Movie City Hall Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

City Hall - Movie Review Example Perhaps the most famed political leader, when it comes to idealism of purpose, was Cincinnatus. Long before the days when Rome was a far-flung empire, it was a republic clinging to the underbelly of what would be Western Europe. When the Aequi and Volscian tribes began to threaten Rome from the east in 458 B.C., the citizens begged Cincinnatus to take over dictatorial powers and vanquish the threat. He did so, in a mere sixteen days, and then immediately resigned his position of power, returning to his farm. This example of knowing when to yield power was cited by George Washington, after he stepped down after two terms as the first President of the United States ("Cincinnatus"). City Hall, directed by Harold Becker, is just one of a long line of works in American literature and cinema that analyze the slow erosion of an idealistic leader's credibility. One of the first works on this theme was Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, a scantily fictionalized look at the life of Louisiana's Huey Long. Willie Stark, who is Penn Warren's slightly larger-than-life Huey Long figure, and John Pappas, New York's mayor in City Hall, are two men who have risen to their current power using a similar dichotomy of private and public positioning: outwardly, both men have ridden a populist wave of sentiment to their current posts; inwardly, both men have incurred debts to the corrupt powers that control much of politics, and both ultimately have a price to pay. Both men are closely followed by idealistic staffers - Willie Stark is followed by the aptly named Jack Burden, while John Pappas is followed by Kevin Calhoun. Both of these men have bought into the message that th eir respective leaders have broadcast to the masses, and both men fervently believe in the men for whom they work. By the end of both stories, both men are disillusioned as to the true nature, and the true source, of political power. The contradictions that revolve around political power primarily have to do with the definition and application of duty. The existence of a "duty triangle" has been asserted, in that, over time, three major approaches to classifying ethical thought have arisen, and these approaches are based on virtue, principle, or consequences. In other words, people make their ethical decisions based on one (or more) of these three ideas. When one considers political leaders, it would be difficult to leave both virtue and principle out of the equation: after all, the lower rungs of political service are not sufficiently lucrative for a purely utilitarian individual to find the situation attractive. There has to be some idealistic motive behind entry into public service, even if, after time, that idealism is worn away and replaced by a jaded faade. The idea of virtue finds definitions for ethical conduct in the behaviors and qualities of the good individual. The idea of principle suggests that uni versal principles can be used to make ethical decisions. These two are very similar; however, the key difference is that the virtue-based definition uses individuals as its orientation, while the principle-based definition uses a broader base of precedent as its orientation. The idea of consequences looks at the outcomes of actions and uses those outcomes to determine whether or not an action is right or wrong - this is often called a utilitarian

Forest Essay Example for Free

Forest Essay 1. The role of working memory in top-down perceptual processing is that the working memory is responsible for reasoning and decision making. It holds a set of temporary memory stores that actively manipulate and rehearse information. Therefore working memorys role in top-down perceptual processing Is that the perception of higher-level knowledge provided for top-down processing Is knowledge from the working memory. The knowledge needed for top-down perceptual processing to happen is generated from the working memory thus making working memory play a big role in top-down perceptual processing. 2. If I was developing a public health campaign to warn people about the dangers of overeating and obesity, I would put more emphasis on healthy foods rather than a healthy body size. Society values a slim body type and gives people the notion that obesity is very unattractive, and because of this message people often start dieting and go overboard with It. They become lost In a world of their own and think that they can never be too skinny, not realizing themselves how sickly thin they have become. Also some psychologists believe that eating disorders can be brought about by overly demanding parents or other family Issues. Focusing on a healthy diet rather than a healthy body size would help balance the need to prevent obesity with the need to avoid increasing the risk of eating disorders. 3. After watching the movie Forest Gump and observing the main character Forest, he illustrates a lot of different aspects of intelligence. I think that Forest shows his understanding about the world, he can think rationally and he always uses resources effectively when faced with challenges in his life, therefore demonstrating his intelligence. Forest demonstrates his use of intelligence throughout the movie in any different ways. One major challenge Forest is faced with in his childhood years is the leg braces he needs because of his crooked spine. Many of the young children he goes to school with look at him as being different and make fun of him because of his leg braces. In the beginning of the movie, Forest gets on the bus for school and the kids on the bus tell him all the seats are taken as he walks down the aisle. One little girl tells Forest that he can sit beside her, and from this point on their friendship blooms; Jenny and Forest become best friends. Although Forest many be little slow, he shows his intelligence in many ways. In the beginning of the movie he is there for Jenny, he understands that her dad doesn t treat her right and is very concerned about her. When she doesn t get on the bus for school one morning, Forest goes to find her; he understands and is able to think rationally in this situation. When Forests mother passes away after a battle with cancer, he understands that everyone lives then has to die at some point. Forest also shows practical Intelligence In this movie in many ways. Practical Intelligence Is the most seful measurement of Intelligence according to Stenberg; It Is Intelligence related to overall successes In llvlng. A tnougn Forest races cnallenges, ne Is still aDle to De very successful in many ways shown in this movie. Forest is successful in college although he thinks it is confusing at times. He gets to be on the school football team which he excels in because he can run fast. Forest graduates from college and is able to Join the army and does very well, he saves the lives of injured men in the war they fight. Forest is extremely good at ping pong and gets to be on the all American eam, he buys a fishing boat and becomes a successful shrimp fisherman with Lieutenant Dan, and Lieutenant Dan invests in shares in Apple and donates money to the church. Eventually, Forest and Jenny get married, Jenny dies and Forest looks after his son. All these are examples of practical intelligence showing how successful Forest Gump is throughout his life even though he mentally compromised. Aspects of Gardners forms of intelligence that Forest displays are bodily kinesthetic skills; Forest is able to perform skills using his whole body such as dancing, being on the ollege football team, excelling at ping pong and long distance running. Forest learned better by performing activities using his body rather than reading information about how to do things because he had a higher form of bodily kinesthetic skills. Forest also demonstrates interpersonal intelligence as he is able to interact with others easily throughout the movie. A good example of Forest Gumps interpersonal intelligence would be at the end of the movie when he gets Jennys house torn down because of the emotions she associates with the house where she as abused at a young age by her father. He also demonstrated aspects of intrapersonal intelligence by believing in himself and expressing his emotions and love for Jenny and his son. He was also extremely aware of his body and mind allowing him to become a successful athlete in the movie with football, running, and ping pong. Forest showed naturalist intelligence by his awareness of nature and his environment. An example of this is when he explained to Jenny about Vietnam and how beautiful it was. He was able to explain things to Jenny by using his vivid memory about the nature around him.

Geometric Morphometrics Analysis of Fish

Geometric Morphometrics Analysis of Fish Use of Fish Geometric Morphometric Markers for Characterizing Shape Variations of Selected Fishes: Family Leiognathidae in the Marine Waters of Zamboanga City, Western Mindanao, Philippines Roldan T. Echem Abstract [AU1] In this investigation, geometric morphometric analysis was used to determine the extent and degree of morphological diversity within and among four species of fishes under Family Leiognathidae and one out-group under Family Menidae collected in the marine waters of Zambonaga City. A total of 200 of fish samples, these include Leiognathus equulus, L. fasciatus, L. bindus, L. daura and one out-group Mene maculata which showed evolution and diversification of L. fasciatus, were subjected to various geometric morphometric analyses. Fish samples were scanned at uniform 400 dpi and the resulting images were binarized using SCIONIMAGE, an image analysis and processing software. The x and y coordinates of a total of 15 landmark points were collected from around the contour of the fish samples. For the landmark analyses, the 15 landmark coefficients were used as morphometric variables for multivariate and cluster analyses in order to assess its shape. Procrustes fitting of the landmark points allowed for the comparison of the various shapes of the fish samples. The resultant shape variables were analyze to determine differences in form, contour and profile of the fishes using geometric thin-plate spline grids (TPS), partial warps (PW) and relative warps (RW). Results of this study showed variations in the various species of fishes under Family Leiognathidae and within each species. Significant differences were found among species and these shape changes are probably related to differences in habitat and feeding habits among the species. Keywords: Biology, Leiognathidae, Geometric morphometrics, Partial-warp scores, Multivariate  Analysis, Western Mindanao, Philippines Introduction [AU2] Leiognathids are schooling, bacterially bioluminescent fishes abundant in coastal bay and estuarine environments throughout the Philippine Islands (Borja, 1978)[AU3]. The family is readily divided into three genera namely; Gazza, Leiognathus and Secutor, but due to the wide geographical distribution of the family and morphological similarity of the species within genus, much confusion presently exists over identification of the 20 to 30 species (Borja, 1978; James, 1985)[AU4]. Menidae (moonfishes) are a morphologically distinctive group represented by a single recent and numerous fossil species. Members of this family are easily recognized by their laterally compressed disc-like bodies, dorsally oriented mouth large, distinctly shaped maxillae and long ascending processes of the premaxillae, anteroposteriorly elongated dorsal and anal fins with relatively short rays, and narrow pelvic fins with a compressed and greatly elongated second ray. This unique morphology is conserved over th e known fossil history of this group, and characterizes the only extant member of Menidae, Mene maculata (Bloch and Schneider, 1801)[AU5]. This recent form is found throughout the Indo-Pacific, ranging from the eastern coast of Africa, India, the Philippines, northern Australia, and Japan. The phylogenetic affinities of Mene have been the subject of some historical debate. Morphological characters have been commonly used in fisheries biology to measure discreteness and relationships among various taxonomic categories (Bookstein, 1991). However, the major limitation of morphological characters at the intra-specific level is that phenotypic variation is not directly under genetic control but subjected to environmental modification. Blake (1983) stated that the phenotypic plasticity of fish allows them to respond adaptively to environmental change by modification in their physiology and behavior which leads to changes in their morphology, reproduction or survival that mitigate the effects of environmental variation. Such phenotypic adaptations do not necessarily result in genetic changes in the population, and thus the detection of such phenotypic differences among populations cannot usually be taken as evidence of genetic differentiation. According to Sparks (2004) that environmentally induced phenotypic variation may have advantages in the stock identif ication, especially when the time is insufficient for significant genetic differentiation to accumulate among populations. A fundamental problem facing systematists and comparative biologists is that of deciding just how two separate phenotypes are different. Geometrics morphometric analyses can thus be a first step in investigating the stock structure of species with large population sizes of Leiognathids and Menids. No study so far has examined the relation of body form in these groups of fishes using the methods of geometric morphometrics analyses of landmark data. Morphometric studies are based on a set of measurements which represent size and shape variation and are continuous data. The geometric morphometric analysis covers the entire fish in a uniform network, and theoretically should increase the likelihood of extracting morphometric differences within and between species (Rohlf, 1990). There is evidence that geometric morophometric analysis is much more powerful in describing morphological variation between closely related fish taxa than traditional measurements (Turan, 1998). When combined with multivariate statistical procedures, they offer the most powerful tool for testing and graphically displaying differences in shape (Loy et al. 1993, Rohlf and Marcus 1993, Rohlf et al. 1996). The main objective of this paper was to use geometric morphometric analyses to determine the extent and degree of morphological diversity within and among four species of fishes under Family Leiognathidae and one out-group under family Menidae collected in the marine waters of Zamboanga City. Second, to determined patterns of significant differentiation and its biological implications, and third, to analyzed the taxonomic classification of the four species fishes belonging to family leiognathidae and one out-group under family menidae based on their morphological characters. Method [AU6] A total of 200 of fish samples, these include Leiognathus equulus, L. fasciatus, L. bindus, L. daura and one out-group M. maculataan evolution and diversification of L. fasciatus, were subjected to various geometric morphometric analyses (Figure 1). Figure 1. Fish samples under family Leiognathidae and family Menidae. Geometric morphometric methods usually begin with digitized images. The fish samples were scanned at uniform 400 dpi and the resulting images were binarized using SCIONIMAGE, an image analysis and processing software. The x and y coordinates of a total of 15 landmark points were identified and collected from around the contour of the fish samples (Figure 2). Figure 2. Relative positions of all landmarks assigned on the body of the fishes. landmark’s  description (Leiognathus equulus in the example): (1) snout tip; (2) nostrils;  (3) anterior and posterior;(4) insertion of the dorsal fin; (5) insertion of the second  dorsal fin;(6) origin of the caudal fin;(7) middle of the caudal fin;(8) insertion of the  caudal fin;(9) insertion of the anal fin;(10) origin of the anal fin;(11) origin of  Ã‚  the pelvic fin;(12) origin of pectoral fin;(13) posteriormost margin of the  operculum;(14) junction between maxilla and upper lip;(15) middle of the eye Then contours of the fish samples were then summarized as chain codes. For the landmark analyses, the 15 landmark coefficients were used as morphometric variables for multivariate statistical analyses and hierarchical cluster analyses in order to assess the shape. To remove all information unrelated to shape, a generalized orthogonal least-squares Procrustes (GPA) superimposition (translation, scaling and rotation) described in Rohlf and Slice (1990) was conducted on the sets of landmarks. Procrustes fitting of the landmark points allowed for the comparison of the various shapes of the fish samples. Consensus configurations of each species were subjected to thin-plate spline (TPS), partial warps (PW) and relative warps (RW) to determine variations in shapes through examination of the deform shape of the grids. The extent and degree of variability within and between species belonging to the same family leiognathidae including the out-group were also assessed using the method of Principal component analysis. PCA is a discriminant function analysis to confirm size and shape variations. PCA involves the calculation of the eigen value of the data and the results of a PCA are usually described in terms of component scores and loadings. Discriminant function analysis is used to determine which variables discriminate between two or more naturally occurring groups. Canonical analysis are obtained to performed a multiple group discriminant analysis and automatically determine some optimal combination of variables so that the first function provides the most overall discrimination between groups, the second provides second most, and so on. The uniform components were tested for significant differences among species by multivariate analysis of variance MANOVA: (Neff and Marcus 1980). Multivariate anal ysis of variance was performed to test for significant differences in shapes between species, a multivariate was obtained F value (Wilks lambda) based on a comparison of the covariance matrix. Results and Discussion [AU7] Table 1 revealed that there was a high significant difference between the x and y components (p = 0.0001) of the landmarks on the contours of the fish. Table1 Analysis of variance of the x and y uniform components Sum of squares df Mean of square F P Groups: 2.52 9 2.79 1.41 0.0001* significant Columns: 2.58 29 8.89 4.51 Interaction: 3.55 261 1.36 Within: 1.12 5700 197.2 Total: 3.19 5999 The extent and degree of variability within and between species belonging to the same family Leiognathidae including one out-group under family Menidae were also assessed using the method of Principal component analysis. The result of PCA shows largest component scores at 96.9%. The first principal component showed high significance and accounts for as much of the variability in the data, and each succeeding component accounts for as much of the remaining variability (Table 2). Table 2 Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the 5 Groups of Fishes Species Sex Eigen Value Variance 100% Leiognathus equulus Male 28.81 69.45 Female 25.52 39.61 Leiognathus fasciatus Male 32.89 96.9 Female 17.5 83.78 Leiognathus bindus Male 11.14 57.6 Female 18.9 40.43 Leiognathus daura Male 13.82 37.17 Female 15.69 50.58 Mene maculata Male 30.9 78.61 Female 18.9 85.17 Figure 3 shows that the canonical analysis was performed to automatically determine some optimal combination of variables that provides overall discrimination between groups. Results showed that the shape variations can be attributed to changes in the upper lip, caudal fin and pectoral fin and dorsal fin as shown in the deformation of shapes of the grids. The 1st relative warp extracted from the matrix of the partial-warp scores accounted for about 69.45% of the total nonaffine shape variation, whereas the 2nd relative warp explained 39.61% of the total variation. The 1st relative warp is characterized by shape changes along the upper lip between the male and female Leiognathus equulus. The specimens with highest scores on the 1st relative warp is between male and female Leiognathus fasciatus which accounted 96.9% variation and is characterized by shape changes along the dorsal fin. Biological meaning of these partial shape variations can be explained in the change in fin morphology and position, the central component of the evolutionary transformation of functional design in leiognathid fishes. Documenting phylogenetic patterns in the structure of the dorsal fin, caudal fin and pectoral fin, and interpreting the functional significance of such patterns, has been the subject of ongoing study by systematists (Breder, 1996). There is significant anatomical variation because of hydrodymic significance of evolutionary transformation in dorsal fin and the important similarities in patterns of diversity in fishes seem to indicate competition for food resources that may cause diversity in jaw apparatus among fish (Lauder, 2000). [AU8] Figure 3. Transformation Grid and Warps of the Five Species Including the Out-Group, Deformations of Grids in the Anteriormost Tip Or the Upper Lip, Dorsal Fin  and Caudal Fin. Table 3 shows that the canonical vector analysis indicated the existence of large and highly significant among group differences. The first discriminant variable is the caudal fin and highly significant (Wilks Λ = 2.0, F = 1.76, P= 0.002), the second variable that provides discrimination between groups is the pectoral fin and displayed high significance (Wilks Λ =1.0.35, F = 0.75, P= 0.81), and the snout tip (Wilks Λ = 0.51, F = 2.60, P= 0.002) and dorsal fin (Wilks Λ = 0.35, F =1.89, P= 0.002). Table 3 Canonical Vector Analysis Variable Var.N LambdaA P F Caudal fin 7 2 0.002 1.76 Pectoral fin 12 1 0.75 0.81 Upper tip 1 0.51 0.002 2.60 dorsal fin 4 0.35 0.002 1.89 Prosanta (2006) reported that the family Leiognathidae, commonly known as ponyfish or slip mouth, comprises three genera, each being characterized mainly by mouth morphology. The relationships allowed phylogenetic analyses of mouthpart structures and light organ systems. The results suggested that the morphology of the mouthparts is ancestral in the family. The results also suggested that internal sexual dimorphism of the light organ system was present in the common ancestor of a sister clade to L. equulus, whereas external sexual dimorphism seems to have evolved subsequently in two monophyletic subgroups. The evolution and diversification of L. fasciatus to other group Mene maculata under family menidae support the result of this study that the out-group exhibited similarity of morphological features from L. fasciatus. The analysis of the shape differences depicted in the fish species sampled mainly according to their systematic relationships. This agrees with the findings of Loy et al. (1993) and Rohlf et al. (1996), that the shape components may contain more taxonomic information than the uniform components of shape variation. The shape variation using geometrical analysis of landmark data can describe and locate differences of form in organisms more efficiently (Bookstein 1991). This approach has been shown to yield the most accurate information in fish morphological studies (Walker 1996; 1997), [AU9]and is expected to find increasing applications in the near future. As reported by Loy et al. (2001) shape differences between 3 sparids of the genus Diplodus juveniles appear to be related to ecological differences in their ecology. Webb (1984) [AU10]showed evidence that body shape is a reliable indicator of the swimming behavior and the ecology of fish. The link between morphology and diet in fish is provided by feeding performance (Norton 1991; Wainwright 1991; Motta and Kotrschal 1992). [AU11]As suggested by Wainwright and Richard (1995),[AU12] morphology and shapes is influence on a fish’s feeding capability. A major challenge in fish ecology is to establish the linkage between morphology and diet. Functional morphological, biomechanical, and physiological analyses may be used to determine the expected consequences of morphological variation on feeding performance (Wainwright 1988).[AU13] Conclusion and Recommendation[AU14] In this present study, the findings reveal the potential power of the use of geometric morphometric markers for characterizing shape variations in several species of fishes under family Leiognathidae for identifying phenotypic stocks. The geometric system can be successfully used to investigate stock separation within a species that allows, in a long term, a better and direct comparison of morphological evolution of stocks, while using the same set of measurements. Results of this study revealed variations in shape of the selected species of fishes under Family Leiognathidae and within each species and one out-group under family Menidae. Significant differences were found among species with respect to caudal fin, pectoral fin, upper lip and dorsal fin. These shape changes are probably related to differences in habitat and feeding habits among the species. This present study concluded the usefulness of the geometric morphometric system as a fisheries management tool and it is capable of examining large numbers of samples in a short time. It is also effective in identification of stocks and improving the biological basis of management of fishes. References Bookstein, FL. (1991). Morphometric tools for landmark data. Cambridge Univ. Press, p 435. Blake, R.W. (1983). Functional design and burst-and-coast swimming in fishes. Can J Zool, 61  (11):2491–2494 Breder, .CM. (1996). The locomotion of fishes. Zoologica, 4:159–297. Sparks, J.S. (2004). Phylogeny and biogeography of cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae)  Cladistics, 20 (6), 501-517. Loy, A.; Bertelletti, M.; Costa, C; Ferlin, L. Cataudella, S. (2001). Shape changes and growth  trajectories in the early stages of three species of the genus Diplodus (Perciformes,  Sparidae). J Morphol, 250:24–33. Prosanta, C. (2006). Evolution and diversification of a sexually dimorphic luminescent system in  ponyfishes (Teleostei: Leiognathidae), including diagnoses for two new genera. Cladistics,  20 (6), 501-517. Rohlf, F.J. (1990). Rotational fit (Procrustes) methods. In FJ Rohlf, FL Bookstein, eds. Proceedings of  the Michigan Morphometrics Workshop. Special Publication No. 2. Ann Arbor: Univ. of  Michigan Museum of Zoology, pp. 227-236. Rohlf, F.J. (1993). Relative warp analysis and an example of its application to mosquito wings. In LF  Marcus, E Bello, A  [AU15] Rohlf, F.J. (1995). Multivariate analysis of shape using partial-warp scores. In KV Mardia, CA Gill, eds.  Proceedings in current issues in statistical shape analysis. Leeds: Leeds Univ.Press,  pp. 154-158. Rohlf, F.J. (1996). Morphometric spaces, shape components, and the effects of linear  transformations. In LF Marcus, M Corti, A Loy, G Naylor, DE Slice, eds. Advances in morphometrics. NATO ASI Series A: Life Sciences, 284.[AU16] Rohlf, F.J.; Loy, M. Corti (1996). Morphometric analysis of Old World Talpidae (Mammalia,  Insectivora) using partial-warp scores. Syst. Biol. 45: 344-362. Rohlf, F.J. Marcus, L.F. (1993). A revolution in morphometrics. Trends Ecol. Evol. 8: 129-132. Rohlf, F. Slice, D.E. (1990). Extensions of the Procrustes method for the optimal superimposition of  landmarks. Syst. Zool., 39: 40-59. Turan, C. Basusta, N. (2001). Comparison of Morphometric Characters of Twaite Shad (Alosa fallax  nilotica, Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1808) among three areas in Turkish Seas. Bull. Fr. Peche  Piscic. ; 362/363 : 1027-1035. Smith, P.J. (1990) Protein Electrophoresis for Identification of Australian Fish Stocks. Aus. J. Mar.  Fresh. Res., 0; 41: 823- 833. [AU17] [AU1]  236 words Ok [AU2]  598 words OK [AU3]  Not found in the References. [AU4]  Not found in the References. Use the more recent work. [AU5]  Not found in the References. If possible use their more recent work. This is very very old source. [AU6]  485 words OK [AU7]  944 words – Add some more. The Results and Discussion (combined) should be at least 1, 200 words in length. [AU8]  Not found in the References [AU9]  Not found in the References [AU10]  Not found in the References [AU11]  Not found in the References. [AU12]  Not found in the References. [AU13]  Not found in the References. [AU14]  178 words only – Add some to make the length at least 300 words. [AU15]  NOT cited in the text. Recheck and complete the information items. If book, add place of publication publisher [AU16] Not found in the text [AU17]  Not cited in the text.

Lanston hughes comparison of two poems Essay -- essays research papers

In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by the name of Langston Hughes. A well-known writer that still gets credit today for pomes like â€Å" Theme for English B† and â€Å"Let American be American Again.† â€Å"Theme for English B† and â€Å"Let American be American again† share some similar elements. These poems both written by Langston Hughes both explain about inequality. Theme for English B revolves around the separation of the black and white man; the differences within each race were segregation was at a high point. Let America be America again revolves around the concept that America is supposed to be the land of the free, but to another race or background; it’s a total opposite. (I guess that being colored doesn’t make me not like the other folks who are other races. - Theme for English B). ...

Macbeth Essay

In Act 2 Scene 2, Lines 1 to 13 of Shakespeare’s â€Å"Macbeth†, Shakespeare questions the reader about who in truth is controlling Macbeth, Lady Macbeth or himself. Shakespeare also makes us ponder if Lady Macbeth has a healthy ambition, that she herself controls, or if her ambition is controlling her. The three main themes of Evil, Ambition, and Macbeth-The Victim of Manipulation are heightened through the use of Positive and Negative Sleep Motifs, expressed in a negative context. Also found in this selection are examples of Negative Diction, Religious Symbolism, and Animal Imagery which all develop the reader’s understanding of death, and develop the three key themes that circulate around the idea of death. Contrast is used to express the difference in power and confidence between Lady Macbeth and King Duncan’s attendants, and also to distinguish life and death, in the case of the attendants. Punctuation is used very effectively. Through the use of punctuation, one can visualize the emotions of Lady Macbeth. During the first few lines, each line is its own individual sentence, which ends in a period or colon. Simply by looking at the punctuation one can see that she is calm. Near the end of these lines, Lady Macbeth uses many commas, caesuras, and enjambments, she is out of order. Here one can sense just how nervous and frightened Lady Macbeth is. The final key device used in these lines is Foreshadowing. It gives the reader a glance at what will come out of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s decision to kill Duncan through the archetype of â€Å"fire†, which appears in line 2. Fire symbolizes light and warmth, yet at the same time symbolizes chaos and destruction. This can be related to their decision which will either make them or break them. Found throughout this passage are many literary devices, all of which are significant. However the most significant devices are Negative Diction, Religious Symbolism, and Sleep Motif. Religious Symbolism is immensely important in shaping Lady Macbeth’s character and sculpting the recurring themes, yet does not appear nearly as much as Negative Diction and Sleep Motif. One can find Lady Macbeth say â€Å"The doors are open†, Here she is literally talking about the doors to Duncan’s chamber, however one can interpret these doors as the doors of death. The doors are open for Duncan to walk through. This line can be related to Alexander Grahame Bell’s famous quote â€Å"As one door closes, another door opens. † Both Lady Macbeth’s and Mr. Bell’s quotes relate to death in a way; the door of life closes, and the door of death opens, waiting for us to walk through. Another example of Religious Symbolism is found in the lines â€Å"That death and nature do contend about them // Whether they live or die. This is symbolic of God and the Devil having a battle for the lives of the attendants, and later dueling for them to either be rewarded in Heaven or condemned to Hell. The image of God and the Devil gambling for the souls of the dead is expressed in the song â€Å"Spanish Train† by Chris De Burgh. This song has a similar religious meaning, as in both one can see a battle going on between God and the Devil for minor pawns or as one likes to say, humans. Another device, Sleep Motif, is used throughout these lines to portray the idea of sleep. In this piece one can find two main ideas: death and sleep. These two ideas are interconnected by a Religious meaning. One can see just how cleverly William Shakespeare uses the two devices of religious symbolism and sleep motif. Without one, the other, would not be as important. These two tools work hand in hand to develop the character of Lady Macbeth and the several themes throughout the play. Most of these sleep-orbiting words can be divided into three categories. The first category being what one usually consider sleep as, what we do each night in order to rest our body for the new day. This category can be referred to as the conscious form of sleep. Words that fall under this category are â€Å"good-night†, â€Å"snores†, â€Å"slept†, and â€Å"awaked†. These terms are the most positive sleep revolving words found in these lines. The next form of sleep is the sub-conscience form of sleep. This form of sleep is commonly known as â€Å"drunk† or â€Å"intoxicated†, and is usually found quite discouraging. â€Å"Drunk†, â€Å"Surfeited†, â€Å"Drugg’d†, and â€Å"Possets† fall under the sub-conscious form of sleep. The last category of sleep is the unconscious form. Words that fall under this category may seem depressing for non-believers of an afterlife or second life, but for believers they symbolize a new beginning. This form of sleep is tied in greatly with religious symbolism because it is rooted in the spiritual life. One does not quite know what happens after death, however there is a general belief that the spirit lives on, while the body lays under an eternal rest. The reader can see just how influential sleep is in this excerpt. One sees a sleeping Duncan, and later a deceased Duncan and also sees drunk attendants by Duncan’s side. In these few lines the reader envisions all three types of sleep. Although both Sleep Motifs and Religious Symbolisms play a huge role in shaping the themes of this scene, the most used device, and particularly important in these 13 lines is Negative Diction. Throughout, one sees words spoken wickedly by Lady Macbeth. She speaks wickedly about a wicked deed. Throughout the text one can see numerous examples of negative diction; â€Å"drunk†, â€Å"stern’st good-night†, â€Å"the owl that shriek’d the fatal bellman†, â€Å"surfeited†, â€Å"mock†, â€Å"drugg’d†, â€Å"death†, â€Å"die†, â€Å"confounds†, â€Å"afraid†, and â€Å"daggers†. Through Lady Macbeth’s vocabulary one can easily sense just how sinister Lady Macbeth is in both her words and actions. In this section of â€Å"Macbeth† one finds several literary tools that aid in conveying the character of Lady Macbeth and the three central themes. The most important devices used throughout this passage include Religious Symbolism, Sleep Motif, and Negative Diction. These three devices are interconnected as they revolve around the ideas of sleep and death. These three terms work together to shape the reader’s understanding of death and sleep which Shakespeare exemplifies to us through Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of Macbeth into the killing of the righteous King Duncan. The reader can relate what Shakespeare illustrates to the Human Condition. Everybody in life has ambitions, be it big or small, most people strive to help themselves, and through helping themselves, they help others around them. In few scenarios like in the case of Lady Macbeth, her foul ambitions overpower her and corrupt her to a point of sheer evil.

Make Sure Your Website Gets an F

Make Sure Your Website Gets an F Make Sure Your Website Gets an F Make Sure Your Website Gets an F By Mark Nichol Do you have your own blog or Web site, or are you responsible for the site of another individual or an organization or company? If so, remember that the medium is (also) the message how the information is presented affects how it is received. So, to help site visitors engage with your content, consider the F not the letter f, but the online-design principle of the F-shaped pattern. One way people who study engagement with online content measure that engagement is by eye tracking: observing the eye movements of test subjects as they navigate within and between pages on a Web site. Research results have shown that most site visitors scan Web sites with eye movements roughly corresponding to the F shape. Because Western culture is, well, acculturated to engaging in text-based visual stimuli from the top left of a piece of content, Web designers have learned to put the most important visual information in that position on a Web page. (Quick what do you see at the top left of this page? That’s right, the logo form of the site name its brand.) And because readers of English (and all other Indo-European languages) read from left to right, it is natural for our eyes to move to the right from our first point of reference. That means that usually, our first eye-tracking movement is a line like the top horizontal line in the uppercase version of the letter f. Then, accustomed as we are to return to the left margin of a page, we backtrack horizontally or return diagonally to that location (as opposed to reading boustrophedon, or in a zigzag pattern). At this point, we skim from left to right again, as if forming with the movement of our eyes the letter f’s second horizontal element. A snapshot of an eye-tracking study (which often employs heat-mapping technology and connect-the-dots lines to record the ocular oscillations) may show multiple horizontal sweeps, but these lines generally extend less and less as the eyes travel downward, and a vertical line along or near the left margin of the page is also an almost invariable artifact of such studies, demonstrating that many site visitors scan down the page at about the same short distance from the margin. Variations occur, of course, especially when the page designer incorporates an arresting textual or illustrative element elsewhere on the page, but the F shape is the default setting for displaying written content online. (This pattern doesn’t necessarily apply when the home page features a block of text, but it’s typical on home pages dominated by a table of contents or a directory.) The take-away: As you’ll see from studying this site and many others, the F-shaped presentation of content is a pervasive and persuasive scheme of organization. There’s more to it than that, of course and I’ll share more tips in subsequent posts but this outline starts not with a, but with f. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Wether, Weather, WhetherLatin Words and Expressions: All You Need to KnowHow to Treat Names of Groups and Organizations