An Argument of Existentialism in ‘The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka Essay

Argument: A person’s will to live is strongly linked to the opinions of loved ones have of that person. While some persons allow the will of their lives to become influenced to the opinions of their loved ones, others do not forget to factor the ideals of human existentialism. In order to appropriately approach the point brought across, one must factor in the underlying tone of the existentialist values of ‘The Metamorphosis’ as written by Frank Kafka. Although many existentialist philosophers hold conflicting values across the board, there are many key traits that follow existentialism. Therefore, I am inclined to, due to my level of understanding remain impartial towards both sides of the argued statement. Humans, as sentient beings, have free will and are responsible for the effects of what they decide to do. Existentialism also rejects the concept of ‘human nature’, a generalization that has become popular in attempting to identify objective external truths rather than the subjective for the individual approach. Thirdly, I say this because existentialism shows the indifference of the world towards us. Firstly, we all possess free will as independent entities apart from our society. As Gregor is dehumanized by his transformation, his family quickly deserts and rejects him of his former place in the household. The transformation can be seen as dehumanization as Gregor loses his human aspects to his self-sacrificial working ethic due to his family’s wages. One must make the balance between himself and society. When Gregor chooses work over himself, he quickly loses his humanity, hence, the transformation. Although being alienated from his family through his dehumanization causes him to ultimately lose his will for life, Gregor is yet a prime example of how free will creates a ‘cause and effect’ ripple due to the individual which is not influenced by another’s opinion but one’s subjective tastes. Additionally, a generalization cannot be approached for this situation. Existentialism as whole, strives to reject the idea of a human nature obtained by the external objective truths that cannot be applied to the subjunctive self. Instead, humans are radically liberated by their free will in order to shape their own life and defy any generalized ‘nature’. This is not seen in Gregor’s life or in Kafka’s novel. Irregardless, the existentialist value must be factored in an argued due to the underlying tone of the philosophy throughout the novel. Moreover, this approach dictates the world’s indifferent existence towards human beings. As possibly symbolized by Kafka where the household represents society’s indifference to its people, the Samsa family never cared for Gregor as the universe does to society. The absurdist branch of existentialism is then clearly revealed throughout the novel. The absurd nature of the novel highlights Gregor’s quest for purpose, for which he has lost due to the world’s indifference. It can only be here that existentialism can justify as an appropriate response. However, for some, this might not be a worthwhile approach due to the subjective nature of the mind. In conclusion, I remain indifferent to both sides due to the inability of existentialism to pinpoint whether or not this is appropriate. Human beings have free will, and this philosophy rejects the ideal of the objective truths of ‘human nature’. The will may be affected by absurdist, but infinitely varying across the board.

How does the inclusion of the witches in Macbeth heighten the dramatic impact of the play? Essay

Macbeth is a play written by the renowned playwright William Shakespeare in the early 17th century. Originally produced for the King of Denmark, the play explores themes such as ambition and betrayal through the actions of the main protagonist Macbeth. The play’s other significant figures include three witches whose practice of sorcery attracted a lot of controversy towards the play. At the time, their inclusion heightened the dramatic impact on the audience; primarily because of the public’s view of witches. Also referred to as the ‘’weird sisters’’, they form a fundamental element of the play because it is their input that shapes the play into action. During this period of time, the mainstream population of Europe was Christian and superstitious, therefore belief in witchcraft was at its peak and so-called ‘’witches’’ were persecuted. Supposedly, witches (along with Satan) were part of a collective of evil and were blamed for a lot of wrongdoing in society. For instance, political dissidents who opposed the King were thought to be under the influence of black magic. This was because there was commonly held believe that the King had the divine right to rule; thus anyone challenging the King was basically challenging God (which was considered blasphemy and punishable by death). The inclusion of the witches and amount of media coverage they received along with the public’s superstition helped to heighten the dramatic impact of Macbeth on a Shakespearean audience. Today, however, due to the secularisation of society, religious morals are diminishing and witchcraft is seen as nothing more than simple entertainment; this is certainly not how Shakespeare intended it to be. Furthermore, television programmes such as W.I.T.C.H. and books such as the Harry Potter series are depicting witches in a much more positive light. On the other hand, a small number of possible offshoots of witchcraft such as Wicca and Freemasonry are still being practiced despite it being punishable by death in some extremely religious cultures. In this day and age, the general view about witches lessens the dramatic impact significantly because it is seen as a comedy routine therefore Macbeth doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of the audience like its original purpose. In Act 1 Scene 1, as shown in the stage directions; the witches are the first performers when they enter an ‘’open place’’ with ‘’thunder and lightning’’. By being the first performers on stage, they intensify the dramatic impact because the audience focuses their attention towards them. Also, Shakespeare specifically chose the weather in this scene to be threatening, to reflect the negative view of witches at the time and to elevate the dramatic impact by making them see more powerful (witches were associated with the ability to manipulate the weather). The technique of using elements of nature to express mood is known as pathetic fallacy. In this scene, the first impression that the audience are given of the witches is that they are unattractive. For instance, the quotes ‘’your beards’’ and ‘’skinny lips’’ suggests that the witches are ugly and depict them as being unnatural due to having masculine characteristics. Shakespeare has done this to add to the negative interpretation of witches, which in turn heightens the dramatic impact (because the realistic appearance of the witches would frighten the audience). He also uses other characters to highlight the appearance of the witches and therefore raise the dramatic impact on the audience. For instance, Banquo describe the witches as being creatures ‘’ that look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth’’. He is suggesting that they do not resemble other humans and that they are abnormal; perhaps beings from another world. Shakespeare uses dialogue between the witches to heighten the dramatic impact on the audience. For example, in Act 1 Scene 3, one of the witches says to the others ’‘I’ll drain him dry as hay, sleep shall neither night nor day’’. This line heightens the dramatic impact because it portrays witches as evil because of the reference to torturing someone by depriving him of water. Also the words ‘’hay’’ and ‘’day’’ rhyme, during the Shakespearean era this was related to the spells chanted by witches, therefore the audience would have instantaneously assumed that the lines were malicious; thus increasing the dramatic impact. The lines spoken by the witches also include a rhythm. For example in Act 1 Scene 3, the three witches start their lines with ‘’all hail†¦ all hail†¦ all hail’’, this promotes the idea that the witches have the same thoughts and gives the impression that they are insane because they speak in a different pattern to the other characters. The witches also speak in riddles to scare and confuse the audience, for example, the line ‘’when the battles lost and won’’ may be referring to Macbeth or it could be talking about the struggle for the throne of Scotland. This intensifies the dramatic impact because the audience are left unsure and given the impression that the three witches know something that they don’t. Once again, the witches are depicted as being unnatural because of their ability to prophesise the future. Imagery is used cleverly in many ways by Shakespeare to show the witches in a negative light and add to the dramatic impact. For example, in Act 4 Scene 1, the 1st witch says ‘’round and round the cauldron go, in the poisoned entrails throw’’. This quote emphasizes the popular belief (at the time) that witches chant around their cauldrons which consisted of nauseating ingredients such as rats (creates the image that witches are sick). Also, the witches simultaneously say ‘’double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble’’, this makes the spell resemble a song more and consequently it increases the dramatic impact. To conclude, the inclusion of the witches in the play undeniably helps to heighten the dramatic impact on a Shakespearean audience. This is mainly because of his successful methods, for example when using pathetic fallacy. Today, however, his masterpiece has not been as popular and effective at creating a negative image of witches because of the enormous change in the public’s view of witches.

High School Drop Out

Rates Are Increasing Many young adults view high school as a new territory with more advanced classes, more students, but other students only view the negative side of high school , rather than the positive. What most young adults do not understand is that when they choose to dropout of their high school, it is only stealing valuable knowledge from them. It is obvious that the high school drop out rate is increasing rapidly. Why might the rate of high school students be increasing, and why do students make such a dramatic change on their life? Also read: Should Boarding Schools Be AbolishedSome of this may result from the lack of parental guidance, bullying in our high schools, or teen pregnancy? First of all, parental guidance can be the most important element in a student’s education. Students who lack parental guidance have a greater chance of tossing his or her education away compared to those students who receive the help, support and positive guidance from their parents. Many high school students who lack a positive parental guidance to support his or her education, causing the rate of high school dropouts to increase.Not having a parental guidance causes student, to not take an education important and seriously, because they see their parents not showing any interest in their schooling as well. Parents can take action in their child’s education by keeping track of their grades, attending parent teacher conferences, or participating in more school activities. When students have parents who participate i n their child’s education that child is more likely to graduate from his or her high school. Another reason our high school dropout rates are increasing rapidly, is do to the fact of school bullying.School bullying is a type of bullying that occurs in connection with education, either inside or outside of the school. Bullying can be verbal, physical, or emotional and is usually repeated over a period of time. Bullying causes students to have a low self-esteem about themselves and may feel as if no one cares about them. School bullying can also occur in any part of a school building including, on buses, classrooms, even in sports. School bullying has become to be a serious problem in our schools system. The number one effect that bullying has on high school students, is students dropping out. Last,

I Heart Huckabees

‘Know thyself,’ said Socrates, Greek philosopher. His argument was we must know ‘thyself’ in order to be wise. As people grow up, they want to find out about themselves. Students, for example, think critically about what they want to become because adults say the thought of money equals happiness is wrong. Dr. Carl G. Jung states that, â€Å"one must get in touch with the Shadow and Anima/Animus before one can truly get in touch with Self. † The film, I love Huckabees, shows examples of existentialism and the process of finding one’s true self. Albert, Tom, and Brad were successful in dismantling and getting down to their true selves because they accept their shadow, polarize with others, and realize their persona. Albert Markovski is the protagonist who is the director of coalition called ‘Open Spaces. ’ He initially seeks the existential detectives, The Jaffes, to question the coincidental incidents with Steven. Through the process of dismantling with the Jaffes, Albert shows signs of his shadows such as jealousy, denial, and over-reaction. One’s shadow can be easily seen from a third-person point of view such as friends. Albert’s shadow is clearly shown when Bernard uses the body bag method. Jealousy, which is a sign of desire of love, is visualized in the image where Dawn says, â€Å"Stop looking at me. † Albert’s denial and over-reaction is clearly shown when Brad, Albert’s shadow, first visits the Jaffes with an objective of getting Albert fired. With unsatisfactory results from the Jaffes, Albert follows Tom and meets Catherine, student of Jaffes. Catherine identifies that Albert’s reasoning for feeling embarrassed for sadness is derived from his mother. Catherine says, â€Å"You were orphaned by indifference. † After realizing his true self, liar, he accepts and follows Catherine’s philosophy. However, he realizes that the Jaffes philosophy and Catherine’s philosophy are polarizing ideas. Through those ideas, he accepts his shadows; when he derives that him and Brad are the same and desire for love through experiencing sex with Catherine. Catherine also teaches the feeling of ‘pure being’ which is being in a state of empty thought. There are many claims and theories that emptying one’s mind can get close to one’s spiritual self such as Anima/Animus. Albert loves the feeling of ‘pure being’ state, but there is not enough information to explain if this progress is finding his spiritual self. Tom Corn is a fire fighter who is obsessed with petroleum. Due to his obsession, his wife leaves him along with his daughter. He also meets both philosophers but he mainly focuses in Catherine’s philosophy of nihilism. His success in dismantling was from the event where he saves Dawn in the burning house and falls in love with her. This attraction is because they are two opposite extremes. For instance, Tom is an aggressive type of person whereas Dawn is very positive type of person. Tom and Dawn show their successful dismantling when Dawn breaks up with Brad. It proves that Tom and Dawn trust each other which are derived from their honesty. Their relationship also shows Tom’s acceptance towards his desire for love in which he denies with rage when he sees Albert and Catherine having sex together. Although Tom needs improvement on finding his true self, his relationship with Dawn is the perfect condition which requires trust, honesty, and commitment, to help each other identify their shadow. Unlike Albert and Tom, Brad Stand is less successful in finding his true self. He only cares about other people’s opinions or rather, the society’s standard. He meets the Jaffes and does not take them seriously at all and in fact uses them to get Albert fired. His dismantling is successful when Vivian brings the recording of him repeatedly telling the story about the chicken salad and Shania. The Jaffes point out that Brad is doing this just to keep him cheerful. Brad refuses and states that he will stop telling the story. He does manage to not say the story when the corporate board of directors asks to tell the story but instead, ends up vomiting. Another significant event for Brad is when Albert burns down Brad’s house. Brad starts to question his existence just like Albert has. Although this event is nothing like his shadow, it is significant because for a person who barricades behind their mask, questioning one’s existence is a successful start. He accepts the fact that he needs help from someone when he mentions, â€Å"Yeah, okay, I’m caught up in that shit† inside the elevator with Albert. Albert suggests him to meet Catherine. Hence, Brad heads to the right direction to finding his true self. Through all the insane events that identified one’s shadow, polarization, and persona, Albert, Tom, and Brad dashes through to their true selves. Although Brad had hard time finding the starting line, Albert comes to help by burning off Brad’s mask that was blinding him. ‘Life is like a long marathon, you can’t stop, but to keep going. ’

Life Stages and Financial Products Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Life Stages and Financial Products - Essay Example Most individuals assume that they have a lot of time on their hands and this could prevent them from building a strong portfolio. Failure to start early at this phase could deny one the opportunity of enjoying interests that accrue from time. Additionally, starters may struggle with minimal income, so this could be a challenge. Student debt may also trouble persons in this category as they attempt to cover their living expenses in the process (Koh, 2012). Young people often want to have fun and enjoy the benefit of not being tied down by responsibilities. They may be focusing on climbing the career ladder and getting to know what they really stand for. Perhaps the biggest challenge for young professionals is that they lack information on how to invest. They may be boggled by a plethora of information available on financial security. Some may purchase cars at this stage or do so later. Starting a young family is the next phase. Usually, one will get married and start having children. It may begin in the late twenties or early thirties. At this stage of life, people will need to think of relocating to a bigger house that will accommodate more people. Additionally, concerns about merging two people’s financial lives together may arise. Matters to do with health and education for the young children also need to be addressed. It is often necessary to plan for a rainy day as several dependants are in the picture (This is Money, 2013). Expenses at this time will often rise as children and family members can be quite expensive.

Cognitive Strategy Instruction as it relates to teaching math to Research Paper

Cognitive Strategy Instruction as it relates to teaching math to adolescents, specifically those with mild learning disabilities - Research Paper Example In addition, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics of 2000 backs offering all the youths equal access to the concepts of mathematics (Montague & Jitendra, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the cognitive strategy instruction as it relates to teaching math to adolescent students with mild learning disabilities. Students with mild learning disabilities generally often have difficulties in achieving the standards of academic content and excelling in the assessments. Particularly, students with mild learning disabilities usually have difficulties with algebraic reasoning, mathematics basic skills, and problem solving skills. Majority of these students struggle with the means of approaching mathematics problems, carrying out selected plans, and making effective decisions. An effective approach to aid adolescent students with mild learning disabilities in accessing challenging concepts of mathematics is to offer strategy instruction (Montague & Jitendra, 2009). This p aper therefore defines cognitive strategy instructions, identifies significant features of effective cognitive strategies, and identifies key contents necessary for instructing adolescent students with mild learning disabilities in the use of the cognitive strategy.... of the required actions and consists of essential rules and guidelines that are related to making effective decisions during the process of solving problems. Some of the features of cognitive strategy instruction that make such strategies effective for adolescent students with mild learning disabilities include: devices of memory that help the students master the strategy; steps of the strategy using common words and are stated concisely and simply beginning with action verbs in order to enhance involvement and participation of students; steps of strategy are appropriately sequenced and lead to the intended outcome; steps of the strategy using prompts in order to get students apply their cognitive abilities; and metacognitive strategies using prompts in order to monitor performance of problem solving (Ruya, 2009). There are various such cognitive strategy instructions such as evidence based practice and STAR as will be explained in this paper. These cognitive strategy instructions ar e instructional methods that have been applied in multiple tasks in the academics, and have previously provided a way for educators to facilitate student independence competence across secondary, elementary and post secondary settings. Cognitive strategy instruction entails a strong base of evidence and employs systematic and explicit procedures of instructions that have extensively been validated and can be used flexibly. Cognitive strategy instruction as an instructional approach emphasizes the development of processes and skills of thinking as a way to promote learning. For example, the evidence based practice strategy enables students with mild learning disabilities to learn spelling words initially unknown to them and allow them to use techniques of self correction. Cognitive strategy

Descriptive a Restaurant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Descriptive a Restaurant - Essay Example The crowd there was not talking loudly nor were they misbehaving in any sense. A slow music could be heard in the restaurant which added up to the beauty of the atmosphere. The restaurant used different types of pieces for decorating the structure which attracts the consumers. Paintings were seen to be hanging on the wall along with different graffiti on the walls. The lights in the restaurant were adjusted to a dim beam because of which the atmosphere seemed calmer. Altogether it can be said that the atmosphere of the restaurant added up to the beauty of the restaurant and made it worth visiting. The food is the most important thing that matters to the consumers entering the restaurant. A restaurant should ensure that they have a variety of food items which would attract the consumers. After entering this specific restaurant I ordered the recommendation of the chef and found it be very delicious. The variety of food in the restaurant ranged from Indian food to Chinese food which was very amazing for a person like me. As soon as I ordered my food I could smell the starters from a long way and as they served the starters I realized that they were as delicious as the smell was earlier. I ordered an Indian dish and found it to be very delicious.