Mary The Virgin Mother Religion Essay

Mary The Virgin Mother Religion Essay Mary was the virgin mother of our savior Jesus Christ. She was born in One night the angel Gabriel came to Mary while she was at her cousin Elizabeths house. The angel said to Mary Hail favored one! The Lord is with you. Mary was frightened at the appearance of the angel. The angel said Do not be scared, Mary, cause you have found favor with God. Mary, you will have a child given to you by the Holy Spirit, and you will name him Jesus. Mary did not understand because she had not had sexual relations with any man. Gabriel told Mary the child was given to you by the Holy Spirit, and therefore the child will be called Holy, the son of God. Also your cousin Elizabeth has conceived a baby in her late years, and this is her six month, for nothing is impossible with God. Mary said I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done according to your word (The Silent Scream). When Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel, she was betrothed to a carpenter from Bethlehem named Joseph. In Jerusalem, if you were pregnant before you were married and the baby didnt belong to the person the woman was betrothed to, the women was stoned to death by the village. Joseph and Mary were married after Joseph was assured by an angel in a dream that she conceived a child by the Holy Spirit (Delaney pg.390). When Mary was pregnant with Jesus, Joseph and her traveled to Bethlehem where Joseph was from, to register in their census that was ordered by King Herod. Mary traveled on a donkey to Bethlehem. When Mary and Joseph finally reached Bethlehem there were no rooms at any of the inns. But a manager at one of the inns told Mary and Joseph they could stay in his manager. So Mary and Joseph stayed in the manager where she had Jesus. Word traveled around that there would be a messiah from the highest of the high, and that he would come and rule his people, and save them from sin. King Herod feared that Jesus would be a rival to his throne (Delaney pg. 390). After King Herod died, they returned and settled back in Nazareth (Delaney pg. 390). The only thing that is known about Mary in the years she lived in Nazareth is Jesus presentation in the temple and one incident on a trip back from Jerusalem when Jesus was lost. Mary and Joseph found him in a temple talking with the doctors there about God (Delaney pgs. 390+ 391). Mary was a key figure in Jesus first miracle at The Wedding Feast of Cana. Mary and Jesus were invited to a wedding, and they ran out of wine. So Mary told Jesus to help, and then she left the kitchen and told the servants, do whatever he tells you. Jesus ordered the servants to fill six big canvases full of water and he turned the water into wine. One could say that Mary encouraged Jesus to perform his first miracle. Mary was present at Jesus death, Resurrection, Ascension as well as the days before Pentecost (Delaney pg. 391). At the crucifixion of Jesus, when Jesus was hanged on the cross, Mary was given into the arms of John the Apostle (Delaney pg. 391). According to tradition Mary went to Ephesus, where she died, but another tradition states that she lived in Jerusalem until her death, which is believed to have occurred in 48 A.D. (Delaney pg. 391).The belief that Marys body was assumed into heaven is one of the oldest traditions in the church (Delaney 391). Assumption means risen into heaven. The Assumption of Mary is celebrated on August 15 (Holiday Year). Mary was the second person of the Holy Trinity, and was free from original sin from the moment of her birth (Delaney pg. 391). Appearances of Mary have been reported in the last century and a half, at Lourdes, Fatima, and La Salette (Delaney pg.391). Other feast days for Mary are The Annunciation of the Lord on March 25, the Visitation on May 31, the Presentation of the Lord on February 2, Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15, Our Lady of the Rosary on October 7, the Queenship of Mary on August 22, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on January 1, and the Immaculate Heart of Mar y on Saturday following the second Sunday of Pentecost (Delaney pg.391). Mary had the choice to say no, and not have Jesus, it was all done by choice. Mary knew what would become of her if people found out that the baby inside her was not Josephs. She knew she would be stoned to death by the village. Mary might have feared that Joseph would have not believed her but, somewhere in her heart she probably wished he did. Mary also knew what would become of Jesus her only son. To live and raise Jesus and know he would die probably killed her inside, but she accepted the call because thats what God asked of her. You could only imagine what it would be like to lose your son and just sit there seeing him suffer in so much pain and you not being able to do anything about it. I admire Mary for everything she did. Mary was never thinking of herself she was always thinking of us and God. In my opinion Mary is one of the most brave and amazing woman I have ever heard of, and she does deserve the title Mother of God. When we pray the Hail Mary we are praying to Mary telling her to tell Jesus to help us and to pray for us. Mary wants and helps us get closer to Jesus. She wants us to follow the right path and she wants us to be with her and Jesus and the saints in heaven. Delaney, John J. Dictionary of saints. Garden City: Doubleday Company, Inc., 1980.Print. Difiore, Kathy. The Blessed Virgin and Her Examples of Faith in God. The Silent Scream. Several Sources Shelters. April 2007.Web.20 November 2010. Mary, Saint Mary, Virgin Mary.Saint Mary. N.p n.d Web. 13 November 2010. Hoilday Year. Holiday Year. Holiday Year. N.p. n.d. 9 December 2010.

Definition Of Fact Finding Techniques Information Technology Essay

Definition Of Fact Finding Techniques Information Technology Essay Introduction Requirement analysis can be said to identify investigation, documenting and analysing requirements of the system. The first investigation step of the need of a system is a major activity of problem analysis. This is the role of a system analyst to determine the actual requirement of a system. Sometimes, system analyst may make mistake in discovering the requirements and in trying to analyse a problem. As a result, they may come up with the wrong solution in designing and implementation of a solution. And the solution will not be able to solve the real problem and even cause a new problem in later system analysis process. Therefore, this paper looks at one of the effective methods (fact-finding) for system analyst to help them in gathering information. Definition of Fact-finding Techniques Fact finding is process of collection of data and information based on techniques which contain sampling of existing documents, research, observation, questionnaires, interviews, prototyping and joint requirements planning. System analyst uses suitable fact-finding techniques to develop and implement the current existing system. Collecting required facts are very important to apply tools in System Development Life Cycle because tools cannot be used efficiently and effectively without proper extracting from facts. Fact-finding techniques are used in the early stage of System Development Life Cycle including system analysis phase, design and post implementation review. Facts included in any information system can be tested based on three steps: data- facts used to create useful information, process- functions to perform the objectives and interface- designs to interact with users. Fact-finding techniques There are seven common fact-finding techniques Sampling of existing documentation, forms and databases Research and Site visits Observation of the work environment Questionnaires Interviews Prototyping Joint requirements planning Sampling of existing documentation, forms and databases The best way to analyse the existing system is to collect facts from existing documentation rather than from human sources. There are various kinds of documents to collect facts from existing documents. These include: e-mails, customer complaints, suggestion box notes and reports that document the problem area problem performance reviews, samples of completed manual forms and reports and samples of completed computerized forms and reports various types of flowcharts and diagrams, program documentation and user training manuals System analyst uses sampling techniques in order to organize the above documentation. Sampling technique is the process of combing a representative sample of documents, form and records (Bentley, Whitten, 2007). According to these authors there are two commonly used sampling techniques namely randomization and stratification. Randomization is the process of selecting sample data randomly. Stratification is the systematic process to deduct the variance of sampling data. We can have better understanding of the system due to the analysis of existing documents, forms, files related to the current system. Research and Site visits Research and site visits, second technique, is the process of examining the problems which had previously solved by other sources that can be either human or documents. To solve the requirements of problem, the analyst visits to other organization that had previously experienced for similar problems. In addition, the analyst can also find the information from database, reference books, case studies and Internet. Advantages of Research and Site visits It can save the time if the problem is already solved. Researcher can know how different person previously solved the same problems. Researchers always know the details information about the current development system. Disadvantages of Research and Site visits Need authority to access the appropriate source of information. As documentation of problem is not recorded, there is difficult to solve the problem. Observation of the work environment Another fact finding technique is observation. In this technique, system analyst participates in the organization, studies the flow of documents, applies the existing system, and interacts with the users. Observation can be a useful technique when the system analyst have user point of view. Sampling technique called work sampling is useful for observation. By using this technique, system analyst can know how employees spend their days. Questionnaires Questionnaires are also one of useful fact-finding technique to collect information from large number of users. Users fill up the questions which are given by the system analyst and then give the answers back to the system analyst. Questionnaires can save time because system analyst does not need to interview each of users and if the time of interview is short, questionnaires are more useful. To fulfil the requirements of the system objective, system analyst should have the ability to clearly define the design and frame of questionnaires. There are two types of questionnaires: Free-format questionnaires In free-format questionnaires, users are allowed to answer questions freely without immediate response. The results are also useful in learning about feelings, opinions, and experiences of the respondents. Fixed-format questionnaires The purpose of fixed-format questionnaires is to gather information from predefined format of questions. Users are allowed to choose the result from the given answers. There are three types of fixed-format questions: multiple-choice questions (Yes or No type), rating questions (Strongly agree, Agree, No opinion, Disagree, Strongly disagree), ranking questions (numbering according to the preferences). Advantages of Questionnaires People can fill the forms and give answers freely to the analyst. This technique is inexpensive. Users are more willing to response real answer as they do not need to give their personal information. Responses can be calculated and analysed quickly. Disadvantages of Questionnaires Incomplete answers will be received from users. Analyst cannot observe the body language of user responses. Analyst has no chance to define vague or incomplete responses. Good questionnaires are difficult to prepare. Interviews Interview is the most commonly used technique to collect information from the face-to-face interviews. The purpose of interview is to find, verify, clarify facts, motivate end-users involved, identify requirements and gather ideas and opinions. The role of interview includes interviewer who is system analyst and interviewee who are system owner or user. Interviewing technique needs good communication skills for interaction between system analyst and user. There are two types of interviews. Unstructured interviews An interview that is conducted with only a general goal or subject in mind and with few, if any, specific questions (Bentley, Whitten, 2007). Open-ended questions type is used in unstructured interview that allows user to answer freely in an appropriate way. Structured interviews Structured interview is an interview which contains predefined set of questions. In structured interview, close-ended questions type is used to limit answers to specify choices, short and direct responses from the interviewees. Advantages of Interviews By motivating interviewees, they have confident to answer the questions more effectively. System analyst can examine the more feedbacks from the interviewees. System analyst can prepare questions for interviewees to be more suitable or change the questions for every individual. System analyst can know the nonverbal communications of interviewees by perceiving the body movements and facial expression. Disadvantages of Interviews Interviewing is time consuming and costly mechanism in fact-finding technique. Moreover, the communication skills of the system analyst affect the success of interview. Prototyping Another fact-finding technique is known as prototyping which collects the requirement facts of the system. Prototyping is sampling a small working model and it is more related to pre-design of the information system. The implementation of prototyping can be developed in earlier stage of system development life cycle when analyzing the facts. The process of prototyping facts in order to specify the userà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s requirements is also known as discovery prototyping. Advantages of Prototyping Users and developers are able to test and understand the system in advance before final implementation. It also can make and determine development of the system before applying high development costs in the information system. In addition, it is a kind of training mechanism. Prototyping require less time on fact-finding and it is useful in defining the constant and consistent requirements. Disadvantages of Prototyping Training of developers is a requirement in prototyping. Sometimes users can misunderstand the performance, reliability and features of prototype as real results. Therefore, users need to train to know that prototype only covers system functionality and it is not a complete system. Development cost and schedule may change in prototyping. Joint requirements planning JRP is the structured group work meeting to identify, analyze problems and define the requirements of system. JRP is becoming increasingly common in systems planning and systems analysis to obtain group consensus on problems, objectives and requirements (Bentley and Whitten; 2007). JRP can tabulate the facts efficiently in a short time and it can also replace in the place of numerous and separate interviews. JRP contains different participants with each specialized roles to perform structured meeting. JRP participants include sponsor, facilitator, users and managers, scribes and IT staff. Sponsor is an individual in top management, who has full authority to decide who will be participants, time and location of JRP session. The role of facilitator is to lead JRP session, motivate participants, solve conflicts and meet the requirements of meeting during the JRP session. Users in JRP session are responsible for rules and requirement of business, prototype, and satisfactory decisions. An d Managers are responsible for projects, schedules and costs and training requirements. Scribes job is to record everything discussed in the meeting. IT staff responsible for models and documentation concerning with facts during the discussion. Advantages of JRP JRP is formed different individuals with various roles and covers both in users and in management levels. JRP saves time to develop systems as it is not required one-on-one interviewing of each participant within the organization. When JRP incorporates prototyping as a means for confirming requirements and obtaining design approvals, the benefits of prototyping are realized (Bentley and Whitten; 2007). Disadvantages of JRP Extensive training is required for JRP as it is a group form. Active participation of all individuals will results the solution of JRP sessions. Using Questionnaires in Usage of Automated Teller Machine In our paper we applied Questionnaires technique for problems that are found in Usage of Automated Teller Machine. The following questionnaire is designed for usage of Bank Automatic Teller Machine. We planned two parts for our questionnaire: first part is collecting the demographic characteristics of users and second part is collecting the user feed backs according to our questions. Section A 1. Gender: Male Female 2. Age: 15-20 21-40 41-50 Above 3. Occupation: Student Civil Servant Business Others 4. Types of account: Savings Current Others Section B No. Questions for Usage of Automatic Teller Machine Yes No 1 Do you use Automatic Teller Machine for your banking Transaction? 2 Can you operate ATM with ease? 3 Did Automatic Teller Machine enable you perform transaction for 24 hours? 4 Can you access Automatic Teller Machine at any location? 5 Are you aware of settlement of utility bills through ATM? 6 Are you aware of making fund transfer through ATM? 7 Are you comfortable with ATM Usage for Banking Transaction? 8 Is Automatic Teller Machine transaction charges Affordable? 9 Is Automatic Teller Machine Network reliable? 10 Did your Automatic Teller Machine card ever get trap during Transaction? 11 Did ATM ever debit your account without issuing out physical cash? 12 Is your complaint attended to promptly? Conclusion In this paper we discussed about the seven fact-finding techniques based on studying our text book and some articles. During our assignment, we become to understand that if the system analyst knows details of fact-finding techniques, they can get knowledge of gathering the required information to develop the current system.

Ed Gein :: Free Essays

Ed Gein The people of Plainfield, considered Ed Gein a gentle man who everybody trusted. Ed had a very strict childhood. His father died when he was very young. His mother then decided that she would raise her children and not marry or be involved in any relationship. Mrs. Gein told Ed and his brother Henry that all women were bad and that sex would lead to heart breaks and diseases. Later in life, Ed confessed he felt his mother was good in every manner (deranged,wierd,sick, http.//www.deranged.com). Authorities suspected he had a sexual relationship with his mother. Within a matter of time Ed's mother and brother had died, leaving Ed desolate on a farm which didn't even have electricity. Ed worked odd jobs like a handyman and baby-sitting. In his free time, Ed conducted psychotic experiments. Fascinated with the female body, Ed often indulged himself in anatomical textbooks. To actually see and feel for himself, he went to the graveyard and exhumed several bodies, including his mothers'. H e found pleasure in handling dead women's sex organs. Even worse, he skinned the corpses and dissected the bodies. The inventory inside his home consisted of heads, hearts, livers, intestines, and skin scattered about. At night he would take off all of his clothes, put on his mothers skin, and dance around the house. Seeking yet more sexual gratification Ed made furniture and musical instruments from body parts. Some of these items included lampshades, tom toms, and bracelets. Gein then moved on to killing other people. Even though he only killed two women (Mary Hogan and Bernice Wordan), Ed was still considered a serial killer. After killing Bernice Wordan, the evidence left behind lead to Ed Gein. When the authorities arrived they were welcomed by an assortment of human artifacts. Shrunken heads, drinking glass skulls, and skin furniture. Ed didn't realize that what he had done was wrong so he invited the police in for coffee. Ed Gein :: Free Essays Ed Gein The people of Plainfield, considered Ed Gein a gentle man who everybody trusted. Ed had a very strict childhood. His father died when he was very young. His mother then decided that she would raise her children and not marry or be involved in any relationship. Mrs. Gein told Ed and his brother Henry that all women were bad and that sex would lead to heart breaks and diseases. Later in life, Ed confessed he felt his mother was good in every manner (deranged,wierd,sick, http.//www.deranged.com). Authorities suspected he had a sexual relationship with his mother. Within a matter of time Ed's mother and brother had died, leaving Ed desolate on a farm which didn't even have electricity. Ed worked odd jobs like a handyman and baby-sitting. In his free time, Ed conducted psychotic experiments. Fascinated with the female body, Ed often indulged himself in anatomical textbooks. To actually see and feel for himself, he went to the graveyard and exhumed several bodies, including his mothers'. H e found pleasure in handling dead women's sex organs. Even worse, he skinned the corpses and dissected the bodies. The inventory inside his home consisted of heads, hearts, livers, intestines, and skin scattered about. At night he would take off all of his clothes, put on his mothers skin, and dance around the house. Seeking yet more sexual gratification Ed made furniture and musical instruments from body parts. Some of these items included lampshades, tom toms, and bracelets. Gein then moved on to killing other people. Even though he only killed two women (Mary Hogan and Bernice Wordan), Ed was still considered a serial killer. After killing Bernice Wordan, the evidence left behind lead to Ed Gein. When the authorities arrived they were welcomed by an assortment of human artifacts. Shrunken heads, drinking glass skulls, and skin furniture. Ed didn't realize that what he had done was wrong so he invited the police in for coffee.

Essay --

The Organizational Structure of Nike Nike is the number one innovator in the world in athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories. This worldwide company operates in an extremely different organizational structure than other companies, such as Reebok and Adidas. Nike operates tremendous marketing strategies and develops inventive designs to inspire athletes around the world. This company is one of the largest suppliers in the world in athletic footwear and apparel, main producer of sports equipment, and making Nike the most valuable brand among sports companies. The task for Nike is to join diversity and inclusion to encourage ideas and innovation. Around the world, this company is a popular brand. Organizational Structure Nike is made up as a matrix organizational structure, which consist of several specialists and some individuals report to at a minimum of two managers. In the company, the staff informs to a crew of managers who dispatches the development report to the manager of the department. Each product within the company includes of it is own section and has its own department who performs independently of the CEO. The managers and employees of Nike decide concerning design and manufacture while the department managers concentrate mainly on ethical issues. In addition, the managers are completely accountable for the employees. While operating a matrix structure, Nike makes choices and responds quicker than any other department. Unlike Nike, Microsoft uses a divisional structure because it offers various separations within the company that functions almost as their own separate entities. However, this does not mean that they do not collaborate on projects or cross reference with each other. The divisi... ...ials to make their products rather than using materials that carries hazardous materials. There widespread of products help expand the company all around the world, and inspire the world with great performance and design. Conclusion Nevertheless, Nike is an extremely diverse company with outstanding organizational structure, impressive marketing strategy, and innovative products. The organizational structure of the Nike Corporation helped them become a leading innovator for the world with creative apparels and shoes. Their intelligent marketing strategies assist them in advertising their products to motive their customers and sell them. Their innovative product motivates customers with great performance footwear and quality designs to take on any obstacles. The Nike Corporation discovers various ways to improve their organizational structure to inspire the world.

The Great City of Calicut

The Great City of Calicut Located on the Malabar (southwestern) Coast of India was its port city of Calicut. Calicut, Kozhikode, was the capitol of a state which served as an important, if not the most important, state in the region in which it lay. Although Calicut lay on the coast, there was no place along its shore deep enough for ships to anchor. Still, as early as the fourteenth century, Calicut conducted a considerable amount of trade.According to the primary sources of Ibn Battuta, Ma Huan, and an annonymous crew member of Vasco da Gama’ s, Calicut flourished as a center of trade because of their resources and trade systems, among other factors, making lasting impressions on these and other foreign visitors. In the account recorded in the Roteiro (Logbook), of Vasco da Gama’s anonymous crew member, various resources of Calicut were given. Calicut was a supplier and producer of several desired spices, including ginger, pepper, and the cinnamon-like spice, cassia.B y the fifteenth century, Calicut had established a system for cultivating pepper. Among spices that were brought to Calicut and traded with other countries were cloves from the island of Melqua and true cinnamon from Cillion. In addition to their natural resources, the people of Calicut created and sold silk. Once the silk was acquired from the silkworm, it was boiled, dyed, then weaved into kerchiefs. Not only was Calicut admired for their resources, but Calicut established trade regulations among foreign countries that was both respected and appreciated.For example, Moroccan traveler-ambassador Ibn Battuta chronicled in his ribla (around 1356), book of travels, that when a ship wrecked along the Malabar Coast, all items from the ship were taken to the treasury. However, in Calicut, the owner of the wreckage was permitted to recollect his items. Merchants appreciated this, thus attracting further business. This policy was strategic of Calicut in that although they did not gain an i mmediate profit from the wrecked ships, long-term, trade efficiency increased, ultimately benefitting Calicut even more.In Chinese Muslim Ma Huan’s book, The Overall Survey of the Ocean’s Shores, published in 1451, he gives a detailed description of Calicut’s trading process. Once a vessel arrived in Calicut, two chiefs were appointed to it to oversee transactions. The king of Calicut sends a chief, an accountant, and a broker to inspect the accountant books. After a date is chosen to fix prices, the price of each good brought to trade to Calicut is fixed, a description, much like a receipt, is given to both parties.Next, the chief, the accountant, and the commander of the visiting ship all shake hands and agree to never retract or change the price fixed for the goods. Then the accountant and wealthy men bring riches to be assessed and priced. This process takes between one and three days. This description shows that because Calicut had such a high volume of tra de, a system was developed and practiced to a â€Å"T† in order to maintain trade efficiency. This also assured that no one was cheated out of goods/money.According to the accounts of the above travelers, the development of Calicut was aided in part by their natural resources and trading systems and regulations. Chief among other factors as to why Calicut was so significant is that it served as a trading route, allowing duties to be paid to the Sultan. However, during these times, the state of Calicut was in religious divide. The king and the people were Hindu, while the chiefs were Muslim. Although the two religions respected each other, this divide may have been seen as weakness among foreigners, which may have ultimately contributed to the decline of Calicut.

Keats’ attitude towards women Essay

Q- Keats wrote that he struggled to settle his mind on women, by turns adoring them as angels and reviling them as whores. Discuss Keats’s attitude to women in at least three poems in light of this opinion. Keats once wrote in a letter to Fanny Brawne â€Å"You have ravish’d me away by a Power I cannot resist: and yet I could resist till I saw you; and even since I have seen you I have endeavoured often ‘to reason against the reasons of my Love’- I can do that no more†. The quote, from John Ford’s ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, ostensibly encapsulates Keats’ attitude towards women. Through the variation of female characters presented in his work, from the evil seductress in La Belle Dame Sans Merci to chaste pure Madeline from The Eve of St. Agnes, Keats cultivates the impression of being simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the opposite sex, enthralled by their sensuality yet wary of their seemingly alien nature. This repulsion is depicted quite clearly in La Belle Dame Sans Merci or ‘The Beautiful Woman Without Pity’. Keats’ allusion to the medieval romance by French poet Alain Chartier immediately transports the reader into a fairy tale setting. The poem adopts the form of a folk ballad, yet merely mimics traditional love ballads as Keats’ female protagonist is depicted as having a far darker purpose. The contrast between the traditional ballad form and the cruel titular woman creates an ominous tone that continues into the first stanza of the poem. The poem consists of two speakers, the first of which hails the ‘palely loitering’ knight and asks ‘O what can ail thee’. The eeriness of the poem is reinforced when the unknown speaker asks a second time, ‘O what can ail thee, knight at arms’, the repetition of the question creating a ghostly refrain. The alliteration of the ‘L’ sound in ‘palely loitering’ creates a sense of listlessness that is furthered through the bleak landscape where ‘the sedge has wither’d from the lake, and no birds sing’. From this the reader can infer that the knight is a desolate emotional state, which is echoed, by his surroundings. Keats’s use of pathetic fallacy is furthered when the first speaker remarks that the ‘harvest’s done’ thus leaving the knight in a literal winter as well as a figurative one. As knights are often held as paragons of courage and power, Keats makes the reader aware that something preternaturally powerful must be at work. This preternatural being is ‘full beautiful-a faery’s child’, a tempestuous seductress who enthrals the hapless knight. So besotted is he, that he thinks nothing of following her to her ‘elfin grot’ where she ‘lulled’ him asleep. On the one hand, the verb ‘lulled’ can be seen as a treacherous attempt to secure the knight’s affections and allay his suspicions about La Belle’s otherworldly nature, on the other it can be viewed as a calming gesture, that has been misconstrued by the knight like every other aspect of the ethereal woman. Alluding to medieval mythology, Keats paints La Belle as a succubus, a femme fatale able to suck the life from the chivalrous knight through dreams. We, as the reader are only offered the descriptions and opinions of the knight-at-arms, and know nothing of this lady save for his presentation of her. As such, feminist critics could argue that unkind depiction of her character stems from the inversion of patriarchal values depicted in the poem. The knight is not a helpless victim of fancy, for it was he who first approached La Belle, and it was he who made her ‘a garland for her head, and bracelets too, and fragrant zone’. These objects, seemingly tokens of their courtship can be seen not only to decorate but to bind, enslave and enclose. La Belle Dame Sans Merci deviates from popular literacy tropes by depicting a lovelorn male in a state of decline and anguish after being rejected by the cruel female who is the object of his desires. However, instead of creating a female character to be applauded, Keats turns La Belle’s rejection of the knight into a rejection of morality itself. La Belle is never fully described, a longhaired faceless beauty who enslaves the knight with her feminine wiles. As such, La Belle can be seen to represent all women, an idea that is furthered when Keats speaks of ‘pale kings and princess too, pale warriors, death-pale they were all’. The repetition of the sickly adjective ‘pale’ in conjunction with the paradigms of masculinity found in kings, princes, and warriors furthers the idea of female sexuality corrupting the values of men, thus assuring their downfall. Keats creates a direct parallel to the malevolent succubus in La Belle Dame Sans Merci through male protagonist Porphyro from his poem The Eve of Saint Agnes. ‘St. Agnes Eve- Ah, bitter chill it was! The owl for all his feathers was a-cold; the hare limped trembling through the frozen grass, and silent were the flock in woolly fold’. Just like La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Keats through use of natural imagery depicts a desolate surrounding. However, in this case the frozen countryside is the result of a natural winter and not the spells of a cruel enchantress. This idea is further through the listing of animals; the ‘owl’, ‘hare’ and ‘flock’ are vastly different from the birdless wasteland. Keats conjures in the reader the vision of a harsh winter through use of adjectives ‘cold’, ‘frozen’ and ‘chill’. The depressed nature of this bleak landscape is broken by ‘Music’s golden tongue’ and ‘silver snarling trumpets’. The verb ‘snarling’ conjures in the reader images of savage dogs or wolves and is a startling contrast to the muffled snow covered outside world. The harsh ‘Ar’ sound in ‘snarling’ creates a growling effect and effectively conveys the ferocity and fervour of the music being played. Keats’ use of precious metals gold and silver simultaneously emphasise the value of the music, and livens the frozen world female protagonist Madeline lives in. Discussing the presentation of Madeline, critic Bateman states that ‘she’s no Fanny Brawne, she’s timid and subdued’. Paraded in front on numerous gentry who hold no appeal to her, Madeline longs to escape from the public eye and anxiously awaits the ‘hallowed hour’ of St. Agnes Eve. The adjective ‘hallowed’ holds within it highly religious connotations that encapsulates the sacred nature of St. Agnes Night. The use of religious imagery is prevalent throughout the poem, and is expressed quite exquisitely through Madeline. Madeline is a paragon of virtue, a virgin so pious that she ‘seemed a splendid angel†¦save wings for heaven’. Surrounded by the light of the ‘wintry moon’ Madeline is transformed into an ethereal being, one with no  match on earth. Far from evoking Diana, goddess of the moon and chastity, the scintillating moonlight throws â€Å"warm gules† on Madeline’s breast thus drawing attention to her body as ‘she knelt, so pure a thing, free from mortal taint’. The noun ‘taint’ suggests contamination, a polluting stain that cannot be removed. After the touch of a man, Madeline will no longer be pure, and as such loose that which makes her heavenly. Through use of ‘aged creature’ Angela, Keats creates a counterpart to female protagonist Angela. The noun ‘creature’ brings to mind something other, an alien entity that lacks humanity. Far past the age where she can enjoy the innocent and puerile rituals of St. Agnes eve, Angela is depicted as everything that Madeline is not. Old, frail and feeble, she is constantly shaking due to her ‘palsied’ state and seems prone to fits of forgetfulness, reminding Porphyro that he she cannot trust her ‘dizzy head’. She lacks any strength of character and is easily manipulated by Porphyro, thus enabling him to carry out his seduction on Madeline. One the one hand, the constant listing of physical and mental deficiencies allows Keats to create a strong contrast to thriving Madeline, on the other hand, Keats can be seen as conforming to overused stereotypes- the pious young virgin and the feeble elderly crone. As such, his female characters become a flat â€Å"2D† portrayal, lacking any real depth of personality. Jack Stillinger states â€Å"regardless of the extent to which Keats identified with his hero, he introduced enough overtones of evil to make Porphyro’s actions wrong within the structure of the poem†. On the one hand this statement can be held true, with Porphyro’s actions revealing him to be a ‘cruel man’ and ‘impious’ and on the other, Porphyro’s actions take on a romantic light, and any indiscretions made can be seen to be the actions of a lovesick fool. Mirroring La Belle’s presentation as a succubus, Keats once again draws on medieval mythology. This time however, the male not the female entertains supernatural elements. As such, Porphyro becomes an incubus. Like succubae, an incubus holds power over the opposite sex, and often carries out their seductions through dreams. Unlike La Belle however, Keats does not demonise Porphyro for his sexual  nature and portrays his fantasies of possessing Madeline in a romantic light. Despite their similar situations, the difference in the presentation of La Belle and Porphyro truly illustrates Keats’ attitudes towards women. Keats wrote about empathetic identification, claiming â€Å"if a sparrow come before my window, I take part in its existence and pick about the Gravel†. Keats is able to identify with the sparrow, yet seems unable to create female characters who are not enticing femme fettle’s like Lamia and La Belle Dame Sans Merci, or vapid feeble characters like Madeline and Angela. Keats’ treatment and depiction of his written characters is highly similar to his treatment of Fanny Brawne, finding in her aspects of that which disgusted him in La Belle Dame Sans Merci and enchanted him in The Eve of St. Agnes. In a letter to her he wrote â€Å"I cannot live without you, and not just you but chaste you; virtuous you.† As such, that which drew Porphyro to Madeline also drew Keats to Miss Brawne. Keats however, also echoes the obsessive yearning of the knight from La Belle Dame Sans Merci, writing to Fanny â€Å"you are to me an object intensely desirable.† This desire is shown most strongly in Ode To Fanny, one of the last poems Keats wrote after suffering his first lung haemorrhage. As Keats drifted closer towards death, his infatuation with Fanny became something of an obsession with critic Richardson claiming that Keats â€Å"had transfigured Fanny in his imagination, his passion creating in her the beauty which for him became the truth†. Keats ascribes Fanny with miraculous healing abilities, imploringly asking her to ‘let my spirit blood! O ease my heart.’ Bloodletting was an ancient practice said to relive the body of ill humours and cure maladies. Is this case however, it is not Keats’ blood that is causing his ailments but his damaged soul. Only Fanny can cure his heartache, making him entirely dependant on her. Throughout the ode, Keats is intensely focused on Fanny’s virginity, painfully aware that he will never be able to claim her sexually. Keats calls her his ‘silver moon’ and asks that she stay ‘unravished’ by another’s ‘amorous burn’. Through mentioning moonlight, Keats invokes Artemis, Greek Goddess of chastity entreating Fanny to remain pure. The long vowel sounds  in ‘amorous burn’ speak of consuming passion while the verb ‘burn’ contains connotations of fiery lust, thus furthering the idea of Keats’ fixation with Fanny’s sexuality. Whilst the colour silver is typically linked to purity and the moon, it will also tarnishes over time thus loosing its lustre. Keats knows that Fanny, like the silver, will one day no longer be pure, yet he still asks that no other ‘with a rude hand break the sacramental cake’. The use of the religious metaphor ‘sacramental cake’ to r ather crudely refer to the hymen, reduces Fanny to nothing more than a body for a man to sate himself in. Keats discounts her worth as a person in favour of highlighting her worth as a sexual object meant only for the pleasure of men. Keats employs the use of simplistic rhyme when stating ‘must not a woman be, a feather on the sea’. The juvenile rhyme scheme brings to mind that of a nursery rhyme, an idea that is corroborated by the equally infantile rhythm. Seemingly scornful of her emotions, and rather unable to comprehend that women are able to know their own minds, Keats wrote to Fanny â€Å"you do not feel as I do- you do not know what it is to love†. It is perhaps this view that nurtures Keats’ distrust and envy which prompts his rather hyperbolic proclamation ‘may my eyes close, Love! On their last repose’. The use of the rather clichà ©d â€Å"I would die without your love† conjures in the reader images of powerful emotional manipulation. The reader has to question if Keats is really in love with Fanny like he claims, or if his obsessive infatuation has created an idealised image of what love is, and projected it on the object of his affections. Despite what other characteristic or personality aspects they may possess, Keats paints women as seductresses, entrapping the hearts of unsuspecting men. In regards to the women he writes about, even pure chaste Madeline is presented as having ensnared poor Porphyro. Whilst some of this can be excused due to oppressive patriarchal paradigms that presented women as objects to be obtained, the vast majority of the unfair presentation stems from Keats’ own feelings and opinions. Keats is seemingly unable to view women as fully autonomous human beings, and treats even Fanny as a succubus that has enthralled him, yet even so he elevates her into an ideal. The paradoxical nature of their relationship- characterised by both love and  loathing can be seen to be reflected in his attitudes towards women, leaving him simultaneously enchanted and repelled. Bibliography http://feminism.eserver.org/theory/papers/lilith/labelle.html http://www.keatsian.co.uk/keats-poetry-belle.php http://www.mibba.com/Reviews/Book/4500/John-Keats-La-Belle-Dame-sans-Merci/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/poetry_ccea/loveanddeath/labelledamesanmerci/revision/1/ http://www.englweb.umd.edu/englfac/JRudy/Keats-letters.pdf http://www1.umassd.edu/corridors/bestessay259.html http://literarism.blogspot.co.nz/2011/03/eve-of-st-agnes-keats.html http://research.library.mun.ca/353/3/sensuous_embodiment.pdf Richardson, Joanna. Fanny Brawne: A Biography. Norwich: Jarrold and Sons, 1952. Print.

Stereotypes Exist Because They Are Grounded in Truth

Stereotypes Exist Because They Are Grounded In Truth Has anyone ever said that ‘unicorns exist in real life and that they have seen them’? Or that they ‘felt hot while it was snowing’? Or that ‘cats can bark like dogs’? Clearly there is no truth to these statements. This is simply because unicorns do not exist in real life, you cannot feel hot if it is snowing, and that cats simply cannot bark like dogs. Life cannot exist without water, what goes up must come down, and similarly any statement which is accepted by thousands of other people must have some hint of truth to it.As Kanazawa says â€Å"Many stereotypes are empirical generalizations with a statistical basis and thus on average tends to be true. If they are not true, they would not be stereotypes† (â€Å"The Scientific Fundamentalist†). Although some people argue that stereotypes are just over generalizations, and that people use them to perceive the stereotyped groups†™ characteristics, most stereotypes are true as what is generally accepted in society must be somehow grounded in reality. Moreover, many stereotypes have been proven by science, and conducted psychological studies such as stereotype threat.People who believe that stereotypes are false, argue that stereotypes are just over generalizations. They argue that stereotypes represent just a small minority of the group being stereotyped against. They give the example of the stereotype that â€Å"all blondes are dumb. † And state that while some blondes may be dumb, not all of them are, in fact many are quite smart. They say that one's hair color has no effect on ones intellectual capability. While this may be true for some of the stereotypes, many of the stereotypes actually represent the majority of the group being stereotyped.For example the stereotype that ‘college educated people have bigger incomes than those who have only completed high school’ is a valid assessm ent. Yes, this might be true in some cases. But as proven by the â€Å"The College Payoff† a report published by the Georgetown University, while there might be a small handful of people who are only high school educated and who earn more than many of the college educated people, still most of the college educated people have a higher salary then high school educated people (Carnevale, Rose, and cheah â€Å"the college payoff†).So although there may be some stereotypes that are false or depict over generalization, most of the stereotypes in fact are based on assessments and actions of the majority of the group being stereotyped. Furthermore, people who argue that stereotypes are false state that people continue to cling on to stereotypes because it is quick and comfortable. It allows people to think they are gathering information about other people, without having to stop and actually spend time understanding the person or groups true personality. They claim that becau se of this many of the people or groups are misunderstood.However, what these people do not realize is that many of these stereotypes quite rightly show some of the traits of the group or individual being stereotyped. An example is the stereotype, ‘Jews are adept money handlers'. The fact is that this stereotype is true to quite a great extent. According to ‘The Weakonomics’, â€Å"you see an overwhelming representation of Jewish people within industries that revolve around the exchange of money†¦ Not only have they dominated finance†¦ † (â€Å"Why Do We Associate Jews with Money? †). While some of the Jews are either lawyers or doctors, most of them are in a field related to finance such as banking.In fact most of the people in top positions related to finance are Jews like the treasurer of the United States, and the Secretary of the Treasury. In fact most of the people running the American Treasury happen to be Jewish. Another example is the stereotype that Asians are smart and studious. Some people say Asians are smart because they are taught differently in their home country, others claim that Asians are smart because they are very studious, and still others say that Asians are studious because they feel academically at a loss when they come to foreign places to study and to compensate study harder.Whatever may be the reason, the truth remains that Asians are smarter and more studious than most of people. Thus, while some stereotypes might contain some discrepancies, most of the stereotypes show the truth about the group being stereotyped. Stereotypes do not just come out of thin air; they were based on actual observations of people or their actions. An event must have occurred to have that formed these stereotypes.For example according to Meltzoff, Cvencek and Greenwald, the stereotype that boys are better in math then girls forms almost as early as second grade when boys start to associate with math and start do ing better than girls in the subject (766-799). In fact all of the stereotypes have evolved from an origin. The stereotype that ‘blacks are good at sports’ came about because in almost every sport there is a black athlete who dominates the others. As sports sociologist Ben Carrington points out, at the beginning of the 20th century, whites were considered to be superior to blacks intellectually, aesthetically and even physically.However by the 1930s, this logic began to change as blacks started to be viewed as physically superior to whites in matters related to sports (Interview of Carrington, University of Texas). Another example is the stereotype that ‘Italian men are very romantic’. This stereotype exists because of the Italians' constant flirting with girls and their traditions which involve kissing a girl on her hand as a greeting. As Megalio says, Italian men â€Å"tell you that you're beautiful and really mean it, feed you to show their affection, c ry rarely but genuinely and work hard in honor of the woman they love† (â€Å"Why Women Can't Get Enough of Them†).Another example is the stereotype that ‘Italian men have an unhealthy obsession with their mothers. ‘ According to Pike and Allen; married or not, one in three Italian men sees his mother every day (The Guardian). Thus, stereotypes are formed based on history and statistics, but in order to survive they must be regularly reinforced. While there might be some stereotypes that do not apply to the majority of the group being stereotyped against, or are exaggerated truths, many of the stereotypes have in fact been proven by science.For example, according to Susan, quite a lot of gender stereotypes have been proven to be true by science (â€Å"Gender Stereotypes That Science Says Are True†). These stereotypes include ‘Women Love to Talk’ and ‘men are comparatively color blind’. As per the stereotype women love to talk , Susan talks about how the areas of the brain responsible for language are larger in women than men, and how the female brain processes language in both hemispheres of the brain (â€Å"Gender Stereotypes That Science Says Are True†).Moreover, regarding the stereotype ‘men are comparatively color blind', Susan talks about how the gene for seeing red is carried by the X-chromosome, and men have one X-chromosome while women have two, which puts men at a disadvantage at seeing the color spectrum (â€Å"Gender Stereotypes That Science Says Are True†). Another example is the stereotype that black people can't swim. In the first of its kind survey by USA swimming, it found that nearly 60% of black children have not been given aquatic training. (Quoted. in msnbc).Therefore, as we can see from the examples given, many stereotypes have actually been proven by science to be true and are hence more than just exaggerated truths. Lastly, another way in which stereotypes are t rue is the fact that they actually reinforce stereotypical behavior. This phenomenon is known as stereotype threat, whereby an individual is constantly exposed to negative images of his/her racial or ethnic group, this person starts to accept the same social and personal characteristics of these images as self characteristic.In fact psychologists, Steve and Aronson, conducted several experiments in which they proved that the phenomenon of stereotype threat does exist. When female participants were primed before a test of not being as smart as their male counterparts, their scores were significantly lower as compared to when the women were led to believe the tests did not reflect these stereotypes(â€Å"A threat in the air† 613-629). The same experiment was run again using African-Americans and Americans with the same results (â€Å"Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance† 797-811). Thus proving that the person acts like the way he/she was stereotyped to be.Stereotypes might be flattering or insulting. They might have positive effects or negative ones. But at the end of the day the fact remains that most of the stereotypes are true because they are grounded in actual observations of people, they have been proven by science, and because of the concept of stereotype threat. As David Cronenberg says â€Å"All stereotypes turn out to be true. This is a horrifying thing about life. All those things you fought against as a youth: you begin to realize they're stereotypes because they're true. † Therefore, just as smoke cannot exist without fire, stereotypes cannot exist without truth.Works Cited Kanazawa, Satoshi. â€Å"The Scientific Fundamentalist. † Psychology Today. 24 April 2008. Web. 12th March 2012 ;http://www. psychologytoday. com/blog/the-scientific-fundamentalist/200804/all-stereotypes-are-true-except-i-what-are-stereotypes;. Carnevale, Anthony P.. Rose, Stephen J.. Cheah, Ban. â€Å"The College Payoff†. Geo rgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce. 5th August 2011. Print. ; http://cew. georgetown. edu/collegepayoff/; â€Å"Why Do We Associate Jews With Money? † The Weakonomics. 27th July 2009. Web. 12th march 2012 ; http://weakonomics. om/2009/07/27/why-do-we-associate-jews-with-money/ ; Cvencek, D. , Meltzoff, A. N. and Greenwald, A. G. (2011), â€Å"Math–Gender Stereotypes in Elementary School Children Child Development†, 82: 766–779. ;http://onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111/j. 1467-8624. 2010. 01529. x/abstract; Blacks, Sports and Lingering Racial Stereotypes: A Q;A with Sports Sociologist Ben Carrington. Interview by University of Texas. 25th August 2010. Web. 12th march 2012. ;http://www. utexas. edu/opa/blogs/shelflife/2010/08/25/blacks-sports-and-lingering-racial-stereotypes-a-qa-with-sports-sociologist-ben-carrington/;Meglio, Francesca Di, â€Å"Italian Men: Why Women Can't Get Enough of Them†?. Our Paesani. Web. 12th ma rch 2012. Pike, Rebecca; Allen, Carmel. â€Å"Mamma mia†. The Guardian. 14th May 2002. Web. 12th March 2012. < http://www. guardian. co. uk/world/2002/may/14/gender. uk> H. Susan. â€Å"6 Absurd Gender Stereotypes (That Science Says Are True)†. 10th May 2010. Web. 12th March 2012. â€Å"Nearly 60 percent of black children can't swim†.Associated Press. Msnbc. 5th January 2008. Web. March 12th 2012. ;http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/24411271/ns/health-childrens_health/t/nearly-percent-black-children-cant-swim/#. T2CsyBHxrNl; Steele, C. M. â€Å"A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance†. American Psychologist. 1997. Print. 52, 613-629. Steele, C. M. , and Aronson, J. â€Å"Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African-Americans†. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1995. Print. 69, 797-811. Cronenberg, David. Brainy Quote. Web.