View of Pornography From Three Categories of the Feminist - 3300 Words

View of Pornography From the Three Categories of the Feminist (Essay Sample) Content: Feminist View of PornographyNameInstitutional AffiliationInstructorDate of submissionIn this paper we will assess the view of pornography from the three categories of the feminist, the three group are; anti-pornography, liberal, and pro sex feminist. The anti-pornography feminist theories argues that, pornography promote violence against women. According to Mackinnon (1989) pornography is a form of rape, an action of sexual politics and a way of enhancing gender inequality. She further state that pornographic materials present women as sexual objects that enjoy pain and experience pleasure in being raped. Pro sex feminist argue that censoring pornography is against the freedom of expression. Pro sex feminist claim that anti-pornography feminist advocate of censorship of expression by referring to it as pornography. Will censoring pornography undermine instead of promoting the right of women? To answer the question above, in this paper we will assess the use of pornogr aphy using feminist theories.Feminist view of pornography indicate the significant of sexuality to the feminism and also the prostitution. The view of the pornography has an issue that has threatened to them into two group, especially among feminists in western countries. Some even made public that they wonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬t share stage with pro pornography feminists. The height of the division was in the year 1980s, during the Feminist Sex Wars. The war pitted anti-pornography feminism against sex-positive feminism.There are three common feminist view on the pornography. The most common view particularly in academic is that pornography is a male culture that humiliate, defile and exploit women. A second view on the pornography, is the liberal position, that incorporate the freedom for expression and uses the right as a defense of pornography without strictly defending the pornography, but stating that everyone has the right to consume or produce words and images. A third feminist view of the pornography, publicly defend the pornography and have been labeled as the pro-sex feminist and who argue that porn is beneficial to benefits women. Several difference have been raised between the three positions.Anti-pornography feminists claim that the feminist with who disagree with their view are either brainwashed dupes of patriarchy or as advocators for pornographers. Jeffreys (1990) states that feminists who believe women like men choose whether to participate in porn or not are liars and should stop spreading those lies to the general public. Jeffreys (1990) claim that are forced to participate in making pornography that it is not on free will but they have no choice. Illegal immigrant regardless of being male or female are at risk of being forced participate in pornography work. Anti-pornography feminist states that their pro-sex counterpart are enjoying women subordination and dominance.The anti-pornography feminist also claim that, the liberal feminists are only silen t about the issue of porn due to intimidation. Intimidation comes from the current sex-workers and also the stakeholders in the porn industry. In a situation where anti-pornography feminist differ with pro-porn feminist to the extent of refusing to share stage, notably the Catharine MacKinnon. Instead of responding with a compiled argument, pro-porn feminist respond with anger. Pornography industry is where they get money to pay their bill, thus censuring the industry will render them jobless, with no means to pay bills.Page Mellish in her work Feminists Fighting Pornography states that all feminist issues are rooted in the pornography problems. (MacKinnon, ) refute the claim that some porn work incorporate words and images that are protected by the First Amendment. As per the MacKinnon as an act of sexual violence. Porn is viewed as both the main issue of the 21 century feminism and an inherent act of violence in fundamental feminist ideology, which Christina Hoff Sommers term as t he gender feminism. Gender feminism concentrate on the history of an uninterrupted oppression of female by their male counterpart that spans cultural barriers. To anti-pornography feminist, the only viable explanation is that male and female are separate species, which are fighting each other. Men interests are articulated through and maintained by a capitalistic structure termed as patriarchy. The cause of the antagonism is so deep that it lies in manly biology itself. (Brownmiller) traces the origin of rape back to the Neanderthal times when men started use their penises as weapons. From the time in memorial rape has been used to intimidate women by men and keep them in fear. Anti-porn feminist also reject the claim that sex in a natural force which act against women such as motherhood. According to the feminist, men construct women's sexuality through the words and images of society, which the French philosopher Foucault referred to as the texts of society. After the c onstruction of such women sexuality, men commercialize it and market it back in the form of porn. In other words, through pornography man describes woman sexually. Which in turn defines every aspect of women role in society. Anti-pornography feminist believe that, to end the oppression, patriarchy and its texts must be smashed. Liberal feminism is a similar to the 1960s feminism that advocated for equality with their male counterpart, who were not characteristic oppressors so much as recalcitrant partners to be rational. The call for equality between the two genders did not mean destroying the existing system, but revolutionizing it, for instance employing measures such as the affirmative action. The liberal principle is a woman's body, a woman's right underlay influences ranging from the rights to abort and also the lifestyle freedoms like lesbianism.The choosing of the content was given more action than the content. Liberal feminists share the idea of free dom of expression including in the use of pornographic materials. An example of these organization is the Feminists for Free Expression (FFE) which have consistently being against the censorship of the pornography. For instance, the liberal feminists with the likes of Sallie Tisdale have steadfastly defended the freedom for sexuality. Most of the liberal feminists are appalled by Playboy and argues that is not pro-pornography. A number of reason why porn should be censored are: amazing works of art and literature would be forbidden; the act would also breach the First Amendment; the freedom of expression would be repressed; and that freedom of speech enhances creativity. A number of liberal feminists, have compromised their ideologies in the favor of anti-pornography position, and even seem to be willing to sacrifice free speech if that means women. For example, they also condemn the free market for commercializing women as body parts, which demeans women. In (Scambler Jennings, 1998), an essay defending pornography, which sometimes seems to be an attack, Lisa Steel comments: Chauvinist representation of women, is all part of the same industry that, in the search of profits, reduces the community to consumer groups. And marketing conservative the same way the military is in every aspect. What we gain is less to what we loss so that a number of individual can a right to produce porn and make money. Such muddled and ambivalent defenses often offend the sex workers they are intended to protect.In the recent period, the number of the Pro-sex feminism has been increasing. The pro-sex feminist labeled as the pro-sex have defended the right of a woman to take part in and to consume porn. Some of these women, such as Nina Hartley, are current or ex-sex-workers who know firsthand that posing for pornography is an uncovered choice that can be enriching. Pro-sex feminists have a common principle that is, a woman's body, a womanà ¢Ã¢â €š ¬s right and stress that woman choice with her body must be protected if not respected. Pro-sex feminist arguments in some cases seem to overlap with ideas of the liberal feminist ones. For instance, the two express concern over who will play the role of the censor because of the subjective words, such as degrading, which can be interpreted to mean whatever the censor intended.The statute that banned Margaret Sanger because she used the words syphilis and gonorrhea is no different, in principle, than the one that interprets obscenity today. There is no protection even for the typical type of the feminist, for example our bodies which providing a cohort of women with the first clear view of their own biology. Unavoidably, ban will be used to act against the least popular views on porn which, are the weakest members of the community which include feminists and lesbians. When the Canadian Supreme Court decided in 1992 to protect women by restricting the importation of pornography, one of the first victims was the lesbian/gay Glad Day Bookstore, which had been on a police hit list. Among the books seized by Canadian customs were two books by Andrea Dworkin, Pornography: Men Possessing Women and Women hating. Such an event should not have surprised Dworkin who declared in Lurie (1980), that the feminist in todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬s world cannot rely on the legal system that is made and implemented by men who they refer to as sadist. On the dangers of banning the production of porn, pro-sex and liberal feminists in most cases do a agree.The anti-pornography feminist argue that porn demean women. Degrading is a subjective term. Each and every person has the freedom to determine what they consider to be demeaning or not. The assumption that anti-pornographic feminist make is that pornography convert women into sex objects. Interpreting the statement in layman language, the statement does not make bec...

Hubris in The Duchess of Malfi - Literature Essay Samples

In John Webster’s tragic play The Duchess of Malfi, the titular character is undoubtedly subjected to great degrees of suffering, both physical and mental. However, it is less clear whether or not she can be viewed simply as an innocent victim. While it can indeed be argued that the Duchess provides an example of good people being made to suffer by the evil of in imperfect world, she can also be contrarily viewed as unwittingly contributing to her own downfall in fitting with the Aristotelian ideas of tragedy. To view the Duchess as a character who destroys herself can be to view her as a generally moral person who falls prey to her own hamartia, be it an error in judgement or rashness. Alternatively, it can be to view her as a character that brings about her downfall through moral discrepancies such as lust, selfishness or excessive pride or hubris. This latter portrait is one of a character who is deserving of her fate, as her suffering comes to be seen as a punishment rathe r than an instance of unjust persecution. It is tempting to argue that the duchess herself is the culprit of her own downfall, due to her poor choices and actions. David Mann clearly lays the blame on the Duchess’s shoulders as he suggests that â€Å"unlike other heroines who are passive victims of men’s cruelty or misapprehensions the Duchess creates her own tragedy by her actions, quite wittingly, preferring to live her sexual life to the full and, knowing what they are, to risk the consequences†[1]. In this sense, it can be deducted that lust is the Duchess’s tragic flaw or hamartia, and her inability to resist its temptation paves the way to her ultimate destruction. Indeed, it is her secret affair and marriage with Antonio which leads directly to her decidedly tragic death and suffering as it serves to provoke the wrath of Ferdinand and the Cardinal. She disobeys her brothers’ wishes for her to remain a chaste widow, for which they inflict torture and murder on her in return. Of course , along with the notion that the Duchess causes her own suffering, may too come the idea of her deserving it for being, in Ferdinand’s words, a â€Å"whore†[2] who embodies corruption and indecency. Indeed, her language to Antonio is often sexually suggestive, for example when she tells him she â€Å"is flesh and blood†¦not the figure cut in alabaster†¦Kneels at [her] husband’s tomb† (14). Here the imagery of her flesh delineates her seductive nature as she offers her body to a second husband in direct defiance of her brothers. Philip Stevick supports this view as he argues that â€Å"Here we have a protagonist whose character is essentially unsympathetic, in that [their] goals and purposes are repugnant†[3]. This statement highlights the arguable obscenity of the Duchess’s desires and the way in which her suffering could be rendered well deserved. It can also be seen that, along with her sinful acts of lust, the Duchess also suffe rs from a degree of hubris in the form of pride. Indeed, she holds the conviction that she should be able to choose her own partner, and refuses to bow to her brothers’ wishes. She defies social norms by proposing to Antonio, suggesting that her pride renders her unwilling to exist as her brothers’ claim to a royal bloodline, and she deems herself worthy and capable of taking on the masculine role in her courtship of Antonio. It can be argued that the Duchess’s power leads her to develop an inflated sense of self, believing herself to be exempt from the expectations placed on her both as a female and as a ruler. This assumption can be seen as her error in judgement, and her excessive pride as her fatal flaw. It can be argued that the Duchess is also guilty of discarding her public duties in favour of a sexually driven marriage with the social inferior she has fallen in love with. She makes her priorities clear just before she proposes to Antonio, as she tells him that she is â€Å"making [her] will as tis fit princes should† (12). This statement can be interpreted as the Duchess suggesting that the personal endeavour of courting and marrying Antonio is her true duty rather than her political duties and public obligations. From this view the Duchess is guilty too of possessing a weakness of character, as she seems to lack the necessary willpower to put the importance of leadership in front of her own personal desires. The Duchess, as the leader of a nation, can be viewed as having two separate sides. There is her physical body and personal life, and then there is her political side or body politic. By focussing her primary goals and attentions on Antonio, the Duchess shows herself to be far more concerned with the needs of her private physical body than the duties of her body politic. It is notable that the complete loss of control and power at the hands of her brothers’ can be seen as a fitting punishment for her abuse and neglect of political power. She does not respect her position of power and so it is taken from her, along with the power to protect those she loves. The loss of her husband and her children can all be seen as consequences of her selfishness and disregard for her duties. She seduces Antonio into living a provocative secret life with her, and one which ultimately gets him murdered. Meanwhile, her children actually stand as a physical product of the sexual actions which arguably render the Duchess guilty of irresponsibility and selfishness. It can be deemed that the Duchess’s children are born at the expense of her nation, as she is more preoccupied with her motherly responsibility for her children than her public responsibility for her people. The nature of the Duchess’s relationship with Antonio has in itself two conflicting sides, much like the Duchess and her priorities. Antonio is not only the object of her lust and later her husband, he also holds a political position in her court as her steward. Politically and socially he stands as her inferior, but the Duchess knowingly breaks custom and public expectation by raising him up to be her marital equal. On this note, the act of marrying beneath herself can also be seen as the primary driving force of her brothers’ wrath, and therefore the root cause of the Duchess’ tragic fate. This idea is supported by the conversation between the Duchess, Ferdinand and the Cardinal during which the Cardinal warns her that remarriage to someone who is not a noble like her first husband would â€Å"sway [her] high blood† (9). From this comment it is evident that the two brothers have personally concerned themselves with protecting their sist er’s royal blood by way of making sure it remains untainted by remarriage to a suitor of a lesser social class. Theodora A. Jankowski supports this standpoint by stating that â€Å"the very nature of her marriage is so revolutionary and challenges social custom to such a degree that the Duchess must be punished for her audacity in creating it†[4]. Indeed, the Duchess not only breaks custom by marrying beneath herself, particularly as she is a figure of political power, but also by taking on what would have been perceived as the ‘male’ role in the relationship in a Jacobean context. From another viewpoint, the Duchess is still to blame for her own downfall, not just because of her lustful nature or disloyalty to her duties but because of her decision to juggle both situations at once. From this standpoint her true error is rashness, as she carries out a secret marriage, becomes a mother to children, and tries to keep her position as Duchess without thinking of the possible consequences of this collision of priorities. In contrast to the idea of her choosing lust over duty, it seems that she actually chooses both lust and leadership. It can be seen that it is this impossible attempt at maintaining two journeys down conflicting paths which causes her life to unravel into what Stevick refers to as â€Å"Well deserved misfortune†[5]. From this standpoint, the path of duty is only feasible in a situation where the Duchess either remains a widow, or remarries to someone fitting of her own social standing. On the contrary, the Duchess instead marries Antonio for love and attraction as oppose to social responsibility and duty. Along with this ill-advised attempt at a double life, the duchess can also be seen to be guilty of a severe error of judgement in regards to her brothers’ capabilities for evil. As Marliss C. Desens argues â€Å"she initially underestimates the lengths to which her male relatives will go when they perceive her as slipping out of their control†[6]. Indeed, while she is aware that her brothers will disapprove, she tells Antonio that if they were to find out â€Å"time will easily/ Scatter the tempest† (14). She acknowledges that marrying beneath her may provoke her brothers’ anger, but does not realise that their need to control her goes a lot deeper than simply choosing her husband for her. The very fact that the Duchess possesses the power to rule can be seen as enough in itself to taint her moral image and colour her as the cause of her own well deserved downfall in the context of a Jacobean society. Therefore, although choosing love over duty is sometimes seen as her fatal mistake, dedication to the throne may have been just as catastrophic. Lisa Hopkins supports this reasoning by stating that, in Renaissance England, â€Å"Female government is by its very nature seen as inherently monstrous, as indeed is suggested by Knox when he compares female government to a monstrous body politic with no proper head†[7]. Indeed, Knox’s rejection of female rule predates Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi by about three decades, and it epitomizes the aversion to the placement of women in positions of authority which remained to some extent throughout the early modern period. The reference to the body politic metaphor which compares a nation and its people to a liv ing body, together with the assertion that a government or ‘body’ under female rule is inherently deformed and monstrous, certainly suggests that the Duchess’s leadership is a destructive and corrupting plague upon herself, her country and her people. The portrait painted by Knox holds further implications for the character of the Duchess as he describes the female lead body politic as being without a head. This suggests that, like all female rulers, the Duchess is intellectually and inherently incapable of success, rendering her failure not only self-imposed but also ultimately inevitable based purely on her gender. Hopkins outlines this view of women as being incapable of achieving anything substantial as she notes that â€Å"What the Duchess does would not be wrong if she were a private person; the implication is, therefore, that if a woman is put in a position of public responsibility, she must either violate her own nature or transgress against her dutiesâ € [8]. Indeed, the romance between the Duchess and Antonio is arguably immoral largely because of the Duchess’s responsibility to protect the royal bloodline with which she rules over the nation. Her marriage and sexual relations with Antonio not only violate this bloodline, but also distract her from her obligation to dedicate herself to her country and her people. Moreover, Knox summarised his reasoning behind his denunciation of female rulers using Biblical references of God’s creation of Adam and Eve. For example, in his sixteenth century book The History of the Reformation of Scotland Knox wrote â€Å"First, I say, the woman in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man, not to rule and command him†[9]. The religious connotations of women being â€Å"made† to be subservient hold implications for the morality of the Duchess, the implication being that in renouncing her God given position in favour of ruling, she deserves her suffering a s a form of divine punishment or justice. Therefore, from a purely Christian basis the Duchess surely does bring misfortune on herself through her actions and their respective consequences, but these consequences come as a punishment from God himself as oppose to simply being the logical outcome of cause and effect. However, the apparent impression of the Duchess being to blame for her own downfall is likely to be more a product of the play and the playwright’s original time period, as opposed to being due to any true fault on the part of the character. The portrayal of a powerful woman who makes her own choices and resists the restraints of Jacobean patriarchy would have been deemed controversial and provocative within its original seventeenth century context. Mann emphasizes this point as he states that â€Å"It is a unique portrait well in advance of its time, and one, arguably, that transcends the restrictive polarization of women to which even Shakespeare very largely subscribed†[10]. It can be argued that it is this diversion from gender role norms which once made the Duchess appear as a kind of abomination, destroying herself by rejecting her expected submissive nature. In other words, the suffering of the Duchess appears to be self-inflicted or well-deserved only when place d against the backdrop of a Jacobean society and its oppressively rigid expectations of both real and fictional females. It is not only the audience’s perception of the Duchess which would have been influenced by this society but also Webster’s portrayal and treatment of the character and her actions. This treatment, unlike an outdated audience perception, endures even in contemporary society as it comes through in language and tone. As Emma Smith argues, the play â€Å"certainly does not perpetuate the moralising [of the Duchess being a whore who deserved her suffering], but nor does it completely recast the play’s central couple as heroic†[11]. However, whilst the character of the Duchess is, to some extent, coloured negatively due to her being an autonomous and powerful female character who is a product of a male orientated time period, there is also a contrasting sense of her as being a sympathetic character. Leah S. Marcus disputes the idea of sevent eenth century audiences seeing the Duchess as an immoral and self-destroying character as she argues that â€Å"Despite – or because of – her clandestine marriage and its aftermath, the Duchess of Malfi aroused a sympathetic response among many Londoners even decades after the work in which she appears was written and first performed†[12]. Smith gives an example of a scene which outlines the play’s more positive impressions of the Duchess and her morality as she states that â€Å"The death of Cariola, begging for mercy, seems designed to emphasize the Duchess’s self-possession and grace†[13]. Indeed, when juxtaposed against the pitiful begging of her handmaiden who rants that she is â€Å"not prepar’d for it† and that she â€Å"will not die†¦must not† (66), the Duchess’s dignified acceptance of her own death reinforces her as both a sympathetic character and as an admirable one. Smith acknowledges the dual im pression of the Duchess in terms of morality and of her choices and actions as she argues that â€Å"The play’s inconsistent attitudes towards the Duchess may suggest its own struggle with what she represents, and the impossibility of reconciling her aspiration to self-governance with the patriarchal world in which she, and her Jacobean audience, largely live†[14]. Certainly, although the integrity of her actions is often questionable, it must be taken into consideration that these moral misgivings may well be necessary for her to free herself from the oppression of the males in her life. In spite of the arguments portraying the Duchess as a character who falls prey to her own hubris, the more convincing view concerning the cause of her suffering is that it is not her fault. Overall she comes across simply as an innocent victim of external evils. The most poignant of these evils is the human cruelty or her brothers, who directly destroy most everything the Duchess holds dear to her, before ultimately ending her life. In the case of Ferdinand, the ‘punishment’ he inflicts on his sister has little to do with what she has or hasn’t done, and has everything to do with Ferdinand’s own flawed and deeply warped nature. Martin White argues that â€Å"Ferdinand’s desire for his sister borders on the incestuous, though his feelings are in no way returned by the Duchess†[15]. Indeed, many critics interpret Ferdinand’s obsession with his sister’s destruction as being driven not by social class concerns or anger over his siste r’s disloyalty, but rather by an unrequited sexual attraction to her. Indeed, on more than one occasion he uses his dagger as a tool of intimidation against his sister. This dagger can be viewed as a phallic symbol, and the way in which he uses it to threaten her as holding sexual undertones. The threat of penetrating her flesh with a phallic object is quite possibly a metaphor for his true threat of a rape motivated by his need to sexually possess her. From this view, the Duchess is completely blameless in her downfall, as her only contributing traits or acts are those which she cannot help, namely being a woman and being attractive. She is ultimately forced to endure untold suffering simply because of Ferdinand’s bitterness and jealousy towards her marriage to another man, together with his hope that destroying her will destroy the perverse and forbidden feelings of lust which he may or may not be fully aware of himself. The emergence of Ferdinand’s delusion o f lycanthropy supports this notion of incestuous undertones in his character, as his ‘transformation’ occurs shortly after his sister is murdered. Having dominated her physical body by ending her life, the ‘beast’ which emerges can be seen as being symbolic of a forbidden sexual desire towards his sister which is finally released by her death. Even if this incestuous view of Ferdinand’s intentions is to be rejected, and he and the Cardinal are indeed concerned with their sister’s social class and purity of their bloodline, it remains unfair that the Duchess is forced to suffer for their fixations. Of a wider significance, the innocent Duchess is a victim not only of her brothers, but of patriarchy in general. She has come to be in a most unique position for a woman of the seventeenth century, in that she is both largely autonomous as a widow and in control of her deceased husband’s court. It is this autonomy and power which ultimately renders her as a target in a largely patriarchal society. Her brother’s symbolise the crushing oppression of patriarchy on women and their desire for freedom, as supported by Dr Sarah E Johnson who argues that Webster’s play â€Å"shows men obsessively trying to control a woman’s body, and a woman attempting to recover the body, at least to some extent, from the damage of this control†[16]. The brothers seek to control her physical body, first by denying her bodily pleasures by ordering her to remain chaste, and later by denying her physical life by quite literally strangling the life from her. Indeed, as the Du chess’s title offers her some political authority over her brothers, Ferdinand and the Cardinal use violence as a means of rebalancing their family dynamic to once again fit the model of patriarchy, with the female sibling being crushed by the domineering weight of the male siblings. The aforementioned phallic symbol of Ferdinand’s dagger not only holds undertones of incestuous desire but also of the mechanics of patriarchy. This is evident as Ferdinand tells the Duchess that it was â€Å"[their] father’s poniard† (10), and is therefore a symbol of patriarchy which has been passed down from father to son. This can be seen to demonstrate, through this use of symbolism, the way in which the control of females in the seventeenth century was passed down from their fathers to either their husbands or to their brothers. Despite her tendency to reject tradition, the Duchess does not completely separate herself from these patriarchal restrictions, as she makes ev ery effort to keep her marriage a secret from her brothers. In this way, she realises her restrictions as a woman and attempts to work around them without submitting to them. This is an important point in light of the view that the Duchess could be at fault for keeping her marriage a secret, as she would not have been forced to do so if not for the oppression of patriarchy. Of course, while the oppressive force of patriarchy and the wrath of her brothers can be viewed as the primary causes of the Duchess’s suffering, there is also the idea that human cruelty and societal oppression are just two harsh aspects of a deeply flawed and imperfect world. The character of Bosola, although a villain himself, subscribes to the belief that living in the world and, more specifically, human society is an unpleasant experience. He describes life itself as a â€Å"general mist of error† (65), suggesting that humanity is the result of a random accident and therefore rejecting the Christian idea of Divine creation. He goes on to imply that we are born for no reason other than to suffer and die, which is evident as he juxtaposes the image of death as â€Å"a hideous storm of terror† (65) against the calm yet depressingly bleak imagery of the meaningless mist of life. This is indeed largely reminiscent of the Duchess’s experience of life during the novel. After she presumably finds freedom from her husband with his death, she still lives under the oppressive ‘mist’ of the evils of a society obsessed with social standing and self-interest. These warped values are ones which can still be deemed relevant even in contemporary society. From this view, the Duchess does not bring the suffering on herself, but is rather inevitably doomed to suffer along with the rest of humanity. Alternatively, it can be argued that her suffering is not inevitable in general, but inevitable because of her innocence and kindness. Rather than being rewarded for this, she is tortured and murdered, demonstrating the way in which those with positive virtues and characteristics are destroyed by those who are corrupt and evil. Northrop Frye adheres to this idea that the Duchess is a light of goodness amidst the darkness of cruelty as he states that â€Å"the Duchess has the innocence of abundant life in a sick and melancholy society† [17]. Indeed, she values the modest ideals of love and motherhood over the deplorable ideals of power and controlling others and ultimately she is destroyed because of this. Therefore, it is not the Duchess herself who brings on her catastrophe but rather the unjust triumph of evil over good and corruption over innocence which prevails in an imperfect world. In conclusion, the view that the Duchess is a character who causes her own suffering through her hubris or hamartia is ultimately unconvincing and weak. The implication of such a view is that it is essentially a form of victim blaming, looking to justify the actions of the Duchess’ sadistic brothers rather than to highlight them as the clear villains. While she as a character is not perfect, as she irresponsibly lives two separate lives and tends to fall prey to human weaknesses such as desire and love, she is still not to blame for her own downfall as any hubris she may be deemed guilty of greatly pales in comparison to the cruelty of the characters she is surrounded by, together with the degree of her suffering. Instead, she is persecuted because of her brothers’ patriarchy fuelled desires for control and their obsession with the purity of their family bloodline. The play paints a perfect portrait of how the innocent are not spared the cruelty of an imperfect world, a nd in actual fact suffer more for their innocence as they become victims of, and used as pawns by, others who are crueller and more corrupt than themselves. Bibliography DESENS, Marliss C. â€Å"Marrying Down: Negotiating a More Equal Marriage on the English Renaissance Stage†. In Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England, edited by John Pitcher, 227-258. Mississauga: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2001. FRYE, Northrop. â€Å"The Mythos of Autumn: Tragedy†. In The Questions of Tragedy, edited by Arthur B. Coffin, 167-210. New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1991. HOPKINS, Lisa. Writing Renaissance Queens: Texts by and about Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. Cranberry: University of Delaware Press, 2002. JANKOWSKI, Theodora A. Women in Power in the Early Modern Drama. Champaigne: University of Illinois Press, 1992. JOHNSON, Dr Sarah E. Staging Women and the Soul-Body Dynamic in Early Modern England. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2014. KNOX, John. The history of the reformation of religion in Scotland. Glasgow: Blackie, Fullarton, and co., 1831. Accessed February 21, 2015. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=z_8QAAAAIAAJ. MANN, David. Shakespeare’s Women: Performance and Conception. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. MARCUS, Leah S. â€Å"The Duchess’s Marriage in Contemporary Contexts†. In The Duchess of Malfi: A critical guide, edited by Christina Luckyj, 106-118. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011. SMITH, Emma. Introduction to Women on the Early Modern Stage: A Woman Killed with Kindness, The Tamer Tamed, The Duchess of Malfi, The Witch of Edmonton, edited by Emma Smith, vii-xix. London: AC Black, 2014. STEVICK, Phillip. Theory of the Novel. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. WEBSTER, John. The Duchess of Malfi. New York: Courier Corporation, [1614] 2012. Kindle Edition. WHITE, Martin. Ford: ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. [1] David Mann, Shakespeare’s Women: Performance and Conception (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 185. [2] John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi (New York: Courier Corporation, 2012), 31. Subsequent references in parenthesis are to this edition. [3] Philip Stevick, Theory of the Novel (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967), 159. [4] Theodora A. Jankowski, Women in Power in the Early Modern Drama, (Champaigne: University of Illinois Press, 1992), 179. [5] Stevick, Theory of the Novel, 159. [6] Marliss C. Desens, â€Å"Marrying Down: Negotiating a More Equal Marriage on the English Renaissance Stage†, in Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England, ed. John Pitcher (Mississauga: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2001), 240. [7] Lisa Hopkins, Writing Renaissance Queens: Texts by and about Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots (Cranberry: University of Delaware Press, 2002), 41. [8] Hopkins, Writing Renaissance Queens, 40. [9] John Knox, The history of the reformati on of religion in Scotland (Glasgow: Blackie, Fullarton, and co., 1831), 445, accessed February 21, 2015, https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=z_8QAAAAIAAJ. [10] Mann, Shakespeare’s Women, 185. [11] Smith, introduction, xv. [12] Leah S. Marcus, â€Å"The Duchess’s Marriage in Contemporary Contexts†, in The Duchess of Malfi: A critical guide, ed. Christina Luckyj (London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011), 116. [13]Emma Smith, introduction to Women on the Early Modern Stage: A Woman Killed with Kindness, The Tamer Tamed, The Duchess of Malfi, The Witch of Edmonton, ed. Emma Smith (London: AC Black, 2014), xv. [14] Smith, introduction, xv. [15] Martin White, Ford: ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 93. [16] Dr Sarah E Johnson, Staging Women and the Soul-Body Dynamic in Early Modern England (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2014), 129. [17] Northrop Frye, â€Å"The Mythos of Autumn: Tragedy†, in The Questions of Tragedy, ed . Arthur B. Coffin (New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 1991), 182.

Effect Of Stress On School - 2189 Words

Effect of Stress in School Genesee Community College Gillian D. Flint Abstract This paper offers insight to how the education system places an abundant amount of pressure for teenagers to perform in all the different aspects of their lives. These areas include: academics, athletics, and social lives. This pressure creates an enormous amount of stress to the students. Stress is one of the leading causes of anorexia. Anorexia is when one restrains themselves from consuming food and can also be demonstrated by over-exercising. The huge amount of pressure and stress forced upon one in school is not the cause of anorexia, however it certainly triggers it. Introduction It is no secret that the pressure to perform in school has dramatically increased. The expectations of teenagers have inclined and their worlds are more competitive than ever. Almost every aspect of their lives is a competition whether it is academics, social lives, or athletics. These three things are all a major parts of their high school and college experience. All of them contribute to the added stress students face. The pressure can become so great that the teenagers result to self-harm in the form of starving themselves. This is call anorexia nervosa. My thesis is that the pressure of school could trigger anorexia. Discussion The stress of trying to achieve academically may be the biggest culprit in leading to anorexia. All the pressure of getting the high grades mixedShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Stress On High School Students1277 Words   |  6 PagesCauses and Effects of Stress on High School Students According to Patino (Hoffman 1) stress is one of those things that all people at some time in their life will experience. Many events can cause stress in high school teenagers. Relationships with family and friends, psychological and physical factors, schoolwork and tests, search for job just to name a few. High school students experience stress because their bodies are undergoing Physical and psychological changes they experience in their adolescentRead MoreEffects Of Teacher Stress On Middle School Students Behavior And Performance Essay1284 Words   |  6 PagesThe effects of teacher stress on middle school students behavior and performance. Teaching is a highly stressful occupation, particularly in a middle school environment. Middle school is a difficult level to teach. For students it is a time of adolescents and many changes occur developmentally and socially. The stress level of teachers affects their effectiveness in instruction, teacher student interaction, and classroom management. The articles that will be discussed in this research paper willRead MoreThe Effects Of Homework On Teens Sleep Schedules, Stress Levels, And After School Opportunities1632 Words   |  7 Pagesfor not doing their work. 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The system that was originally created to enhance the lives of students and better society now causes much detriment. Although public education claims to be the â€Å"great equalizer† there are many problems ignored by school reform policies that hinder the learning of children. IncomeRead MoreEffect of Stress on Students1086 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿The Stress Epidemic Stress can destroy a human physically, emotionally, and mentally. The average high school student in this generation shows to have higher stress and anxiety levels, along with increased medical problems from this stress, than ever before. Many factors can contribute to this stress and the negative effects it can take on one’s body and mind. With students and their undeveloped minds, stress takes a larger toll on their current and future health. But what exactlyRead MoreTeen Stress Effects1119 Words   |  5 PagesMany people experience stress daily, and the types of stress experienced can vary based on age. Teenage students can experience a lot of stress when it comes to school, work, and coming of age. With schools providing more opportunities to take advanced classes, students have an increase in the amount of stress and pressure placed on them. Students begin to show negative symptoms such as depression, anxiety and mood swings. Stress has many effects on teen agers including their physical, emotional andRead MoreCause And Effects Of Stress1349 Words   |  6 Pages Causes and Effects of Stress According to HeartMath LLC,â€Å"Stress is the basic cause of 60% of all human illness and disease†. Stress is a huge problem in the world today and effects many people. Everyone has different stress triggers. For example, work, school, and children are all parts of life that many people struggle with and cause them to go into overload. Stress take a toll on many people s bodies and can cause serious problems like high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and heart diseaseRead MoreHow Stress Affects Individuals Of All Ages, Genders, And Cultures1422 Words   |  6 PagesStress affects individuals of all ages, genders, and cultures. Either good or bad it effects daily life and can cause turmoil if not dealt with in a healthy manner. Take for example Josh Jones (client name has been changed to protect their confidentiality) a Caucasian adolescent male living in a rural Oregon school district. At age eleven he has just transitioned from elementary school to middle school and is a djusting to a larger pool of classmates and adapting to higher expectations set by his

Why Men Are Typically Taller Than Women

While studying genetic factors behind different traits in men and women, University of Helsinki researchers have identified a genetic variant on the X sex chromosome that accounts for height differences between the sexes. Sex cells, produced by male and female gonads, contain either an X or a Y chromosome. The fact that females have two X chromosomes and males only have one X chromosome must be taken into account when attributing the difference in traits to variants on the X chromosome. According to the studys head researcher, Professor Samuli Ripatti, The double dose of X-chromosomal genes in women could cause problems during the development. To prevent this, there is a process by which one of the two copies of the X chromosome present in the cell is silenced. When we realized that the height associated variant we identified was nearby a gene that is able to escape the silencing we were particularly excited. The height variant identified influences a gene that is involved in cartilage development. Individuals that possess the height variant tend to be shorter than average. Since women have two copies of the X chromosome variant, they tend to be shorter than men.

Puritanism In My Dear Loving Husband, By Anne Dudley...

Anne Dudley Bradstreet is one of the most widely recognized North American poets. She was the first in the British colonies to have poetry published and the first puritan figure in America. Although Anne Dudley Bradstreet did not attend school, she received an excellent education from her father. She became cultured in several languages, and was said to spend many hours reading by herself. At 16 she married her childhood sweetheart Simon Bradstreet. Anne and Simon both migrated to America where they had eight children. The demanding responsibilities of raising all her children and her relationship with her husband resulted in writing that reflected the religious and emotional conflicts she experienced as a puritan women. Anne Bradstreet†¦show more content†¦In the puritan era, a husband was treated like a king and not to be taken lightly. She also spoke highly of her husband â€Å"prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, or all the riches that the East†. Purita nism is defined in the line †The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray...Then while we live, in love let’s so persevere, that when we live no more, we may live ever.† Bradstreet (page.121) She believes that while her and her husband are living on earth they should love each other as much as possible so that when they see the lord in heaven there love will be eternal. In puritan society marriage was a main component and couples needed to meet the expectation that marriage should be for life. This poem is simple yet represents a robust meaning between a puritan husband and wife. This narration shows Anne’s feeling toward her relationship as being full of love and still following puritan values and beliefs. In the poem (Before the birth of her children) Anne uses a very straightforward style in which she seems to think that perhaps she will die during labor. Women often faced the dangers of pregnancy and childbirth in the puritanism culture. A married woman in the colonial era could expect to be pregnant every two years until her death or menopause. â€Å"Women died so often during childbirth during the colonial that it was either anticipated or expected.†(http://anthropology.si.edu/writteninbone/difficult_births.html). The poem starts offShow MoreRelatedDiffering Views Of Puritanism : Bradstreet Vs. Taylor2044 Words   |  9 PagesFedor 1 Differing Views of Puritanism: Bradstreet vs. Taylor When the Puritans came to America in the 1600s, they brought many aspects of their lives with them, including their beliefs in modesty, hard work, and religious devotion. Their strong values in religion were a constant part of their everyday life and were a big feature of their society. Even though they were urged to suppress their feelings and fully devote themselves to God, some Puritans had struggles with this, and used poetry to

The Work Of Nina Simone - 1160 Words

Nina Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon, February 21, 1933 in North Carolina. The sixth of eight children, she began playing the piano at the age of three and showed extreme talent for classical music. Due to the poverty of her family, her mother worked as a maid. Nina showed her talent to her mother’s employer, who recognized her great ability and started a fund to pay for Nina’s piano lessons and early education. When she was twelve she performed a classical piano recital. Her parents had taken two front seats to proudly watch their daughter, but were forced to move to the back row in favor of the white attendants of the concert. Nina refused to play a single note until her parents regained their seats. She later cited this incident as one of the main reasons she became a Civil Rights activist. After high school, she was given a partial scholarship to Julliard School in New York City. She left Julliard, due to lack of funds, began to play jazz and blues, and made ends meet playing in night clubs. Shortly after, she took on the stage name Nina Simone. She was able to release her first album, â€Å"Little Blue Girl†, in 1958. With this album she was able to gain influential African Americans, like Langston Hughes and James Baldwin, as fans of her work. Civil Rights Songstress: Mississpi Goddam In the 1960s Nina Simone was known as the leading voice, or musician, of the Civil Rights movement. After the assassination of Civil Rights leader and activist Medgar Evers andShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Mississippi Goddam By Nina Simone And Dear Mr. President Essay1449 Words   |  6 PagesDear Mr. President The two songs I am comparing for this comparative essay are Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone and Dear Mr. President by Alecia Beth Moore, more commonly known to the public as P!nk. 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Negative Value on Represents Decrease †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Negative Value on Represents Decrease. Answer: Introduction: According to surveys, ozone layers are thickening drastically. It is due to the effect of global rise in pollution levels that has invited this devastating effect in ozone levels. Given are the data about conditions of ozone layers in different year according to an authentic survey. The data are tested and smoothened and a model has been predicted here for future forecast of ozone layers. The process and the required calculations are discussed below. Given is data set of yearly changes in the thickness of Ozone layer from 1927 to 2016 in Dobson units. Negative value on the dataset represents decrease in thickness and a positive value indicates increase in thickness. The dataset is tested for stocasticity. It is being plotted in line diagram and tested for any data trend. The line diagram is: It can be clearly seen from the graph that the dataset has a downward trend. Dataset Management is then calculated at lag 1 and plotted again in the line diagram. The second plot is given below: It can be seen from the diagram that the dataset is smooth and linear without any trend (Draper and Smith 2014). Therefore, lag 1 value can be taken for the prediction model. A single equation prediction model can be considered here. Fitted model will be: yt = + yt-1 . In testing whether the model is a good fit, the test hypothesis will be: H0 = Not a good fit vs. H1: = Good fit. Table for the fit of data values and lag 1 values is given below: Table 1: Single equation or regression fit table. SUMMARY OUTPUT Regression Statistics Multiple R 0.088801092 R Square 0.007885634 Adjusted R Square -0.003517979 Standard Error 3.505851158 Observations 89 ANOVA df SS MS F Significance F Regression 1 8.499259289 8.499259289 0.691503099 0.407930174 Residual 87 1069.316334 12.29099234 Total 88 1077.815593 Coefficients Standard Error t Stat P-value Lower 95% Upper 95% Lower 95.0% Upper 95.0% Intercept -3.284496953 0.373493063 -8.793997202 1.18626E-13 -4.026854844 -2.54214 -4.02685 -2.54214 X Variable 1 -0.046675512 0.05612961 -0.831566653 0.407930174 -0.158239188 0.064888 -0.15824 0.064888 It can be said from the table that required prediction model is yt = (-0.046)yt-1, where yt are the given data values and yt-1 are the values at lag 1. F statistic for ANOVA test is 0.691 and tabulated F at 5% level of significance is 0.407. F statistic Tabulated F. Therefore, the null hypothesis will be rejected here at 5% level of significance and the model is a good fit (Bennell and Canter 2017). Again, P-value of the intercept is 1.18626E-13 which is less than 0.05 and therefore intercept term can be rejected. P value of Variable 1 is 0.4079 and hence, variable 1 can be accepted. Conclusion: Data for different years are being calculated and smoothened and tabulated. The data shows a downward trend initially which is smoothened. A regression line is being fitted here which is a good fit for the dataset according to the test results Management. Therefore, future value of the ozone levels can be calculated through this fit. References: Bennell, C. and Canter, D.V., 2017. Linking Commercial Burglaries by Modus Operandi: Tests Using Regression and ROC Analysis?.Science and Justice. Draper, N.R. and Smith, H., 2014.Applied regression analysis(Vol. 326). John Wiley Sons.