Household changes, I.E Lifecycle changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Household changes, I.E Lifecycle changes - Essay Example The Life-Cycle Model of Consumption and Saving tells us that younger people have a tendency borrow money so they can spend it on education and housing ( Browning and Crossley, 2001). Young people spend their money on buying things while they are young professionals. As for young people, their tendency is to go overboard in their purchases which make them work harder to pay off credit card debts. Because of this young people incur debts through credit card. If this is a common behavior for most people, then old people have few money left for them at that time they badly need it : for hospitalization and burial. By the time this young people reach middle age, debts have already piled up since they are burdened with their child’s education and house mortgage. As they approach old age or retirement, the savings ( if there are any) are slowly used since they get sickly and have medical bills. Over-all, a person’s savings in a lifetime is really small unless you are used to s aving money as a

Othello Essay Example for Free

Othello Essay The language of sin is not just Ð ° theologically freighted way of talking about morally bad acts; it points to Ð ° deeper flaw within human life as we experience it, Ð ° perversion of outlook and desire that we may come to recognise but cannot fully evade. Overview According to Ð ° view going back to Aristotle (and probably earlier); someone who acts out of Ð ° mistaken belief about Ð ° relevant matter of fact may not be morally culpable for what would otherwise be Ð ° bad action. For example, Ð ° doctor who administers an antibiotic without realising that his patient is allergic to it is not guilty of murder if the patient subsequently dies, assuming that the mistake in question is Ð ° good-faith error which the doctor could not have avoided (perhaps the patient neglected to give the correct information about allergies when asked to do so). In this kind of situation, ignorance of relevant facts would seem to render the act in question involuntary in Ð ° qualified respect that is to say, precisely considered as an act of murder. (Travitsky 184-96) And since we presuppose that someone is morally responsible only for her freely chosen actions, it follows that in these kinds of cases, the agent cannot be regarded as morally culpable for what is objectively Ð ° bad action. In the tragedy of Othello, many animal references are made by Iago to the people he disrespects. The purpose of Shakespeare depicting Iago as Ð ° character who perceives others as animals is to show his dominance and his representation of mankind, illustrating his superiority over others. The interpretation of Iago signifying mankind reveals another side of him, his bestial nature. (David et. All 1335-38) Discussion Aristotle apparently did not believe that the same line of analysis could be applied to someone who acts out of Ð ° mistaken moral view, and Aquinas and most other scholastic theologians would have agreed, albeit not always on Aristotelian grounds. 2 However, in recent years Ð ° number of moral theologians and some philosophers have argued that moral mistakes do obviate moral guilt that is, someone who acts out of Ð ° sincere but wrong belief that Ð ° given kind of action is morally permissible cannot be regarded as morally culpable for what she does, even if the act in question is in every other respect voluntary. Of course, if this extension of the Aristotelian argument is to be plausible, one would need to add that the mistake in question is not itself the result of prior wrong-doing, and that the agent has taken due care to form his conscience appropriately and to determine what he genuinely owes to himself, to other persons, and (perhaps) to non-human entities or to God. Given these qualifications, however, one might say, for example, that Ð ° doctor who kills her patient in the sincere but (let’s assume) mistaken belief that she is justified in thus ending his suffering is not subjectively guilty of murder. The agent freely commits, and is therefore morally responsible for, Ð ° kind of action that (by hypothesis) meets the objective criteria for murder; yet given that she acts out of Ð ° mistaken belief that the act in question is not morally wrong, she does not commit Ð ° voluntary act of murder, considered precisely as an act of wrongful killing. (Straznicky 104-34) This is at least Ð ° plausible view. It seems harsh to regard someone as morally guilty for an action carried out under the mistaken, yet sincere and conscientious belief that an act of the relevant kind is morally justified particularly when we reflect that none of us can be certain that our own moral beliefs are correct in every respect. What is more, this line of analysis seems to correspond to at least some widespread intuitions. I believe most people in industrialised societies would be prepared to take this line with respect to cases involving widely controversial and difficult issues, as presented, for example, by an act of euthanasia. However, in other kinds of cases, we may well balk at the conclusion that moral ignorance justifies Ð ° particular line of action. Imagine Ð ° doctor who kills her patient because he is an extremely unpleasant old man who is tormenting his family for no good purpose; what is more, he has left Ð ° large sum of money to Ð ° charity which desperately needs it. The doctor sincerely believes that the needs of this man’s relatives and the demands of the common good override her obligations not to kill, and she acts accordingly. (David et. All 1335-38) Analysis In response, it might be said that some moral norms are so obvious that no one could make Ð ° good faith mistake about them; thus, Ð ° mentally competent adult who genuinely does not know that murder is wrong must be guilty of (at least) culpable neglect. This argument fits well with what came to be the dominant scholastic view on ‘ignorance of the law’ with respect to the natural law that is to say, since the fundamental precepts of the natural law are in some sense innate, Ð ° competent adult cannot fail to grasp them unless she is guilty of some kind of prior wrong-doing or negligence. Some contemporary theologians extend this line of analysis as follows: Admittedly, some moral mistakes are ipso facto evidence of prior wrong-doing, negligence, or bad faith. Yet, at least with respect to the difficult and complex questions we face today, genuine, non-culpable moral mistakes are both possible and exculpating. (Travitsky 184-96) This line of analysis, in turn, lends credence to Ð ° widespread view according to which one’s moral status depends exclusively on the orientation of the agent’s will as expressed through her freely chosen actions (considered either singly, or as comprising an overall pattern of behaviour). Straznicky 104-34) On this view, Ð ° mistaken moral judgment, while regrettable, has no moral significance in itself. In the words of John Coons and Patrick Brennan, ‘It is, then, plainly plausible that while humans have Ð ° primary obligation to seek correct treatment of others (and self), their honest pursuit of that ideal effects whatever moral perfection is possible to the individual’. Certainly, it is true that Othello acts as he does out of Ð ° mistaken belief about Desdemona’s infidel ity. But I want to argue that this mistake alone would not account for his act, were it not for other mistaken beliefs he holds, at least one of which clearly concerns Ð ° moral principle. Before moving to that point, however, is it worth spending some time over Othello’s factual mistakes (I believe he makes more than one), seen in the context of what we are shown about his overall character and disposition. Even if we bracket the special difficulties raised by moral mistakes, the moral significance of mistaken beliefs is not as straightforward as we may assume or so Othello’s example would suggest. (Jane et. All 19-47) Othello’s story is Ð ° tragedy, and not just Ð ° very sad story, because it is the story of the destruction of Ð ° noble, deeply admirable man brought about through his own weaknesses, systematically exploited by Ð ° malicious enemy. In order for this story to have the force that it does, Shakespeare must first of all make it clear that Othello really is noble and deeply admirable. This point is sometimes obscured by the vulgar racist slurs directed against him by Iago and at least tacitly accepted by some of the other characters (see, for example, I. 1, 88–89). Yet isn’t this the kind of thing that we would expect Iago to say? Shakespeare takes pains to show that Othello himself does not fit the stereotypes of the lustful, rash and unthinking black man on which Iago trades. On the contrary when we first see him, in the encounter with Brabantio (Desdemona’s father), it is the latter that is rash and unthinking, not to say hysterical, whereas Othello is Ð ° model of self-restraint under extreme provocation (I. 2, beginning at line 58). He defends himself before the Venetian senate in terms of great dignity and candour, and his account of his love for Desdemona makes it clear that he truly does love her, just as her love for him is no girlish infatuation, but an intelligent response to his past sufferings and his noble character (I. , 129ff. ). His subsequent behaviour is that of Ð ° devoted husband who also bears Ð ° public trust, to which he properly gives priority with his wife’s full understanding and consent far from jumping into bed with his new bride, he sails to Cyprus and sees to preliminary arrangements for the defence and governance of the island, apparently before his marriage is ever consummated (I. 3, 260–79, and espec ially 299–300). Even Iago admits that left to him, Othello will most probably make Desdemona Ð ° good, loving husband (II. , 284–85). What is more, Othello is Ð ° seasoned general of many years’ experience, the best military mind available to the Venetians, someone whom they regard as worthy of unrestrained public trust this is no unsophisticated fool, but Ð ° mature, intelligent man at the height of Ð ° vital and demanding profession. And yet, this dignified and loving man is first reduced to Ð ° state of near-dementia, and then brought to Ð ° cool determination to kill his wife, through the machinations of Iago. In watching this process, it is difficult not to get caught up in the sheer fascination of Iago’s deliberate villainy how could anyone be so callous to every human feeling, so cheerfully calculating as he plans the destruction of those around him, so irredeemably evil? Confronted by such Ð ° spectacle, it is easy to overlook the fact that Othello’s transformation from Ð ° loving husband into Ð ° relentless avenger is, in its own way, almost as disturbing. (David et. All 1335-38) How can such Ð ° transformation take place? Of course, Othello is the victim of Ð ° deliberate deception, but that fact alone does not really answer the question, because it is by no means clear how Iago manages to convince Othello of Desdemona’s guilt after all, he has no actual evidence whatever, and not very much in the way of circumstantial evidence. What is more, even granting Othello’s conviction of Desdemona’s guilt, it would not be necessary for him to kill her he could banish her, as she pleads (V. 2, 79), or divorce her and send her back to her family. He might even forgive her and try to retrieve his marriage. (Straznicky 104-34) Thus, Iago’s malicious deception, while troubling in its own right, should not be allowed to obscure the puzzles presented by Othello’s own behaviour. Why is he vulnerable to Iago’s designs in the first place, and why does he react to Desdemona’s adultery (as he believes to be the case) in the way that he does? We must look for the answers to these questions in Othello himself. (David et. All 1335-38) One starting point immediately suggests itself. Why is it so easy for Iago to persuade Othello that his beloved Desdemona has committed adultery with his lieutenant Cassio? Shouldn’t Othello’s love for Desdemona which I believe we should take at face value have inclined him to resist, or even just to ignore, Iago’s insinuations? It might be said that Iago gets away with his plan so easily because Othello is so trusting, as Iago himself suggests as he notes, Othello has ‘Ð ° free and open nature’ and will believe what he is told (I. 3, 396–400). And indeed, once Iago (seemingly) begins to respond to his demands for proof, Othello never doubts him until confronted with unmistakable proof of his treachery. (Travitsky 184-96) Certainly, Othello places Ð ° remarkable degree of trust in Iago but it seems inaccurate to say that he is trusting without qualification. He does not trust Desdemona at all. Admittedly, he catches her in Ð ° lie over the handkerchief he gave her, but had he been so disposed, he could have seen this for what it is the self-protective lie of Ð ° flustered young woman (II. , 45–94). More tellingly, he does not trust Emilia when she insists, repeatedly and strongly, that Desdemona has never betrayed him, even though Emilia (Iago’s wife and Desdemona’s personal attendant) is in Ð ° better position than anyone else to know about her intimate activities (IV. 2, 1–24). It begins to look as if Othello is prepared to trust some, but not others in particular, he trusts men but he does not trust women. This suspicion is confirmed by his remarks about women, remarks which we know to reflect general Elizabethan attitudes that women are naturally lustful, cannot be relied upon to maintain chastity without continual supervision, and are sly and deceitful to boot (III. 3, 264–80). Various comments, together with the whole tenor of his behaviour towards Iago, suggest very different beliefs about at least some classes of men, namely frank, hearty types such as Iago, whom he regards as honest and worthy of trust (III. 3, 124, and especially 245).

Parliamentary Or Presidential System Of Government Politics Essay

Parliamentary Or Presidential System Of Government Politics Essay There is a popular saying that if a company can establish itself in a successful position among the modern fierce competition, two basic abilities must own that first ability is managing interior business successfully, and another one is having a good public relationship. In fact, so it does, and more and more companies are putting the activity of making a good public relationship on an important place. So business lobbying has larger and larger market, at the same time, there are more and more companies and interest groups who engage in the activities, and the industry of business lobbying is forming and becoming mature gradually. Business lobbying plays its role through impacting the making of some laws and regulations (Mortern Secen, 2002). Because of the important role of business lobbying playing, the government and some related departments are putting this issue on agenda (Raymond Terrence, 1986). But different system of government will provide different opportunities for bus iness lobbying. This paper will analyze and compare the different influence of two main system of governmentparliamentary or presidential system on business lobbying and provide the conclusion that the presidential system of government will provide better opportunities. In the following parts of this paper will give some key reasons for this conclusion by the method of comparative analysis, and the last part will provide some suggestions for companies, lobbyists and government about business lobbying and some reflections from the analysis also will be stated in this part. Why presidential system of government can provide better opportunities for business lobbying than the parliamentary one? Making a comparison between parliamentary system and presidential system First, the origination ways of government is different. In the parliamentary system, government is usually organized by the political party or party alliance who takes a major part in the parliament; but in presidential system, the members are appointed and leaded by the elected president (Presidential system, 2010). Second, the powers of office of the parliament are different. The parliament in the parliamentary system not only has the rights of lawmaking, supervising government, and deciding financial budget, but also have the right of organizing the authorities of government; but the in presidential system, the parliament only have the rights of lawmaking, supervising government and deciding financial budget, and do not have the right of organizing government. Third, the relationship between government and parliament is different. In the parliamentary system, the government is responsible of the parliament. If the parliament passes the case of not trusting government owing to being unpleased with the governments policy, the government must resign or apply the head of nation to dismiss the parliament and vote again. But in the presidential system, the government leaded by president is only responsible of electors, and not the parliament. Both the members of parliament and government can not hold a concurrent post. The president need not have the policy responsibility of parliament, so the parliament can not compel president to resign by proposing untrusting case, but when the president disobeys the constitutions, they can propose impeach. Fourth, the position and function the head of state plays are different. In the parliamentary system, the head of state only has suppositional rights not real rights, but in the presidential system, the president is the same to the head of state, at the same time, he is also the head of the government, so he has the real rights. Fifth, the means of political partys producing is different. In the parliamentary system, the political party is usually the party or the party union who win in the general election of the parliament; but in the presidential system, the political party is usually the party or party union who win in the general election of the president. Sixthly, in the parliamentary system, executive are drawn from the legislature, but in the presidential system, executive and legislature strictly separate. Finally, the producing ways of the head of state is different. In the parliamentary, the president is mainly elected by the parliament excluding some little nations, but in the presidential system, the president is voted by the whole people directly or indirectly (What government, n.d.). The reasons for why the presidential system can provide better opportunities for business lobbying than the parliamentary system For interest groups, they can participate in the political process by making some campaigns, drafting and making some political proposes and communicating with the lawmakers and their staff about the issues they concern in order to obtain some favor in their position. So through above comparison analysis, the presidential system of the government can provide better opportunities the process of business lobbying. Some special reasons will be discussed in the following. First, in the presidential system of government, the communication between the lobbyists and the government will be easier and more convenient than in the parliamentary system. In the presidential system, the president is voted by the whole people directly or indirectly, and is responsible for his electors, at the same time the lobbyist and the other members of the interest groups which the lobbyists stand for are the part of the voters, and because the influence of the interest groups are so wide among the voters that they are playing an important role in the election of the president. So the president will be pleased and can not refuse usually to communicate with his voters although at the same time they are the lobbyists and maybe their opinions are so different from him. Just for these reasons, the communication with the government will be easier and more convenient, and the lobbyists will accept the basic respect. The situation between the lobbyists and the local government will be the same. Second, in the presidential system of government, the rate of successful business lobbying is higher than in the parliamentary system. According to the ways of the election of president and other characteristics of the presidential system, the president will take some consideration of his voters including the lobbyist voters for the success of the next president election. And in this system, to some degree the parliament and the president is consistent and the president has the real rights, so if the lobbyist can make a good relationship with the head, the business lobbying is already successful for half. So the successful rate will increase. Third, in the presidential system, the market of business lobbying will be larger than in the parliamentary system. Because the communication will be easy between lobbyists and government and the successful rate of business lobbying is high, at the same time, what is the most important is that if the business lobbying is successful, the benefit will surpass the cost bigly, so the enterprises will employ more lobbyists for more issues which they concern. Just for this reasons, the market of business lobbying will be larger. Though above discussion, and according to the contrast of characteristics between these two different systems, the presidential system of the government will provide better opportunities for the business lobbying (Nirmalendu, 2004). Some suggestions and reflections People always say that a healthy political system is an essential element to a healthy economic system; on the contrary, the economic system will have influence on the political system (Tomaso, D. 2005). As the market of business lobbying is increasing seriously and the influence of the lobbyists is on the rise, some problems must be taken into consideration about the business lobbying for its continue and healthy development. The activities of business lobbying are mainly related to three beneficial parts, which are enterprises, lobbies and government. Just these three parts make the business lobbying go on. There are some suggestions and reflections about the three beneficial parts (Hamilton David, 1997). First, for enterprises, they must have a right incentive for business lobbying, and should not use business lobbying for no reasons. As soon as decide to go on the activities of business lobbying, they should union some other related companies and find a suitable and qualified lobbyists to make it successful to increase the powers and successful rate of business lobbying. Second, for lobbyists, when they receive some enterprises invitation and apply, they should think it over and over, because they should have their own positions. But as soon as they decide to receive the business lobbying, they should have a complete and detailed plan before actions and choose and use proper and suitable ways to influence the process of politics. Maybe they can combine direct and indirect ways of business lobbying (Dustin, 2010). Third, for government, although there are more and more interests groups and professional lobbyists who are engaging the activities of business lobbying and their advisers are usually persuasive, the government should have its own position about some specific issues and should think over things from the perspective of the whole peoples benefit. Only by the common and simultaneous hard workings of enterprises, lobbyists and the government, the business lobbying can play its deserved role in the development process of politic and economy.

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau :: essays research papers

Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were both born in Massachusetts. Emerson was born in Boston in 1803. Thoreau was born in Concord in 1817. Emerson attended Harvard and then became a Unitarian minister just like his father had been. Thoreau also attended Harvard but upon graduating, became a teacher and opened up a school. Both Emerson and Thoreau gave up their careers to pursue Transcendentalist philosophy. Emerson was one of the first to start the Transcendental Club. Thoreau became Emerson's student after he had moved into his house. Thoreau simplified his needs and began to experiment with Transcendentalism through experience. Although Emerson's writings achieved national recognition during his lifetime, Thoreau did not see such fame during his own life. They were both active Transcendentalists, but their philosophies and methods differed slightly. Emerson believed one should live in harmony with nature. One of his essays, appropriately titled, "Nature," was the first published essay on Transcendentalist philosophy. Emerson theorized that man was one and the same with nature and he wrote about his experiences with nature. In "Nature," Emerson wrote that, "In the woods, we return to reason and faith. "Although he was the one to write this, it was Thoreau who went to extremes and took this literally. Though Emerson and Thoreau both believed in living in harmony with something, they differed on what it was they were to live in harmony with. While Emerson lectured about Transcendetalist philosophy, Thoreau thoroughly practiced it. Emerson believed in living in harmony with nature. Thoreau believed in living in peace and harmony with ourselves. Thoreau took Transcendentalism to the extremes. He simplified every aspect of his live and went" back to nature" to test the experiences of Transcendentalism. He focused on how he could live in peace and harmony with himself in nature while Emerson lectured about living in harmony with nature. Thoreau took Emerson's teachings and expanded on them. Emerson played his role as teacher and Thoreau played his role as student. They did this both whle living in the same household and throughout their lives. Emerson taught Transcendentalist philosophy and Thoreau not only expanded on those teachings, he used them for experimenting with Transcednetalism.

Essay example --

There are over 160,000 fast food restaurant in America, according to statistic brain. Fast food is food that is prepared and served quickly, typically in a store or a restaurant with precook or preheated ingredients, then served to the customer in a carryout packaging. Everyone should think twice before consuming fast food, it’s unhealthy and bad for you. Even if it’s easy and cheap, the food isn’t prepared or taken care of properly, plus the health risk prevail over the five minutes of gratification. The global influences of the fast food industry are the causes of today’s health problems. Everywhere you go, it doesn’t matter what country you’re in there are fast food restaurants. â€Å"Fast food is now served at stadiums, airports, zoos, high schools, elementary schools, and universities, on cruise ships, trains, and airplanes, at K-marts, Walmart’s, gas stations, and even at hospital cafeterias.†(Schlosser) Fast food com panies advertise their product with flashy commercials and catchy slogans to make the public aware of their product by stating that the product is healthy and nutritious, but they don’t display how animals are kept and the chemicals that are placed into making the food. These animals compromise of calorie filled, unhealthy, chemically conditioned substances. â€Å"Over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and canny of American society. An industry that began with a handful of modest hot dog and hamburger stands in southern California has spread to every corner of the nation, selling a board range of foods wherever paying customers may be found.†(Schlosser) The fast food industry is one of the fastest growing ones in the United States, contributing to the rise in obesity as well as in other di... ...n your food. Fast food has become part of a lifestyle, some may say tradition, and future generations wouldn’t know what life was like before fast food or without it. With the fast bound lives no one has time to sit and have a home cooked meal with family, kids don’t sit around the table and talk with their families, and of course not everyone is too busy and have better things to do. Apart from consuming fast food, fast food chains are disparaged for worker exploitation, many workers have gone on strike throughout the years, enquiring better pay and better treatment. Flashing a light on the life a fast food worker, greater percentage of fast food workers earn minimum wage than in any other American industry. The focus is on mass production rather than individual gratitude and progression. Having said all that, it comes down to one thing, you are what you eat!

Symbolism and Religious Drama: T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral

In 1163, a quarrel began between the British King Henry II and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. The men had been good friends, but each felt that his interests should be of primary concern to the nation and that the other should acquiesce to his demands. Becket fled to France in 1164 in order to rally support from the Catholic French for his cause and also sought an audience with the Pope. After being officially (although not personally) reconciled with the King, Becket returned to England in 1170, only to be murdered as he prayed in Canterbury Cathedral by four of Henry's Knights. Three years later, he was canonized and pilgrims—Henry among them—have made their way to his tomb ever since. The allure of such a story for a dramatist is obvious: there is a great conflict between human and divine power, a strong central character and a number of complicated spiritual issues to be found in his death. In 1935, T. S. Eliot answered this â€Å"calling† to compose a play for that year's Canterbury Festival; the result was a work that revitalized verse drama—a form that had not been widely employed for almost three hundred years. Critics praised Eliot's use of verse and ability to invest a past historical event with modern issues and themes, such as the ways in which lay persons react to the intrusion of the supernatural in their daily lives. In part because it is a religious drama which appeared long after such plays were popular, Murder in the Cathedral is still performed, studied, and regarded as one of Eliot's major works, a testament to his skill as a poet and dramatist. In its assessment of Eliot's importance to modern English literature, A Literary History of England argues that a shift from despair to hope-a change from â€Å"the ‘inert resignation' of those who breathe the small, dry air of modern spiritual emptiness† to something more positive and potentially transcendent-can first be detected in Eliot's â€Å"Ash-Wednesday† (1930), â€Å"of which the theme is the search for peace found in humble and quiet submission to God's Will†. This theme, clearly an expression of the Anglo-Catholicism Eliot embraced during his life, appears again throughout Murder in the Cathedral. It informs and breathes through the entire text of the play, as the commentary above has demonstrated. In Murder in the Cathedral, the â€Å"inert resignation† of modern life manifests itself in the Chorus' refusal to embrace transcendence: the women of Canterbury are content to go on â€Å"living and partly living. † As they state, even imploringly to Becket, on several occasions, they â€Å"do not wish anything to happen. They do not want the wheel of God's pattern to begin turning. As do all moderns in Eliot's estimation, they â€Å"fear the injustice of men less than the justice of God. † They are not ready to live, as Becket was, â€Å"out of time. â€Å"Yet, through Becket as he portrays him, Eliot forcefully argues that such transcendence must be achieved. In keeping with biblical testimony about the nature of spir itual power versus temporal power, however, Eliot posits that transcendence cannot be achieved by force. It arises, not through utilitarian machinations (such as those the Four Tempters propose to Becket in Part I), but by, in the Literary History's words, â€Å"humble and quiet submission to God's Will. † As Becket himself declares, â€Å"I give my life / To the Law of God above the Law of Man. † His triumphant affirmation of faith echoes the words of the New Testament: â€Å"Whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard† (Acts 4:19-20); or again, â€Å"Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? (James 4:4). Only by valuing â€Å"friendship†-i. e. , a total alignment of mind and soul and will-with the spiritual, with God, over such friendship with the world or the temporal order of the status quo, can â€Å"peace†-that elusive goal referred to throughout the play: in Becket's fragile relationship with King Henry; as Bec ket's greeting to the Chorus in Parts I and II; as the turning of God's wheel of providence-be found. In this way, the themes of Murder in the Cathedral aptly crystallize the themes of Eliot's own life-long work. The wheel was a symbol, in medieval times, of the â€Å"wheel of life† or the â€Å"wheel of fortune,† â€Å"which never stands still, being constantly subject to the turns of fate† (Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 379). No doubt Eliot draws on these ancient associations in his text's multiple references to the wheel, but he also subverts them by stating that, in fact, the wheel of fate-or, in Eliot's Anglo-Catholic worldview, of God's providence and plan for history-has in fact been standing still during Becket's seven-year absence from Canterbury. As discussed earlier, the length of Becket's exile is itself of metaphorical importance, since seven symbolizes totality and completeness. ) Becket's task is to set the wheel turning again: to take his part, willingly and completely, in God's â€Å"pattern† (another word-image that occurs frequently in the text) so that the wheel can resume turning and that â€Å"peace† can replace the mere existence of â₠¬Å"living and partly living. â€Å"The seasons also carry symbolic freight in Eliot's play. The most notable example is the Chorus' invocations of the passage of the seasons at the beginning of Part I and then at the end of Part II. At the beginning of the play, the passing seasons are in actuality one long season of waiting, one endless Advent. But by the play's end, after Becket's martyrdom, the seasons in their cycle have become part of human beings: â€Å"Even in us the voices of seasons . praise Thee. † Eliot's use of seasonal imagery will no doubt remind readers of his work in The Waste Land (1922). That epic poem's first line, â€Å"April is the cruelest month,† reinforces the poem's dominant mood of pessimism in the face of what Eliot sees as the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of the then still-young twentieth century. As in Murder in the Cathedral, the passage of the seasons in The Waste Land is not a healthy cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Life has become stuck in â€Å"living and partly living. † Still, even The Waste Land was â€Å"not merely a poem of despair of the present but of hope and promise for the future, since at the close the thunder speaks, foretelling the coming of the life-giving rain† (Baugh, p. 586). In a similar way, Murder in the Cathedral ends in hope-although more tempered by a realization of humanity's reluctance and inability to, in Becket's words, â€Å"bear too much reality. † Still, the â€Å"redemption† of the seasons is an important symbolic motif in the play, as it was in Eliot's earlier work. Becket's retur n to Canterbury is clearly framed in terms that allude to Jesus' â€Å"Palm Sunday† entrance into Jerusalem. For example, the Messenger's description of how the crowds are greeting the returning Becket-â€Å"with scenes of frenzied enthusiasm, / Lining the road and throwing down their capes, / Strewing the way with leaves and late flowers of the season†-is surely intended to remind Eliot's audience of Jesus' so-called â€Å"triumphal entry† into the holy city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday: â€Å"Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields† (Mark 11:8; see also parallels in Matthew 21 and Luke 19). In some Christian liturgical traditions, Palm Sunday is also called â€Å"Passion Sunday,† to indicate that it is the beginning of Jesus' sufferings. Thus, Eliot strongly associates Becket's â€Å"triumphal entry† into Canterbury with Jesus' â€Å"triumphal entry† into Jerusalem-a seeming victory procession that leads to martyrdom and death, and can therefore be considered victorious only in hindsight, through the eyes of faith, on the far side of resurrection. (A further allusion to the Palm Sunday narrative, incidentally, occurs when the second priest tells the women to keep silent, earning himself a rebuke from Becket. In a similar way, Jesus rebuked the religious authorities of his day for ordering the crowds who welcomed him to keep silence: Jesus told them, â€Å"I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out† [Luke 19:40]. ) Overall, these parallels are meant to establish Becket as a salvific Christ-figure whose death will bring the blessing of transcendence to humanity. As Eliot wrote in Becket's Christmas sermon, mourning and rejoicing (note the repeated refrain, â€Å"Rejoice we all, keeping holy day†) commingle at Christmas; birth and death jostle for worshipers' attention; martyrdom-witness-takes precedence in the church's marking of the time. Understanding the significance of these three festival days increases our appreciation of the martyr's purpose, as exemplified in Becket's own death: to make transcendence available to human. The titular hero of the biblical book of Daniel, who remains steadfast to God (in the context of Eliot's dichotomy, read: spiritual) in the face of pressures to assimilate to a pagan (read: temporal) culture. Ezekiel 14:14, 20 also praise Daniel as an exemplar of righteousness, even as Becket is as he faces death. Ironically, of course, Daniel, according to the Bible, was delivered from the lions' den as a consequence of his faithfulness to God. No such physical deliverance awaits Becket. The archbishop does, however, seem to mirror the attitude of Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who, faced with death in a fiery furnace for refusing to worship an idol, declared, â€Å"If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us. let him deliver us. But if not, be it known to you, O king that we will not serve your gods. † (Daniel 3:17-18). Becket, like Daniel's friends, is ready to die for God (the spiritual): â€Å"Do with me as you will† (p. 76). Thus, the knights' invocation of Daniel at this point in the text creates a wealth of allusive value that illuminates Eliot's themes. The impending moment of Becket's martyrdom takes on an existential significance as the Chorus reflects upon what awaits humanity after death. The Chorus identifies Death s â€Å"God's silent servant,† and acknowledges, in orthodox fashion, that Judgment awaits mortals â€Å"behind the face of Death. † The Chorus then, however, strikes a decidedly unorthodox tone in affirming that â€Å"behind Judgment [is] the Void, more horrid than active shapes of hell† (p. 71). In terms that again echo Eliot's earlier work, The Waste Land, the Chorus describes this Void as: â€Å"Emptiness, absence, separation from God; / The horro r of the effortless journey, to the empty land / Which is no land, only emptiness, absence, the Void. † (p. 71). Ironically, however, it is this very â€Å"Void,† free of distraction, with no opportunity to avoid a truthful gazing upon oneself, that Becket is embracing in choosing to die a martyr's death. This speech of the Chorus thus seems to emphasize, once more, a distinction in Eliot's mind between men like Becket-the â€Å"saints† who cause the wheel of God's pattern in time to turn-and ordinary mortals, who are content-even though they deny it! -to merely exist, to be only and always in Advent, only and always waiting, only and always â€Å"living and partly living. † Truly, we cannot bear too much reality! We do not wish to stare into the void, the abyss. But Eliot, like other existential thinkers of the twentieth century, understand that peering into that abyss is fundamentally a salvific, liberating act, signified in Eliot's play by the â€Å"saving† consequences of Becket's death for a world that would rather not be saved. Character profilesThe Chorus is an unspecified number of Canterbury's women, is a corporate character serving the same purposes as does the chorus in Greek drama: to develop and, more importantly, to comment on the action of the play. The women's initial speech fairly defines their dramaturgic role: â€Å"We are forced to bear witness. † And yet this chorus, like its ancient Greek predecessors, is no mere, dispassionate, objective â€Å"eyewitness†; rather, it is a witness bearing testimony to truth-almost as in a legal proceeding, but that analogy fails to capture the nature of the testimony the chorus offers. In commenting upon the action of Thomas Becket's murder, the women are voicing insights into, reflections on, and conclusions about time, destiny, and life and death. In the end, they emerge as representatives of ordinary people-such as those who make up the audience of the play, or its readership-people who, mired in and having settled for an existence of â€Å"living and partly living,† are unable to greet transcendence when it is offered to them. As they state in the play's final moments, not everyone can bear the â€Å"loneliness, surrender, deprivation† necessary to become a saint. Not all can be saints-but all can pray for their intercession. Thomas Becket is the Archbishop of Canterbury, former Chancellor to King Henry II, now estranged from the monarch because he insists upon the right of the Church to rule in spiritual matters-a rule that, in practice, has ramifications for how the king ought to rule in temporal matters. Unlike the Chorus, Becket is able to stare into the existential abyss-that â€Å"Void† behind death and judgment, mentioned in Part II, that is â€Å"more horrid than active shapes of hell. Becket is often accused of pride in the play, but he is actually humble in submitting himself completely to the will of God as he comprehends it. His death offers a glimpse of how transcendence can be achieved: the only question that remains is whether the rest of humanity is able to trace the same path, to â€Å"give [its] life / To the Law of God above the Law of Man. â€Å"The Four Tempters present Becket, in Part I of the drama, with various ways of avoiding his impending death as a martyr. Their temptations correlate, to one degree or another, with the justifications of Becket's assassination offered to the audience by The Four Knights at the end of the play. In a prefatory note to the play's third edition (1937), Eliot indicated that the roles of the Tempters had been intended to be doubled-that is, played by the same actors-as the roles of the Knights, thus underscoring the connection between the two quartets in an even stronger fashion. The Three Priests serve the (admittedly little) dramatic action of Eliot's play, particularly in Part II, when they urge Becket to bar the doors of the Cathedral against the knights-although they characterize them as savage beasts-who seek his life. They could thus be seen as representing the temporal order: indeed, Becket at one point accuses them of thinking only as the world does-â€Å"You argue by results, as this world does. † On the other hand, the Priests also are capable of offering insight into the spiritual order. For example, the Third Priest affirms the Church's endurance in the face of world built on the ruins of the presumed absence of God; and earlier, he offers a key interpretive insight by stating, â€Å"Even now, in sordid particulars / The eternal design may appear. † Like so many of us, then, the priests have one foot, so to speak, in the spiritual and the other in the temporal; and they struggle to balance the two orders as best they can, as do we all. Unfortunately, according to the argument of Eliot's drama, there can ultimately be no balancing: peace-that is to say, transcendence-is to be found only in the complete submission to God's design, God's pattern, God's wheel of providence. Mortals, say both Jesus and Eliot, cannot serve two masters-and so the Priests are fundamentally impotent, unable to do anything but to pray to God with heavy reliance upon the intercession of Saint Becket, as they, in their own way but like the Chorus, go on â€Å"living and partly living. â€Å"

Cost and Benefits of Hybrid Cars Essay

Have you pulled your car up to the gas pump lately and been shocked by the high prices of gasoline? The Auto industry has the technology necessary to address this concern. . It’s the hybrid car. Today, there are many different models out there in the market and most major manufacturers are involved in developing them. Hybrid cars will save the drivers a lot of money. The purpose of this paper is to identify the costs and show the benefits of this awesome vehicle. Identifying Costs. This section is designed to compare and contrast all the costs that we will see in the decision of purchasing a new hybrid car. It’ll include all monetary costs and all non-monetary costs. I will be comparing the costs of buying a new hybrid to other regular non-hybrid vehicles in order to better see the differences. A. Gasoline & Car Loan People are obsessed with spending less money on gas. Websites have even been created to help the penny-pinching consumer find the cheapest option close to home. Hybrid cars get really good MPG (miles per gallon). In my opinion, the best way to find out if switching over to a new hybrid car is a good idea is to compare the prices and costs. I’ll use my own car as an example, if I were to replace my paid-off 1999 Honda Accord, which only gets 25 mpg, with something more economical; I would consider a Toyota Prius or a Corolla. The following chart shows how much money I would save if I made the change. |2012 Auto |Miles per Gallon (MPG)|Monthly Gas |Sticker Price |Monthly Payment |Net Monthly | | | |Savings | | |Savings | |Toyota Prius |55 |$ 70. 71 |$21,275. 00 |$386. 56 |$(315. 85) | |Toyota Corolla |36 |$ 34. 72 |$14,005. 00 |$227. 83 |$(193. 10) | The table above, shows us how much more it is to save if purchasing a Prius over a Corolla (Hensley 2011). On the other hand we can see that the sticker price of a Toyota Prius is more expensive than the Corolla. The monthly payment above is calculated at a 5. 5% APR. However in the long run we will be saving so much more if we chose the Prius, because the money that we are saving on gas every month could be used to pay off the difference in the Sticker Price. With gas prices skyrocketing again like they did in 2008, this will be the best decision to make. The following chart will give us more insight on gas prices (Hensley 2011). [pic] B. Taxes Even though the final selling price is including taxes, there are many things to note about tax credits per hybrid car. There is no set tax credit, and it depends on what vehicle you buy, so remember not to only take into account the miles per gallon and price, but also the varying tax break incentives. The list of IRS-certified vehicles is not always the same; automakers keep producing hybrids that are qualified and adding them to the list, we need to make sure we look at the updated data. Also, another thing about hybrid tax credit is that they are reduced every year and eventually is eliminated, so make sure to check out the phase out dates that are determined by different manufacturers. Credit amounts begin to phase out for a given manufacturer once it has sold over 60,000 eligible vehicles. It is all depending on the year, for example if we go back to 2005, you can save anywhere from $500 all the way up to about $3,400 (Fuel Economy. gov). Sometimes, it can be a guessing game, but remember, we will be saving something and it adds up! Vehicles purchased after December 31, 2010 are not eligible for this credit (Fuel Economy. gov). C. Registration Fees and Other Monetary Costs The registration fee is the amount charged by the state to register a new car, assign a title (legal proof of ownership) and cover the cost of license plates. The dealer provides this service for you; saving you a trip to the DMV or registry but the money goes to the state. There are other fees that need to be paid when buying a new car such as: doc fees, taxing the trade-in, taxing rebates and dealer fees. However; when buying a Prius those fees will be the same as buying a regular car so further explanation is not necessary (Karim, Layton). D. Non-monetary costs The time it takes to go buy a car would be one non-monetary cost. Let’s say I was going to go buy today. Since I work 40-hours a week and get paid $9. 00/hr, I would have to get at least 10 hours, 5 hours off of work and 5 hours off my personal time. I could use this time to go to the dealership pick out the car and do all the loans and transactions necessary. Filling out all that paper work can take a lot of time, and since I am a college student I need time for school as well. Therefore my Non-monetary cost is 10 hours of my time from my work-time/personal time. Another cost would be the amount of gas that it takes to drive to the dealership and the time it takes me to travel there. If someone is accompanying me and helping me decide which car I want, I am also using their time which could be almost as much as my time. Benefits 1. Savings at the Pump All Hybrids get a better fuel economy than their counterparts. 2. Lower Insurance Rates Insurance rates can depend on many things such as your driving record, your age, and it can also depend on the model car you drive. Driving a Prius will lower your insurance rate from 5-10%! 3. Government Assistance The Federal Tax credit was also a great benefit although they stopped giving it at the end of 2010(Fuel Economy.gov). 4. Lower Emissions A fact that should be considered is that 97% of all vehicles in the U. S are dependent on Oil. Also with lower emissions it’ll help less Carbon Monoxide adding to Global Warming. In fact, Regular vehicles create 1/3 of the greenhouse effect (Karim, Layton). The key thing here is that the amount of pollution allowed does not depend on the mileage your car gets. But a car that burns twice as much gas to go a mile will generate approximately twice as much pollution. That pollution will have to be removed by the emissions control equipment on the car. So decreasing the fuel consumption of the car is one of the surest ways to decrease emissions (Karim, Layton). 5. Special Car-Pool Lanes In some states if you own a hybrid car, you are allowed to use a special car-pool lane regardless how many people are in the vehicle. After identifying all the monetary and non-monetary costs. We can see that the Sticker price is more expensive than purchasing a regular vehicle. However, in the long run with the gas mileage we will be receiving from this awesome hybrid technology it will payoff for everything that we’ve spent. It’s sort of an investment. If we add all the benefits, we can see that we are not only benefiting ourselves when we purchase a hybrid but we are helping the environment and our world (Fuel Economy. gov). More people are buying more hybrid cars everyday, the sales of hybrid cars increased 141% from 2004-2005 (Karim, Layton). In conclusion, I recommend everyone that if they are looking to buy a new vehicle, hybrid is the way to go. All the benefits we receive from it are totally worth it, and although the cost might be somewhat high in comparison to other cars, it’s worth it. Not only will we be saving gas driving to work, school and other places, but also we won’t take into as much consideration the price of gas next time we stop at the gas station! References Fuel Economy. gov. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. fueleconomy. gov/feg/hybrid_sbs_cars. shtml Hensley, R. , Knupfer, S. M. , & Krieger, A. (2011). The fast lane to the adoption of electric cars. Mckinsey Quarterly, (1), 10-14. Nice, Karim, and Julia Layton. â€Å"How Hybrid Cars Work† 20 July 2000. HowStuffWorks. com. 04 April 2012.