Frankenstein and Blade Runner Essay Example

Frankenstein and Blade Runner Essay The conceptual focus of a composer principally arises from their contextual worlds, sourced from the imbedded interconnectivity of literature and society. As such, appreciations of the social, political and cultural factors influencing a composer’s compositions are critical in perceiving the ultimate purpose of any text. In spite of contextual divergences however, representations of humanity remain timelessly universal; chiefly demonstrated through the comparative study of Mary Shelleys Gothic novel Frankenstein, and Ridley Scotts 1992 sci-fi film-noir Blade Runner: The Directors Cut. Shelley’s Frankenstein, showcasing clashing ideological constructs of the Enlightenment Era and Romanticists, and Scott’s Blade Runner, appraising post-modern industrialisation and mechanisation of human life, place extensive fixations upon rampant scientific progress and humankind’s desideratum for omnipotent supremacy; resulting in a timeless delving into human identity, an d heightened understanding of both texts. By imbuing their representations of hubristic scientific exploitations with contextual disparagements, Shelley and Scott timelessly criticise rampant scientific transgression. In Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s initial â€Å"enthusiasm† in infusing â€Å"a spark of being† upon â€Å"lifeless matter† microcosmically reflects 17th century preoccupations with â€Å"electricity and galvanism† and the perpetual human obsession with â€Å"the cause of generation and life†. Victor’s psychological torture confrontingly alludes to the Promethean myth, with his Faustian exploration into â€Å"the principle of life† and desire to â€Å"banish disease from the human frame† ironically spawning a ‘diseased’ inclination to â€Å"plunge into the silent lake†. This places didactic emphasis on Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s contextual admonition of â€Å"godlike science†; â€Å"Learn from me how dan gerous is the acquirement of knowledge†. Throug We will write a custom essay sample on Frankenstein and Blade Runner specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Frankenstein and Blade Runner specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Frankenstein and Blade Runner specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Free Essays on Four Freedoms

From â€Å"The Four Freedoms,† delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, January 6, 1941 Yes, and we must prepare, all of us prepare, to make the sacrifices that the emergency almost as serious as war itself demands. Whatever stands in the way of speed and efficiency in defense, in defense preparations at any time, must give way to the national need. A free nation has the right to expect full cooperation from all groups. A free nation has the right to look to the leaders of business, of labor and of agriculture to take the lead in stimulating effort, not among other groups but within their own groups. The best way of dealing with the few slackers or trouble-makers in our midst is, first, to shame them by patriotic example, and if that fails, to use the sovereignty of government to save government. As men do not live by bread alone, they do not fight by armaments alone. Those who man our defenses and those behind them who build our defenses must have the stamina and the courage which come from unashakeable belief in the manner of life which they are defending. The mighty action that we are calling for cannot be based on a disregard of all the things worth fighting for. The nation takes great satisfaction and much strength from the things which have been done to make its people conscious of their individual stake in the preservation of democratic life in America. Those things have toughened the fiber of our people, have renewed their faith and strengthened their devotion to the institutions we make ready to protect. Certainly this is no time for any of us to stop thinking about the social and economic problems which are the root cause of the social revolution which is today a supreme factor in the world. For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy. The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are : Equality of opport... Free Essays on Four Freedoms Free Essays on Four Freedoms From â€Å"The Four Freedoms,† delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, January 6, 1941 Yes, and we must prepare, all of us prepare, to make the sacrifices that the emergency almost as serious as war itself demands. Whatever stands in the way of speed and efficiency in defense, in defense preparations at any time, must give way to the national need. A free nation has the right to expect full cooperation from all groups. A free nation has the right to look to the leaders of business, of labor and of agriculture to take the lead in stimulating effort, not among other groups but within their own groups. The best way of dealing with the few slackers or trouble-makers in our midst is, first, to shame them by patriotic example, and if that fails, to use the sovereignty of government to save government. As men do not live by bread alone, they do not fight by armaments alone. Those who man our defenses and those behind them who build our defenses must have the stamina and the courage which come from unashakeable belief in the manner of life which they are defending. The mighty action that we are calling for cannot be based on a disregard of all the things worth fighting for. The nation takes great satisfaction and much strength from the things which have been done to make its people conscious of their individual stake in the preservation of democratic life in America. Those things have toughened the fiber of our people, have renewed their faith and strengthened their devotion to the institutions we make ready to protect. Certainly this is no time for any of us to stop thinking about the social and economic problems which are the root cause of the social revolution which is today a supreme factor in the world. For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy. The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are : Equality of opport...

Characteristics of a Leader

There are certain characteristic found in some people. It is just that, they put them in a position where people looked up to as a leader. People often say ‘ He or she is a born leader’. Whether in fact a person is born a leader or develop skills and abilities to become a good leader is open for debate. There are some clear characteristics that are found in good leaders. These qualities can be developed and naturally is the part of their personality. Firstly, a good leader must have a positive attitude. This quality is a required not just for a leader but everybody. However, this is specially necessary for a leader. A leader needs to be positive and motivate his team, in times that are hard and times that are brutal. When times are tough and his team is absolutely down, when times are really frustrating, a leader is the who carries his team and his organization forward and that is what a leader needs to do look at the bright side of each and everything. Besides a good leader must be a good listener. This is because a good leader needs to listen to her followers. She needs to get feedback on a regular basis, open her eyes and ears and keep listening. Now a word of caution. Listening does not mean to blindly follow and accept everything that is said and shown. What goes hand in hand is listening. This also helps her followers to express theirs feeling or even to speak their rights. The quality which a leader should possess is intelligence and alertness. A leader has to use his brain every time and also has to remain  Ã‚   alert with   eyes and ears open otherwise he could easily be carried by any fraud or enemy. Many a times we see such situations around us, where a person in trouble or problem doesn’t hesitate in blaming and embarrassing even his closest friend to save himself, and also does not bother about his friends at all because the person has to get rid of his problems anyhow. So, he just thinks about himself and his life,   the life of other does not matter to him much. Some people have a misconception that only those people who are physically strong can become good leaders, but this is not the fact. A leader may not be physically strong but he needs to be mentally strong and firm in decisions. For example, Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation was the greatest leader but he was active and had a firm desire to serve the Nation. He had the power of organizing and uniting people and attracting people towards him by his speeches. This is the best quality of a leader which he had in him. We can also say that, a person who can satisfy the basic psychological needs of his followers can also be an effective leader. A leader must have average character . There are no perfect people, but for a leader to be considered good, they must have a character that is unquestioned within the organization. Leadership always draws criticism from someone, so a leader may not be able to get everyone to believe in him or her, but the people who know the leader best should trust the leader’s character. In a nutshell, a good leader must be faithful to his group members and activities. This in turn, will result in an atmosphere of assurance among the followers. Having faith in self abilities and the world around him , the leader gains inspiration and also inspires others in the process.

Evidence-based Practice in Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Evidence-based Practice in Healthcare - Essay Example It is now a nursing competence criterion to rely on and implement best evidence available from relevant research to devise the care plan. This is expected to base on critical review of research and synthesis of evidence which can be used to justify practice (Simko, 2005). Mantzoukas (2008) indicated that evidence based practice leads to effective decision making leading to enhanced clinical performance. A literature review with a critical approach is considered to be the best method of synthesizing evidence. This means a critique of scientific research based literature can reveal evidence which can be used in practice (Mantzoukas, 2008). To this end, a critique of literatures on the topic of nursing methods of postoperative pain management will be conducted, so an evidence base may be created that can inform practice. A critique of relevant literature can provide information on a clinical problem through the use of research knowledge. This can be done through location of relevant studies, review of the studies in the problem area, summarizing what is known, identifying what is unknown, and recognising the gaps in the knowledge. Thus the critique can support or refute practice or identify a new way of intervention (Scott & McSherry, 2009). Miaskowski (2005) indicated that effective postoperative management of pain is a significant clinical problem. Although there are established clinical practice guidelines, it is a fact that postoperative pain is often treated inadequately. Some studies have indicated that despite receiving analgesic management, about 75% of the patients have moderate to severe postoperative pain. In most of the cases, it has been demonstrated that the healthcare professionals often underestimate pain. In some cases, inadequate knowledge of the healthcare professionals about opioid use and side effects has been attributed to such gaps in postoperative pain management (Miaskowski, 2005). Moreover, there are certain very prominent ill effects of inadequate postoperative pain management, which can be detrimental to the wellbeing of the patient. Some of these substantiate the need for evidence based practice in this area. These are prolonged recovery, increased stay and cost, and decreased patient satisf action (Michel & Sanders, 2002). Physiologically, inadequate resolution of postoperative pain is also not desirable due to adverse physiological responses of the patient, which specially in postoperative phase may make the recovery problematic. Therefore, there is a need for evidence based practice, and critique of relevant research articles and synthesis of information could be the best way (Tracy, Dufault, Kogut, Martin, Rossi, & Willey-Temkin, 2006). Literature Search Strategy From the University database and library, a literature search was conducted based on the key words "postoperative pain", "postoperative pain management", "nursing", and "best methods" or "best practice." A combination of words were used to search the literature, and out of about 100 different studies located, only three of them were selected for this critical review in order to synthesize the evidence. Literature Review Shapiro et al. (2003) in their study compared the analgesic efficacy of three different methods in postoperative

Short Stories Reflecting Issues in Marriage Essay

Short Stories Reflecting Issues in Marriage - Essay Example In addition, the stories act as peripheries outlining the boundaries of what ambitious women should indulge in, to avoid disgrace or even death. The two stories speak of their main characters’ dreams and aspirations and vividly describe them as they think about their respective dreams. The main characters are both women, married and facing different dilemmas but somehow are related, considering that their problems are about their desires. To Chopin’s Mrs. Mallard, her dream was the satisfaction of an emotional and psychological need while de Maupassant’s Mrs. Loisel dreamed of physical needs which were quite trivial as compared to that of Mrs. Mallard’s. How the stories were told and how the characters were exposed are interesting angles for readers to consider in looking more deeply into the meanings of the stories. The Story of an Hour is narrated by a third person, picturing the life of a woman married to a man who was not mentioned to have abused her i n any way, rather treated their marriage life as dictated by norms. Women during the time of the setting were known to be housekeepers, left to attend to children and the household chores. To Mrs. Mallard, the task of staying home was an imposing feature of the male in the house and society; making her feel like a prisoner. This statement is supported by the words of the woman saying â€Å"Free, free† and in addition, kept whispering, â€Å"Free! Body and soul, free!† This shows that Mrs. Mallard had a longing for freedom which the expectations of people from wives, have silenced during the time of her marriage with her supposedly dead husband. The Necklace, on the other hand, narrates the story on the third person also, of a woman who longed for what the elite French represented. Being beautiful, Madame Loisel, the main character in the story dreamed of things she thought she was worthy to have. Unluckily, she was born in a family of artisans and was married to a cler k who was not able to provide her whims. Her longings, as opposed to that of Mrs. Mallard’s, are of the trivial things like good food, expensive clothing, and jewelry. Invited to a ball which she always dreamed of attending, she forced her husband to provide for a dress that would suit the occasion and her desires. When presented with the problem of jewelry, the husband suggested her to borrow from her friend which she did. Eventually, they were presented with the conflict to resolve and that is, to replace the borrowed necklace as soon as possible, which got lost when they were going home from the ball. With their little means, the husband had to borrow money to produce the payment of a similar jewelry which caused them to be deeply in debt and made them live through hard work for ten years. The style of de Maupassant in telling his story was quite direct, introducing the character with descriptions that created an image of the woman without letting the reader need some imag inations in understanding the character.

Martins Luther King Jr. Strugle for Racial Segregation and Civil Rights Essay Example for Free

Martins Luther King Jr. Strugle for Racial Segregation and Civil Rights Essay Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most important figures within the fields of politics and non-violent activism of the 20th century. King was born on 15th of January 1929 in the city of Atlanta within the boundaries of the state of Georgia. Originally Martin Luther King Jr. as named after his father as Michael King, although his father who was also named after Michael King after visiting the Nazi Germany in order to attend the Fifth Baptist World Alliance Congress in Berlin he found himself been inspired by a German reformer called Martin Luther, so he decided to change both his name and his son’s name into Martin Luther King and Martin Luther King Jr. respectively. King was the middle child of the family having a younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams King and an older sister Willie Christine King. As a reference to his education he attended Booker T. Washington High school, also it is stated that he was a precocious student as he skipped two grades the ninth and the twelfth and entered Morehouse College at the early age of fifteen. He graduated College in 1948 and enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester which he graduated with a B. Div. degree in 1951. Meanwhile in 1953 he married Correta Scott and eventually became a father of four children Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III, Dexter Scott King, and Bernice King. Thereupon he became a pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery in 1954; he began his doctoral degree course in Systematic Theology at Boston University and graduated receiving his Ph. D. degree in 1955 with a dissertation on A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman. Although an academic observation which was held in 1991 concluded that parts of his dissertation were plagiarized but the committee decided that his degree shouldn’t be revoked. As a remark Martin Luther King Jr. was strongly influenced by religion (as it was natural, as been a Christian Minister since 1947) more specifically he was influenced by Jesus Christ and the Christian Gospels from which he frequently used quotes in his public speeches, he was also inspired from Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent activist action. In April of 1959 he made a desired for him as it was stated trip to India with the assistance of the American Friends Service Committee, it has to be mentioned that the trip affected King in a profound way and helped him deepen his knowledge and understanding in non-violent resistance and his commitment to the America’s struggle for civil rights, as he stated the last day of his trip to India in a local radio, King said: â€Å"Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of non-violent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. The â€Å"Fight† Against Segregation It all started back in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Claudette Colvin an African- American girl which in fact was under aged unmarried pregnant girl refused to give up her seat to a white man. At that point King was a member of the Birmingham African-American community and also a member of the committee which looked into the case but it was decided that they should wait for a better case to pursue. Their patience yielded. On December 1, 1955 an other African-American girl called Rosa Sparks also refused to give up her seat, back on that date the buses rows were â€Å"separated†, white people should seat on the front rows and the African-American people should seat on the back rows of the busses seats, as natural at some point the two â€Å"different† categories of passengers would meet. At that point the bus’s seats were all occupied and according to Jim Crow laws the following African-American passengers that would board on the bus were required to stand. It was exactly what they were waiting for, and soon after Rosa was arrested the Montgomery Bus Boycott broke out, it lasted 385 days. The whole Boycott issue turned out as a huge victory, although during the campaign a bombing attack was made against King’s house and he was also arrested. As a result the United States District Court in Browder v. Gayle case ended the racial segregation in all Montgomery public busses. After the Montgomery Bus Boycott King’s contribution to the result transformed him into a national figure and he was also off the record declared the best-known spokesman of the civil-rights movement. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Soon after the Montgomery lowdown King, Ralph Abernathy, and other civil rights activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The group was created in order to saddle the moral authority and organizing power of black churches to conduct non-violent protests in the service of civil rights reform, King led the SCLC until his death. In 1962 SCLC joins Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the Albany Movement which was stated to be the first major non-violent campaign of SCLC. The Albany movement was a desegregation movement which was formed by local activist organizations, the SNCC and the National Association for the Advanced of Colored People (NAACP). The movement’s leader was William G. Anderson. During the period of King’s involvement with the Albany movement he was arrested twice, once in a mass arrest on 15th December of 1961 and in July of 1962. Although it has to be mentioned that King had been criticized by SNCC, they’ve even given him a snide nickname â€Å"De Lawd†, because as they claimed he maintained a safe distance from challenges that had to deal with Jim Crow laws. Birmingham Campaign Soon after the incidents in Albany the Birmingham campaign came to light. Birmingham campaign was a movement organized by SCLC and led by Martin Luther King Jr. and others. In the spring of 1963 the operation of the Birmingham campaign was at its peak, including widely publicized controversies between black young people and white civic authorities and eventually led the municipal government to change the citys discrimination laws. A fact that can’t remain unnoticed as during the early 60s Birmingham was one of the most racially divided cities in the United States. Ultimately Birmingham movement was defined as a model of direct action protest, as it effectively shut down the city through a boycott and a series of sit-ins and marches, and drew the world’s attention to racial segregation in the South. Also it is stated that it paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Great March on Washington After the Birmingham campaign the SCLC called for massive protests in Washington DC to push for new civil rights legislation that would outlaw segregation nation-wide which turned to be an unparalleled success. The Great march on Washington claimed the title of one of the largest political rallies for human rights in the United State’s history, as the estimated number of participants varies from 200,000 to 300,000 and still remained non-violent, the 80% of the participants were estimated to be black and the rest were white and other non-black minorities. Also the city was swarmed by more than 2,000 buses, 21 special trains, 10 chartered aircrafts and uncountable personal vehicles. But the march was stigmatized by the King’s famous â€Å"I have a dream† speech. King began his speech with the emancipation of the slaves, issued by Abraham Lincoln and concludes that even though blacks were freed from slavery they still aren’t free. Then he raised the matter of the unkept promise of America to the Civil Rights Union for the continued pursuit of justice as racial segregation still existed. Finally he promotes black people to keep on fighting for their rights in non-violent ways as he believed that violence would lead to a cycle of fighting, unnecessary death and cruelty. The Poor People’s Campaign and the opposition to the Vietnam War In 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. egan to express his doubts about the Vietnam War in public. On 4th April 1967 he delivered a speech at the New York City Riverside Church titled â€Å"Beyond Vietnam: A time to break silence. † In which he expressed his objection to the role of the United States in the Vietnam War, mentioning that United States was in Vietnam â€Å"to occupy it as an American colony† and called the US government â€Å"the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. † He also connected the Vietnam War with economic injustice based on the fact that the US government was spending more and more on the military and less and less on anti-poverty programs. He summed up this aspect by saying:† A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. Almost a year later in 1968 King organized the â€Å"Poor Peoples Campaign† in order to raise the matter of economic injustice; King crossed the whole country in order to assemble a multiracial army of poor people in order to march on Washington DC and engage in a non-violent civil disobedience at the Capitol until Congress created an economic bill of rights for poor Americans. The campaign culminated in a march on Washington, D. C. , demanding economic aid to the poorest communities of the United States. The reconnaissance King was awarded at least fifty honorary degrees from colleges and universities. On October 14, 1964, King became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to racial prejudice in the U. S. In 1965, he was awarded the American Liberties Medallion by the American Jewish Committee for his exceptional advancement of the principles of human liberty. In his acceptance remarks, King said, Freedom is one thing. You have it all or you are not free. In 1957, he was awarded the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. Two years later, he won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for his book Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. In 1966, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America awarded King the Margaret Sanger Award for his courageous resistance to bigotry and his lifelong dedication to the advancement of social justice and human dignity. Also in 1966, King was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was posthumously awarded a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for his Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam in 1971. In 1977, the Presidential Medal of Freedom was posthumously awarded to King by President Jimmy Carter, who stated: Martin Luther King, Jr. , was the conscience of his generation. He gazed upon the great wall of segregation and saw that the power of love could bring it down. From the pain and exhaustion of his fight to fulfill the promises of our founding fathers for our humblest citizens, he wrung his eloquent statement of his dream for America. He made our nation stronger because he made it better. His dream sustains us yet. More than 730 cities in the United States have streets named after King. King County, Washington rededicated its name in his honor in 1986, and changed its logo to an image of his face in 2007. The city government center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is named in honor of King. King is remembered as a martyr by the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (feast day April 4) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (feast day January 15).

A Sense of Proportion Essay -- British Empire, Conflict, War

More English soldiers died in the Great War than in any other British Empire conflict. Under the best of circumstances, this would have been a difficult burden to bear. Moreover, the manner of fighting shattered all romantic notions of noble and gallant warfare - there is nothing noble or gallant about trench warfare or poison gas. Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway is a novel that speaks to belated trauma and the cruelty of failing to face its realities. Much of this sentiment is expressed by the futile struggles of Septimus Smith, a psychologically maimed soldier who has returned from the Western Front. And, while feeling incapable of love contributes to Septimus’s demise, the immediate cause is the intensely evil conduct demonstrated by his doctor, Sir William Bradshaw. Septimus suffers from both a frozen heart and a stricken soul. Since his return from the war , now married for five years to Rezia from Milan, his life has been increasingly drab and unfulfilling, struggling as always to make sense of things, but without real success, except for some sporadic moments of clarity and self understanding. His mind and heart remain captives of his war sufferings, which he never really rises above. His affliction is ever-present and all encompassing regardless of where he happens to be or what he happens to be doing. Even his relationship with his wife appears to be null and non-existent, content as he is, he appears: â€Å"to talk to himself, to talk to a dead man, on the seat over there† (65). Septimus’s shell-shocked condition deteriorates so much in his postwar setting: â€Å"he descends another step into the pit†¦he dropped his head on his hands. Now he had surrendered; now other people must help him† (90). Dr. Holmes, a kindly, amia... ... gone to Sir William for a consultation. Her earlier experience with Sir William now connects her to Septimus and also validates the Smith’s fears in dealing with Sir William. Sir William, for Clarissa, is a messenger of terrible news. â€Å"Oh! Thought Clarissa, in the middle of my party, here’s death, she thought† (183). Sir William is for her a sinister and menacing force, and the sight of him â€Å"curls her up† (182). She recognizes him as an â€Å"extraordinary able† (183) doctor, but â€Å"yet to her obscurely evil, without sex or lust, extremely polite to women, but capable of some indescribable outrage – forcing your soul, that was it†(184). In Septimus, Clarissa not only sees her own mortality, but also feels a fleeting and fragile human existence which questions sin, guilt, evil, death, and redemption. Sir William is clearly the novel’s metaphor for evil par excellence.