produced a better and more believable look for the zombie, special effects master Tom Savini has created a look with tremors still being imitated today but never surpassed. Savini primarily applied gray make up to give the zombie cast a more undead appearance. The zombies with close-up shots were had latex applied on their faces to emphasize wounds and other causes for their being undead (Savini, 1983). Savini adds that the zombies were supposed to appear as people recently killed, so he tried to make them look like victims of car accidents and fatal ailments. There is even one zombie that appear well groomed, Savini's intention here is to make that zombie look as if he just had been to an undertaker (Savini, 1983). Savini casted specific body parts to hydrocal and had them painted with red and black on the bottom to match the flesh colors in order to make bite-scars more believable (Savini, 1983). For the zombie killed in the truck, Savini sculpted a face lay over and filled it with blood and sealed with a layer of dermwax for the zombie actress (Savini, 1983). The effect was for a zombie who was shot in the head with an exit wound in the face (Savini, 1983). In Day of the dead, there are slight differences in the appearance of the zombie, the only notable difference came in the green color which emphasize the vestiges of decomposition (Savini, 1983). The development of zombies also came in speech as one zombie manifested the ability of speech (Rubenstein & Romero, 1985). Nonetheless, the film still takes pride in the advanced special effects. In a different note, the 80s saw a decline on zombie films, however there are some satirical innovations that proved to be arguable developments such as Return of the Living Dead (Fox, Henderson & O'Bannon) where zombies are shown to have a hunger for human brains, this garnered some recognition, most notably on an episode of The Simpsons Halloween special. The breakthroughs of modern technology in special effects and other cinematic techniques became a big help in developing zombies far better than they last appealed viewers. For nearly 2 decades, the zombie film was in hibernation, however, recent productions such as the movie adaptations of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and I am Legend revitalized the zombie film. The motion picture resident evil utilized computer generated imaging technology to some extent, but most of the furnishings for the zombies are done with make-up (Anderson, 2002). The motion picture gives a new approach to zombies as some of them wielded weapons such as the hatchet held by the first zombie who appeared (Anderson, 2002). Another groundbreaking addition in resident evil is the zombie dog which is a total departure from the usual human undead (Anderson, 2002). The sequel to the first Resident Evil film brought about fresh ideas in zombie films wherein sophistication and advanced movements such as climbing stairs and opening doors have become part of zombie abilities. The introduction of the super zombie Nemesis is also a first, since the aforementioned can wield heavy armaments such as gattling guns and missile launchers, and it can also filter its victims via a remote controlled targeting system (Witt, 2004). Zombies on film have progressed since its humble beginnings in White Zombie, and most motion pictures serve as testimony to the immortality of the zombie as an element in horror. The extensive innovations in make-up and special effects applications has given rise to evolution of zombies on cinema, from simple mindless speechless individuals, to decapitated decomposing flesh hungry monsters, to weapon wielding, stair climbing semi-intelligent beasts, the film industry has done a great job in revolutionizing an idea that seem to be lame and childish. Moreover, the advent of modern technology has also aided the evolution of zombies on film.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

John Locke An Influential Philosopher - 845 Words

John Locke was perhaps one of the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. In the Second Treatise of Government, John Locke discusses the move from a state of nature and perfect freedom to a then governed society in which authority is given to a legislative and executive power. His major ideas included liberalism and capitalism, state of nature, state of war and the desire to protect one’s property. In his Second Treatise on Government Locke focus’ on liberalism capitalism, defending the claim that men are by nature free and equal against the idea that God had made all people subject to a king. He argued that people have ‘natural rights’, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, that hold the foundation for the major laws of a society. He says, â€Å"†¦we must consider, what state all men are naturally in, and that is, a state of perfect freedom to order their actions, and dispose of their possessions and persons as they think fit.† (2nd Treatise, Chapter 2, sec 4). John Locke used this claim, that all men were naturally free and equal, for understanding the idea of a government as a result of a social contract. This is where people in the state of nature transfer some of their rights to the government in order to better guarantee the steady and comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property. In the state of nature, natural law governs the behavior of each individual. This means that each person has the ability to implement that lawShow MoreRelatedInfluence Of Enlightenment On The American Revolution898 Words   |  4 PagesThe Enlightenment period initiated several new ideas about freedoms and rights. These ideas were discussed in meetings called salons in France, where they discussed new ideas. 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