hinduism vs. jainism Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people believe Hinduism to be a polytheistic religion. This is due to the fact that there is so many gods that they can worship in. But in all actuality it is really a monotheistic religion that spawns off of one god to form many different gods or ideas to worship. The entire religion of Hinduism is based off of Brahman. Brahman is the idea that all reality is a unity. I will explain the concept of Brahman and four others and hopefully make Hinduism easier to comprehend.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some have viewed Hinduism as a monotheistic religion, because it recognizes only one supreme God: â€Å"the pantheistic principle of Brahman, that all reality is a unity. The entire universe is seen as one divine entity, Brahman. Brahman is simultaneously at one with the universe and Brahman transcends it as well.† (www.relgioustolerance.org) Breaking Brahman down is essential, let’s look at the previous quote. First of all, pantheistic means that: there is a belief in and worship of all gods, which means that Brahman is not a singular concept. The quote then goes on to say that Brahman is throughout the entire universe. This means that Brahman can be found in infinite objects. This is why people may view Hinduism as polytheistic because of their belief in many objects and ideas. The last line says that Brahman not only at one with the universe but also Brahman transcends it. This means that Brahman may be found in on Earth, but he also greater than the concept of Earth. Brahman is on a bigger playing field than that of Earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vishnu, known as the Preserver, preserves new creations and comes down to Earth during critical times in the â€Å"cosmic cycles.† Vishnu is one of the main Hindu gods, worshiped as the protector and preserver of worlds. Vishnu is considered one of the main gods along with Brahman and Shiva. Shiva, known as the Destroyer, is at times compassionate, erotic and destructive. One of the principal Hindu deities, Shiva is worshiped as the destroyer and restorer of worlds and in many other forms. Whenever dharma is threatened, Vishnu travels from heaven to earth in one of ten incarnations. Shiva is considered a member of the triad also including Brahma and Vishnu. Dharma is the law of the Hindus. Dharma is the individual obligation with respect to caste, social custom, civil law, and sacred ... ...as human beings we are not above any other species. We want to treat every bit of matter as we would want to be treated. This means that to kill some part of the universe, whether a cow or a fish is very bad karma. This is why Jains practice such strict vegetarianism. Jains even avoid eating after sunset so not to kill any bugs unknowingly. This is how strong the practice of Ahisma is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second principle I want to identify is anekantwad. It can be roughly translated as relativity. Anekantwad basically is the belief that there is no one main idea, no one truth, but many truths that are represented by different viewpoints. Anekantwad is the thought that that there is many different aspects to situations. And, that we shouldn’t all look at some things the same way.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The third principal and final term is aparigraha. Aparigraha is the idea of living on as a little as required. Aparigraha is the nonattachment to people and material things. Basically, possessions can control a person. Things of the world can draw up into trouble. Jains believe that the less we have the better off we will be and will be able to escape samsara.

In time of war, actions not morally acceptable become acceptable Essay

We live in an imperfect world where human interactions breeds frictions occasioned by participation of different individuals in matters of society, economics and even religious inclinations of the different masses. Human beings have voluntarily or involuntarily found themselves in different areas of life due to their races or ideologies and consequently have had to act in line with a certain set of belief. Therefore this has bred differences in how a different society approaches issues relating to both governance and interaction and lack of consensus among individuals and sometimes groups within and without have led to violence. This violence is sometimes political and involves a set of organized military groups fighting for a certain goal that is usually political in nature. War is rough on the participants and mostly on innocent civilians caught in the middle of the chaos. The questions that strongly begs a just answer is â€Å"can there be a just war. † Hedge (2002) claims that in essence there is not much difference between the U S government and Alqueda arguing that despite what motives drives them to violence both the outcome is death of innocent civilians. However there are those who feel that to agree with Hedge would be to deny that there cannot be moral reasons to go to war and that the presuppositions behind the just war theory are fallacious and misguiding. In this regard it would be equal to agreeing that no reason should drive a country to wage war on another or even that terror groups must be allowed to exploit the weakness of less able nations in order to bring terror to perceived enemies. In my opinion such a stand is untenable and unrealistic and a way to avoid taking responsibility in accordance to the natural laws of justice that guarantees freedom and rights of individuals (Zupan, 2004). It is therefore important to highlight that it is hypocritical to deny that a party might be justified to wage war to counter similar aggressiveness or as way of stopping gross violations against fellow human beings. All human beings have a right to life is a clearly accepted fact and anything that contravenes such a fact would ordinarily be considered immoral and against fundamental pillars of justice, rights and freedoms. However whereby a war has been taken as to being justified then a waiver is taken in order to grant the involved parties the right to take away the lives of those perceived to be the enemies. In addition the loss of civilian life in the course of such a war is simply taken to be the costs of bringing such changes as necessitate that war. Hedge actually accuses Washington of stooping so low as to use death as a means of expressing its dissatisfaction with certain issues (Hedge, 2002). In other wars certain groups of people who previously viewed as morally incorrect might receive a change of perceptions simply because they direct their atrocities to the perceived enemy. In this regard the common phrase that an enemy of my enemy is my enemy becomes true. There are those who would argue for the sovereignty of nations and that a state has a right from external interference. In ordinary times such a status applies and there are clear efforts to observe and even promote the status quo. However in times of war sovereign borders are breached and this usually leads to the removal of leadership or occupation of such state. Hedge (2002) however seeks to point out that while he is not a war supporter, that it is sometimes important to use force to counter a force that is much immoral as compared to the countering force. It is therefore important then that we must understand that we have a moral responsibility to take care not to ignore or indeed breach the fundamental rights of citizens as we engage in war. Hedges, C. (2002). War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning. New York: Anchor books. Zupan, D. (2004). War, Morality and Autonomy. London: Ashgate publishings.

Advantages and disadvantages of using internet anonymously Essay

Internet freedom is a controversial issue nowadays, and there are some findings discovered that using internet without registered their real name will cause some critical problems as cyber bullying, stealing or intimidating since users do not need to have any responsibility about what they said. However, using internet anonymously are also some advantages which gives an essential protection to internet users. In this article, the advantages and disadvantages will be discussed. Using internet anonymously gives some advantages to some internet users. First, it can protect users’ privacy in an effective way. In this era of technology advancement, social network platform like facebook or twitter, it required users to upload their personal information and keep an eternal record. It is a dark side of the use of social network platform that those records may be used in a commercial way without users’ authorization. This action is stealing our information and invading our priva cy in a grey zone. Using internet anonymously can help protecting user’s information. According to Andrea (2013, P.32) , privacy is similar to human right, which need to be protected preferentially. Therefore, anonymously using internet is a way to protect users’ information not to be leaked. Also avoid that users’ information will not be used in a profitable way or an illegal way. Secondly, anonymously giving a comment to some critical issues or controversial topics can also protect users not to be traceable. Andrea (2013) noted that for some people who do not want to use their real name for giving some donation, not using their real identification is their privilege to do so. Some of the users tend to comment on some issues in a critical way and aggressive way, if using internet needs them to register their real name, thus, users who gave tough comments may be investigated their responsibility, and users then may not willing to tell the truth so as to protect themselves, and they may left their comments in a pretended way. This situation is related to the social justice. A finding in 2013 (Fu, Chan, & Chau, 2013) launched a real-name registration system to microbloggers in China which required them to give comments with their nick name or real name, and this poli cy cause a chilling effect on commenting on microblog, especially on political criticism and sensitive topics. Therefore using internet anonymously is an effective way  to encourage citizens to criticize on controversial topic and contribute to the society. Read more:  Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet on Students Alternatively, using internet without their real identity also has some disadvantages. Lack of responsibility is a main problem which caused by anonymity. Clapperton (2013) noted that using user’s real name to comment mean that before they write, a clear thinking is needed, and when user is going to write some contentious then he should find some supports for it. It implied that the majority of anonymous internet user might not have responsibility to bear with what they have commented, and they can issue some misleading expression without any consequence. Through the media on internet, those expression can be easily send to the others, thus the credibility will keep increasing that citizens may mistakenly believe in it. Therefore an atmosphere with lies and rumors is built in our society, which may disrupt public order. The final and the most important point is that anonymity will cause some illegal activity. Cyber bullying is one of the essential problems among teenagers in t his generation. Based on the view of lacking responsibility, Clapperton (2013) discovered that some internet users tend to use some offensive comment to criticize the others. Some of the comment recipients are being intimidating which damaged their self-esteem, and it may drive them to self-harm and suicide after being attacked in order to escape from the blame. This view shows that those users may not know what consequence and impact they made to the comment receiver, also the pressure they built on the comment receiver. In the research (Claudia, 2012), some anonymous message were posted in AgriBioTech Inc. company’s forum in 1999, which claim that the company was bankruptcy, it caused that the company’s shares plummeted, and have a severe loss. It demonstrated that the power of rumors, and this illegal action can caused a company to be beset with a crisis. Those problems are vital and should be improved in the future. In concluding this brief article, there are both advantages and disadvantages on using internet anonymously. In fact, using internet anonymously can help preventing privacy leakage and protecting users’ freedom of speech, which can maintain our social discipline. However, using internet anonymously can also weaken internet users’ responsibility, and give some offensive comments. It may possible to evolve the situation to cyber bullying, which gives the receiver a huge mentally impact. Reference list: Claudia, R. (2003). Evolving attitudes towards anonymous posting on the internet. Journal of Internet Law, 7 (1), 3. Fu, K. W., Chan, C. H. & Chau, M. (2013). Assessing censorship on microblogs in China: Discriminatory keyword analysis and the Real-Name Registration Policy.. IEEE Internet Computing., 17 (3), 42-50. Andrea, K. (2013). Web users should have the right to remain anonymous in cyberspace.. Engineering & Technology (17509637), 8 (9), 32. Clapperton, G. (2013). Web users shouldn’t have the right to remain anonymous in cyberspace.. Engineering & Technology (17509637), 8 (9), 33.

The dramatic function of Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Essays

The dramatic function of Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Essays The dramatic function of Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Paper The dramatic function of Ophelia in Shakespeares Hamlet. Paper In William Shakespeares Hamlet the character Ophelia performs a very interesting and important role in the elaboration of the plot. Ophelia is a tragic victim, a common component of Shakespeares revenge tragedies and something that the audience would have come to expect. It is perhaps surprising that a vulnerable and frail character such as Ophelia could have the great impact on the play that she does. Understanding her reactions to the patriarchal society in which she lives through her relationships with the men in her life adds greater depth to the play. Her character is revealed through her interactions with Polonius, Laertes and Hamlet, and their characters in turn revealed through their relationships with her. Ophelia allows better understanding of Hamlets complex personality. Ophelia also highlights key themes of the play, including corruption, patriarchy and deception. Before her function can be analysed, Ophelias character must be understood. Shakespeare presents her as a character of weakness, one to respond to with pity and sympathy. She has been read in very different ways- as shown in the greatly varied portrayals of her in different films. The conventional view is that she is a pure and innocent victim, but another reading of her is that she is a clever, sexually experienced but somewhat confused and naive girl. I believe that Ophelia is the epitome of goodness, childlike and nai ve, and that it was Shakespeares intention to evoke sympathy for her. I think that she teeters upon the edge of adult knowledge, with those around her fighting to suppress her sexuality. She is not sexless and does demonstrate understanding of Hamlets bawdy language. Hamlet uses broad sexual innuendo, to which her response of you are naught, you are naught (III. ii. 148) reveals that she is offended by it, at once showing that she understands, but certainly disapproves of, his language. Her chaste nature is shown by Hamlet telling her to a nunnery go (III. i. 141) so that it can remain so. Throughout the play Shakespeares use of natural and floral imagery communicates her purity. On drowning, she is surrounded by a garland of flowers and at her funeral she is allowed her virgin crants (V. i. 233) and maiden strewments. Ophelia died while collecting flowers which are symbolic of innocence, fragility and purity. The hoar leaves which symbolise the silver-grey colour of age put emphasis on Ophelias youth and innocence. Long purples are given a grosser name by liberal shepards as the roots are phallic in appearance. Cold maids, innocent virgins, refer to them as dead mans fingers which has a phallic connection. This implies that Ophelia was a cold maid herself. Those who read Ophelia as disreputable point to Polonius disdain when she speaks like a green girl (I. iii. 101) which suggests that she is not entirely so. She understands the meaning of Hamlets lewd remarks regarding country matters. and a possible reading of Ophelias comments that Young men will dot / if they come tot, by Cock / they are to blame and before you tumbled me / you promised me to wed (IV. v. 59-62) is that there existed a sexual relationship between Ophelia and Hamlet. In her sexually explicit songs, the lyrics of which include let in the maid, that out a maid / Never departed more (IV. v. 52) the implication is that the girl in the song has lost her virginity. I do not think that in singing this Opelia refers to herself, but that her madness grants her freedom to express what she was unable to discuss before, her deep love and desire for Hamlet. I think there is a sexual aspect to the frustration which drives her insane. Hamlets harsh verbal abuse is almost entirely sexual, and her mad songs contain blatant sexual references. Ophelia suffers because of the avoidance of her own sexuality. It is suppressed only to emerge later in her mad ramblings. Ophelia is a submissive character whose personality can almost be summed up with her lines I shall obey, my Lord. and I do not know, my lord, what I should think. She is controlled by her father and brother and the audience is supposed to sympathise for her, as Polonius denies her independence of choice or action, telling her You do not understand yourself so clearly / as it behoves my daughter and your honour. Ophelias madness and its causes are key parts of the plot of the play. The murder of Polonius by Hamlet leads to Ophelias demise- she loses all of the men she loved and obeyed and her identity is dependent upon them to such an extent that in their absence she does not know how to live, and becomes insane. She has never been responsible for making decisions about how to live because her father and brother have always controlled her conduct. As Claudius acknowledges, her madness is the poison of deep grief / It springs all from her fathers death. (IV. v. 75) Hamlet has been responsible for her feelings- if he loves her, she is happy, and if he does not, she is not. It is through these relationships that she knows how to live, and in the absence of this direction she commits suicide. Shakespeare cleverly uses Ophelia to reveal aspects of other characters personalities which the audience may have otherwise not been appreciated. She affects the audiences response to the characters through language, interaction, comparison and contrast. One of the vital dramatic functions of Ophelia is to give insight into Hamlets character and situation. She gives Hamlets actions and thoughts greater significance. His personality is highly complex, but through Ophelia the audience are perhaps better equipped to begin understanding it. It is through her that the audience learn the depth of his sorrow, confusion, the extent of his sense of betrayal by Gertrude and his resulting distrust of women, and can better understand his tragic flaw. Her weakness and insanity provide contrast which illuminates his strength, nobility and sanity. Hamlets harsh treatment of Ophelia shows the extent to which his mothers betrayal has affected his attitude to women as well as the depth of his grief and confusion. Disgusted by Gertrude marrying Claudius so soon after his fathers death, Hamlet becomes distrustful of women, obsessed with the connection he believes exists between female sexuality and corruption. This is shown through Hamlets damaged relationship with Ophelia, whom, as a consequence of his mothers actions, he is incapable of trusting. He perceives Gertrudes sexual misconduct as moral pollution that destroyed his facility to love Ophelia, causing him to question are you honest? are you fair? (III. i. 103) He curses her for committing such an act / That blurs the grace and blush of modesty / Calls virtue hypocrite, takes off the rose / From the fair forehead of an innocent love / And sets a blister there (III iv 42- 45) The juxtaposition of the beautiful fragility of a rose, (perhaps symbolic of Ophelia) and the blister emphasises the extent of Hamlets damage. His mother causes his cursing of all women, O most pernicious woman! O villain, villain, smiling, damned villain! and made marriage vows as false as dicers oaths causing him to tell Ophelia that they will have no more marriages. Ophelia represents the innocence and virtue of women, so Hamlets wrongful distrust of her is tragic and emphasises what Gertrude has inflicted upon him. Polonius daughter provides contrast with Hamlet, clarifying that he is sane. He fakes madness in order to achieve revenge and for Shakespeare to maintain the audiences support of Hamlet, he must have them aware that Hamlets madness is not true. An insane hero would not be a hero at all and his fate of little interest. Shakespeare presents pure madness in Ophelia with her behaviour in act four, scene five. In her madness, her language lacks the form that Hamlets never ceases to exhibit. The Gentlemans description of Ophelia as indeed distract and her speech nothing precedes the audience seeing the change in her behaviour for themselves. This intensifies the focus on her when she enters singing incomprehensible songs, and puts emphasis upon her mad state. Laertes mourns that a young maids wits / Should be as mortal as an old mans life (IV. v. 157-158) and calls her A document in madness (IV. v. 174) She is divided from herself and her fair judgement (IV v 83-84) and the dramatic function of this is to give the audience a bearing upon Hamlets madness, which is merely an antic disposition; he is not in madness, but mad in craft. Claudius notes that what he spake, though it lacked form was not like madness. Ophelia turns to favour and to prettiness, whilst the opposite is true of Hamlets mad behaviour. Shakespeares creation of Ophelia aids the audiences understanding of Hamlet because their stories parallel one another. Similar pressures bear down on both characters, but their reactions differ. Both suffer the murder of their fathers and betrayal by loved ones. Ophelias reaction is simple, and highlights the complexity of Hamlets reaction to his situation. She falls into madness and (arguably) takes her own life. In contrast miserable Hamlet only contemplates suicide. This shows his strength (meeting audience expectations, for he is the hero of the play) by highlighting the difficulty of rising above insanity and suicidal urges, making his success more impressive. He faces a constant struggle not to lose grip on his capability and godlike reason (IV. iv. 38), not to let his heart lose its nature. As the audience is shown Ophelias failure at this task, they appreciate Hamlets strength in succeeding. He ponders on to be or not to be, but does not take his own life. Hamlets story shows the danger of madness and the potentially all-consuming nature of grief. Whether it was intended or not, Ophelias story adds power to this message. Ophelias character evokes the audiences sympathy for Hamlet. When Ophelia goes insane, symbolic of the breakdown of innocence, it highlights the corrupt and rotten nature of Elsinore which enables the audience to understand Hamlets rejection of that world. He is right to be disgusted as he is; his difficulty in accepting the cruel, false environment is evidence of his noble nature. The audience are then more likely to understand why Hamlet seeks to reimpose moral values on Elsinore, and support him. Furthermore, Ophelia encourages sympathy by giving insight into how different Hamlets nature was, prior to his fathers death. In her sad reaction to Hamlets madness O what a noble mind is here oerthrown! we see Hamlet as observed by her before he changed. She tells that he possessed noble and most sovereign reason, emphasising the extent of change he seems to have undergone. Her saying that he was once an incomparable prince, the glass of fashion and the mould of form, (III. i. 156) and an unmatched form and feature of blown youth (III. i. 162) but has now been blasted with ecstasy, only serves to make Hamlet all the more tragic. Ophelias description cannot fail to evoke sympathy for him, be he truly mad or not. In addition, it is Ophelias dramatic function to elucidate Hamlets tragic flaw- his indecisiveness and inability to act. This leads to his downfall, and it is vital that the audience appreciate this. He speaks of some vicious mole of nature Shall in the general censure take corruption from that particular fault, to show that one character flaw can corrupt the entire person. Hamlets inconsistent behaviour towards Ophelia demonstrates his inability to make up his mind. This leads to his delay in dealing with Claudius and thus his demise. It is highlighted in conversation with Ophelia, when he states I did love you once (III. i. 115) then I loved you not. Only when she is buried can he conclude I loved Ophelia. Unless he has no time to reflect (for instance, when he kills Polonius), he appears incapable of deliberate action. Ophelia lends insight into Hamlets flaw by mirroring it. She is an entirely passive character; any action she takes is merely a response to others actions. Rather than actively jumping, she simply did not attempt to rescue herself when the branch holding her broke. This inaction is as characteristic of Ophelia as it is of Hamlet. The exchange between Ophelia and Hamlet increases dramatic tension in the play. The realisation of Ophelias deceitfulness causes the terrible outburst of abuse as, adding to pre-existing feelings of betrayal by Gertrude, the other woman he loves has also let him down. Gertrude chose a brother over Hamlets dead father and now Ophelia chooses a father over Hamlet. She also pushes the plot along because his violent rejection of her; I loved you not convinces Claudius that he is not really mad for her love and so immediately he determines to send Hamlet to England. I think that even in his cruel treatment of Ophelia, she makes him a more sympathetic character. He refuses to listen to her and his harsh words I loved you not. (III. i. 119) Get thee to a nunnery. And (III. i. 121) you jig, you amble, and you lisp, and nickname Gods creatures, and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, Ill no more ont; (III. i. 146-48), far from being evidence of a spiteful nature, just confirms the depth of his sorrow and disturbance by recent events. As commented upon by critic A. W. Von Schlegel, Hamlet is too much overwhelmed with his own sorrow to have any compassion to spare for others. The fact he must forsake his love in order to appear insane and get his revenge is tragic. I think that Hamlet is truthful in later declaring I loved Ophelia but advises her to go to a nunnery to escape the torturous nature and corruptive power of love. He is being cruel to be kind, and his desire to protect her demonstrates his nobility. A nunnery would be a place where she could remain chaste and not be a breeder of sinners. Ophelia gives the personalities of other characters greater depth, and consequently improves the play. Her nature contrasts and therefore emphasises that of others. Claudius coldness is highlighted when she describes Hamlets madness using beautiful imagery, saying that it has sucked the honey of his music vows and as like sweet bells jangled out of tune and harsh. Hers is a pitying speech that contrasts greatly with Claudius abrupt and heartless reaction, which is emphasised when so easily compared to Ophelias. He simply dismisses the notion of love- his affections do not that way tend. (III. i. 165) There is a great contrast, too, between the characters of Polonius children. This serves to highlight the qualities of each; while Ophelia is connected to water and submissiveness, and told too much of water hast thou, Laertes is the opposite, with a bold nature likened to fire and blaze. Ophelia goes mad as the violence of grief is internalised and destroys her, but in contrast her brothers violence explodes outward- they enact the alternative responses to the power of grief. Ophelia reveals much about Polonius, whom it is important that the audience have an understanding of. She exposes his inconsiderate nature and disrespect for others, perhaps lessening the audiences readiness to sympathise with him upon his death. Ophelia is ruthlessly manipulated by her father. He extracts the details of Hamlets solicitings from her and proudly presents the love letter to Claudius. Hamlet beautifies Ophelia in it, yet Polonius calls it a vile phrase. He tells her he would not, in plain terms, from this time forth have you so slander any moment leisure as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look tots, I charge you. Come your ways. (I. iii. 132-35) this highlights his controlling, egotistic nature. Polonius refers to the relationship as being like one of enemies, Hamlet being someone who Ophelia must protect herself from. Polonius makes decisions for his daughter without consideration of her feelings for Hamlet. His doubting of Hamlets intentions is perhaps more telling of his own disposition than of Hamlets; I think he judges Hamlet by his own standards. Polonius contempt for Hamlet is shown through Ophelia. The general implication is that romantic love is of no importance to Polonius. He is happy to manipulate Ophelia to his advantage. At the closing of the conversation, he hardly notices her distress and when he asks how now, Ophelia? / You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said. / We heard it all (III. i. 178) it is clear that to him her consternation is inconsequential; what matters is the political implication of what he has witnessed.

Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable

Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable Adverbs Are Really Quite Acceptable By Mark Nichol Adverbs are to verbs as adjectives are to nouns: They modify action words. However, they can also support other parts of speech, such as adjectives and other adverbs, as well as clauses and even entire sentences. When writers want to add to detail in the form of answers to questions such as â€Å"Who?† â€Å"When?† and â€Å"Where?† (as well as â€Å"how much?†), they reach for adverbs. Most adverbs end in ly, but note that some adjectives do, too. You can tell the difference by the root word: Seriously (from serious) is an adverb, but timely (from time) is an adjective. Others end in the related forms ways (such as sideways) and wise (like otherwise) or consist of nouns preceded by a- (akin, for example). Others, known as comparative and superlative adverbs, end respectively in -er or -est (for instance, faster and fastest). But adverbs, unlike other parts of speech, are diverse and flexible in their function, even in the same position: â€Å"He has arrived, obviously,† for example, is subtly distinct in meaning from â€Å"He has arrived obviously.† And they can be found anywhere in a sentence: â€Å"Slowly, he opened the door,† â€Å"He slowly opened the door,† and â€Å"He opened the door slowly† all mean the same thing. (An adverb can, of course, also immediately follow a verb: â€Å"He then walked quickly toward the lamp.†) Adverbs, like adjectives, have gotten a bad rap for their cluttering qualities. They are ever so useful, and so applicable and adaptable that writers often employ them mindlessly and indiscriminately. But which of the three adverbs in the preceding phrase (not only mindlessly and indiscriminately but also often) must I mercilessly vaporize with the Delete key? Don’t hesitate to apply one or more adverbs within a sentence if they serve a purpose, but do hesitate before you cast them among your prose with Brysonian abandon. Bill Bryson, the exhaustively (and exhaustingly) amusing author of The Mother Tongue: English How It Got That Way and other books on language, as well as volumes on history, science, and more, never met an adverb he didn’t like, but he’s earned the right to break the rules. Consider this sentence from his latest work, At Home: A Short History of Private Life: â€Å"Eventually even he admitted that mostly he wished to build it simply for the slightly strange pleasure of making something really quite enormous.† Out of context, it may seem quite indulgent, but this is Bryson’s voice, a voice that would be fatally muted by this Hemingwayesque excision of the sentence’s adverbs: â€Å"Even he admitted that he wished to build it for the pleasure of making something enormous.† Admonishments to avoid adverbs (and adjectives) are often misconstrued: They are not to be avoided, but they are best not employed merely to prop up weak nouns and listless sentences. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureTen Yiddish Expressions You Should KnowNominalized Verbs

Rape of women as a weapon of war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rape of women as a weapon of war - Essay Example It has been misinterpreted as a sex act, but for the victim, it is far from being erotic, sensual or pleasurable. It entails more of aggression and fear in the guise of passion. (Rosen para. 8 http://www.counterpunch.org/rosen04042008.html) Rape has been widespread among warring forces throughout Africa, Southern Europe, and parts of Asia. These include conflicts in Darfur, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Peru, Uganda, C d parts of Asiaovina, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, ngo, rnment troops wal troops. During the day, they carry heavy materisyprus, East Timor, Haiti, Liberia, Peru and Uganda. (Rosen para. 7 http://www.counterpunch.org/rosen04042008.html) Why is rape being used as a weapon? A probable and major reason for this perhaps is because the rapists are trying to undermine or obliterate enemy communities through sexual violence. It is also surmised that rape is a form of genocide. In Bosnia, the Serbian camps are attempting to make it a Serbian state by impregnating Muslim mothers with Serb babies. More than 40,000 Muslim women are estimated to have been raped, and those who were impregnated were forced to bear the child. (Clifford and Ntiricya pg. 1 http://allafrica.com/stories/200712230021.html; Robson para. 9 http://www.newint.org/issue244/rape.htm; Rosen, para. 30 http://www.counterpunch.org/rosen04042008.html) Although the issue has only been brought up recently, the raping of women has been around since the ancient times. In the Old Testament, there are accounts of women being raped and kidnapped by conquering tribes, and they are usually forced to marry their captors to survive. Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman pioneered total war in 1846. He believed that conflict should not only involve recognized combatants but the enemy’s entire society as well, from its natural resources to other aspects of their civilian life. (Rosen, para. 4,

The enforcement procedure of Article 228 (2) ECT is in dire need of Essay

The enforcement procedure of Article 228 (2) ECT is in dire need of reform. Discuss this statement in the light of the existing case law of the ECJ - Essay Example Indeed in Francovich & Boniface v Italy [1993]3 the ECJ stated that 'Community law lays down a principle according to which a Member State is liable to make good damage to individuals caused by a breach of Community law for which it is responsible'. The Commission is empowered to bring enforcement actions under Article 226. Article 228 provides the remedy for an Article 226 action. Steiner and Woods et al4 argue that the ability to bring Member States to book for non-compliance is 'vital for the success of the Community' as it ensures both effective implementation of European Community law and 'illustrates certain supranational elements in the Community structure.' In order to ensure the proper functioning and development of the common market, the Commission shall: -- ensure that the provisions of this Treaty and the measures taken by the institutions pursuant thereto are applied. If the Commission considers that a Member State has failed to fulfil an obligation under this Treaty, it shall deliver a reasoned opinion on the matter after giving the State concerned the opportunity to submit its observations. A 'failure' can be an act or an omission to act to prevent an infringement by any agency of the State, even if that agency is constitutionally independent: Case 77/69 Commission v Belgium [1970]5. Such acts/omissions include any obligation arising from EU law and cover the Treaties, other EU legal instruments such as directives and general principles of EU law.The primary purpose of Article 226 is to persuade Member States to be compliant. Note in the wording of Article 226 that although the Commission has to deliver a reasoned opinion it would appear that it is optional whether or not it brings the matter before the Court6. To this end Article 226 provides Member States with ample opportunity to seek a non-contentious settlement of any dispute between itself and the Commission. 30% of all disputes are settled under the administrative procedure at the preliminary informal stage7. The main criticism of Article 226 is that it is a lengthy process with the ultimate outcome being nothin g more than a declaration of non-compliance by the ECJ. Given the latitude Member States have prior to the Commission commencing action under the second paragraph of Article 226, it is no wonder that the Commission is particularly sensitive to non-compliance with an Article 226 ECJ decision in its role of 'guardian of the treaties', stating: 'Non-compliance with a judgement of the ECJ thus strikes at the heart of the legal order of the Community'8. It is only after the Commission has continuously monitored the situation, issued a formal notice, received the Member State's observations and sent it a formal notice and another reasoned opinion - and there is