Miller introduce them into the book Essay Example for Free

Miller introduce them into the book Essay This shows that the girls want some recognition and gain authority by accusing innocent people of witchcraft. The people of Salems biggest fear was the defiance of God and so when Abigail and her assemblage spoke out against witchcraft everybody heeded their words and gave them the attention that they wanted. By pretending to be doing Gods work the girls become more important than before and use their power to make people believe what they want. This is why they are believed and never themselves impugned. One of the most noticeable themes of the book is heroism. Throughout the book there are many examples of this theme. The two most obvious events in the book which display heroism, if not somewhat controversially, are the deaths of Giles Cory and John Proctor. Corys death was heroic but it is possible to see the hanging of Proctor from a different perspective. It could be said that it was not a heros action to die but that of a guilty and cowardly man. In the book Miller, as well as Proctor, openly tells us of the characters mistakes. The reason Proctor chooses to be hung is because he could not bear to have his reputation tarnished. It could also be said though that he just could not bear the embarrassment of pleading innocence in order to save his life. John Proctor can be perceived as either a hero or a coward. I think that Proctor was a hero in this book. The way the book talks of him leads me to think of him as a well respected and highly thought of individual. I think that his actions were extremely brave and heroic. It must take a huge amount of bravery to go to your death even though you can get out of it. Despite there being little symbolism in the play it is a definite symbolic representation of the McCarthy anti-communist trials of the 1950s. I have explained previously about these trials and how they led Arthur Miller writing the book so from this is it obvious that Miller had these trials in mind whilst writing The Crucible. Many people have said though that these two events are completely different in that there were (as far as we know) no actual witches in Salem yet there were definitely communists in 1950 America. In the book I noticed that Miller seemed to focus more on the unwillingness of the judges to believe that the accused townspeople were innocent and preferred to hang as many people as possible in order to improve their status and rank within the court. I think this because when Danforths judgement is questioned he informs the court of how many death warrants he has signed, this to me shows that Danforth thinks that the more people you have hung the more respected you become. It is made obvious to us that Danforth is an important character because when he enters everyone in the room goes silent. This could suggest that you are more important if you have signed a lot of death warrants. This use of silence is another dramatic device used by Miller to emphasise an entrance and to make the audience focus on the entering character. I personally dont know how the judges didnt see through the girls because when I watched the video I noticed a lot of things which prove the girls are lying. For example, in Act 3, Abigail claims that a cold wind blows and blames Mary Warren for sending out her spirit. During this performance, John Proctor claims that Abigail is a whore and that he has committed adultery with her. Abigail immediately stops acting and desperately informs Danforth that she is not a whore or a lecher. This could have been a major downfall for Abigail if someone had noticed this. I am particularly surprised that Proctor did not. If he had the trials could have ended there and then and would have prevented the deaths of many innocent people. In addition to themes Miller also introduces motifs. A motif is a recurring design, feature or melody. Accusation, Legal Proceedings and Confessions are major motifs of The Crucible. These appear regularly throughout the book and are the centre of action in the play. This created a series of indictments even before Hale arrived (Sparknotes. com) and a reason for these people to turn on one another (revenge). The only way that the witches could be found was through the accusations and confessions. The trials only continue as a result of accusations. John Proctor attempts to discontinue the courts proceedings by confessing to adultery in a desperate bid to expose Abigail yet it all goes horribly wrong and Proctor himself is accused of witchcraft! Proctors final courageous decision to die rather than confess to a crime he did not commit makes the judges rethink the whole case and decide to stop the trials before any one else died. Michael Day 10GO Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

The First Jump Essay -- Personal Narrative Sky Diving Essays

The First Jump My first jump out of an airplane on December 17, 1999 was the most exciting experience of my life. I had been anticipating this day since some point when I was a little kid and saw a skydiver on TV for the first time, at which time I promised myself that I would let nothing stop me from jumping out of a plane sometime before I die. It was the first time I had been in a small airplane since I was a young child. From shortly after I was born until I was seven years old, I had flown in my father's Cessna 150 countless times, so I have always felt comfortable flying in airplanes, but I always had a small fear of heights; the kind of heights where there is nothing around you to keep you from falling off. The aircraft that we were to jump out of was a Cessna 182- a commonly used five-person, high-wing, single engine airplane. The interior of this particular plane was not much to speak of. All of the upholstery had been removed, as were all the seats (except for the pilot's seat, of course). That was okay though. This plane is used for skydiving, not first-class passenger transportation. As we were climbing to 3,500 feet, I was experiencing the most exciting yet nervous point in my life. I had been looking forward to this day for a long time and there I was sitting in the back of that small aircraft, waiting to take the plunge of my life while nervously taking turns looking at the little needle on my wrist altimeter and glancing out the window, looking at everything on the ground getting smaller, anxiously reviewing the jump routine over and over in my head, â€Å"arch one-thousand, look one-thousand, reach one-thousand, pull one-thousand.† Since this was going to be a static-line jump, there was not a real ripcord to pull because the canopy would deploy automatically, but we were equipped with a dummy ripcord so that we would learn the proper free-fall technique. At about three-thousand three-hundred feet, the jumpmaster hollered â€Å"one minute to jump,† and opened the cabin door. It was me and two other beginners on board, Jennifer and Susan. Since Jennifer was the first to go, she was already sitting by the door, facing aft of the aircraft. When the door flung open and the air came rushing in, Jennifer took a quick glance at the ground and her eyes grew huge. At this time, I was going over the exit routine in my head. â€Å"Wait for the ju... ...went out the window and was replaced with "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Instead of arching my back with my arms and legs spread out like I was supposed to do, I instinctively tried to "swim" back to the aircraft. With my arms and legs flailing all over the place, I flipped and flopped through the thin air until my chute opened about five seconds after leaving the airplane. The momentum of my spinning body caused my lines to twist when my canopy deployed. Not a big deal. They taught us how to deal with this during ground instruction. I pulled my lines apart and kicked my way out of it. Having successfully left the plane with my chute open and my lines untwisted, I breathed the biggest sigh of relief that I had ever breathed in my entire life. The ride down was extraordinary. The only problem was that I had gotten so caught up in the moment that I had pretty much forgotten to steer the chute toward the airport until I was about two-hundred feet above the ground. Luckily, I barely made it back into the airport, but landed in some mud about three-hundred yards from the X that I was supposed to be aiming for. Oh, well. I knew that next time, I'd make it a lot closer to that X.

Gogol’s Namesake Essay

Immigrants moving to the United States are faced with the pressing question of whether or not to assimilate into American culture. Many of those involved in diasporic situations feel that adapting to the social norms of their new surroundings is an act of betraying their roots in which their heritage and all preexisting traditions will be lost. Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake highlights this struggle through the eyes of the Ganguli family. The novel ultimately shows us that one can simultaneously belong to two cultures, in this case Indian and American culture. Many scholars are hung up on the fact that protagonist Gogol must belong to one culture or the other. Heinze’s â€Å"Diasporic Overcoat?† suggests that Gogol puts on an â€Å"overcoat† through the switching of his name to represent the switching of his identity across various relationships and social situations. In doing so, he says â€Å"by implication one is never totally free of an overcoat, there is no such thing as a pristine and authentic identity†¦ (Heinze 197-198)† This quote demonstrates Heinze taking a stand and stating that there is no fixed identity. I suggest that Gogol does indeed obtain a national and cultural identity. The characterization of Gogol’s identity can be viewed as a spectrum that is continuously changing. At one end of the spectrum is his Indian cultural identity and the other is his American. At different points in his life Gogol has different degrees of American and Indian cultures present within him. So rather than arguing Gogol has no set identity, instead his identity is classified by his movement along his hybrid cultural spectrum. Other scholars that write on the issues of cultural hybridity focus on the idea that the person involved in diasporic situations are caught some where between their two given cultures. The author of an article applying concepts of cultural hybridity in music, particularly Arabian Jazz states that those with hybrid identities create a new â€Å"imagined community’ in which cultures may interact and influence each other in a state of co-existence and a â€Å"third space† is created. He defines this third space as â€Å"the inter- the cutting edge of translation and negotiation, the in between space that carries the burden of the meaning of culture† (Al-Joulan 640). Rather than being part of one culture or the other he is saying that identity of ones culture is defined as being in this third space. For the sake of my argument Gogol’s third space is the area on between his Indian culture and American culture. Gogol’s position in his third space changes at  different points in the novel. Gogol’s birth not only marks the start of his life but it also marks the start of his movement away from the Indian side of his hybrid cultural spectrum. Although it is clear the presented naming process for the Ganguli baby is one that typically appeals to Bengali tradition, American pressures results in the vanishing of those traditions. â€Å"Ashima’s grandmother has mailed the letter herself, walking with her cane to the post office, her first trip out of the house in a decade. The letter contains one name for a girl, one for a boy. Ashima’s grandmother has revealed them to no one.† (25) This quote indicates the importance of naming in Bengali tradition, particularly done by an elder in the family. The fact that the grandmother is leaving the house for the first time in ten years to personally see the letter off shows it is of great importance. However, when the letter does not arrive in time, his parents fail to name him according to Bengali tradition. â€Å"For they learn that in America, a baby cannot be released from the hospital without a birth certificate. And that a birth certificate needs a name.† (27) The Ganguli’s must abide to American laws even if it means abandoning essential Bengali traditions and we see young Gogol’s position on the spectrum of two cultures sway away from his â€Å"Indian-ness.† Perhaps this is Lahiri’s way of communicating to her audience that sacrifices must be made in order to establish a hybrid cultural identity. During the infancy stage of Gogol’s life another series of events instills his divergence from the Indian side of his identity spectrum. The Ganguli’s invite their Bengali friends over in celebration of Gogol’s first consumption of solid food. Gogol is also offered a number of items to represent what profession he will grow to attain. â€Å"Gogol frowns, and his lower lip trembles. Only then, forced at six months to confront his destiny, does he begin to cry.† (40) This quote demonstrates how Gogol’s refusal to participate in traditional Indian rituals, begins at an early age. He does not reach for any of the items symbolizing his rejection of Indian culture ultimately pushing him further towards American assimilation. Throughout adolescence and early adulthood Gogol’s movement along the spectrum continues away from the Indian side. During this stage in his life the movement is represented through the rejection of his name to mimic his rejection of his Bengali heritage. Despite the fact that the pet name given  to him at birth is in fact a Russian name, the concept of having a pet name and good name all together is the â€Å"Bengali way† and not typical for Americans. We see this in Gogol’s petition to his parents to change his name when he asks â€Å"Why do I have a pet name in the first place? I don’t get it†(Lahiri 99). His mother responds simply with â€Å"It’s our way, Gogol. It’s what Bengali’s do†(Lahiri 99). When Gogol is asked by his new college suitemate whether Gogol is his first name or last name, he gives a new answer that is of great significance. â€Å"Normally that question agitates him. But today he has a new answer. ‘Actually, that’s my middle name,’ Gogol says by way of explanation, sitting with them in the common room to their suite. ‘Nikhil is my first name. It got left out for some reason’†(Lahiri 103). We know this statement is false due to the fact that in a previous passage of the novel Gogol’s mother explains to his principle that he does not have a middle name at all, he has a good name and a pet name. In Judith Caesar’s article about Gogol’s namesake she says, â€Å"Although Nikhil is an Indian name, it enables him to try on a sophisticated identity he thinks he wants, sexy, cool, ‘normal’†(Caesar 110). I believe what Caesar is referring to as â€Å"normal† is in fact â€Å"more American†. Making the claim that Gogol is his middle name marks his attempt at appearing like a typical American kid with a first, middle, and last name. In essence he is rejecting his pet name to represent the rejection of his Indian heritage. Conversely the acceptance of this so-called â€Å"middle name† represents his acceptance of American culture continuing his movement away from the Indian side of the spectrum. It is not until the adulthood stage in Gogol’s life that he comes full circle and begins his movement in the other direction, back towards the Indian side of his hybrid cultural identity spectrum. The first way in which he does this is through the development of his relationship with Moushumi. Moushumi, being a childhood family friend also of Bengali heritage, first met Gogol as Gogol rather than Nikhil. It is â€Å"the first time he’s been out with a women who’s once known him by that other name†(Lahiri 193). The fact that Gogol goes through with meeting a girl who already knew his pet name, a Bengali custom, represents a step towards accepting his name and a willingness to begin his movement in the other direction towards his â€Å"Indian-ness.† Ironically the very thing they bond over is their identical  hybrid identity situation. â€Å"They talk about how they are both routinely assumed to be Greek, Egyptian, Mexican – even in this misrendering they are joined† (Lahiri 212). Neither Gogol nor Moushumi ever thought they would date another Bengali due to the fact that it is what their parents had continuously drilled into their heads as their wishes. They know that their blossoming relationship will please both their parents, and they each find some comfort in this surprising thought. The reason the two met up after not seeing each other since childhood was a result of a request by Gogol’s mother. She is the one who suggest he call Moushumi. Gogol proceeding with the call and arranging to meet Moushumi marks the start to his movement and reconnection to his Indian culture. The second way Gogol begins his journey of moving back towards the Indian side, is through his exploration and acceptance of what his pet name meant to his father. In the final chapter of the novel we see adult Gogol returning to his family home in which he goes into his old bedroom, discovering the book by author Nikolai Gogol that his father had given to him years ago. He opens the book to find what his father had written in it â€Å"For Gogol Ganguli†¦ the man who gave you his name, from the man who gave you your name†(Lahiri 288). It is only out of respect for his father that he takes the time to explore what the name meant to him. Had Gogol’s father not have passed away, he may have again snubbed the book and its significance to his father as he did when he first gifted it to him. This may be Lahiri’s way of conveying to readers that although it is too little to late in the aspect of reestablishing a relationship with his father, it is not yet too late to reconnect with his Bengali heritage. The moment Gogol begins to read â€Å"The Overcoat† marks just the beginning of his exploration and acceptance of his Bengali heritage and finding its role in the grand scheme of his double-sided identity spectrum. In conclusion we see different degrees of Indian and American culture present within Gogol representing his continuous changing position across his hybrid culture identity or â€Å"third space†. In the early stages of his life we see his divergence from â€Å"Indian-ness† through his parents failure to name him according to Bengali tradition, his own rejection of important  Bengali ceremonial traditions and the rejection of his pet name. Finally in adulthood he begins his journey in the other direction, his journey at exploring at reconnecting with this Indian roots marking the start of his movement back towards â€Å"Indian-ness.† This movement is achieved through his developing relationship with Moushumi, another Bengali-American character, as well as his acceptance to explore the meaning of his name given to him by his father. Works Cited Al-joulan, Nayef. â€Å"Diana Abu-Jaber’s Arabian Jazz: An Orphic Vision of Hybrid Cultural Identity.† Neophilologus 94.4 (2010): 637-52. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Heinze, Ruediger. â€Å"A Diasporic Overcoat? Naming and Affection in Jhumpa Lahiri’s the Namesake.† Journal of Postcolonial Writing 43.2 (2007): 191-202. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. Caesar, Judith. â€Å"Gogol’s Namesake: Identity and Relationships in Jhumpa Lahiri’s the Namesake.† Atenea 27.1 (2007): 103-19. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

Sex, Gender, And Sexuality - 1490 Words

Sex, gender, and sexuality are words that are constantly are been not understood properly and also misused by societies. But scholars through research and history have come up with basic ways to distinguish what each term means. Starting with the term sex, sex is known as a biological structure of a person (Renzetti 2). There also is another way that sex defined, some believe that the definition of is the meaning the society and each individual gave it, â€Å"or the various ways we express our sexual natures† (Hoffert 395). Next the term gender can be distinguished because it uses the term sex as a source for creating a social grouping which then is applied to each individual (Renzetti 2). Using these definitions scholars are able to distinguish between these terms, but definitions alone might not be enough for some scholars to distinguish the differences between these terms, so there are some key ways to tell the differences. Starting with sex and gender, one s sex is static, but their gender can be dynamic. Gender is part of everyday life meaning everyone has to watch what they do in public and even at home, the society has an expectation of how men and women are supposed to behave or act and if the expectations are not achieved then that person is considered strange or abnormal (Lorber 54-55). Whereas the term sex is concrete, at least for now, from the moment a baby is born its chromosome is decided whether it’s XX or XY. Chromosomes can’t be changed through surgery andShow MoreRelatedGender, Sex, And Sexuality1363 Words   |  6 PagesJones Mr.DiGulio Honor Freshman English-3 26 April 2016 Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Gender, sex, and sexuality are not new concepts in today’s society. These three terms have been around for a long time, but they have only just started to surface and be taught and understood by the nation. 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