Thursday, November 28, 2019
A Farewell To Arms By Ernest Hemmingway Essays -
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway The overall tone of the book is much different than that of The Sun Also Rises. The characters in the book are propelled by outside forces, in this case WWI, where the characters in SAR seemed to have no direction. Frederick's actions are determined by his position until he deserts the army. Floating down the river with barely a hold on a piece of wood his life, he abandons everything except Catherine and lets the river take him to a new life that becomes increasing difficult to understand. The escape to Switzerland seemed too perfect for a book that set a tone of ugliness in the world that was only dotted with pure love like Henry's and Cat's and I knew the story couldn't end with bliss in the slopes of Montreux. In a world where the abstracts of glory, honor, and sacrifice meant little to Frederick, his physical association with Catherine was the only thing he had and it was taken away from him long before she died. The love that Frederick and Catherine had for each other was more than could be explained in words and Frederick makes it known that words are not really effective at describing the flesh and blood details. Their love during an ugly war was not to be recreated or modeled even as much as through a baby conceived by their love. The baby could not be born alive because their love was beautiful yet doomed so that nothing could come out of it. Hemingway's language is effective in leaving much to the readers interpretation and allowing a different image to form in each readers mind. The simple sentences and incomplete descriptions frees your imagination and inspires each person to develop their own bitter love story.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Sales of medical products in the internet Essays
Sales of medical products in the internet Essays Sales of medical products in the internet Essay Sales of medical products in the internet Essay Today, drugs and other pharmaceutical products are being advertised thru the internet and this case had received many criticisms because of the regulation law. In most medical ethics and standards, promotion and advertisement of pharmaceutical products thru the internet is prohibited. Because of the obvious doing of many drug companies in advertising their products, the drug pharmaceutical products regulators were alarmed in the issue. They went to International Conference of Drug Regulatory Authorities which took place in Bahrain in November 1996 to raise their concern regarding on the issue of advertising drug products in the internet (Information).Standards and Ethical issuesThe main reason why drug regulators raised the issue is because on the safety and credibility of the drug products being introduced to the people. According to the drug regulators, those companies who advertise their drug products have no approval on their mode of promotion. As a result , the safety factor on the drugs being advertised in the internet has no 100% assurance that it is safe to take. Also, when a person who purchases a drug in the internet may have purchase the wrong drug and eventually it will lead to illness instead of cure (Information).But why will a person purchase the wrong drug? The answer is, when a person procure drug in the web, that person missed some of the healthcare procedures that is part of the standards in a healthcare industry. Before anyone is issued a drug prescription, he or she must first under go medical checkups, diagnosis, counseling or pharmacist control (Mills, Wilkinson and Bromham). These steps were missed by a person who obtained its drug in the internet. These steps are standard operating procedures in a healthcare industry. That is why drug regulators strongly disagree on the sale of medical products in the internet.There will also a chance that off-label medical products will be given to the consumers. And off-label me dical products are considered void because it may cause health problems (Wilfond).ActionsThe quality of the medical products is not conserved in this kind of method. Many companies that produce and formulate their own medical products may be imitated by other companies (Cone). If this happened, health risks will rise which is considered as a threat. The World Health Organization also took action on the said issue. It had formed a group that will monitor and supervise all medical transactions being done in the internet.The special group of people that was created by WHO will oversee all medical transaction done in the web. Data regarding on the effects on the sale of medical products on those consumers were gathered and was analyzed. The result of the study will result to policy making that will be strictly implemented by WHO.The Division of Drug Management and Policies will take the responsibility given to them by WHO. The said group will recommend new policies that will be a respon se on the issue concerning on the sale of medical products in the internet. This new policies will regulate the advertisement and sale of medical products in the internet.Ethical issues and standards of medical procedures are becoming useless when the government still allow dug companies to advertise and sell their medical products in the improper way. These medical companies must comply with the ethical standards so that the safety and the health of the consumers is still the number one priority (Fefer).
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Performnce management (developing methods of performance apraisal) Essay
Performnce management (developing methods of performance apraisal) - Essay Example Performance appraisal can be described as a formal and systematic way of identifying, observing as well as measuring the strengths and weaknesses of the employees in their job (Swanepoel, 1998). The primary goal of performance appraisal is concerned with improving the performance of the individuals as well as the organisation as a whole so that the desired goals can be easily attained. The system of performance appraisal is mainly concerned with gathering information about the performance of different individuals so as to be in a position to make a decision with regards to promotion of other people while at the same time developing and training those who lag behind in order to improve their performance (Mullins, 2010). It can also be seen that a performance appraisal system is designed to provide the managers with information that can be used to make necessary pay adjustments since it is widely believed that employees with outstanding and exceptional performance standards should be r ewarded with pay increases so as to motivate them. In most cases, performance appraisal is carried over a certain period of time where the employees are given a certain task to perform in a bid to establish their level of competence. Information about the challenges they have faced is gathered as well as the aspects they found simple to perform. In order to perform this task, the most effective employee performance appraisal tool that can be used is to give the employees short reflective written tests that are designed to explore their views and perceptions towards their work. In order to do this, it is imperative to assign the employees a certain task that ought to be accomplished over a certain period of time. The manger has to design a set of self reflective questions that can be answered in short answers. These questions should be related to the task that has been performed and they help to establish the level of competence of the individual in as far as this job task is concern ed. The method of testing the capability of the employees in performing a certain task is very effective since they are compelled to give objective answers that are relevant to the experience they would have gained through the assigned task. The other method that could be used is a questionnaire. However, the disadvantage of this method is that the responses are subjective since they do not provide a deep insight about a personââ¬â¢s perceptions towards a certain job activity. The test method is effective in that a person would be given the opportunity to narrate the real situation he or she has encountered. Chances of objectivity are high given that the individual would be in a position to give personal opinions and ideas towards something. These views can be used to measure against the standard expectations in the organization. If an employee shows that he or she has weaknesses in certain areas, this information can then be used to improve those weaknesses so that his overall p erformance can be improved. The employees who display exceptional knowledge and skills in the tasks assigned to them can be considered for promotion by the management. They can also be considered for high pay adjustments so as to motivate them in order to continue putting optimum effort in their performance. The problem of poor performance
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The age of reason and Evangelical Biblical Interpretation Essay
The age of reason and Evangelical Biblical Interpretation - Essay Example To give substantial foundation of the argument, the proponent also includes basic information about evangelicalism and after this the analysis of how enlightenment affects the way evangelicals interpret the Scripture. Implications and findings are generated from reputable sources about concerning evangelical approaches to biblical hermeneutics. These references are in line with understanding and analysing the prevailing way of biblical interpretation of evangelicalism. It is evident that the age of reason or enlightenment had considerable influence on how to interpret biblical text. First, this is quite expounding when evangelicalism developed during and after the age of enlightenment. This has probable implication that there was an evolution on how the Bible was interpreted, because evangelicalism in the first place defined a movement that could substantially lead us to another style of interpreting the Scripture. Second, the age of reason clearly has illustrated us how evangelicals used their ability not only to stay at the literal point of view of interpreting the Bible, but now many of them could explore their actual opinion and even associate their actual experiences on the associated biblical text just to expound the linked context. Third, it is also clear that from traditional evangelical movement, the interpretation of the Bible evolved to being subjective in the sense that there would be actual implementation of interpretation of the Bible with oneââ¬â¢s opinion, experience and so on. The age of reason has indeed remarkably influenced the evangelical interpretation of the Scripture. However, it is also clear that the evangelicalism even though it might be influenced by enlightenment and post-enlightenment period, but still it remains a movement to regard the Bible as with higher authority. Thus, part of evangelicalsââ¬â¢ interpretation of the Bible is associated with giving substantial authority to concerned biblical text. Keywords: Evangelicalis m, Evangelical, Enlightenment, Bible Table of Contents Page Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Background of the Enlightenment period 4 The probable impacts of Enlightenment on the Biblical interpretation 4 What is Evangelicalism? 8 Features of Evangelicalism 8 Evangelicals acknowledge the authority that the Bible holds 9 Christ, the center of Scripture 9 The Bible and its complete objectivity 12 Evangelicals prevent distorting views of the Bible 12 Evangelicalsââ¬â¢ considerations of the Bible 13 Evangelicals subject their viewpoints to the Bible for correction and change 13 Evangelicals and their point of view on the reliability of the Bible 14 Conclusion 16 References 18 Introduction In this paper, the proponent investigates and critiques the developments that have taken place since the enlightenment in the way evangelicalism interprets the Bible. To justify this further, the proponent starts with the background of the enlightenment period, then its probable impact on biblical interpre tation. To give substantial foundation of the argument, the proponent also includes basic information about evangelicalism and after this the analysis of how enlightenment affects the way evangelicals interpret the Scripture. Implications and findings are generated from reputable sources about concerning evangelical approaches to biblical hermeneutics. These references are in line with understanding and analysing the prevailing way of biblical interpretation of evangelicalism. Background of the Enlightenment period The age of enlightenment created a major impact on how interpreters interpret biblical text. Enlightenment is the age of reason which took place between 17th and 18th century first in
Monday, November 18, 2019
Discuss the use of Lasers in Compact Disk Players for audio (CD) and Essay
Discuss the use of Lasers in Compact Disk Players for audio (CD) and computer applications (DVD) - Essay Example Ways of storing data is not the only thing that has improved over the years but also means of ensuring that information reaches the destination safely has improved from data taking days to be delivered to today where it can only take seconds to send and receive the same. Various digital methods have been improved with earliest development of laser optical being seen in the 70ââ¬â¢s where they used light to capture any activity that took place on the surfaces of the compact disks. The laser could only capture the audio parts, but with various improvements, the compact discs can clearly capture the video segment and duplicate them in various copies. Technology is still expanding and being developed and so are the compact disks that it will come a time that most of the things we are using right will all be operating on digital basis. Principles of Operation of These Systems The laser light has the ability to be pure and coherent which makes it well suited for complicated applications for devices such as compact disc (CD) players (Rafiquzzaman, 2005). The light is focused with tremendous accuracy, which allows it to perceive the infinitesimal pits that appear at the surface of a music CD. Then there are the electronic circuits that single out the torrent of dark and bright patterns that the light identifies then decodes them into high quality music. CDs and DVDs are optical are visual storage mediums that have digital data recorded on top of them (Rushbrook & Roderick, 2002). These two devices uses compact disc player devises that are capable of reading the recorded data using optical beams, which accurately duplicates the original data such as pictures and music. There is a detector that is also referred to photodiode that receives rapid light waves being reflected on top of the CD. The photodiode is very sensitive to the laser light which makes it extremely significant in altering it to electric signals and other important signals used by digital devices. The compact disc player is created in a way that it reads the information by optical means making the tearing and wearing of the discs almost impossible. The technology that has been used for decades with CDs and DVDs is practically the same with only very minimal changes being made to the same (Clements, 1994). Whether the discs have been designed for video, audio or computer applications the basic operations are essentially the same. The laser operations work the same with all the compact devises that are required to store digital information for a period of time. Compared to the light from the bulbs, the laser lights contained a single pure color and all the lights effects are in sync which allows it to move in precise beams that do not extend out. These properties have been important for compact discs since the music information is divided into tracks of about one thousandth of a millimeter thick. This requires lens that focuses the laser light to a miniature spot that can locate th ese tracks (Rushbrook & Roderick, 2002). Their Historical Development The first video disc player to be made was manufactured in 1970 which actually used laser to pick information. The disc worked like today CDs by picking encoded information on the surface of a revolving optical disc and turning it into important information such as music (Clements, 1994). There were two main gases that were very important for laser disc player, this includes neon and
Friday, November 15, 2019
Effectiveness Of The Early Intervention Approach
Effectiveness Of The Early Intervention Approach Within this essay I am not going to list the reasons to believe in the effectiveness of the early intervention approach. The usefulness of early intervention itself is not in dispute. I will, however, be discussing the strengths and weaknesses of different types of early intervention. I will discuss the reasons to believe that some intervention schemes are better than others concerning ways to handle social issues. This essay will discuss the definitions of the terms used in the title. I will look at the motivations behind the schemes and discuss ways of analysing their effectiveness. In relation to the importance of child participation and the amplification of childrens voices, I would also like to look at childrens views on their own situations and why they feel like they should engage in acts that would qualify as a social issue. Defining the key words Using the term social issue in reference to children and families tends to suggest childhood delinquency, drug abuse, violence, teenage pregnancy, crime and etcetera. The word issue implies that there is a problem that should be dealt with; an issue is not an acceptable or desired means of behaviour and it opposes the social ideal. However, many questions arise concerning who has created the definition of this ideal. The language used in the title suggests that the ideal consists of the eradication of all social issues. (which the Government has highlighted.) Used in CTC Effectiveness is an expression that is used by the Government when evaluating early intervention. In the UK, The government drives forward the need for evaluation and assessment of early years practices (Lewis Utting, 2001). It is a commonly held assumption that to achieve the goals of evidence-based practice and cost-effectiveness, evaluation is a necessity, not a luxury (Ghate, 2001, p23). Preventative early intervention initiatives have become more common since the arrival of the New Labour government in the late 1990s (Ghate, 2001). Whether they are led by the government or by other organisations, an early intervention programme generally has the aim of reducing negative social outcomes the children may contribute to when they grow up. Within this essay, I will be using examples of two different types of early intervention scheme: government-led and community-led. Different types of intervention Government-led Throughout the 1990s, there was a growing recognition that wider social, political and economic factors were negatively influencing the families and communities that children grew up in (Hannon Fox, 2005; Glass, 2001). Shortly after New Labour was elected to power in 1997, Tony Blair stated that by 2010, the number of children living in poverty within the UK would be halved and by 2020 it would be eradicated ( ). As a result of this, the New Labour government introduced a number of early intervention initiatives with the aim of reducing social exclusion due to poverty (Clarke, 2007). The New Labour government has shown a serious commitment to the early intervention approach, having invested hundreds of millions of pounds into one initiative in particular: Sure Start (Hannon Fox, 2005). To begin with, Sure Start was targeted primarily at working with parents of young children from the most socio-economically deprived areas in the UK. By doing this, therefore, the government aimed to potentially tackle future issues that their children might create. One statement of Sure Starts intentions is described by Clarke (2007); (Sure Start aims to avoid) social exclusion in adulthood, primarily by enabling children to realise their potential within the education systemà ¢Ã¢â ¬Ã
¸ (p.699). Sure Start reflects its aim by working both directly and indirectly with the child; directly by providing such things as pre-school childcare; and indirectly by providing services for parents and the wider community (Belsky Melhuish, 2007). Other government early intervention approaches that have been introduced since 1997 with the aim to break the cycle of poverty include: child tax credits, working tax credits and child benefits. Government policies and green papers such as Every Child Matters (2003) support the early intervention approaches by outlining the standards for child well-being and suggesting guidelines to help professionals reach these standards. The 2007 Childrens Plan recognises the importance of providing support for parents, in order to gain their enthusiasm for their childs education. Parental enthusiasm and involvement is a key factor when trying to initiate an intervention scheme ( ). Government programmes and large scale intervention programmes such as Communities That Care (CTC) are not the only types of early intervention. Communities themselves have long developed programmes that tackle issues important to them. Sure Start was to be focussed on relatively small areas of need, reflecting the desirability of action at the level of communities (Hannon Fox, 2005, p3) Community-led Non-government led organisations have been set up all over the country in response to different communities needs. One example is Kids Company, a charity which aims to provide practical, emotional and educational support to vulnerable inner-city children and young people (Kids Company Website, 2008). This statement seems very similar to the one Sure Start uses. Kids Companys methods of early intervention, however, differ significantly from those of Sure Start. Kids Companys effectiveness lies in its provision of innovative, flexible and child-centred services. Kids Company provides targeted therapeutic and social work interventions, and universal class and group access to the arts. (Gaskell, 2008, p4) Personal relationships with people they are reaching. Self-referal. Accessibility is an important factor for intervention schemes. If parents or children do not access intervention (whether it be through choice or lack of knowledge) The assumption is that behind every child is a responsible adult, who will navigate the path to services (Camilla Batmanghelidjh, 2006, p15). Sadly, the truth for many children who would benefit most from intervention services is that their main carers are not willing or cannot be bothered (uninterested?) to allow their child to attend (Batmanghelidjh, 2006). Motivations behind intervention schemes Politics Childrens welfare? Money The intention for the Sure Start initiative was that it should be based on the best evidence of what works (Glass, 2001, p14). Lack of funds can mean that some children get overlooked by local authorities and social services. In her book, Camilla Batmanghelidjh (2006) describes coming into contact with children who were suffering from lack of food and neglect, referring these children to social services, but discovering that they were not eligible for help due to lack of resources and too many cases of sexual and physical abuse. Many children drop out of the education system and are never pursued by the system because the behavioural and emotional difficulties of the children are too much of a burden to school staff (Batmanghelidjh, 2006). Many interrelated factors place children at risk of adopting behaviour that could be seen as a social issue. Many children who already practice such behaviour are likely to have been conditioned by their familys socio-economic circumstances. Socially unacceptable behaviours can lead to social exclusion, which can, in turn, result in the next generations social exclusion (Clarke, 2007). Childrens attitudes, achievements and behaviour are shown to be linked to the environment in which they grow up in. The largest influence is shown to be that of the family (Parton, 2007). Talk about EPPE. The key, when looking at dealing with social issues, lies in tackling the underlying factors. This could be by the means of providing services and/or resources. These factors include poverty, poor nutrition, emotional neglect and underachievement. There is an overall understanding that these factors cannot be isolated from one another (find evidence). Intervention is a term that suggests that an outside source will come in to intervene with whatever is going on and disappear again once too issue is fixed or eradicated. Analysing effectiveness (research) Evaluating larger scale early intervention programmes Early Effects of CTC (Hawkins et al, 2008) Reports positive effects, but the results are quantitative looking at if the children have taken drugs or shown signs of delinquent behaviour. Not looking at the childrens views of how the project may have changed their lives issues such as being listened to, valued and feeling part of the community. if services cannot specify what changes they expect to see for `successful users, evaluators certainly cannot measure them, let alone pass judgement on whether the service has proved effective. (Ghate, 2001, p25) Strengths of early intervention approaches imply that these are the reasons for perceived effectiveness. Contrary to the strengths of early intervention projects, their weaknesses reveal the space for improvement within the services. The New Labour government has introduced several interventions that aim to benefit families. Much research would support the idea that early intervention schemes such as Sure Start have a positive benefit on childrens well-being ( ), but how far can research reflect the true picture of what is happening to under-privileged children in this country? This pressure to measure a settings effectiveness can detract from the amount of time practitioners can spend with the children: Time and energy is, therefore, increasingly sapped from those providing services to fill in forms for external purposes, rather than supporting children. (Lewis and Utting, 2001, p4). Ironically, this could negatively affect the effectiveness of the intervention. Accessibility- If many people are accessing services, then the likelihood of them having an impact is increased. Alternatively, if there are not enough staff members to meet the needs of the attendees, then the likelihood of effectiveness is inevitably decreased. Before an educational outcome there needs to be an emotional one (Batmanghelidjh, 2006, p23). Successful outcomes or effectiveness of an intervention service are not instantly noticeable. It may take years for disturbed children to engage in behaviour they were previously unable to. Their outcomes are personal, and their successes are often individual and emotional first, before they become visible in the world of academia and work. (Batmanghelidjh, 2006, p 22) The problem with presenting outcomes in the way that they are being demanded is that clinicians try and exclude children from their services who are likely not to provide positive outcomes. p.23 This is not through cruelty, though, but because the clinician relies on the money they earn for doing their job effectively. Money is essentially the reason why so many children do not receive the services they should. Children are being dehumanised by being treated as statistics that keep adults in their jobs. So many of our current interventions with vulnerable children come from the perspective of the well-adjusted adult, needing to preserve our own sense of safety. (p 153) Short-term initiatives, where the practitioner enters the childs situation, offers a quick-fix cure and then disappears again, are merely cosmetic. This kind of intervention offers no real solution to the issues that disadvantaged children face. The government thrive on statistics that have been distorted to reflect their political goal (find some). The public want statistics to show them that issues are being resolved. It is to do with how committed people are to seeing change. Short-term initiatives are ineffective, due to the fact that people are complex beings. Effective early intervention programmes have recognised the need to build relationships with the people behind the issues. Conclusion Children who carry out anti-social behaviour are sometimes referred to as being delinquent (Hawkins, 2008). This reflects the medical model of disability, that which implies that the fault lies within the child and needs to be fixed. The aim of some early intervention programmes can be to benefit wider society rather than the child. Blair (2008) spoke of a new political initiative that would identify those most at risk of offending at birth. This kind of intervention would not be beneficial to the child. Being labelled from birth as a potential offender could produce a self-fulfilling prophesy. The most effective early intervention programmes are those that make a commitment to the children themselves; that aim to make them feel valued as members of society and offer them the best opportunities. Many of the early intervention programmes explored, such as Communities That Care (CTC) concentrate on notions of bringing the community together and building social capital from within the community. We cannot expect children to act as responsible members of the community unless they are treated as such. Not just gathering their views but involving them, involving them in planning and developing of programmes as will see constant criticism from the children is nothing actually happens Disenchantment The delinquent child (Hawkins, 2008) Looking at how the child is framed within early intervention programmes. Is it to make them feel valued, important and give them the best opportunities? Or is it to sort them out for the sake of wider society? Government initiatives: Identifying those at risk of offending at birth (Blair, 2008). Fits with governments crack-down on anti-social behaviour and ASBOs. More positive: Sure Start, parenting programmes. Want to prevent the problems before they start, but such approaches label the child before they have even offended. This is likely to alienate them further from society. Not helpful! Distribution of power CTC Programme is systematically applied from the outside Community driven and the community identifies problems they believe need addressing But, research by (Brown et al 2007) into the Community Youth Development Study: Leaders were those who already held leadership positions i.e. mayors, city managers, police chiefs, school superintendents. These were the people who were interviewed, alongside five referred leaders No effort to break down power relationships. Study itself is not representative. We do not hear the views of different community members. Older respondents and those from law enforcement were more likely to report higher baseline levels of collaboration than younger respondents or those from other community sectors (Brown et al 2007). So again criminal justice system taking the lead. Ultimately, people sacrificing their time and finances can do such impressive things for the need of their communities. And I think thats what our world is desperately in need of lovers, people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about. Shane Claiborne (The Irresistible Revolution, 2006) Define what can be meant by social issues in this essay. What does it mean to deal with social issues? What is effectiveness? How can we measure such a relative/ idiosyncratic thing? What types of early intervention are there? Government programs Surestart Voluntary sector- charity work/ people choosing to live in disadvantaged community to help change for the better. Education? Therapists? Health? NHS, midwives, health visitors etc. What reasons are there to believe that these methods work? CTC data (large no.s of opinion surveys do these fully reflect true picture?) Case studies? Government studies (truly reliable? Short term? Who are they financed by and for what purpose?) What alternative approaches are there to early intervention?! (What are we comparing early intervention to to make the assumption that it is the most effective approach to deal with social issues? Other countries (Norway and Sweden) Are families engaging with intervention projects? Non-engagement (Anning and Ball 2008) Intervention or need of resources Arnold et al (2003): Specific needs of communities and the individuals themselves within such communities need to be addressed. Great diversity of needs It is the environment that needs changing not the individual. Brown et al (2007) CTC organizes the adoption of a science-based approach to prevention into five stages that correspond to Rogers (1995) stages of innovation diffusion. Each stage is guided by a set of milestones and benchmarks that are used to monitor CTC implementation p181 Diffusion is the process through which (1) an innovation (2) is communicated through certain channels (3) over time (4) among the members of a social system (Rogers, 1995). Most individuals evaluate an innovation, not on the basis of scientific research by experts, but through the subjective evaluations of near-peers who have already adopted the innovation. Diffusion is essentially a social process through which people talking to people spread an innovation.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Mythological References in Hamlet Essay -- Essays on Shakespeare Hamlet
Mythological References in Hamlet à à à à What's in a name? Hamlet's good friend and confidant Horatio is doomed by the etymology of his nomenclature to give good speech. Shakespeare has gifted Horatio with an elegant lucidty that, when inspected closely, enables the reader to better comprehend the nature of the play; one of his first addresses is key in setting the tone of what James Joyce called "'the grave and constant' in human suffering" (Campbell 8). This is also a principal theme of classical mythology, and to fully understand Hamlet as a tragic hero, a comprehension of the mythological references at the beginning of the play must be foremost in the reader's mind. These metaphoric intimations of tragedy; leaked in Hamlet's and Horatio's early soliloquies deliver the fundamental clues to unlocking Hamlet's enigmatic madness and foreshadow its violent emotional, physical and supernatural battles. à The early Greeks believed that the universe created the gods, not .he other way around(Hamilton 24). They created their myths to explain the order of things; how the sun sets, why the moon rises, the tides coming in and out, etc. When these patterns were interrupted, people assumed it was the wrath or folly of the gods and went on making up more stories. Shakespeare has given his characters a heritage influenced by the Teutonic and Nordic races. Both cultures developed a collateral paganish belief shared by the early Greeks, and this parallel helps offer an explanation towards the choice of metaphor in the text. This is most important in the following excerpt from Horatio's second soliloquy. After seeing the ghost of Hamlet's father, he remarks to Bernardo: à Disasters in the sun; and the moist star, Upon w... ...is heroic obligation. Claudius questions Hamlet's mood after a month of mourning for his father: à CLAUDIUS: How is it that the clouds still hang on you? HAMLET: Not so, my lord, I am too much i' the sun.(I.ii.65-66) à The reader is reminded of Horatio's portentous thoughts of misfortune and simultaneously called to recognize Hamlet as the center of future woes, around whom all the disasters at Elsinore revolve like satellites of the Fates: is he too much like his father or not? If Hamlet truly embodies the Promethean essence, then he does know what is to happen: Prometheus means "foresight." What is in a name? à Works Cited Campbell, Joseph. The Power of Myth. New York: Doubleday, 1988. Dukore, Bernard F. "Shaw on Hamlet." Educational Theatre Journal 23 (1971): 152-59 Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Mentor, 1969. Ã
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