Explain the Differences Between Panglosss Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Explain the Differences Between Panglosss Philosophy Essay Pangloss’s philosophy of life is that all is for the best in the â€Å"best of all possible worlds. † This optimistic philosophy actually is the key element of Voltaire’s satire. Pangloss’s philosophy is against the ideas of the Enlightenment period. Pangloss believes that a powerful God had created the world and that, therefore, the world must be perfect. When creatures of the world, see something as wrong or evil, it is because they do not understand the ultimate good that will come out of it. Voltaire satirically shows the reader that Pangloss is not a believable character. Voltaire illustrates this by showing us that he keeps his optimistic thought even when he is imprisoned. Pangloss ignores any evidence that contradicts his initial opinion. He also uses illogical arguments to support his beliefs. Pangloss’s philosophy tries to impose a passive attitude toward all that is wrong in the world. If the world is the best one possible, then there is no reason to make any effort to change things. Martin is more believable than Pangloss, not because he is more sophisticated, but because he is smarter and more likely to draw conclusions with which we can identify. Martin had been robbed by his wife and beaten by his son and deserted by his daughter and also lived financial setbacks, and therefore he’s a pessimist whereas Pangloss is an optimist. He uses his experiences to judge the world whereas Pangloss was merely using a theory. As a result, Martin is more insightful than Pangloss to foresee events that will happen. Even though Martin’s philosophy is more believable than Pangloss’s, he’s still not good at predicting how some people will behave because his philosophy is coming from extreme pessimism. Therefore it might not be wrong to say that Voltaire is trying to prove that we need flexible thought in our lives based on real evidence. Both philosophers will ultimately fail because there’s no room for exceptions in their beliefs. Candide starts his journey with the influence of Pangloss’s belief of â€Å"best of all possible worlds†. Pangloss and Candide, suffer and witness a wide variety of horrors and tragedies together. During these tragedies, Pangloss’s s philosophy proves to be useless and even destructive at the end, because it prevents them from making realistic judgments. For example while Jacques was drowning, Pangloss doesn’t let Candide save him by saying that the bay of Lisbon had been formed for this Anabaptist to drown in. Also when Candide was buried under the rubble of the Lisbon earthquake, he asked for oil and wine because he was dying, but Pangloss ignored him and still tried to reason with the causes of the earthquake. At the end Candide rejects his philosophy of optimism and as he and his servant Cacambo travel and go through more horrors, Candide starts believing a pessimistic view of life. When Candide meets Martin, they set sail together and Martin is just the opposite of Pangloss. He does not believe that everything is for the best in this world. Even though Candide tries to oppose Martin by talking about free will but it does not solve the problem of presence of evil in the world. In general, Martin’s arguments seem more reasonable than Pangloss’s ideas. But, like Pangloss, Martin believes so firmly in his own view of the world that he is not flexible and usually dismisses real evidence that contradicts his philosophy. When Candide cannot find Cunegonde, Martin shows the bad influence of his pessimism. Instead of attempting to comfort his friend, Martin uses Candide’s distress to further confirm his own world-view. Just like Pangloss’s optimism, Martin’s pessimism also keeps him from taking initiative to improve the world.

The Hardship Of Vietnamese Students Education Essay

The Hardship Of Vietnamese Students Education Essay In a developing Asian country like Vietnam, studying is the most important activity in ones life. Unlike in the United States where going to school brings children happiness, Vietnamese schools are often considered a kind of mental and intellectual training. Except for some special students who are intelligent by birth, most ordinary students have to struggle in order to keep up with very strict requirements of the education system in Vietnam. This reality, however, is not commonly recognized by responsible adults. Because I used to be in that kind of environment, in my point of view, Vietnamese students are constantly suffering from enormous stress. First, parents expectations put students under a lot of pressure. As a matter of fact, most of Vietnamese families struggle to earn enough income to support their lives, and this has not changed at all for several centuries, even when the economic situation has improved a lot. As a result, most parents want their kids to live more comfortable life than the previous generation. This kind of wish is not wrong, because it comes from the hearts of parents who do not want their children to suffer like they did. However, parents use that reason to push the poor children beyond their threshold, for they think that the kids are a tool for them to fulfill the wishes they could not complete when they were young. Most people make their children go to cram school every day, and do not bring them home until eight in the evening. Some other parents make their children learn various subjects, like violin, piano, ballet, or martial arts after school time. They think that those actions help them expr ess their love for the kids. However, the adults do not understand that children need rest after school as much as they need rest after work. Personally, I have seen children in the age below twelve dozing off behind their parents on the motorbike when going home from a martial arts course. Regarding Vietnams transportation situation, it is very dangerous because the kids can fall off the bike any moments. Their own parents do not care, though. Moreover, parents in Vietnam lack sympathy for their children. They do not feel the need to understand their childrens problems because they are parents. When the kids get bad grades, instead of getting encouragement or at least consolation from their beloved parents, they only get some nasty words and even violence. Another mistake that most parents do is that they keep comparing their kids to some other kids on newspaper. The adults think that comparing will make their kids reflect on themselves and behave, but it only brings out negative e ffects on the children. Additionally, parents do not encourage their children to pursue their own dreams, but force the kids to become what the parents want. Most students do not have the chance to choose their paths, and it will lead to many bad consequences in the future if the students are not suitable for that major. To me and most of my friends when we were still in school, going home does not bring any kind of happiness, but only stress and pain. Second, the whole societys idea of success places even more stress on the students. In Vietnam, it is very hard to get a job without having powerful parents. In order to get a good position, a person from ordinary background must have excellent intellectual abilities, which is proved through their degrees and certificates. Therefore, students must study hard ever since elementary school in order to get in famous schools, and eventually graduate from the most well-known universities so as to get a job. Ever since they are young, students are taught that school performance is the only way to determine a persons value. Consequently, if a student cannot excel in class, he or she will be regarded as a useless person who will never get a good life and will probably spend the rest of his or her life collecting trash on the sidewalk for a living. Teachers also cause stress on their students. This traces back to the fact that teachers in Vietnam do not earn much income compared to other professions. As a result, teachers tend to do whatever they can to earn more money for their families. Most teachers have to open extra classes at home as an alternate source of income, which becomes another session of school for children. Unfortunate students are given extremely difficult tests so that they get bad results; then, they are threatened that they can never get good grades unless they become students at their teachers extra classes after school. Unfortunately, most parents do not detect this kind of evil actions of the teachers; they think the children are neglecting their studying, and blame them for the bad grades. This unjust action makes children very disappointed and even under more stress. In addition, many teachers teach their students very wrong ideas about the relation between success in school and in life. In their opinio n, if a student can do math and write good essays, that child will be rich in the future. On the other hand, if a student cannot do math or cannot write a decent essay, the child will most likely lead a pathetic life regardless of other talents that the kid may have. Some teachers, especially homeschool teachers, create a gap between good students and bad students, causing the bad ones many negative feelings toward their better classmates. Moreover, a small number of teachers have a tendency to treat one or two students better than the rest of the class due to their excellence in studying, or just because their parents are rich. In other words, students are taught that the value of one person do not depend on their personalities but on their social background and intellectual abilities. As if there is not enough pressure from their superiors, students create pressure on themselves and on their peers. Most children strive for their parents satisfaction, so they push themselves as hard as they can. They think that only through good grades can they be loved by their parents. Although they do realize that all the adults are wrong about the importance of school grades, they have no way to escape from it, nor do they have enough courage to break out of those invisible chains. As a result, they become the same as the adults who used to mentally abuse them, thus maintaining the vicious circle. Besides, students subconsciously become their classmates source of pressure. Because young children learn a lot from their peers, they are usually confused by their friends hard work and doubt whether they are already doing their best or not, which intensifies the competitiveness between classmates. Another factor that contributes to academic pressure on students is the excessive amount of schoolwork, especially in high school. At my high school, an average student has to attend class lectures for four hours every day from Monday to Friday in the morning. Three afternoons per week, the student have to go to school for another four hours; also, the student has another two more hours on Saturdays for extracurricular activities. After getting out of school at five in the afternoon, the student will most likely engage in another session of cram school, which usually last two hours or even more. Because most teachers offer extra classes which usually last four or three hours per week ,or even six hours for major subjects like mathematics, and a student often has to take at least two different extra classes, the total time for cram school can easily exceed eight to ten hours every week. In total, an average student at my high school spends at least 40 hours per week on going to school s and extra classes, as much time as a normal full-time worker does. However, it does not end there. At home, an ordinary student has to do homework and study for upcoming exams. The time for self-studying varies from one student to another, but as far as I know, half of my class stayed up late to do homework, and the other half did not go to sleep until past midnight. For students in middle and elementary schools, this amount of time is slightly reduced, but it does not mean that the amount of work is. From middle school, a student has to learn 13 subjects a week, all year long, and all of them are compulsory. If the student gets a final score of less than eight in any of those 13 subjects, he or she will probably lose the chance of getting a title of good student, which is very important for scholarships or other benefits in Vietnam. To make things even worse, none of those subjects can be considered easy. One friend of mine said ironically, At school, we have to be as knowledgeab le as Einstein, run as fast as Usain Bolt, draw as beautifully as Picasso, sing as well as Elvis Presley, have communist ideals like Karl Marx, and be as good a person as Mother Theresa. She was not entirely exaggerating, since her words practically described much of the education system in Vietnam, no matter how unbelievable it may sound. Even for pre-school children, the situation is not better, for they are expected to read and write smoothly before actually entering their first school year. Except for my elementary teachers who were all very nice to me, many other teachers will not hesitate to hit a young kid for making a mistake on their exams. Indeed, violence adds to academic pressure as well. Those kinds of pressure has become a part of everyday life, so no students can recognize how stressful their school years are until they get to university and look back on the previous time. Working hard in a long time is not all wasteful, however, because, in one way or another, it strengthens students mind and provides them with more than enough knowledge so as to prevail in foreign countries universities. Still, I hope that one day all those unfair stresses will be lifted away, so that the children can actually enjoy their childhood and no longer see their schools as a kind of prison, just like what I used to do throughout twelve years of my life.

Stranger in a Strange Land Essay -- Stranger in a Strange Land

Stranger in a Strange Land Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein takes the themes portrayed in the book and directly criticizes the Western Culture. As Heinlein said, "My purpose in this book was to examine every major axiom of western culture, to question each axiom, throw doubt on it" (Jelliffe 161). These axioms are where feels the Western Culture fails and so he uses the themes to criticize humans of the Western Culture by pointing out these faults. The themes of the story portray this by having Valentine Michael Smith, a human raised by Martians, come to earth to teach his knowledge which contradict what the Western Culture feels to be true. "Stranger is a strong-minded work of culture criticism, no doubt about it (Stover 58)." The themes that Heinlein uses are those of religion, sex, and love to make his point of where the Western Culture fails as a whole. Heinlein's writing of his novels after 1961 when he wrote Stranger in a Strange Land, has changed the genre of science-fiction, because he not only wrote about strange worlds and crazy adventures, but Heinlein also tried to include criticism and a message to the reader in his novels to explain problems that he felt humans have. This became Heinlein's writing style after 1957 when he reached the age of 50 and was on the top of science-fiction. Because science-fiction was considered to be for kids, Heinlein began to write more for adult audiences by adding the real problems and criticism into his novel (Drucolli 210). "The publication of Stranger in a Strange Land marked drastic shift in Heinlein's writing, at least in social criticism and controversial subject matter" (Drucolli 227). "As he had done immediately before World War II, Heinlein helped to ... ...ing the Ways of Man to God: The Novels of Robert A Heinlein." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Eds. Dedria Bryfonski, Laurie Lanzen Harris. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1980. Vol. 14, 254-255. Jelliffe, R.A. "Alice in Wonderland for Space Age Grownups." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Eds. Dedria Bryfonski, Laurie Lanzen Harris. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1975. Vol. 26, 161-162. Rose, Lois and Stephen. "The Shattered Ring: Science Fiction and the Quest for meaning." Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1969. Vol. 3, 226-227. Samuelson, David. " 'Stranger' in the Sixties: Model or Mirror?" Contemporary Literary Criticism. Eds. Dedria Bryfonski, Laurie Lanzen Harris. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company, 1975. Vol 26, 167-169. Stover, Leon. Robert A. Heinlein. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1987.

The Role of Ophelia in William Shakespeares Hamlet Essay -- Papers Sh

The Role of Ophelia in William Shakespeare's Hamlet Although Ophelia is not a main character in the revenge tragedy 'Hamlet' her dramatic purpose is vital to the play. It emphasizes the poisoned body politic and its affects on the innocent. The role of women in the sixteenth century is to be obedient and dutiful, the only way to accomplish this was to be passive. Women in the sixteenth century were meant to be obedient to their fathers, for they were their property until such a time came when she was married, it would then be her husband to whom her duties lied. Denmark is in a state of chaos shown by the opening death of the true King Hamlet who was murdered by his own brother Claudius, Claudius then seduced his brothers wife and took over the thrown of Denmark. Due to this chaos innocence, loyalties and love are corrupted and all that was good and dutiful falls into darkness under the ruling of evil. Ophelia is a women of the court her duty is to her father Polonius, and her brother Laertes. It is her fathers intentions to marry Ophelia off to a suitable and profitable match. We first meet Ophelia whilst she is saying farewell to her active brother, Laertes, who is going with friends to university leaving Ophelia with only her father to tend to her needs. Unlike her brother, Ophelia is passive, a dutiful daughter and everything she should be for a women of the court in the sixteenth century. However this is only acceptable in a righteous Court, Denmark however is in a state of chaos and Ophelia’s passivity can only lead to her destruction. Whilst Ophelia is talking to her father once Laertes has left for universi... ... play to measure the corruption, she is a catalyst for the revenge tragedy, for without her death we would not be able to understand the true corruption and evil that runs its course through Denmark like poison. Ophelia may not be a main character or agent in the play but her dramatic purpose is vital to the plays understanding and interpretation. To conclude Ophelia is vital to the play and its understanding even though she is not a protagonist, without her innocent and passive character it would be hard to understand the true destructive nature of the mislead court. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Rebecca West â€Å" The Nature Of Will† in Hamlet : Norton critical edition p.230 [2] Rebecca West â€Å" The Nature Of Will † in Hamlet: Norton critical edition p.231

Evil Women Essay -- essays papers

Evil Women Women are not always the affectionate, compassionate, and nurturing people that humanly instincts make them out to be. On the contrary, they are sometimes more ruthless and savage than their male counterparts. A good example of this idea is in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Through the use of various feminine roles throughout the play, Shakespeare manages to portray how dramatically important the witches are, along with how imminent greed and power can eventually grasp hold of Lady Macbeth’s morals, and thrust her into a state of emotional stupor. Shakespeare begins the play with the witches for several reasons. First, the fact that they are witches portrays many evil themes since witches are a universal symbol for an advocate of the devil. They themselves foreshadow malign events to come. For example, to add to the witches’ representation of evil, the clichà ©d background is that of thunder and lightening, which also represents wickedness and confusion. Shakespeare also uses the witches to give some background to the play; they decide to meet with Macbeth â€Å"when the battle’s lost and won†. Here, Shakespeare makes clear the fact that there is a battle taking place and Macbeth is involved. They choose to meet with Macbeth â€Å"upon the heath†, wherein a heath is described as being uncultivated, open land. The uncultivated aspect of the heath can be used to foretell the uncivilized intentions the witches have for Macbeth. The last line of the scene is immensely important, for when the wit ches say that â€Å"fair is foul, and foul is fair†, the reader Komery later understands that this is the main theme of the play. This implies that appearances can be deceiving. What appears to be good can be bad, and this ... ...me will to have the throne, even at the cost of her own offspring. Similar to the witches, after Lady Macbeth states her desires to become male, Macbeth enters her room, and a discussion about the murder of King Duncan ensues. The dramatic effect that the witches and Lady Macbeth bring to the play is great. Without them, there would be no play, since Macbeth would have never even considered killing his faithful friend, King Duncan. Yet, because of them, he becomes torn between his lover and his comrade. Lady Macbeth’s greed for power overwhelms her to the point where she would sacrifice anybody that stands in her path. The witches toyed with Macbeth’s head just enough so that he thought he could commit the murder within reason. In the end, these two rationalities led to the death of King Duncan, physically by Macbeth, but mentally, by the women in his life.

Unequal Distribution of Power

Marxist speaks about the unequal distribution of power and wealth and resources in a society. They believe the ones with the resources in a society. They believe that the ones with the resources are the ones oppressing those without those resources. Marxist links their theory to deviance by saying because some have access to fewer resources in the Capitalist society they are seen as more likely to commit crime. Marxist speaks about the upper classes using their power influence and their wealth to hide their crimes and deviant behaviours.They buy their way out of trouble by hiring attorneys and using bribes. Marxist thought to argue that deviance is deliberately chosen and often political in nature. They rejected the idea that deviance is ‘determined’ by factors such as biology, personality, anomie, social disorganization or labels. Rather they argued, individuals actively choose to engage in deviant behaviour respond to the inequalities of the capitalist system. Because this is so, they set up a system where there is something such as social control agents these are they who administer the response to deviance such as police and the army.Although the oppressed groups in society (proletariat) may behave or act deviant, whether or not they do they are more likely to be labelled deviant. For instance in Trinidad there is some communities that are seen as or labelled as deviant places because of its crime rate. Although, not everyone living there are criminals are categorized or group together with that so called deviant community. For instance someone who lives in Lavantille may go to an interview has all the qualifications but because he/ she resides there they may not be ‘‘qualified’’ for the job.The other social classes are not crime-free, the ruling groups in society develop means and mechanisms to protect their interest according to conflict theorist who argue that laws are created protect and sustain the capitalist. Alt hough the public seems to think that the lower classes are more likely commit crime, white-collar workers also commit many crimes. White collar criminal activity in Trinidad and Tobago, though hardly ever reported is not un-noticed. It exists at various levels of society both in the public and private sector.However, the merits or demerits of any allegation of wrongdoings made are hardly ever thoroughly investigated, and almost never comes before a criminal court. It is instead ascribed to poor corporate governance rather than deliberate criminal acts. The police or some rather of this small Caribbean island of Trinidad are very corrupt they will commit wrongful doings of all kind and yet still walk freely like it is normal. It is indeed true that they are protected by their own kind.

A Brief History of Turkish Cinema

The Turkish cinema traced its beginnings from a private show in Paris on December 22, 1895 at the Grand Cafà © by French brothers, Louis and Auguste Lumiere.   Similar such shows came to Turkey at the Sultan’s Court, Yildz Palace and other public ones like that of Sigmund Weinberg at the Sponeck’s Beerhouse in Galatasaray’s Square.In 1914, â€Å"The Destruction of the Russian Monument at Avastefonas† is acknowledged to be the first ever Turkish film.   This was a 150 meter long documentary by Fuat Uzkinav, an army officer.The film â€Å"The Marriage of Master Himmet† was began in 1914 but took long to finish because the actors served in the war of the Dardanelles.   It was finally completed in 1918, when Uzkinav took over from Weinberg, who first worked on the project.   Several other films, mostly on World War I were shot.   In 1922 the first film company was formed.   Muhsin Ertugrul, a theater artist switched to film direction.He mad e a total of 30 films in the entire stretch of his cinematic career.   His important works included the 1923 â€Å"Shirt of Fire† which was about the war for independence, starred by the first female artist, the 1931 â€Å"The Streets in Istanbul, the first film to use a soundtrack, and â€Å"A Nation Awakes† in 1932.The influence of theater can be seen in his films.   Muhsin became a very important figure of the cinema industry.   In the 1950s cinema took its own form.   Lutfu Akad led the pack of new directors.   The theme of   most films of the era was societal problems.   In the 1960s the advent of television had disadvantageous effects on cinema.   Cinematic films during the period dealt with the social and economic themes.  Ã‚   In the 1980s the state supported the cinema industry.   Turkish films earned international recognition.   These films were on social and psychological subjects as well as women’s rights.   The films in the 1990s were fewer but they were of superior quality than before due to advances in technology, training available, international awards and state support.   Theaters and big cinemas emerge, visual aspects were given focus, and outdoor theaters grew.For a while television and videos took the attention away from cinemas, but foreign films from Europe and the US substituted for the lack of local films.   The current status of Turkish cinema strikes a balance with the state’s support of the European Cinema Union and Turkish partnerships with foreign ventures. There is also a noted growth in the number of movie theaters as well as in the positive developments and changes in theater as well.BibliographyTurkish Cinema History.   (2005).   Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism [Internet] Available from http://www.kutur.gov.tr/EN/BelgeGostner.aspx [Accessed 17 November 2008]