Superstition Or Truth Essays - Cultural Depictions Of Julius Caesar

Superstition or Truth Superstitions are thought to be irrational, and resulting from either ignorance, or fear of the unknown. Some believe that superstitions can take control of their life, for instance, if a black cat crosses you're path, you will have bad luck. Most regard this as folklore and witchcraft. In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, superstitions took hold and played an important part of many people's lives. The characters believed that they were getting a vision into their future. Each character dealt with the superstition differently, some feared them, and some disbelieved them. These superstitions not only gave the characters, but also the audience quick looks at what is to come. They are important, and help shape the way the play was performed, and interpreted. The first superstition, which was clearly visible, is the soothsayer, who in the first act tells Caesar beware the ides of March. This is a superstition, because it is irrational, and it comes from a situation of high risk, and involves influences, which are unseen. This also shows Caesar's arrogance, its not just that he is not superstitious, but he also does not even let the soothsayer explain himself. He laughs at the soothsayer, and says "he is a dreamer, let us leave him, pass." The soothsayer is warning him of his own death date, and he laughs at him. He does not believe in superstition, and this is clear by his reaction, many others in his situation would be fearful of the ides of March, from the warning and omen, he got. Caesar believes he is more powerful then destiny, and that he will have nothing to worry about. Caesar's arrogance cost him his life, and showed that superstitions sometimes do come true. The next superstition occurred the day of his death. Calpurina urges Caesar not to go to senate today. She tells Caesar of the horrible dream she had, the night before the ides of March. Caesar recalls the dream to the other men. "The cause is in my will. I will not come. That is enough to satisfy the senate. But for you're private satisfaction, because I love you, I will let you know. Calpurnia here, my wife stays me out home. She dreamt tonite she saw my statue, which like a fountain with an hundred spouts, did run pure blood; and many lust Romans came smiling and did bathe their hands in it. And these does she apply for warnings and portents and evils imminent, and on her knee hath begged that I stay at home today"(Shakespeare, 79-81) Caesar just recalled and foreshadowed his own death, and yet he still leaves for the senate. Caesar's arrogance is again showed. He does not believe in fortune telling, or superstitions, although everything is warning him of the upcoming danger he is about to face. His wife however, is the opposite of him, in that she is very superstitious, she fears her dream, and fears for her husband. There was also another warning Caesar received. When several men killed a beast, in the streets, they slaughtered him, and found no heart. This slaughtering of the beast was also a superstition, for the men believed they could use the beast to determine, if there would be danger today. This is an excellent example of a superstition, since it something to us that seems irrational, but to superstitious people, they would believe that a beast could foretell the future. Everyone, other then Caesar, and in the audience, could clearly see that he should have not left his home that day, but Caesar believed he was smarter then any omen, or superstition. This was his ultimate down fall. The other superstition that played part in this play, was when Brutus was confronted with the ghost of Caesar, before he entered battle. This superstition foretells of his own down fall. The ghost comes to him, as he is sitting up reading in his tent. "Ha, who comes here- I think it is the weakness of mine eyes that shapes this monstrous apparition. It comes upon me-Art thou any thing? Art thou some god, some angel or some devil, that makest my blood cold and my hair to stare? Speak to what thou art."

Power of Ambition in Macbeth Essay Example

Power of Ambition in Macbeth Essay Example Power of Ambition in Macbeth Paper Power of Ambition in Macbeth Paper Essay Topic: We Real Cool The Power of Macbeth Ambitio Essay The Power of Macbeth Ambition is often the driving force in one’s life. It is supposed to be the motivating factor that drives one towards success. Society also deems ambition a necessary quality of their leader. It can be said that Macbeth exhibits this quality. He is the strong, valiant warrior who has won in battle and brought victory to Scotland. However, Macbeth’s quest to acquire more power his ambition ultimately leads to his downfall. How can one allow himself to be destroyed by such a thing? Before Duncan’s murder, Macbeth questions and second guesses his ambitious tendencies and actions. Despite his anxiety, he succumbs to these tendencies and finds himself in more trouble than he anticipated. His guilty conscience haunts him and his unforgiving deeds come back to trouble him. Macbeths’ actions are clearly motivated by his overpowering ambition and his unquenchable thirst for power; at the beginning of the play his ambition is channelled into positive deeds, but ultimately it results in his tragic demise. There is no doubt that Macbeth is a noble man. He risked everything he had to protect Scotland from Norway, and single-handedly took down the treacherous Thane of Cawdor: â€Å"Till that Bellona’s bridegroom, lapped in proof, / Confronted him with self-comparisons, / Point against point, rebellious arm ‘gainst arm, / Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude, / The victory fell on us† (I, ii, ll 61-65). Macbeth is seen as a brave and noble man by all of his peers, and even King Duncan himself. At the beginning of the play, Macbeths’ ambition was for a greater good because he was fighting for his King and country, not his own well-fare. This is why Duncan proclaims, â€Å"What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won† (I, ii, l 67). By this, he is referring to the fact that he named Macbeth to be Thane of Cawdor because of his astonishing bravery in battle and unfailing loyalty. One would think that after such an accomplishment and position of high standing that Macbeth would be satisfied. This, however, is not the case. Macbeth’s ambition does not just drive him to do great things, it in fact controls him: â€Å"I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself / And falls on the other† (I, vii, ll 25-28). It is obvious that Macbeth has ambition, as most people who are in power do. In fact, ambition is often a necessary quality of people in such high standing as Macbeth. However, he also clearly realizes that his ambition is too great and it is about to make him do something that he knows is wrong. It is against for which everything he has supposedly stood, yet he also knows there is nothing he can do to stop it. Macbeth does, however, try to refrain from murdering Duncan; he second guesses his intent to go through with the crime before committing it: â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honoured me of late, and I have bought / Golden opinions from all sorts of people† (I, vii, ll 33-35). He realizes that maybe he is just better off in the position he is in right now. Maybe he should wait and acquire his higher standing in a noble way or he might not have to do anything and fate will grant him the throne without his interference. However, Lady Macbeth goads him into committing the murder anyway by questioning his manhood: â€Å"When you durst do it, then you were a man, / And, to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place / Did then adhere, and yet you would make both. / They have made themselves, and that their fitness now / Does unmake you† (I, vii, ll 54-59). After the murder, one can see a clear shift in Macbeth. To drown his shameful acts of unforgivable treachery, Macbeth takes the path of dishonesty and fabricated deception. It is as if his killing of one man opened the flood gates for a litany of other murders he felt he needed to commit; his ordering the murders of Banquo and his son Fleance, who were once dear to him, and those of Lady Macduff and her son. It is as if his ambition is blinding him of his wrong-doings. One can look at Macbeth’s actions after his murder of Duncan and see that he is clearly headed on a path leading to tragedy, originated from one source: his ambition. Furthermore, it is fair to say that Macbeth’s actions in the latter parts of the play stem from a sort of madness that has consumed him. It is a madness that has grown from guilt over killing Duncan, to paranoia of getting caught, and most importantly, a constant need to protect what he has wrongfully acquired: the throne. Macbeth’s actions are a result of his ambition to gain power and then maintain it by doing whatever he deems necessary. His actions are unmistakably driven by the fact that he wants to keep his place on the throne at any cost and eliminate all threats to him: â€Å"To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done! / The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife, give to the edge of the sword / His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool! / This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool† (IV, i, ll 165-170). Instead of being remorseful over his actions, he is much more worried that he himself will be retaliated against because of his dishonest deeds. This is obviously not the thought process of a noble mind, which clearly indicates that due to his consuming ambition Macbeth has lost, to some extent, his sanity. Thus, through his actions alone, one can evidently see that Macbeth is headed on a path towards disaster; a path started, and forcefully driven, by his ambition. His ambition drives him to kill Duncan so that he can acquire the throne. His ambition then drives him to order the murders of Banquo and Fleance, and also those of the innocent Lady Macduff and her son, so that he may remove any threats towards him. Through that process alone, one could say that Macbeth’s ambition is his downfall because these are the events that lead to his alienation from the rest of humanity. However, even more disastrous than the external consequences of his ambition are his internal consequences. Macbeth’s ambition is constantly putting him in a struggle between right and wrong. He finally loses this battle, and succumbs to the evil side of his ambition. Being the successful, proud, and noble warrior that he is, maybe this loss of what is good inside of him is truly the root of Macbeth’s insanity. One will never know, but it can be said that Macbeth’s ambition, whether through his actions or through his own internal aberration, did ultimately lead to his demise.

Arab-Israeli War of 1973 Essay Example for Free (#1973)

Arab-Israeli War of 1973 Essay The Arab-Israeli War was an armed conflict initiated by the Arab nations of Egypt and Syria against Israel on October 6, 1973 in an effort to reclaim territories that Israel had controlled since the Six Day War of 1967. The date holds special significance to the Jewish calendar, being Yom Kippur, hence this war is also known as the Yom Kippur War. Though Israel was caught by surprise and experienced severe losses during the war, assistance from the United States military led to a cease-fire less than three weeks later. In the aftermath, Israel retained its territories and its aftermath had far ranging effects on the geopolitics of the Middle East. First, the victory of Israel had an uplifting effect on its population. Its military had been seen to have grown largely complacent following the Six Day War. However, despite initial defeats, they managed a successful turnaround of the Yom Kippur War’s outcome. As such, despite the surprise advantage of Egypt and Syria they had regained the upper hand in less than two weeks, though at a high cost in casualties. In effect, Israel woke up to the reality that their military supremacy in the region was not absolute. (Rabinovich 498) Second, by granting support to Israel, the United States invited the ire of oil-producing Arab states. This manifested itself in the actions of Saudi Arabia, which not only reduced its oil production but declared an embargo against the United States. Saudi Arabia was later joined by other oil-producing Arab states and together they extended their embargo against other import dependent nations in Western Europe as well as Japan. The result was the 1973 energy crisis that sent oil prices spiraling past $60 per barrel and close to $100 per barrel in 1979. (Smith 329) Third, on the geopolitical front, enemy states of Israel concluded in the aftermath that they could not defeat it by force, and thus turned towards diplomatic tactics in antagonizing it. The effect was that many African and Third World nations, under pressure from the Arab states, broke their diplomatic ties to Israel. Works Cited No author. â€Å"The 1973 Yom Kippur War. † Anti-Defamation League, 1999. Retrieved September 24, 2008 from: http://www. adl. org/ISRAEL/record/yomkippur. asp Smith, Charles. Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict. New York, NY: Bedford, 2006. Rabinovich, Abraham. The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle eAst. New York, NY: Shocken Books, 2005. Rabinovich, Abraham [2005]. The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East. New York, NY: Schocken Books. ISBN 0 8052 4176 0. Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, New York: Bedford, 2006, p. 329. Arab-Israeli War of 1973. (2016, Aug 16).

Maintaining safe classrooms and schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Maintaining safe classrooms and schools - Essay Example They further declared that the best way to deal with the issue is to look at the broader spectrum of the matter and involved the whole community namely: faith-based groups, law enforcers, businesses, parents, students and school personnel in finding solutions (Pollack & Sundermann 2001). According to safe school coalition, bullying is an act of aggression, in form of physical attack, verbal and psychological behavior that is repeatedly and constantly done with the intent of harming an individual. It can be described as power display (Hafner 2003). In the year 2003 the state of California has made progress in addressing school bullying and violence by drafting a Bill called â€Å"Bullying Prevention for School Safety and Crime Reduction Act of 2003†. It has passed the Assembly and the Senate and finally was approved by the Governor in October of that same year (http://www.bullypolice.org/ca_law.html). It is defined in Article: 3 School Safety Cadre. Here is the summary of the article: It will be established within the whole state, a cadre that would ensure collaboration of all agencies to combat and end school bullying. Its aim is to improve school attendance and to promote good citizenry. It will employ 100 professionals from the education bureau, community-based groups, and law enforcement group. This joint venture will be responsible for training staff, equipping representatives to make them qualified to initiate school safety programs in all districts, youth agencies, county education offices and law enforcement in each region (http://www.bullypolice.org/ca_law.html). Maintaining school safety is responsibility of the whole community. Policies are clearly outlined to be followed and implemented at schools and community. Contrary to the notion that our children are no longer safe in schools, according to U.S. Department of Education and U.S.

Utilitarianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Utilitarianism - Essay Example Self – interest is the main thread that binds egoism. In this case, what seems to be ethical with egoism is the importance of taking into account the effects of one’s exercise of ego, with rational thinking coming into play. There are some complications that come along with is a pointed out by Huemer, where ethical egoism cannot really give the personal satisfaction that is tantamount to the effort exerted (Huemer). With this condition, there is a need to understand that the philosophy itself is oftentimes problematic in terms of application and of practice. On a critical level, there is nothing wrong about being self – centered when it comes to needs or desires. However, indulgence might be a problematic condition that emerges henceforth. These two possibilities make egoism rather unwelcoming since both appear to be lacking rational self – judgment.  Self – interest is the main thread that binds egoism. In this case, what seems to be ethical with egoism is the importance of taking into account the effects of one’s exercise of ego, with rational thinking coming into play. There are some complications that come along with is a pointed out by Huemer, where ethical egoism cannot really give the personal satisfaction that is tantamount to the effort exerted (Huemer). With this condition, there is a need to understand that the philosophy itself is oftentimes problematic in terms of application and of practice. On a critical level, there is nothing wrong about being self – centered when it comes to needs or desires. However, indulgence might be a problematic condition that emerges henceforth. These two possibilities make egoism rather unwelcoming since both appear to be lacking rational self – judgment.   The weakness of ethical egoism comes when it lacks rational thinking. In most cases, egoism is used to underestimate others. This is no longer beneficial for an individual even if self – centered age nda comes with it. Pragmatically, people are always reinforcing their egos and use it to get what they need. Sometimes, some will use it not just for personal gain or personal glory. They use it for the benefit of others. If the self – centered tendencies are diverted to a greater good for that matter, then things will surely be better for everyone. That seems to possible and rational way to diverted egoism that is a way to egocentric to an egoism that can be more socially relevant.  

Crisis of Kingfisher Airlines Essay Example for Free

Crisis of Kingfisher Airlines Essay The Indian air market is estimated to be the ninth largest in the world but with the population size the country has, the Indian government believes it will become the world’s third largest market by 2020. 87 foreign and five Indian airlines fly to and from India to 40 countries. Approximately five million Indians fly every month domestically. Domestic traffic more than doubled between Jul-2006 and July 2011, with growth of 101%. One reason for the growth was the deregulation of Indian domestic aviation in 2003- 2004 followed by international deregulation in 2007-2008 India has three full service airlines Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and four Low cost carriers: GoAir, IndiGo, JetLite (owned by Jet airways), and SpiceJet. Kingfisher also had a discount version: Kingfisher Red known formerly as Simplifly Deccan and before that Air Deccan. Ironically the Indian aviation despite a market growing at 18 per cent for last 11 months, five out of six Indian airlines are bleeding leading to the failure of one of the leading aviation player Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher Airlines, a subsidiary of UB Group (United Breweries Holdings Ltd), founded in May 2005 operates a passenger airline in India. It was the first airline in India to provide premium first class service on domestic routes with all new aircraft. In May 2007, it announced it would acquire a 26% stake in Air Deccan, a low cost carrier (LCC) for 5.5 billion rupees ($135 million). Kingfisher Airlines Limited came to become one of the country’s largest airlines, operating more than 400 flights a day and having a wide network of destinations, with regional and long-haul international services touching almost 60 destinations. At one point the Kingfisher Airlines had the second largest share in Indias domestic air travel market. However due to the severe financial crisis faced by the airline, it has the fifth largest market share currently. Even the company have no funds to pay the salaries to the employees and is facing several other issues like fuel dues; aircraft lease rental dues, service tax dues and bank arrears. As Kingfisher airlines is in the midst of a financial turmoil, the case will aim to understand the various factors which are fuelling the growth / decline and those which are/will be critical for the company’s performance in the near term. Introduction History of the Indian Airline Industry In December 1912, the first domestic air route was opened between Delhi and Karachi by the Indian State Air Services (in collaboration with Imperial Airways of the UK). This marked a new beginning in India. Three years later, Tata Sons started a regular airmail service between Karachi and Madras. At that time, there were a few transport companies operating within and also beyond the frontiers of the country, carrying both air cargo and passengers. Some of these were Tata Airlines, Indian National Airways, Air Service of India, Deccan Airways, Ambica Airways, Bharat Airways and Mistry Airways. The Tata Airlines was converted into a public limited company in the year 1946 and renamed Air India Limited. In 1948 a joint sector company-Air India International was established by the Government of India and Air India headed by J.R.D. Tata. In 1953, the Parliament passed the Air Corporation Act. Air India International and Indian Airlines Corporation came into formal existence and Air India International was nationalized. The Indian Aviation sector was liberalized in commence in 1990 with private sector players being allowed to operate as air taxi operators in India. A number of private players commenced domestic operations like Damania, East-West, Modiluft, Air Sahara and NEPC, entered the industry. However, a decade later none of them have survived. Foreword of Kingfisher Airlines Kingfisher Airlines is an airline group based in India. Its head office is The Qube in Andheri (East), Mumbai; and Registered Office in UB City, Bangalore. Kingfisher Airlines was established in 2003 and began operations on 9 May 2005 with a fleet of five A380s, five Airbus A350s aircraft and five Airbus A330s operating its first inaugural flight from Mumbai to Delhi. It seems staggering that an airline a month old could order the world’s biggest plane in an untested market. They went international in 2008, less than four years ago. In May 2009, they became India’s largest airline by passenger numbers. Owned by the Bangalore based United Breweries Group. Kingfisher Airlines, through its parent company United Breweries Group, has a 50% stake in low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red. The UB group is lead by Dr. Vijay Mallya as the Chairman to one of India’s largest conglomerates with diverse interests in brewing, distilling, real estate, engineering, fertilizers, biotechnology, information technology and aviation. Dr. Mallya, was elected by shareholders as Chairman of The UB Group in 1983, at the age of 28 and has been instrumental in growing it into a multinational business conglomerate. Kingfisher is the only Indian and the one of the six in the world to have received the 6 stars rating for its services by the Skytrax operates more than 400 flights a day connecting 72 destinations the world over. Merger of Kingfisher- Air Deccan A wholly owned subsidiary of Deccan Aviation, Air Deccan, was India’s first low cost carrier. It has a vision to enable every Indian to fly thus representing the airline’s simple and no frills approach. With a low pricing strategy, Air Deccan primarily focussed on first time travellers and successfully shifted people from Rail travel to Air travel. Air Deccan airlines merged with Kingfisher Airlines and decided to operate as a single entity from April, 2008 under the title name Kingfisher Aviation. The merger is based on recommendations of Accenture, the global consulting firm. KPMG was asked to do the valuation and the swap ratio was decided accordingly. The merger came through on as Vijay Mallya from Kingfisher airlines bought 26% of the stake in Air Deccan. The unification of the two carriers had to be sanctioned not only by the two panels, but also by the institutional investors, independent directors, and other shareholders. Air Deccan had four independent directors-which included prominent persons like IIM Prof Thiru Naraya, Tennis player Vijay Amritraj, and A K Ganguly, Former MD Nabisco Malaysia. Post merger, KingFisher would operate as a single largest (private) airline in the sub-continent with a combined fleet of 71 aircrafts, connects 70 destinations and operating 550 flights in a day. The combined entity has a market share of 33%. Captain Gopinath continued as the Executive Chairman and Vijay Malay in-charge as the Vice Chairman. To rationalize the fleet structure, Kingfisher was focussed towards the international routes and functioning as a full-service carrier while Air Deccan was allotted the wider domestic reach and operated as a low cost carrier. As both the carriers operated the Airbus, the operational synergies integrated not only the management and staff of the airlines but also the engineering, inventory management and ground handling services, maintenance and overhaul sectors. These efforts brought about an increased savings in costs by 4-5% (INR. 300 crores)* Further, by devising a more optimal routing strategy it could help in rationalizing the fares. Before the merger Air Deccan recorded a net loss of Rs 213.17 crores on revenue of Rs 437.82 crores for 2006-07. The company had also raised Rs 400 crores through an IPO in May 2006. The merger will create a more competitive business in scale and scope to emerge as market leader.

leadership Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Unlocking the Potential of Your Employees: The Not-So-Secret Secrets of Motivational Leadership†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leadership is executing strategy through others. The most demanding aspect of the job leadership is to get people to do what they are expected to do and to do it well and with motivations to overcome any barriers. â€Å"Successful execution begins with understand why people do what they do.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This article talks about some insights into how to obtain and sustain employee commitment and motivation. The authors talks about how psychologist view motivation. Freud argued people are basically lazy and must be coerced to work. However, common sense alone says that if it were, true, managers would open all of their time watching people who refuse to cooperate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maslow came up with the â€Å"hierarchy of needs†. He said that people must meet his theory in sequence, before they can reach the next level. The needs start with basic physiological requirements and move on to safety, belonging, and esteem. The author claims that Maslow’s theory is incomplete because â€Å"employees who feel unappreciated and undervalued will often not feel satisfied at work and this may not work to their full potential.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to David McClellan’s hypothesis said humans are motivated by achievement, power and affiliation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author writes how these psychological theories gi...