John Hurt Essays

Human nature in english literature In this course we have studied works from literary periods all throughout history. Looking through, you can clearly see how styles and morals changed over the years as expressed in both fictional and non-fictional works. Taking a deeper look at it though, you start to notice consistencies and similarities appearing in the writings despite being from different parts of the world and from people from all different backgrounds and lives. By looking at writing from

Playing competitive sports causes people to only think about the positive aspects of playing them, but there are also negative aspects which no one ever really considers. If you think about it, parents do not really seem to focus on the negatives to playing sports, they only seem to focus on the benefits. Things like how children receive lots of injuries, or that the cost of participating in some of these sports is astronomical. More and more kids are starting to play competitive sports and are

Everyone stands on some sort of moral ground. As long as that “ethical moral high ground” is under our feet, we are stable. Although, the big question is, what happens when the ground disappears? What becomes of our society? In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding, there are three main influential characters that die on the island. There deaths, however seemingly small, greatly impact all the lives of the boys on the island. “The shape of society must depend on the ethical nature of the

I believe the top three moments from The Shadow Club, a book following a junior high school student in a club with others who are second best to someone, were when Tyson watched one of their club’s meetings, when Randalph was rushed to the hospital, and when Tyson set his house on fire. One of these three moments was when Tyson watched one of their club meetings. The Shadow Club’s meetings were secret, and no one else that wasn’t in the club was supposed to know it even existed. The club wasn’t allowed

John Merrick the “Elephant Man”, A man with physical deformities so bad that people it would cause people to flee, scream, and faint at the sight of him. While his deformities drove people away and no one wanted to look no deeper he actually was a gentle and emotional person with an acute intelligence. John Merrick had a tragic life of ridicule and inhumane treatment; while John was Mr.Bytes he would endure floggings, starvation, terrible living conditions, and he would be displayed to the public

“Boys and Girls” The difference in gender roles plays a huge factor in how people in society view themselves. The short story, “Boys and Girls,” by Alice Munro is about a little girl who at the beginning of the story is used to being her father’s helper with his fox farming business, but later, falls into the female stereotype she desperately tries to fight. The girl is proud of the work her father is involved in but she loathes the different chores her mother does every day. Instead of cooking

Relatively all authors are very fond of creating an underlying message to criticize society. Authors do this through social commentary. The book “The Picture of Dorian Gray” is no exception. The author, Oscar Wilde, criticizes the upper class through the consistent underlying idea that people are often deceived by one's beauty and are unable to understand the poison that fills the world is corrupting it. From the beginning of this book, the social commentary towards the upper class begins with

Erving Goffman is a twentieth century micro-sociologists. His dramaturgical approach is tied to symbol interactionism; a framework that states people develop symbolic meaning and rely on them for interaction. He looked at how face-to-face interactions build up to the human experience (Kivisto and Pittman). Goffman’s main argument in the dramaturgical approach is that we are all actors and we can change and manipulate how we are perceived through ‘sign vehicles’, just as actors in a theatre do. In

shown to be extremely confident in his ability to improve Merrick’s life, and he sees himself as a sort of savior figure, freeing Merrick from a cruel life of exploitation. However, as the story progresses, Treves wonders whether his actions helped or hurt

A transformation is a thorough or dramatic change in an individual’s life. In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, each of the individual characters go through their own forms of transformation. Demetrius goes through a transformation of his heart and character, that are created due to magic and conflicts. Bottom goes through a physical transformation that is more reflective of his outward characteristics. And Oberon endures an internal transformation that is completely natural, ironically, he

Brown Girl in the Ring, written by Nalo Hopkinson, is set within a Caribbean-Canadian community in Toronto and it is a reflection on the unique national and ethnic identities of the Caribbean diaspora. The language plays an important role in the story, since it serves as a means to identify not only the various national distinctions within this Caribbean community, but also the relationship between the Caribbean community and the larger Canadian society. However, through Hopkinson’s description of

Creon and Antigone represent the madness in the world when a certain aspect of life is taken to the extreme. Their thoughts were unchangeable and its only consequence was the destruction of their lives. In Sophocles’ Antigone, a classic Greek tragedy that draws a parallel between claims of state and familial loyalty; both the aspects are brought to life. Where Antigone singles out the private sphere of life, Creon puts weight upon the political sphere. Where Antigone was a devotee of divine law,

King Lear has always been looked at as a case of the clueless dad; however, when one delves deeper into the script we can see this is a story about the differences of good and evil and the battle between family and power. The Lais of Marie de France was on the opposite end of the spectrum when it came to the take home message of selflessness and love always prosper in a world of chaos. However, there is one thing these stories had in common and that is the ability to compare each character to one

Kent's spiritual/mental concern is free thought. As Kent was the only one that openly disagreed with Lear's decision to disown Cordelia, Lear banished him from the kingdom and gave him six days to leave. "Upon our kingdom: if on the tenth day following. Thy banish'd trunk be found in our dominions, the moment is thy death. Away! By Jupiter, This shall not be revok'd"(1.1.174-178). This quotation displays the anger Lear had for Kent for sharing his honest thoughts with him, which, did not sit well

Totalitarian states and Liberal Democratic states, are two different types of government. Totalitarianism is a form of state in which the state holds sovereignty, and typically is run by a dictator. The Totalitarian system is centralised and a single person or party has complete authority, and disagreement is forbidden. Liberal Democratic state is a type of regime where the people of the state vote to elect leaders who act on their behalf. The system is based on the recognition of individual rights

Laws have maintained the order and stability of society from old days of ancient civilization to today’s contemporary society. As law-abiding citizens, we allow the laws to be enforced through punishments and consequences; however, when these laws threaten ethical values and justice, they are challenged in a non-violent method known as “civil disobedience.” In Sophocles’ Antigone, Antigone challenged the political authority of Creon in a defiant act that related the struggles between her duty as

the drape back to uncover Polonius. The main of the King's supporter's (and consequently Hamlet's adversaries) is dead. He starts condemning Gertrude, and is all of a sudden hindered by the Ghost's appearance. Villa, recollecting his guarantee not to hurt his mom, advises her of Claudius' arrangement and how he will look for retribution. This scene represents how Hamlet's activities are managed not by his own particular decisions, but rather by the activities of alternate characters. One very nearly

It’s possible that Morris got cursed himself and he is trying to get rid of the curse by giving the monkey’s paw to Mr. White. I can indicate from the story that Mr. White and Morris are probably friends so Morris would know Mr. White’s weaknesses and hurt him. It is possible that Sergeant-Major Morris is also going through tough times and bought the monkey’s paw to fix his problems, but instead made his life worse. I am assuming the village they live in is small; thus, is easy for them to interact with

In The Tragedy of Hamlet , by William Shakespeare, some of the most significant events are mental or psychological events that make the audience feel and have an emotional connection with the characters. Moreover, these significant events are categorized as new awakenings, discoveries, and changes in consciousness that set off a mental or psychological effect to the readers. The author, Shakespeare, gives these internal events to characters such as Ophelia, Gertrude, and Hamlet throughout the play

Blues, the storyteller recounts the tale of his association with his sibling, Sonny. Sonny is a performer not able to get away from the ghetto. Disheartened by his sibling's suffering , the storyteller connects with him, yet discovers that Sonny's hurt powers his music. The narrator is a teacher in Harlem that has changed his life and got out of the ghetto where he grew up. He sees African American youths finding the points of confinement put on them by a supremacist society at the exact instant