Month: June 2019
Why is Physical Education Mandatory?
Cite this page
Why Is Physical Education Mandatory?. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Physical Education in Schools
There has been a constant increase of obese children over the past couple years. In fact, a troubling consequence of obesity is the growing number of children experiencing health problems such as type 2 diabetes, with anticipated higher lifetime risk of hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory problems, and some cancers (Wamp 2009). Doctors, physical educators, and other health conscious individuals are trying to implement various physical activity interventions in schools to counteract obesity in children and other long- term consequences that come with sedentary behaviors. Exploring the benefits of physical activity, the promotion of physical activity in schools, and the guidelines for physical activity will be very important in assessing whether the promotion counteracts the rise of obese children.
The promotion of well -balanced physical activity programs in schools is very crucial due to the fact that physical activity has been found to prevent many diseases and because schools reach nearly all children for more than half of their waking days, implementing physical activity programs may have a great impact on physical activity becoming part of their daily lives (Cooper, Greenberg, Castelli, Barton, Martin, Morrow 2016). When children acquire dynamic exercising habits, they can grow to lead active and healthy lives as adults, increasing productivity along the way (Wamp 2009). Physical activity also aids in a childr's ability to learn and increases productivity (Wamp 2009).
Schools are obesogenic environments but have the potential to promote and provide opportunities to meet the recommended daily minutes of physical activity (Castillo, Centeio, Nicksic 2013). With the combination of increased need to do well on standardized tests and the convenience of sedentary lifestyles, children now weight more and have a greater body mass index than their peers a generation earlier (Castillo, Centeio, Nicksic 2013). It is recommended that a quality physical education curriculum be the foundation of comprehensive opportunities for students to be physically active throughout the school day (Castillo, Centeio, Nicksic 2013). Quality physical education is characterized by: daily physical education (at least 150 minutes per week for elementary, 225 minutes per week for middle and high schools), curriculum that meets the National Standards for Physical Education, student assessment aligned with instruction, certified physical education teacher providing meaningful content through standards-based instruction, student- teacher ratio equivalent to that in the classroom context, and adequate equipment to promote maximum practice time (Avery, Brandt 2010). It is recommended that a quality physical education curriculum be the foundation of comprehensive opportunities for students to be physically active throughout the school day and that federal, state, and local policies require schools to provide these programs (Castillo, Centeio, Nicksic 2013).
A well-rounded physical activity program is very beneficial to the health of all individuals. If the physical activity guidelines are followed many long- term health benefits will follow. When children are participating in regular physical activity and their diet is well balanced, obesity is easily counteracted (Luisa 2016). Physical activity not only decreases the chances of becoming obese, it also helps maintain cardiorespiratory fitness and prevent diseases. Individuals who partake in physical activity regularly are less likely to develop a stroke, various types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and the loss of the ability to function (Blair 2009). Physical activity that is current, ongoing, and vigorous such as swimming, racket games, jogging, fast walking, and cycling has demonstrated substantial protection against heart attack in middle and early old ages individuals (Blair 2009). Individuals who participate in only light activity doesnt gain any protection from heart attacks (Blair 2009).
In order for physical activity to be beneficial there are certain guidelines individuals should follow. In the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008) recommends that youth engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day, most of which should be either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity. Half of this amount (30 minutes) should be achieved during the school day (Avery, Brandt 2010). The Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of Nation proposed that all children engage in 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day, most of which is happening during school time (Castillo, Centeio, Nicksic 2013).
References
- Avery, Marybell, and Janet Brandt. "How Active are Your Students? Increasing Physical Activity in Schools." Strategies 24.1 (2010): 34-5. ProQuest. 14 Sep. 2018
- Blair S.N., Morris J.N. Healthy Hearts and the Universal Benefits of Being Physically Active: Physical Activity and Health. Annuals of Epidemiology 19(4) (2009):253-256. ProQuest. 15 Sep. 2018
- Cooper, Kenneth H., et al. "Implementing Policies to Enhance Physical Education and Physical Activity in Schools." Research quarterly for exercise and sport 87.2 (2016): 133-40. ProQuest. 14 Sep. 2018
- Darla M. Castelli, PhD, Erin E. Centeio, PhD, and Hildi M. Nicksic, MEd. Preparing Educators to Promote and Provide Physical Activity in Schools. (2013) American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine Vol 7, Issue 5, pp. 324 332
- Lusa Aires, Gustavo Silva, Clarice Martins, Elisa Marques, Maria Jo?o Lagoa, Jose Carlos Ribeiro, Carla Rego, Henrique Nascimento, Petronila Rocha Pereira, Alice Santos-Silva, Lus Belo & Jorge Mota (2016) Exercise intervention and cardiovascular risk factors in obese children. Comparison between obese youngsters taking part in a physical activity school-based programme with and without individualised diet counselling: the ACORDA project, Annals of Human Biology,43:3, 183-190, DOI: 10.3109/03014460.2015.1059889
Cite this page
Physical Education In Schools. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Art in Renaissance Period
Renaissance Art
In the first part of this paper, I will give an introduction of Renaissance art (What is it? When, where and why did it happen?). In the second part, I suggest the different schools, different painting styles, techniques and themes of Renaissance art in each century. In the third portion, I specifically explain the art works and biographies of three most important Renaissance artists. Lastly, I represent the impact in which Renaissance art produce in Europe and the world.
Renaissance art is a period in European history, which starts in around 14 century, and in full swing in 15 century, then reaches the peak point in 16 century. Renaissance art was happened in Florence, Italy, then spreads out to the rest part of Europe; in particular in Germany, Italy and Nederland, a lot of outstanding artists were born in these countries. The are several reasons why Renaissance started in Italy. Firstly, Medici family supported a large sum of fund on artists. Medici family controlled Florence because they were very wealthy and powerful, they have many banks and their business were over the Europe. Medici family loved art, they liked to see different styles of arts, so they encouraged artists to experiment new art forms or different styles of paintings. Also, Medici family putted a lot of effort on supporting artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonard da Vinci, etc.
As a result, supporting from Medici family helped the development of Renaissance art. Secondly, due to the black death and urbanization in Italy, feudal economic system collapsed. Feudalism was a dominant social system, it structured society in a way of holding land in exchange for labor and service. The social forces were released after the collapsing of feudal economic system. In this way, people became more freer, they started to doubt old things and try new things; also, they began to release their pressurized emotions through different mediums in particular in painting. Finally, the city-states of Italy was located in the Mediterranean Sea, which was the center of commercial intercourse. However, because of the black death, the increasing number of people died. That is to say, there were less labors, which led to high price of workforce. But merchants didnt want to pay high price, so they started to try another thing such as art with fewer opportunities to extend.
Cite this page
Art In Renaissance Period. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Puritans and Salem Witch Trials
The year of 1962 marked a very important time in the history of the United States. It was a time where religion, culture, and societal as well as gender roles ruled people's lives and heavily influenced their ways of living. More specifically this year marked the start of what would soon be known as the Salem Witch Trials. More than 200 people would be accused of witchcraft in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts between February of 1662 and May of 1663.
A series of trials were run for the accused, but in the end 20 were declared guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. Throughout the trials, members of the English Protestants known as Puritans played an important role in the process and outcomes of many of the accused. The Puritans followed strict moral codes in order to please God in which they believed would punish them for any wrongdoings. They influenced the witch trials in a few ways such as their hostility towards people who were “different”. Puritans didn’t like to accept people who didn’t follow their strict moral codes, thus witches were frowned upon and thought to be committing sins. Although the Puritans were very strict on the way they lived and their perception of how others should, they were also very fair.
During the court trials, they would grant pardons for people who would admit guilt or tell the truth as they respected people’s honesty. The Salem Witch Trials would be heavily influenced by Puritan beliefs and would mark an important time in our history. The Salem Witch Trials got its name from the prosecution of witches in Salem, Massachusetts. It began in late 1691, although the killing of witches had been somewhat sporadic in Europe and the colonies. The initial event that sparked the belief in witches occured when a group of young girls began experienced fits and nightmares.
As there was no medical explanation that was known of and could account for the strange behaviors of these girls, people turned to the belief that it was a result of witchcraft. After this, the fear of witches began to grow and people were so paranoid that civilians were accusing others of being witches. People accused their neighbors, friends, and in some cases even people in their own family, partially out of the fear that if they didn’t accuse anyone then they themselves may be deemed a witch. The majority of the accused were women, although after time some children were also being questioned for witchcraft.
In the end, approximately 150 people were sentenced and brought to court for witchcraft, but for the court that number of people became too much to handle and those who admitted guilt were set free. 19 were sentenced to hanging as they would not “speak truthfully” and admit to being witches.
Cite this page
Puritans And Salem Witch Trials. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
The Inequality of the Electoral College
Cite this page
The Inequality Of The Electoral College. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Comparing Home Fire to Antigone
The home fire is the updated version of Antigone, which has transported from ancient Greece to todayr's London and the main characters were British-Pakistanis. This premise forms the basis for Kamila Shamsier's Home Fire, which updates Sophocles tragedy and sets it in the contemporary context of the War on Terror and the struggle of European countries to deal with their citizens who join the Islamic State. Though ultimately a derivative work one that doesnt stand alone without reference to the original the novel has some interesting insights on what it means to be British and on Islamr's place in todayr's UK.
Sophocles tragedy centers around the conflict between Antigone and Creon, her uncle and the ruler of Thebes. Antigone desires to bury her brother Polyneices according to the religious law while Creon refuses to grant permission since he considers him to be an enemy of the state. In Shamsier's novel Home Fire, Polyneices becomes Parvaiz Pasha, a young Londoner who becomes radicalized and leaves to work in the Islamic Stater's media unit in Syria.
His sister Aneeka (Antigone) first tries to enable him to return to the UK without facing charges and later to bring his body back to London. Her opponent is Karamat Lone, the British Home Secretary, himself of Pakistani and Muslim origin. The equivalent of Creonr's refusal to allow Polyneicesr's body to be buried in Thebes is like Karamatr's order to abolish British citizenship from those dual nationals who act against the interests of the UK. Thus, after Parvaizr's death in Istanbul, his body is sent to Pakistan instead of the UK. Aneeka then travels to Karachi to sit in protest outside the British Consulate until the government allows the body to be returned to the UK. Her sister Isma (Ismene), on the other hand, attempts to distance the sisters from their brotherr's actions.
Shamsie recounts her story in five acts, and each one is narrated by a different character with their own take on events; Isma, Eamonn lone, Parvaiz, Aneeka, and Karamat Lone. One of the main themes of the novel is how Britain treats its Muslim citizens. The story begins with Isma at the airport, enduring a lengthy interrogation that causes her to miss her onward flight to the US, where she plans to pursue her Ph.D. The interrogation is particularly fraught because of her family background, though the experience of being questioned at Western airports is one familiar to many Muslim travelers.
More problematic is the mediar's demonization of British Muslims. As Isma recalls a conversation she had during college: The 7/7 terrorists were never described by the media as British terrorists. Even when the word British was used it was always British of Pakistani descent or British Muslim or, my favorite, British passport holders, always something interposed between their Britishness and terrorism. (38). Later, Aneeka refers to the perils of Googling While Muslim, a nod to state surveillance of Muslims for any sign of extremism.
Shamsier's characters are all three-dimensional and none of them are entirely heroic. Unlike Antigone, Aneeka uses sex to try to achieve her objectives, becoming involved with Karamatr's son Eamonn (Haemon). In the original play, Antigone is engaged to Haemon, but she sacrifices this relationship to fulfill her obligations to her brother. Aneeka, in contrast, attracts Eamonn as part of a plan to bring her brother home. Though she does eventually fall in love with him, her initial actions cast her in a manipulative light, she prays and wears the hijab yet doesnt seem to have problems with premarital sex.
Like Aneeka, Karamat is also a complicated character. He is an integrationist who distances himself from his Muslim background and marries an Irish woman. He gives his son an Irish name, Eamonn, rather than the Arabic Ayman. Yet, he confesses that in times of stress he often finds himself unconsciously reciting the Ayat al-Kursi. Asked in an interview to respond to the accusation that he hates Muslims, he replies I hate the Muslims who make people hate Muslims (231). Shamsie heightens the dramatic conflict by giving the Creon character a Muslim background and depicts that type of Muslim and British-Pakistani who believes that in order to advance in mainstream society, he has to distance himself from his religion and be more loyal than the King.
One of the other Shamsier's most interesting departures from Sophocles is providing a bigger backstory for the Polyneices character. Sophocles begins his story after Polyneices is already dead, so we never learn what drove him to become an enemy of Thebes. In contrast, Shamsie shows the reader the process by which Parvaiz is radicalized, and thus highlights how lost and vulnerable young men are often exploited and brainwashed into waging jihad.
In Parvaizr's case, he is a young boy who has never known his father, himself a jihadi, a fact that Parvaizr's mother and sisters never discussed, fearing the negative consequences for the family. When an older man comes along and asserts that Parvaizr's father was a hero, Parvaiz is naturally drawn to him and led down the path to radicalization. In Shamsier's narration, even the jihadi is a somewhat sympathetic character. His motivations are understandable though his actions are reprehensible.
Oppose to the sisters is Karamat, who tells students at a Bradford school: You are, we are, British. Britain accepts this. So do most of you. But for those of you who are in some doubt about it, let me say this: dont set yourselves apart in the way you dress, the way you think, the outdated codes of behavior you cling to, the ideologies to which you attach your loyalties. Because if you do, you will be treated differently”not because of racism, though that does still exist, because you insist on your difference from everyone else in this multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multitudinous United Kingdom of ours (88).
While telling Muslims that they shouldnt freely express their religion is problematic, there is something to be said for greater assimilation into the societies in which Muslims find themselves. Karamatr's most problematic action is the abolishing of British citizenship from those dual nationals who act against British interests. Rather than dealing with why some young British Muslims are alienated from the larger society, this action simply ignores the problem by retroactively defining them as un-British.
Shamsie concludes with Karamat Lone, whose unstable status at once inside and outside British mainstream culture remixes that of Isma. Shamsie is sympathetic to the vulnera bility of his position, to the risks he takes to realise his ambition to be a man assured of his own power. But she is also alive to the hypocrisy and absurdity generated by his constant compromises. Out walking beside the Thames, he notices a brown-skinned jogger and identifies him as a potential threat, asking his security detail: That one too Muslim for comfort? To which his guard replies: That one was Latino.
These shifting perspectives serve deeper purposes. In terms of pure narrative excitement, they trap characters between competing loyalties. I admit it, Eamonn confesses near the end of the novel. Ive been [ ] caught between the two people I love most in the world: my father and my fiancee. But this narrative relativity also encourages the reader to interrogate their own preconceptions, not to mention the shallow newspaper head lines Shamsie parodies on several occasions.
Home Fire makes an interesting companion to Antigone though most of the power of the novel comes from seeing how Shamsie has updated that great work of world literature. Without the literary resonances, the novel would simply be another work that attempts to deal with jihad and the place of Islam in the West, themes worked and reworked by many Pakistani novelists writing in English. Home Fire is impressive comparing to Antigone because in its final pages, deeply moving a complex, heartbreaking meditation on the ties that bind, no matter how hard we struggle to be free. By turns deeply humane and provocative, Shamsie has reinforced her reputation as one of the worldr's most arresting writers.
Cite this page
Comparing Home Fire to Antigone. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Antigone Revealed
"The penalty- stoning to death in the public square (Sophocles 24-25)." This is the edict (almost like a law) declared by Kreon. This edict basically states that anyone who dares to bury Polyneices would be declared a traitor to the city of Thebes. Antigone, the main character, ends up breaking this rule to give her brother a proper burial and becomes portrayed as a hero. Greek tragedies are infamous for displaying common emotions that not many are used to sharing, which are shared throughout the stories characters. This tactic helps shape the theme and moral of the story while also portraying something that the audience can latch onto.
The characters Antigone, Ismene, Kreon, Haemon, and Eurydice fight for social order and the morality that is evident in the play while unfolding the true intentions which relate back to present day situations. All in all, Kreon was the most culpable person for the death of Antigone due to his object of ambition for social order, while Antigoner's main objective was for her moral purpose. Hence, the relation to Antigone being a positive figure for the French revolution in an up rise. As any reader progresses through this play, itr's obvious that this is a work of tragedy that toys with ones heart.
According to Aristotle, The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness, he/she is not perfect, the heror's downfall and it is partially his/her own fault, and the heror's misfortune is not wholly deserved. Antigone is portrayed as a tragic hero because even as a upper class citizen she still to the chance with her life all for her brother. She is neither good or good, her story can be interpreted from two perspectives. Some sympathize with suffering and the fact that she was unjustly treated because of her gender. Others think she should have just listened to her sister and left it up to the Gods. Antigone being good or bad is left for the audience to decide. Pride ends up being her downfall, since that is her ambition to take on anything.
Furthermore, she also promises Polynices that she will give him a proper burial before he is killed, but I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy (55-56), but Kreon will punish anyone who buries him by the penalty of death. In ancient Greece, leaving bodies unburied would angers the Gods. When Antigone goes to bury her brother despite the law in place, it shows that she is self-sacrificing. She knows her life is soon to come to an end for this burial. This shows her loyalty to her family and the gods. In correlation to Antigoner's sister Ismene, they are polar oppisites. When Antigone shared the news about the decreed with her, her first response was, No, I have heard nothing (344). Ismene reveals how acquiescent she is in relation to Kreonr's decree.
Thus, she is portrayed as feminine, one who doesnt care about political affairs. Doubting the her sisters plan to go against the edict, Ismene argues: We who are women should not contend with men; we who are weak are ruled by the stronger, so that we must obey. (346) She is being a realist; knowing the plan is almost impossible and will result in punishment, she thinks the situation is hopeless. Her character correlated to the emotion of sympathy and seemed more so scared. Haemon is Antigoner's fiance and son of King Kreon, he is also Antigoner's first cousin. The moral basis of Antigoner's actions are defended by Haemon while still warning his father that the citizens Thebes will commiserate with Antigoner's single-mindedness to give a proper burial to Polyneices. Haemon and Kreon angrily go separate ways, as he continuously asks his father to do the right thing for their city.
Although, his father is aloof, he is resistant to any change. Haemon's adherence to Antigone is wholesome; when she passes, he becomes so fraught that he attempts to kill his father and commit suicide. They contrast in their commitments and priorities. Haemon prioritizes people's feelings, therefore considering love and peace important. Furthermore, Eurydice; Kreon's wife and Haemon's mother is distraught by her son's suicide. She then commits suicide herself, while cursing Kreon for causing the death of their son. Eurydice adds to the stories tragedy aspect. She is considered the last punishment for the king. Lastly, among the characters there lies King Kreon. Kreon is the monarch of Thebes. While his city is in conflict, he prioritizes order and loyalty above everything else. He doesnt tolerate being repudiated, or seeing the laws of the state be repudiated.
He let Polyneices' body be marred while Eteocles is honored in his death because he feels that one brother cannot have more respect than the other when one was a traitor and the other was loyal to him and his state. He does not take the time or effort to recognize that there are other configurations of justice. Instead of setting his pride aside , he chastised Antigone, disregards the gods, and ultimately ruins his rule and his name . King Kreon was the main cause of Antigone, Haemon, and Eurydicer's deaths. Kreon was the one who declared the edict that wouldnt allow a proper death for Antigoner's brother. Even after his own son, Haemon, told him that majority of the city of Thebes is supporting Antigoner's cause, Kreon still chose to punish Antigone. Punishing her set all of their deaths in motion. Antigone killed herself in her cell. Haemon then followed and Eurydice, killed herself after learning that her son committed suicide. Eurydice even proclaimed that both of their deaths would be on Kreon. Moreover, in Antigone social order very much exists. Kreon was a person with a certain magnitude of power, which he used to his advantage while fight for social order.
However, Antigoner's intention was to fight for the moral purpose of her brother having a proper burial. Antigone was a representation of an uprising during the French revolution because many people were scared to fight back even though they had the reason to. The fight for social order related back to the laws established and enforced, while morality was something acquired and chosen to embrace. One of the main themes captured in Antigone, is the stance Antigone finds/ places herself in. She has to choose between the law of her state or the law by the gods (which say her brother should be properly buried). The modern day comparison to events in the play and events in real life is uncanny. Should people who are living in countries with resisting forces, where laws are higher than any moral value, obey their laws or heart. For example; all German citizens under the Third Reich? Should they have been on the side of the Nazis even though they were going against their moral values and live a life with regret?
Or should they have helped the Jews and risked ending their life and their families along with theirs. Do people who are against a war, pay the federal taxes that go towards helping that war or do they risk being deported? There are many more situations that correlate to these ideas. The significance found in my observations and recordings led me to believe that Greek tragedies are a unique way of expressing present day emotions and situations in a dramatic and entertaining way, which also sympathizes with the audience and helps them correlate to their own emotions. Antigone specifically is a multiplex play, one that disregards basic understanding and interpretation. It is an interpretation of humans representing complex emotions through their actions. Every single character represents an idea, a principle of morals, and the play concludes as a discussion continued by the audience.
Cite this page
Antigone Revealed. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
The Difference between Sophocles Antigone and Jean Anouilh Antigone
Reading the two versions of the tragedy of Antigone, it was a really interesting experience. Just to see how different the characters are, to see a similar storyline but it is played out differently. This is a book you should really attempt to compare with the original Greek tragedy Antigone, by Sophocles and the Jean Anouilh version, (Which is the more modern one) about the whole plot of the story and characters. Both of the playwrights have the same storyline, about a girl named Antigone (the main character), who defies her uncle, Creon, who also happens to be the king of Thebes. The characters in the plays are generally constant between the two versions. Both of them also made sure Antigone be faced with the penalty of death to reflect the attitudes and the actions that unfold in the old days. Itr's almost like a remake but minor details being the only difference. I do think the most interesting difference is the change in the main character, Antigone; Antigone herself is the main production of these two plays.
Sophocles is the play writer who is the person who is known for his style of a Greek tragic play. He puts in a flaw in just about every main character. He is the main person who is known for Greek styled plays. You see thing main thinking of Jean Anouilh, is that he takes Sophocles' drama, grinds it down the very main idea of Antigone, and the next thing you know is that a new (but yet similar) story has appeared. Antigone motives and understanding of the situation are the same, though much of her characteristics do differ among the two plays. Her character can be understandable by reading the story since it is based on her. In the Jean Anouilh version, you see Antigoner's real colors when she is brought upon Creon by the guards after she is caught trying to bury the rotting body of Polynecies. Barring the fact, that Antigone's argument for burying Polynecies body is the same in both of the texts. Either way, her justification for burying Polynices is quite the same: She desires it to go by her religious views by burying Polynices so that he can have a good afterlife. You also notice that in both plays, her original determination to bury Polynices body and her impulsiveness is the same.
Looking back at the original Sophocles version, Antigone has a snappy comeback to everything that Creon throws at her. Looking back at the argument she had with Creon, Antigone just seems like she can just snap back at anyone who even dares defies or even talks to her in any way. In Jean Anouilh version of Antigone, she doesnt tend to snap back and is a lot lesser ruder of a person in that play. Though I am going to have to say she is just as stubborn as she is from the Sophocles version.
Let me elaborate on how stubborn she can be in the Jean Anouilh version: Creon says, Did you tell anyone what you were going to do, then Antigone replies: No., Did you meet anyone on your way out? , Nobody., Are you sure? , Quite sure. (Jean Anouilh, pg.26), and this conversation between Creon and Antigone keeps going back and forth, and her attitude does not seem to change much throughout the play. Still, there are some similarities. Previously I have mentioned how stubborn, and how rude Antigone can be at times throughout the play; In Jean Anouilh version of Antigone, he depicts her as a solid, but yet a more nice Antigone. Sophocles version feels a lot more like a script, the characters in the play all knowing what to say, the modern Antigone play has more depth added to the characters.
Both of the plays have their own kind of honor. While both of the plays are essentially the same, this, in turn, makes the comparison easy. The real difference is the elements both plays uses. Sophocles wrote his with an idea in mind. Each character has an idea and then dies with it. The new Antigone, in this case, does not carry just carry its idea but also travel to areas they have been set to be in. Both of the plays attract different people.
Cite this page
The Difference Between Sophocles Antigone And Jean Anouilh Antigone. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Antigoner’S Brother Died
Whether one is planning out their life or not, everyoner's life is predetermined. In the Hindu religion, it is believed that oner's life is based on how they have lived in their previous lives before. This has to do with how people lived their lives before and how they treated others. In Antigone by Socrates everyone lives their lives based on their social class and gender. The characters in Antigone also have a destined plan of how they should live. Antigone supports cunning contrivance with its Laws. In Antigone gender played a major role on what people were capable of doing, even simple everyday tasks.
It was not the norm for women to take charge or even share their true opinions. When Antigoner's brother died in a battle with Polyneices, Creon stated that a proper burial was not permitted for Antigoner's brother. Antigone being the rebellious person that she is did not stand for king Creonr's ruling. She gave her brother a proper burial at night by herself even though it was not allowed. The cunning contrivance of humanity in this case played a major role because everyone was expected to live their lives under someoner's laws. In this predicament Antigone opposed to the law made by Creon and proceeded to do what she thought was the right thing to do. According to Antigone it says Watchman: OK, here it is. The body out there-someone buried it Just now and went away. They spread thirsty dust All over the skin and did the ceremony in full (page 11 lines 245-247).
This explains how the king Creon found out that Antigone took control and buried her own brother. Antigone takes charge of her own life plan instead of following the norm of societyr's plan for her. She puts aside that she will not be able to get married and still remains brave when going against law. The laws in Antigone also coincide with cunning contrivance because most of the laws are made so everyone can act and live a certain way. Itr's liked how they live their lives in Antigone is already planned out for them. Even though Antigone resisted the law and took it upon her own hands, she was not afraid to let Creon know that she was the one who performed the proper funeral ceremony on her brother. This is shown on page 18, line 443 Antigone: Of course not. I did it. I wont deny anything. At this point this exemplifies what valor she has in her perception of doing what is right. She spoke openly about what she has done and took full responsibility for her actions. Creon thought he could scare off people with his power and authority but it did not work for everyone. In this end Antigone did what was morally correct but she did not do good in terms of following the law. In Antigone the laws were followed by everyone because society thought god made them.
In relation to present day, many people follow morals as a way of following how god expects them to live. In reality our laws are not made by god but rather by our government and judicial officials. In Antigone it is clear that laws followed mainly because if people did not follow them, they may feel like their opposing or disrespecting gods wishes. This is a wicked and unfair aspect on how people in Ancient Greece were ruled by kings and queens. In Antigone it says Antigone: What laws? I never heard it was Zeus...Who made that announcement. And it wasnt justice, either. The gods below didnt lay down this law for human use (page 19, lines 450-454). This conveys that Antigone told Creon that she has never saw the gods make a law of condemning someone to bury their brother. She is very fearless when stating this and standing up for what she thinks are her natural rights of a citizen of Ancient Greece.
Creon thought his cunning contrivance that was establishedby humanity could have dominated Antigoner's actions, because laws were known to be made by the gods. Antigone tried to reason with and explain why what she did was correct, but Creon was very ignorant and disagreed. He saw that with laws under godr's name that he was able to control everyoner's lives. These laws were wrongly put forth and only was encouraged for Creonr's selfish intentions of not allowing Antigoner's brother a proper burial. Creon basically sneakily pre-planned everyoner's lives in Ancient Greece by using godr's name to carry out what he wanted people to do. On the other hand, the play Antigone can also be seen to not support cunning contrivance because of the norm of everyone following the laws and regulations. A character that supports this opposition is Antigoner's sister Ismene.
Ismene in the beginning of the play disagrees with Antigoner's plan to go against Creonr's law. It is clear that she is not willing to do anything but follow the set laws, presumably made by the gods. When Antigone tells her sister about her plan she responds by saying Oh no! Think carefully, my sister. Our father died in hatred and disgrace After gouging out his own two eyes For sins hed seen in his own self (page 3, lines 49-53). This emphasizes how Ismene is fearful of Antigone following in their fatherr's footsteps. She makes it clear that she does not agree with Antigoner's plan even if itr's her own brother. Ismene supports the claim that cunning contrivance is not supported throughout the play because she has not realized that how she lives her life is because of someone elser's selfish intentions. Ismene thinks following the laws are a way of pleasing the gods. Ergo, In Antigone cunning contrivance is supported and shown by Creonr's law to refuse the right of giving Antigoner's brother a respected funeral ceremony when he died in battle. The people of Ancient Greece lived their lives under a egoistic pre-determined plan made by King Creon, who had power in controlling people with godr's name.
Cite this page
Antigoner'S Brother Died. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
The Giverr’s Continued
The Giverr's continued/alternate ending
Jonas felt the uncomfortable plastic sled come to a stop, his hands nearly frozen around the icy rope that he gripped until his knuckles faded white. His eyes followed up to the brown cabin ahead of him, colorful lights lining the home, twinkling like bright stars, a soft sound, a piano, childrenr's voices, singing in his ears. Music.
He felt the corners of his lips pulling upward, relief the only emotion he could fathom as he glanced down at the restless Gabe, stirring in the pile of cloth he was tightly wrapped in to battle the shrill, cold air and the piercing snow, his face soured in disgust in the uncomfortable weather.
Jonas could feel his heartbeat increasing rapidly to prevent the cold air from shutting his body down, but he knew it wouldn't last long. So he pried his red pulsing hands from the rope, wincing at the excruciating pain of forcing himself to move his numb fingers, then pulled Gabe tightly against him, his face against Jonasr's chest, his coat bundling Gabe.
We-Were almost t-there G-Gabe. He shivered, falling on his side, the sled tipping against him, the body forming a red shade above him, and for a second he thought, just maybe, he could close his eyes, and fall asleep in the soft snow, the red lights influencing him more, but he denied the urge, knowing Gabe was with him, and he had a chance.
Jonas forced the sled off of him, moaning as his body ached from the slight movement, his limbs throbbing from the cold. Yet he pushed forward once more, the cabin only yards away. He placed his bare hands on the packed snow, groaning as the cold sent pains through his bones, but he didnt stop, pushing himself to his numb feet that were shaking vigorously, Were s-so cl-close. he whispered, mainly to himself, moving one foot before the other slowly, the snow passing above his ankles with each step. He pushed Gabe closer to himself, feeling his head spin, only adding more pain to the sickening headache he had.
Hed only taken a few pitiful steps, before he began to sweat, feeling as if he was burning up in an instant. He looked down at Gabriel warily, he didnt understand what was happening to him, why he was so hot after and excruciating moment of being freezing. ?Precision of language. he thought, nearly laughing at the ridiculous thought that had entered his mind. Had he really had the nerve to think that at a time like this? The idea only made him feel a deeper hate for the twisted world hed been stuck in, a world where an exaggeration of a word ruled over the fact he was dying. He released a heavy sigh, his breath forming a cloud above him.
You cant be serious? he smiled to himself, as he began to sweat heavier, beads of salty water forming above his lips, You hot? he smiled, watching as Gabe wriggled his nose, not comprehending what Jonas had said, the words probably not even reaching his ears for how tight they were wrapped. I am.
Then he began to unbutton his jacket, the cold tricking his skin into a nice sensation, Jonas felt the cold cool him gently, and he craved a sense of pleasure. He set Gabriel down gently on the blanket of snow that surrounded them, stretching in every direction, and began to tug at the sleeves of his shirt, pulling it off of his chest and arms, the snow sending chills down his spine. He glanced down at Gabriel, who was shivering below him. Oh Gabe no! Jonas cried, concern lining his words. Oh no! He knelt down, scooping the boy up in his frail arms, pulling the shirt around him, along with the thin jacket. He hadnt even noticed how cold he was, and now he felt like a complete idiot. C-Come on Gabe, We-Well be o-okay. he croaked, the words barely escaping his trembling lips. I-I can save you, I ha-have to he told himself, holding the baby who began to whine lightly against his bare chest, the skin to skin contact slowly warming his cheeks. I can do this, you can do this Jonas, itr's only a few more steps. he repeated to himself with what little of his raspy voice he had left.
But he knew it wasnt true, he knew that he could never make it to that doorstep, no matter the amount of warm encouraging memories hed intaken, no matter the willpower he possessed, he could never physically force himself that far. Gabe...I-I c-cant d-do th-this.
A silent tear rolled down his cheek, more and more following as he fell to his knees, a sob erupting from his blue lips. He crashed to the ground in defeat as the realization hit him hard, his back stinging as it made contact with the icy ground.
He had his arms wrapped around Gabe in a steel grip as he rolled to the side, the babyr's bundled back against the snow, though it never made physical contact with him.
For a moment Jonas began to envy the child, he struggled to deny the urge to rip the clothes from his brother and wrap himself in them, but he did, placing Gaber's forehead against his. Im s-so so-sorry I wa-wasnt able t-to s-s-save you. Then he placed a soft kiss on his baby brothers head, letting his body relax in the snow as he watched the cabin. It seemed so close, and he could see the gentle orange lights that flickered through the frosted window. A fire.
Memories began to flood into his mind, families gathering around them, warm drinks cupped in their hands, smoke filling the room. A fire outside, children gathering around it with sticks, marshmallows cooking by the warm flame. Jonas pushed his hands on Gaber's back, his hand firm on the babyr's back as he passed these simple memories to gabe, who smiled in return.
Jonas felt his heart warm at the sight of his brothers gentle smile, if he could smile in a time like this, he felt all would be okay. Well be okay Gabe. he smiled, letting his hand grab the childr's, enclosing it in his. Well be okay.
With that, he let the cold take him away, his eyes closing peacefully, his mind slowing itr's reckless thoughts as he thought about Gabe, his light giggles, his peaceful ocean eyes, the nights when he couldnt sleep and hed given him those soothing memories of the ocean, the way his eyes lit up every time hed looked at Jonasr's face. These thoughts put Jonas at ease.
Gabriel was a good soul, a good heart, and he knew someone was in that cabin and would come to save him, they had to.
So he released his memories, letting his mind slip into darkness, knowing his eyes would never open back up as he entered the deep sleep.
Cite this page
The Giverr's Continued. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Electoral College Superiority
Cite this page
Electoral College Superiority. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
A Reaction on the Electoral College
Cite this page
A Reaction On The Electoral College. (2019, Jun 13).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Questioning the Authenticity of an Ethnography that Lacks a Local Voice
Karen Tranberg Hansen's goal for this article was to explore the social life of the second-hand clothing trade and figure out whether it was actually benefitting those for whom it is intended. By utilising reliable information, she creates a well written and supported article. However, a lack of local opinions gives the article a dispassionate and detached tone. What happens when an anthropologist writes an ethnography that is missing the authenticity of a local view? Can that be made up for by using reliable sources? Hansen uses the description of experiences people on the receiving end of the second-hand clothing trade to show how it impacted them and their livelihoods. These descriptions are the closest we get to a direct local opinion and gives us a peek into how the second-hand clothing trade impacts poorer countries like Zambia. People in the West who donate clothing to charitable groups, the not for profit organisations, which resell the major part of their huge donated clothing stock, and the commercial textile recyclers, graders, exporters and importers(Pg 251). All these people benefit from this trade while the consumers ( people in poor countries, like Zambia per say ) are scolded and shamed for buying these clothes rather than supporting their local businesses and providers. This sort of contradicts the aim, right? People are sending clothes to poorer countries only to shame them for accepting them. The second-hand clothing trade effects the lives of many individualsespecially women. The second-hand clothing trade is largely in women's hands, and it provides women with new opportunities for self-employment. (Pg254) Women are able to keep active and control economic capital to support the household. In this way, the second-hand clothing trade is benefitting the local women. Without these stories being told, a reader might be misled into thinking that the second-hand clothing trade is generally harming the local communities, especially women, involved.
As previously stated, Hansen doesn't include any direct opinions from the locals involved in the situation - contradicting one of the most important anthropological tools ( Participatory Research with retrieval of local opinions and voices). Hansen's article doesn't include any quotes from local people, and her use of she, they and he is very frequent. Of course, her research had to include conversations with locals - however, we do not hear any direct opinions from them in this piece. Without this authentic view from a local, we are hearing about their opinions and struggles from a person who grew up in Western civilisation - which contradicts one of the most important rules of anthropological research ( being that anthropology allows locals to speak out and have their voice heard ), and could possibly cause a negative impact on a community. Without a local voice, the culture could be taken as something else and misjudged. For example, only with the voice of someone from the culture would we be able to begin to question whether religious coverings like the burqa or the hijab actually represent oppression - something most of us associate with the latter. Lila Abu-Lughod refers to another anthropologist's work ( that of Hanna Papanek, 1982 ) and describes how Panapek had spoken with several women in Pakistan and revealed that they die the burqa as 'portable seclusion' and 'mobile homes' within their culture and communities. Hansen impacted the community she speaks of. The purpose of this article was to question whether the second-hand clothing trade is accommodating the right group of people and/or if it was working effectively. Hansen uses many quotes and a lot of information from big media cooperations like the Guardian, the Washington Post and the New York Times which may persuade the reader to listen more carefully to what's been said since such large influential platforms write about this topic. This initial curiosity may spark a will to do something larger - for example, help edit the clothing trade system to accommodate all those who are involved. Hansen has also told the story of the women in Zambia and given them recognition for their successful lifestyles. The women's active work, harnessing economic capital from this international trade to support the household (Pg255)To write an anthropological article, a writer must be conscious of the fact that the community they are writing about may very well be reading the article once it is published. Hansen has spoken about facts: When government protection gave way to free-market principles in the transition to multi-party politic in 1991, the industry was in a precarious state. (Pg 255) Because of this, fortunately, there is little room for misunderstanding. The disadvantage to this however, is that without a local voice, the article can only reach a certain level of authenticity.
In conclusion, Karen Tranberg Hansen has explored the second-hand clothing trade using clever anthropological tools like reliable and well-known sources to help persuade the readers to listen to what she has to say. On the other hand, her lack of local opinions and voices makes the article sound detached and perhaps even too analytical. When a persuasive article is written based on statistics and information, it is hard for the reader to connect with the story and be motivated to help.
Cite this page
Questioning The Authenticity of an Ethnography That Lacks a Local Voice. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Education of Fredrick Douglass
Cite this page
Education Of Fredrick Douglass. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Romanticism in Frederick Douglass Work
Cite this page
Romanticism In Frederick Douglass Work. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
How we Can Improve our Time Management
Cite this page
How We Can Improve Our Time Management. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Crusial Role of Time Management
Every Living organism has a limited life on this Universe. No one knows how much long one specie is going to live. Some of these come earlier and also leave soon and some have really a long time period. There also exist some of these who fall in a mediocre one i.e. they have an average life span. Therefore, If someone wants to achieve something during this little duration of life then absolutely he/she must stay resolute towards his goal, which can be done easily just by doing every task at its perfect time and in very shortly also. Doing all that trick refers to a very impressive skill known as TIME MANAGEMENT. One who knows how to deal with time can softly beat with every hurdle in his/her way so with the passage of time that persons becomes used to with various problems in life and then as a result performs like unbeatable in facing critical and huge problems of life.
Time managing skills are our skills to recognize and solve personal time management difficulties. With decent time managing skills, we can control of our time and daily routine and decrease our stress and increase our energy heights. We can able to continue balance between our work and family lives. We have enough elasticity to retort to new opportunities. The key to effective time management is planning and then complaining the planned time. People who say that have no time to plan, or fail to defend planned time. If we plan what to do and when, and then track to it . then we will have time for all doings. But we can see many types of problems to accomplishing our goal due to many kinds of point.
- Time Management also leads us towards leadership i.e.
- Headship is defined as the to make people know to gain certain course, and also the leader must follow the same power of mind.
- Leader ship is not an expert of an organization but itr's a odd strength personality which attracts the normal person.
Personal and professional skills for a successful Manager/ Leader
- Time Managing
- Running conferences
- Making presentation
- Stress Managing
Time management is very central and it may actually affect individualr's overall performance and accomplishments. However, all of these are related by how individuals manage their time to suit their daily living or to make it flow steadily with their practices. Favorable settings and environment will surely promote positive outcomes to the students, besides having good lectures given by their orators. However, students time managing can be considered as one of the aspect that can move a student to be a decent student. A good time managing is energetic for students to shine. However, some of the students do not have a good time management skills that has destructively affected their life and their study. The practice of time by students in higher education institutions is associated to their daily routines and activities. Students time management can also affect stress level of students as they need to cope with their tasks and their personal shops.
For Example
In educational institutions of Malaysia, time managing has a role in shaping how the students perform. This includes the students who are focusing in the teaching profession. Teaching occupation is one of frequent professions accepted widely throughout the whole world. Due to this reason, higher learning institutions all around the world nowadays provide courses which either closely or directly related to the teaching occupation. The learning institutions in Malaysia are not omitted. Here in Malaysia, advanced learning institution provides educational courses in various fields of study. Many learning organizations have their own Faculty of Education to cater the needs and the students to further their studies in this field.
What you achieve during a 24-hour period depends on your own inspiration, your energy, your skills and skills, and other resources.Since there are always demands on your time, it may be helpful to think about what you will do with your time and to consider some plans for more effective time management.
Time managing is not a way to make you work harder and lengthier, but a means to help you work smarter to complete your work more easily and rapidly.
BENEFITS OF TIME MANAGEMENT:
If you can accomplish your time more successfully, you will be salaried in a variety of ways:
EFFICIENT: You will be more efficient in ration your district and will be able to care your clubs better.
SUCCESSFUL: You will achieve better success in your very important, and highly visible, role as a Lions Front-runner.
HEALTHY: On a personal level, you will surely feel healthier, more bouncing, and in a generally healthier mood.
OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT:
There are a lot of things that make it hard for us to manage our time effectively. Let's consider some of the most common ones, and see if they apply to us:
UNCLEAR OBJECTIVES: Itr's hard to hit a target with your eyes closed, and itr's just as hard to achieve something when you arent precisely clear about what you want to attain.
DISORGANIZATION: Itr's easy to see when your desk is too untidy, but sometimes you have to step back and ask yourself if you are taking an prearranged approach in completing all of your tasks.
Cite this page
Crusial Role Of Time Management. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Significant Time Management Strategies
Cite this page
Significant Time Management Strategies. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Role for Physician-assisted Suicide in Cancer
A woman suffering from terminal cancer became the first person to die under the law of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon in 1998. The New England Journal of Medicine states that more than 4,000 doctors have approved of the physician assisted suicide law (The Anguish n.pag.). In just the United States, forty-two percent of people have had a friend or relative suffer from a terminal illness (The right n.pag.). Although cancer is the leading cause of death in terminally ill patients, many other illnesses destroy someone's quality of life. Most treatments for terminally ill patients are long, expensive and leave the patient and family in an intense amount of physical and emotional pain. Assisted suicide is frowned upon by some people, these concerns are usually rooted in religious beliefs. In the United States that practice is legal in Oregon, Vermont, Montana, Washington and California. Patients throughout the US with ALS, terminal cancer and paralysis should have the option to receive a lethal dose of prescription medication to die peacefully.
ALS is a complex disease that sends the patient into a slow cycle of physical suffering. The disease attacks the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Sometimes early stages of ALS are hard to diagnose because the symptoms fatigue, nausea and muscle weakness can be easily diagnosed as other illnesses (Leveneand Parker n.pag.). Assisted suicide would not be optional for someone in early stages of ALS although each patient progresses differently. It usually takes about five years until patients are in the final stage of the disease. Patients who are considering assisted suicide should start planning when to do it in their third or fourth year. Doctor Lorne Zinman of Health Sciences center states ALS has sort of been at the forefront of the physician assisted death debate because of how awful the disease is(Zinman n.pag.). With the progression and severity of this disease other doctors can agree with Zinman that assisted suicide should be an option to patients with ALS.
Physical suffering progresses the later the patient is into the disease. By the final stages patients are usually paralyzed, unable to swallow and breathe on their own. Patients at this stage are usually living off of feeding and breathing tubes. The physical pain arising from complications of the feeding or breathing tube can sometimes cause more pain than the disease itself. Some complications can be UTIr's, pneumonia and even collapsed lungs (Zinman n.pag). Assisted suicide will benefit the patient before reaching the late stages and prevent him or her from suffering the complications along with ALS. These complications can be treated but include serious side effects. The most commonly used treatment for ALS is Ritalek, which has been connected to liver failure. The patient would therefore have a chance to end the suffering before any painful side effects. Many doctors who treat ALS patients have to watch their patient slowly deteriorate, eighty percent of ALS doctors believe that in the moderate-severe stages the patient should be eligible for physician assisted suicide (Zinman n.pag.). Physical quality of life may be the number one reason behind some patient requests for assisted suicide but they are also struggling through their emotions.
The social and emotional quality of life deteriorates for patients with this disease. Some doctors believe that the patient's quality of life is based on psychological factors(Zinman n.pag.). Along with two specialty doctors patients must also be seen by psychiatrists before they are eligible for assisted suicide. It is possible for the patient to have a bad hqol (health quality of life) but a decent QOL (quality of life) (Rummans, Botswick, Clark, n.pag.). Both of these play into the patient's needs for assisted suicide. The support system that the patient has plays a big role in the quality of life which can affect them emotionally.
This physical and social strain can deeply affect the emotional quality of a patient's life. Although ALS patients lose control of their physical and sometimes social abilities, their minds are still competent. Many patients either become over-emotional or not emotional at all. The feeling of not being able to express themselves can be deeply damaging (Weiss et all n.pag.). In this stage the patient may feel extreme loneliness or burdensome and all of this plays into the emotional quality of life. Giving them some kind of control will allow them to feel some peace while living before they pass away , without that control patients could easily start to feel anxious.
Anxiety is a common psychological problem developed in patients with ALS. Itr's caused by the feeling of the body slowly shutting down but not knowing exactly when they will die. Assisted suicide could help eliminate this problem by allowing the patient to plan the date of their death (Weiss et all n.pag.). Giving patients control when they die would deeply benefit them, especially since theyve already lost control of their bodies. Anxiety and lack of control can easily manifest into depression.
Depression in ALS patients is fairly common especially if the patient is under the age of forty (Cirino n.pag.). Psychiatrists are brought into evaluate the patient's depression just in case the patient was depressed before diagnosed although this is usually not the case (Zinman n.pag.). Under certain circumstances, depression can be caused by the profuse amount of medical bills.
Costs for terminal illness are extremely expensive and can deeply affect the patient's quality of life. For ALS alone, the annual patient cost is $31,000.. This amount is before the final stage where a feeding/breathing tube is introduced (Weiss et all n.pag.). It can be very stressful to the patient spending such an exorbitant amount of money on a terminal disease. Assisted suicide would reduce the costs drastically. A lethal dose of prescription medication for assisted suicide costs between $35-50, while a breathing tube can cost up to ten thousand dollars (Gardner n.pag.). By allowing the patient to receive a lethal dose of medication, the burden of medical bills would be almost nothing on the patient and their family.
The family plays a crucial role into the patient's life during their illness. Death is hard on loved ones either way, but in many cases the lack of suffering assisted suicide offers the patient is merciful to the family as well. Many patients are required to have counseling sessions with their loved ones, to help with the processing of letting them go. In most cases the patient talks with the family and the family physician before requesting assisted suicide (Zinman n.pag.). Loved ones influence the patient's decision critically, but at the end of the day the patient still gets to decide.
Families often feel many emotions under these circumstances. In typical suicide cases families often experience anger and abnormal grieving, while in terminal cases assisted suicide often makes the grieving process easier on the family because they have a chance to say goodbye without seeing their loved ones suffer (Zinman n.pag.). Overall the disease takes a toll on the family because of how little the patient can do in the progressing stages.
Assisted suicide has been the right alternative for many ALS patients. Betsy Davis, a forty-one year old woman living in Southern California, was diagnosed with ALS and told with her progression she had about six months to live. She talked to her family and decided to exercise California's law to participate in physician assisted suicide. Betsy decided to embrace this opportunity to die on her own terms by celebrating with her friends and family in an end of life ceremony(California women n.pag). The party she threw had dancing, laughing and one rule: no crying. Betsy became an advocate for assisted suicide in ALS patients because she proved that patients and their families didn't have to spend their time in constant grief (California Women n.pag.).These circumstances are unlike any party you have ever attended before, requiring emotional stamina, centeredness and openness(California Women n.pag.). With this option, Betsy was able to take control of her illness and say goodbye in her own way on her own terms. Although ALS is a detrimental disease there are other terminal illnesses to which assisted suicide should be available.
Being diagnosed with terminal cancer is one of longest and hardest processes a patient endures. Each patient that is diagnosed with terminal cancer takes the news in a different and personal way. It's hard to imagine the thought process that a patient takes on knowing that s/he is going to die. Certain patients fall into a pit of depression, this is why psychological evaluation is required (Llevene andMichael n.pag.). The level of their depression is based on different factors, the patient's support system and family.
Depression is extremely common among terminally ill patients, especially those with cancer. Before their request for assisted suicide is approved psychologists work together to determine whether the depression is caused by their terminal illness or if the depression was already present before diagnosed. If a patient is suffering from depression due to his or her terminal cancer, a psychologist will try and help pull the patient out of the depression (Yun et all n.pag.). Some terminally ill patients are at higher risk for depression if they have a past of social stress, addiction, family problems or history of depression (Weiss et all n.pag.). Terminal cancer patients with depression go through different stages of emotions. Common ones include anger, bitterness, grief, loneliness, acceptance and for some peace. Baylor University Medical center states up to seventy-seven percent of terminal cancer patients experience some kind of depression (Cirino n.pag.). The grief and depression patients endure can cause more pain than they already have. With assisted suicide patients would receive comfort knowing that they will die in peace.
There is no cure for terminal cancer but there are many treatments and medications the patient can receive. The problem with these is that it causes pain medication resistance. Over eighty five percent of terminal cancer patients and oncologists believe in assisted suicide. Their number one reason being pain resistance (Cirino n.pag.). As cancer withers away the body, doctors prescribe more pain medication until they are unable to prescribe anymore and the patient builds up a tolerance to it. Ten percent of terminal cancer patients turn to street drug opiates such as heroin just to decrease their pain (Gardner n.pag.). Allowing the patient to receive a lethal dose of medicine before the cancer reached this stage would give the patient a chance to live without daily pain. Eighty percent of patients suffer in the last six months of their illness with severe pain but only twenty nine percent want to increase medications (The long n.pag.). This is caused by the fear of addiction, being drugged out and increasing tolerance. Overall, medication can be helpful in the beginning stages of terminal cancer. However, many patients would benefit from assisted suicide once they got to a certain point where medication was of no help.
The quality of life for cancer patients can vary from patient to patient. Over 75% of patients spend their last days on a morphine drip in the hospital (Gardner n.pag.). This is no quality of life the patient or the patient's family wishes. Radiation is another treatment that can prolong life but it comes with serious side effects such as skin irritations, muscle fatigue, nausea and sometimes even radiation poisoning (Rummans n.pag.). These treatments may prolong life two to three months but assisted suicide would be an alternative to patients who don't want to live their last moment in extreme pain.
No death is easy on family but with the assisted suicide law cancer patients are able to plan their death, where they want it and who they want with them. This would make saying goodbye easier. By dying in the comfort of their own home the patient would feel more in control and feel less bad for his or her family. Sister of Kay Schellenberg, terminal cancer patient was relieved when my sister finally passed because watching her suffer was the hardest part and knowing that she died in pain broke me (Schellenberg n.pag.). Kays family often believes that if assisted suicide would have been an option at the time both Kay and her family would have had an easier time saying goodbye.
Another advocate that became the spokesgirl for assisted suicide was twenty-nine year old Brittany Maynard who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and a prognosis of six months to live. Her and her newly husband's life consisted of doctor visits, medical research and hospital stays which was no life brittany wanted (Griffin n.pag.). With four months left Brittany's doctors offered her the idea of full brain radiation that would give her maybe six more months, this did not appeal to her at all. Full brain radiation horrified her; she was told it would singe her scalp and she would be extremely sick with first degree burns all over her head. After talking with her husband she decided to exercise her right to assisted suicide, she traveled around the country for the next month until she got too sick. After being approved for assisted suicide by two oncologists and a psychiatrist she said goodbye to her family and died peacefully in her home with her husband (Griffin n.pag.). Terminal patients such as Brittany are often the front runners for assisted suicide but other patients that are suffering deserve the right to pass peacefully as well.
Patients that suffer an injury causing permanent paralysis go through a long process of learning to adapt to their new lifestyle. Every patient who suffers an injury like this is different. It depends on their personal resources such as home, family life, hobbies and coping style (Levene, Ilana, and Michael Parker n.pag.). For some patients becoming paralyzed is a struggle that they can overcome with a good support system but for others it's an ongoing struggle. Assisted suicide should be an option for adults with severe paralysis that have no treatments left.
Coping with the initial injury is one of the first steps after becoming paralyzed. Many patients need time to think and consider how their life is changed and if they can live like this, especially if they are considering physician assisted suicide. Paralysis is not a terminal illness but it puts some patients in the same position and mindset as a terminal patient may feel (Levene, Ilana, and Michael Parker n.pag.). Patients with paralysis face getting denied for assisted suicide more than terminally ill patients because they are technically not dying (Levene, Ilana, and Michael Parker n.pag.). Although these patients are not dying, assisted suicide should still be open to them due to the quality of life they are living.
Complications are extremely common among patients with paralysis. Some are UTIr's, autonomic dysreflexia, depression and infections (Levene, Ilana, and Michael Parker n.pag.). Before the initial injury, patients may have been healthy all their life. These complications add on to the costs which averages around seventy thousand a year for patients (Burns n.pag.). The burden of healthcare and complications can cause the patient anxiety and depression.
Depression in paralysis patients following the initial shock is extremely common. Obviously for some people, depression is part of the healing process and they work through the difficulties of this new life. Rates of depression differ from twenty to forty-four percent of patients depending on their situation. Some psychologists have presented that certain patients depression decreases when they know that they have the option to end life on their own terms (Yun n.pag.). The sense of relief when patients find out they can make a choice is what the option of Assisted suicide gives them.
Personal resources play a major role in the patient's feelings toward assisted suicide. This ranges from a wide variety of things such as family members, care facilities and the money to afford living as a fully paralyzed person (Levene, Ilana, and Michael Parker n.pag.). The simplest things such as bathing or using the bathroom becomes impossible. This causes the patient to rely on family members or friends which can be inconvenient and embarrassing. The feeling of being trapped inside a body unable to move is a nightmare to any healthy person. Nobody should take the right to die away from patients with paralysis.
Tony Nicholson, a fifty eight year old paralyzed man lost his case to assisted suicide. He was a former rugby player and after an accident he was unable to speak or move. His life was described as a nightmare and he described the feeling of being locked in(Burns n.pag.). Pneumonia was a complication Tony endured and although he was not pronounced terminally ill doctors said he would most likely not be able to defeat the pneumonia (Burns n.pag.). He desperately begged the court for the option to request a physician's help to suicide but when he was denied he felt devastated and heartbroken. If assisted suicide more available to patients with paralysis others like Tony would not have to suffer and could put their mind to ease peacefully. Although many people agree that Tony should have had the right to assisted suicide some believe it would have been unethical.
Some opponents of assisted suicide challenge the idea by saying doctors are violating the hippocratic oath when they are allowing and supporting the patient's wish to take a lethal dose of prescription medication. There are still many doctors today fighting against assisted suicide law by sticking to their hippocratic oath. In Washington DC at the international symposium Dr. Margaret Cottle spoke out, Euthanasia kills the patient twice once when we say, Yes, your life is not worth living, and then when we help him die(St.Clair, Jane n.pag.). Although doctors who believe in assisted suicide are technically violating the hippocratic oath no doctor believes their patients life is not worth living. The oath has been around for thousands of years and should be modified as new technology and diseases are understood (St.Clair n.pag.).. Doing no harm which is one of the first lines in the hippocratic oath does not necessarily mean death, harm can be suffering as well. Doctors number one job is to treat the patient but when there is no treatment left doctors must be able to understand and accept the patient's wishes for assisted suicide.
With the amount of suffering terminally ill patients go through, physician-assisted suicide should be an alternative for them. Death is a natural part of life, and patients should have the option to pass peacefully. Euthanasia has been an ethical issue since the beginning of western medicine but as new knowledge grows in the medical field, many doctors are realizing assisted suicide is the ethical option for patients. As human beings, we must put ourselves in the place of the patient or the patient's family before we judge someone who is terminally ill and chooses to go through with assisted suicide.
Cite this page
Role for Physician-assisted Suicide in Cancer. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Christian Perspectives on Assisted Dying: an Issue for Religious Ethics
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Global Views on Choosing to End Life, Michael J. Cholbi, Praeger, 2017, pp.121-144
Svenson, Arthur G., “Physician-Assisted Dying and the Law in the United States: A Perspective on Three Prospective Futures”,
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Global Views on Choosing to End Life, Michael J. Cholbi, Praeger, 2017, pp.3-28
What is euthanasia? Euthanasia is when a doctor can legally end the life of a patient in a painless matter if allowed by the patient and their family. Many people often confuse euthanasia with assisted suicide but there is a slight difference. Assisted suicide is when the patient requests the aid of the doctor to help commit suicide. There are various reasons patients request euthanasia and as to whether it should be legalized. I believe that it should be legalized because no one should have to endure pain if they are capable of making a rational decision regarding their death.
One reason the patient may prefer euthanasia is because they see it as a way to end their suffering. Let us say that a patient has stage four esophageal cancer, which means that the cancer has metastasized and the patient does not have a good prognosis. Keep in mind that the patient is going through chemotherapy, which causes loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea, severe pain, and muscle atrophy. Would you rather see that patient suffer for the few weeks that they have left or would you grant the wish of the patient if they asked for euthanasia? Courtney Campbell, Professor in Religion and Culture at Oregon State University agrees with Daniel Callahan Ph.D., “Ought the general duty of the physician to relieve suffering encompasses the right to kill a patient if, in the judgement of the patient, that is desired and seems necessary?” (210) If the patient is in severe pain, is it the physician’s duty or obligation to treat them with a medication that might end their life? Even if it interferes with the Hippocratic Oath, which doctors recite stating “I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect.” (Nordqvist 3) Doctors are taught to preserve human life and help heal others. But the patient has the ultimate say and what the patient wants should be done.
Many people live with illnesses that come with excruciating pain and it makes life a bit more challenging depending on the illness. For example, my grandfather had cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) and somedays his pain was tolerable and other days he would have intense chest pain and trouble breathing. He did not know about euthanasia because my family refused to even bring up that topic. At times, the pain killers that the doctors prescribed did little to no improvement and towards the end of his life his pain started to get worse and we could all see how much pain he was going through. But he was always saying how he was ready and didn’t want to suffer anymore. Most people do not like for others or their family members to see them weak or in pain, which is why they want a swift, peaceful, and painless death instead of living through the pain.
Another reason I support the legalization of euthanasia is because a person with a terminal illness in which treatment has not been working has the right to refuse treatment or if they feel the condition will worsen and they no longer have the same mental and physical capabilities. According to author Sandra Alters, Jack Kevorkian, also known as “Dr. Death”, was a major advocate and was best known for his invention of the Mercitron. The Mercitron was a device that allowed the patient access to a lethal dose of painkillers. His first patient to use this device suffered from Alzheimer’s and did not want her mental status to worsen. She did not want to be a victim of the disease and chose euthanasia in June 1990. (10)
I already had some knowledge of who Jack Kevorkian was and what he was known for. He not only fought for the right to legalize euthanasia, but he also fought for the right of the patient and believed that what they wanted should be done regardless. The patient also has legal authority to refuse treatment and being as euthanasia is not legal, the closest thing that can protect their rights from family and doctors is a DNR which basically gives them the final say. The DNR can help the person believe that they are still in control of their life and makes them feel a little less powerless. I believe that the patient has the right to choose what happens to them if they are mentally capable of making the decision. Because, after all the patient is the one that is going through the pain not the doctor. And the patient has the final say even if the family has a different opinion.
Lastly, I believe euthanasia allows the patient to die with dignity. While researching this topic, I discovered that only Oregon, Montana, and Washington have allowed assisted suicide and implemented it. Each state has different requirement the allow the patient to be eligible and each patient chart has to be evaluated by the doctor to determine whether or not the patient is doing it for medical reasons. Oregon was the first state to pass and enforce the Death With Dignity Act (DWDA) in 1994, this act allowed the patient a “humane and dignified death” (8) But the requirements are fairly simple, the patient has to be at least eighteen, mentally competent and have a terminal illness that is incurable. Brittany Maynard began her own campaign focused around the DWDA after undergoing a partial craniotomy which is a surgical procedure in which the surgeon makes a small incision in the skull to gain access to the brain and removes a tumor or whatever may be causing the problem. She only had months to live and she chose to die on November 1st, 2014. She was a major advocate for the Death With Dignity Act. (“Death with Dignity Is a Human Right (Or Should Be)”, sec. 2)
Sometimes a patient wants euthanasia because they do not want their family members to remember them in a terminal state instead, they want to be remembered for how they were before the illness. They want to be remembered for all the good things they have accomplished in life instead of all the pain and treatments. They want to die with dignity instead of others showing pity towards them. I know if I was terminal and in pain I would certainly want my family and friends to remember me for the person I was before and I would hope that they simply cherish all the wonderful moments.
The only thing I see that would conflict my thoughts on euthanasia would be the fact the it is against my Christianity. As a child, I was taught that suicide was a form of murder it was a sin because it violates the 6th commandment which states that we should not murder. It also went hand in hand with the fact that it stated in Psalms that if we cast our burdens on the Lord He will sustain and lift us up. Lloyd Steffen declared, “Christians in general hold that human life should not be destroyed…thus euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are in general prohibited.” (138)
Many religious groups are against euthanasia and assisted suicide. The main fact is because only God knows when it is our time to die and he has our entire life planned out for us. Only he knows how much we can handle and He will not give a person more than what they cannot handle. Who knows, a terminal illness might be a bump in life but he has planned for us to survive this illness and be a light for others that have the same illness. But, when we use euthanasia or follow through with assisted suicide we commit a sin and take matters into our own hands when we could have lived longer than what we thought. In a Christian perspective, life is a gift from God and only He has the authority to take a life.
Many people have their own opinion regarding this topic and I hope this showed you a different side to euthanasia and assisted suicide and the benefits it can have. I believe euthanasia should be legalized because it would be beneficial to those with terminal illnesses that cannot do anything but suffer in pain. No one should have to endure pain of the resources are available and they are capable of making life altering decisions.
Works Cited
""Right to Die: Do terminally ill patients have a right to die with the assistance of a physician?"" Issues & Controversies, Infobase Learning, 10 Nov. 2016
Alters, Sandra M. ""Suicide, Euthanasia, and Physician-Assisted Suicide."" Death and Dying: End-of-Life Controversies, 2012 ed., Gale, 2013
Campbell, Courtney S., “Limiting the Right to Die: Moral Logic, Professional Integrity, Social Ethos”
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide: Global Views on Choosing to End Life, Michael J. Cholbi, Praeger, 2017, pp.191-229
Faris, Daniel, “Death with Dignity Is a Human Right (Or Should Be).” Moderate Voice, 2015
Nordqvist, Christian. ""What are euthanasia and assisted suicide?"", Medical News Today, MediLexicon, Intl., 12 Dec. 2017. Web. 20 Nov. 2018.
Cite this page
Christian Perspectives on Assisted Dying: An Issue for Religious Ethics. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Why Assisted Suicide should be Legalized?
In the recent past, the legalization of assisted suicide has been a significant topic that many people have considered to be highly controversial. In the United States, there has been considerable debate about whether terminally ill patients have the right to die with a physicianr's assistance. Substantially, in assisted suicide, a physician facilitates the death of a patient through the provision of the necessary information and means to enable the terminally ill patient to perform an act that brings their life to an end. Assisted suicide is considered illegal in a majority of states in the US with Oregon, Montana, Vermont, California, Colorado, and Washington being the exceptions which allow patients who are going through intractable pain to be provided with a lethal prescription to terminate their life. Notably, assisted suicide has been gaining support in the US with a majority of Americans viewing assisted suicide as an appropriate legal option for terminally ill patients. In contrast, opponents of the practice consider it as inhumane, and a form of murder and hence should remain illegal. However, although many people are quick to acknowledge the issues associated with physician-assisted suicide, most fail to realize the numerous benefits that come with its legalization.
To begin with, assisted suicide serves as a means to bringing the pain and suffering of terminally ill patients to an end. As maintained by Emanuel, the unbearable pain that terminally patients undergo is among the primary reasons for the legalization of assisted suicide (630). Undeniably, today, medical technology has made significant strides towards extending the lives of humans. For instance, respirators can be used to support the failing lungs of a patient while the use of medicines can sustain the patient's physiological processes. However, although patients with high chances of surviving view such medical technology as an invaluable gift to humankind, for terminally ill patients, the technology is just a means of lengthening their suffering. Admittedly, medicine should always help alleviate a patientr's pain. On the contrary, as argued by Crocker, what medical technology does is to expose a dying patient to more suffering as a result of the continuous pain and agony (12). In the past, there are cases in which terminally ill patients have asked for lethal drugs as an ultimate medication that would bring their pain to an end. For example, an English woman by the name Lillian Boyes, who had rheumatoid arthritis a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting more than a patientr's joints, pleaded with her doctor to assist her in terminating her life as she could not bear the pain anymore (Douglas 17). Evidently, this demonstrates that pain medication does not always work and hence terminally ill patients should legally be granted the right to assisted death as a way of ending the pain resulting from a non-curable illness.
Secondly, medical care for dying patients is often attached to a high price that sometimes goes beyond the financial capability of the patientr's family. According to Strinic, the estimated cost of maintaining a terminally ill patient ranges from $2000 to $10000 a month (7). Undeniably, this is quite a high figure which implies that only a few terminal patients in the hospital can comfortably prolong their lives without causing their families a lot of financial strain. For the majority of patients who are not so affluent, the cost attached to their medical care is left to their less privileged families (Strinic 11). In essence, this implies that prolonging the lives of patients with an incurable condition has a damaging financial effect on their families as a result of hospital care expenses. Unquestionably, while the dying patient is still alive, the cost of prolonging their life is not comparable to the familyr's love for one of their own. However, when such terminally ill patients pass on, their families remain struggling with huge hospital bills which often expose them to financial problems (Crocker 5). As such, if terminally ill patients are legally given the option to terminate their life, then their families would be saved from the financial burden that would result from extended medical care as well as the unbearable pain of seeing their loved one suffer physically.
Additionally, regarding the economic benefits of assisted suicide, the practice also saves money and resources on a national scale. In agreement with this, Douglas et al. argue that many countries across the world have insufficient funds allocated to their health care sector and hence ensuring enough beds and medical practitioners in each hospital are quite a challenge (21). Based on this fact, it would be rightful to argue that using the little resources available to lengthen the lives of dying patients who are critically ill or suffer from an incurable disease, and who are willing to terminate their lives, at the expense of saving the lives of patients with curable conditions but without access to proper medical facilities as a waste of money. From this point of view, it is apparent that assisting patients who are willing to terminate their life do so, the waiting lists for each hospital would be significantly shortened. As well, this justifies the notion that a countryr's hospital beds, health care funds, and doctorr's energy should be directed to saving the life of patients with treatable diseases who can resume working and continue making their substantial contribution to the welfare of the society.
Thirdly, by making physician-assisted suicide legal, human dignity would be preserved and protected. Undeniably, nobody would be willing to experience a horrible and excruciating death. All humans desire a dignified and proper end to their life. However, some circumstances may leave a patient wishing to die as a result of too much physical and psychological suffering. For instance, a patient who has been diagnosed with a terminal disease that is painfully debilitating may wish to end their life as a way of escaping the harrowing experience. Besides, as argued by Emanuel, some terminally ill patients are exposed to unnecessary psychological torture when a given incurable illness makes them incapable of doing even the basic things in life such as moving and breathing (634). Additionally, a patient may suffer from stroke or be involved in a significant car accident leaving them paralyzed and hence unable to care for themselves. Such patients tend to develop poor self-determination which is fundamentally the human dignityr's foundation (Emanuel 636). Irrefutably, when one is unable to do tasks that were previously possible, they are likely to have a sense of humiliation while excruciating pain can result in embarrassing situations, such as crying, which would put a spot on an individualr's self-esteem. By legalizing assisted suicide, such patients would have the option to terminate their life to preserve their dignity.
Cite this page
Why Assisted Suicide Should Be Legalized?. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Assisted Suicide, Coercion and Elder Abuse
One side of the argument says that it is wrong for people to die before their time. Many religions find it sinful and wrong. There are also the morals and values of the medical professionals. It the article, Attitudes towards Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, it says, ...when controlled for religious practice, psychiatrists participating in this study expressed more conservative views regarding euthanasia than did physicians from other medical specialties. Overall, physicians who consider themselves religious orthodox indicated more conservative views concerning euthanasia in general compared to the subpopulation of physicians (405). The study that was taken in this article says that religion plays a strong role in the morals/perspectives of some medical professionals. However, religion is not the only reason to be against euthanasia or assisted-suicide.
In most countries, assisted suicide or euthanasia is unlawful and illegal. In the article, The Role of and Challenges for psychologists in Physician Assisted Suicide, It says, The practice of PAS is widely considered to be a criminal offense; however, the practice is currently legal in Oregon, Washington, and Montana (Oregon Death with Dignity Act [ODDA], 1995; Washington Death with Dignity Act [WDDA], 2008; Baxter vs Montana, 2009).(582). Although assisted suicide has become legal in 3 states does not mean much. There are still 48 states that have not legalized this practice. With this many states, many people question if this practice should be used. However, this is only one example of how opponents view assisted suicide.
If assisted suicide is legal and that can be interpreted as some lives are not good enough, or worth saving. This can easily turn into people thinking that the law is saying that they do not matter, especially the disabled or elderly. For example, if assisted suicide was put out more as an option too the terminally ill, then it would seem the doctor is not giving compassion but sense of giving up and hopelessness. Also if assisted suicide became legal it can open doors to elder abuse and other bad things that can go with bad people getting their hands on these lethal drugs.
Cite this page
Assisted suicide, Coercion and Elder Abuse. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Assisted Suicide and Culture
Assisted Suicide is a topic that a lot of people try to avoid. However, it has been a topic that you see a lot in the news and in newspapers, articles in magazines and on some radio stations. The big debate is whether Assisted Suicide should be legal or banned. Some people view Assisted Suicide as a gentle and humane way to end someoner's life that is suffering from a terminal illness while other people view it as murder. There are several ways to assist someone with assisted suicide but first the person requesting to die must go through a process. The process is extremely hard and it is a long process to get through(Oregon Right to Life, 2018). The person requesting to die must first be diagnosed with an illness that is not going to improve, with a diagnosis of 6 months or less to live. The person then has to make sure that they get a second opinion from a separate physician. If they dont get two doctors to agree then they cannot go through with the process of ending their life through assisted suicide(Oregon Right to Life, 2018). After getting the two doctors to agree that the end is at least 6 months or less for the person to live then the patient has to ask their physician twice for the drugs to end their life.
This request must be in written form, not verbally(Oregon Right to Life, 2018). The written request also has to be verified by two other people who then have to sign the request before the doctor will release the medication to the person(Oregon Right to Life, 2018). At no time does the doctor administer the medication, this has to be done by the person requesting the dosage(Oregon Right to Life, 2018). There is one definition that is used interchangeably with Assisted Suicide and that is Euthanasia(Nordqvist, 2017). Although Euthanasia or Mercy Killing is used interchangeably there is a difference between the two. The main difference is that with Assisted Suicide the act of ending oner's life is always done by the patient where in Euthanasia or Mercy Killing it might be done by the patient or it could be done by someone else who is assisting them to end their life(Drexel University, 2018). Depending upon the religious beliefs of people, it determines whether or not they believe in Assisted Suicide. Various religions throughout the world have different beliefs in how they think about Assisted Suicide. Some of those beliefs vary greatly while some share the common belief that Assisted Suicide should be a personal choice and not one decided by someone other than the terminally ill patient.
In the Catholic faith they believe that a person should pray and spend time with family and friends and spend time in church if they have an illness that is terminal. They do not believe that ending your life with Assisted Suicide should be done and that it is a sin to end your own life(Donovan, 1997). Judaism believes that not under any circumstances should someone be allowed to take their own life or have someone do it for them(Steinberg, 1988). In the Unitarian Universalism religion believes in the personr's right to choose how they are to die when they are terminally ill. They believe that people in their congregation can choose to end their life if there are no options left for them to choose from(The Right to Die With Dignity, 1988). Mormonism is totally against Assisted Suicide but look upon a life as precious and if death is inevitable then one should not use outside means to prolong their life(Euthanasia and Prolonging Life, 2018). Assemblies of God Churches are totally against Assisted Suicide and believe that the only one who can decide when someone dies is God himself, no one else has that right to decide when they are to die(Pew Research Center, 2013).
The Evangelical Lutheran Church In America believes that a person's life is very valuable and that they should not end their life by using Assisted Suicide, however they also believe that the person's life who is terminal should not be prolonged either(ELCA Message, 1992). The Episcopal Church believes that no one has the right to take a life, under any circumstances but they also like the Evangelical Lutheran Church do not believe in prolonging life if there is no cure in sight(Episcopal Church Resolution, 1991). Hinduism does not necessarily believe in Assisted Suicide but they do believe that if there is no hope for a dying person that there life should be ended, but most do not believe in this point of view in the Hinduism world(Nimbalkar, 2009). Islam believes that every life is sacred and therefore should not be taken by Assisted Suicide(Aramesh, 2007). The Southern Baptist Convention is also against Assisted Suicide and does not believe that a person should end their life due to a terminal illness(Southern Baptist Convention, 2017).
Cite this page
Assisted Suicide and Culture. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
The Symbol of Women in the Heart of Darkness
In the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, women symbolize pretty illusions and the European civilizationr's capability to hide its bigotry and racism behind pretty ideals. In many areas in the book, women are described to be out of touch with the truth, and oblivious to the horrific events happening around them. This depiction of women is meant to portray them as lesser than men, and only as followers to the nefarious ideas of the West. They are also seen as devotees that elapse the beliefs of the white colonists, illustrating them as stupid and naive. Throughout history, women have been depicted as such, and Conradr's novel is no exception.
Joseph Conrad became a citizen in the late nineteenth century” and introduced the public to new perspectives regarding the autonomy of women and the gender roles assigned to them. Due to the presence of these perspectives”and the difficulty in ignoring them due to their controversy”Conradr's text can ultimately be found sexist due to its portrayal of women as non-complex figures for the male gaze despite the authorr's likely introduction to the contrary.
This demonstrates how Conradr's decision to portray women as dull characters, is not justified. This choice of characterization connects to the symbolization of women as pretty illusions because they have no real importance other than acting as a bulwark for the barbaric principles of the colonists during this time. One example of this depiction would be Marlowr's aunt when he tells her about the beautiful ideas behind colonization, and how it conceals the execution of colonialism. She agrees with him, and this establishes how women are symbolizing the civilizationr's failure to acknowledge its corruption. His aunt also leads him to the heart of Africa to spread the glories and ideas of the West, demonstrating how she is blind to the fact that pushing ideas onto people without consent is ethically and morally wrong. All in all, this, along with many other examples, ties into the blatant sexism of the novel because women are painted as naive and oblivious to surrounding situation. Another being how Conrad gives women little to no narrative, and how they arent given actual names other than, Marlowr's Aunt or Kurtz mistress.
As pointed out by Gabrielle McIntire in The Women Do Not Travel: Gender, Difference, and Incommensurability in Conradr's Heart of Darkness, the only traditionally feminine name that appears in the novella is placed on an object: Marlowr's ship, the Nellie. While McIntire includes that the naming of vessels under feminine names was common for the period, she concludes that naming the ship a traditionally female name nevertheless underscores the fact that he leaves every woman of his text unnamed (McIntire 257).
This lack of individuality displayed in the novel represents how women werent viewed as singular people, but always paired with a man, or an inanimate object; However, Conrad never hesitates to describe their physical appearance, which is evidently more important than their current personality or name. she was savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent, (Conrad 56). This shows the reader how he mentions how magnificent she is, but also throws in the fact that she is "savage". The use of this word gives an understanding as to how Marlow describes the women as beautiful, however, since she is African, he still sees her as an animal because of her race. Overall, this connects with the theme of women being used as shields to hide the barbaric ideas of the West, because it displays how Marlow describes their appearance, but fails to mention anything about their personality; Thus, women are seen and used in the novel only for their beauty, painting them as the "pretty illusions". This is exemplified because Conrad also gives names to inanimate objects used by men and the colonists, but leaves out the names of actual people, while still pointing out how beautiful they are. Implying that their beauty is their "only use" in the novel, and something that isnt even human has more worth than them.
As previously mentioned, in the novel, women are depicted to be more sensitive, fragile, and naive than men. This portrayal ultimately paints them as oblivious to the events happening around them, and men see it as their job to protect them from the real world since theyre hiding in the world theyve created in their head. This establishes blatant misogyny having to do with men feeling the need to protect women, as if they aren't capable themselves. There are a few key examples from the book that demonstrate this representation, with one being Kurtzr's fiancee.
The Intended is Kurtzr's fiancee. Marlow goes to visit her after the death of Kurtz. She seems to exemplify Marlowr's earlier statement that women live in their own world. She is na??ve to the extreme about Kurtz and about his activities in Africa. Her version of her fiance has little to do with the reality that Marlow has witnessed, yet he cannot bring himself to shatter her illusions. In the end, he decides to lie to her and tell her that the last thing Kurtz said before he died was her name. Marlow says that to have told her the truth would have been too dark”too dark altogether . . . . Marlow seems to have decided to heed Kurtzr's request that women have their own beautiful world that must not be sullied.
This expresses the motif of the women in Heart of Darkness being blind to societyr's issues, and not being able to handle the truth about the world. It connects to the central theme of women being used to hide the inhuman ideals of the Europeans. Since the women are painted as naive, it shows the reader how they can easily be used by men to hide their ignorance and discriminatory principles. Overall, the idea of women not being able to handle themselves when faced with the harsh reality and having to be saved from it, gives us the impression that they're naive and unintelligent. All in all, this depiction of women being deficient in intellect demonstrates how men saw them as an easy way for them
In summary, the women in Heart of Darkness are used as pretty illusions for the colonists to hide their hypocrisy and racism behind pretty ideas. This is illustrated by the fact that Conrad gives women little to no narrative in the book, how Marlow only sees females for their beauty, and how theyre depicted as naive conformists. The minimal narratives given to female characters combined with the superficial view of women display how, in conclusion, Conrad's novel exemplifies how women keep a pretty picture of the hypocrisy and corruption of the European colonists.
Works Cited
Carr, Willow. "The Representation of Women in Heart of Darkness." Sosland Journal, (2016): 8. Web.
Lewis, Linda Napikoski and Jone Johnson. "Oppression and Women's History." ThoughtCo, Sep. 23, 2018, thoughtco.com/oppression-womens-history-definition-3528977.
Odak, Sheila. "Women in Heart of Darkness." Bright Hub Education, https://www.brighthubeducation.com/homework-help-literature/67924-women-in-heart-of-darkness/.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. 1902. New York: Dover,
1990. Print.
Cite this page
The Symbol of Women in The Heart of Darkness. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
An Exploration of Racism in Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conradr's Heart of Darkness has been analyzed and critiqued for its misrepresentation of the African race. Some critics have even gone so far as to say that the whole piece itself is racist. While Conrad was not solely responsible for the xenophobic image of Africa, his writing did seem to support the stereotype of the native people. Nevertheless, Conrad was writing at a time when the historical representation of Africans had always been primarily depicted as racist. It is also safe to assume that Conrad failed to delineate Africans properly because he recognized little of their culture. This could be due to the fact that his time on the Congo was spent mostly with white men. While Conradr's text can be difficult to comprehend and does have certain racist elements, this does not mean the author was racist and wrote Heart of Darkness with racist intentions; on the contrary, it is presumed that Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness to show the wicked ways of the Europeans, not to scrutinize Africans.
In a literary piece titled An Image of Africa: Racism in Conradr's 'Heart of Darkness by Chinua Achebe, Achebe writes about Conradr's work being opened up on the River Thames, which is calm and tranquil; however, the actual story will take place on the River Congo, the very antithesis of the Thames (15). Achebe argues that Conrad is not worried so much about the differences of the two, as he is worried about the kinship between them (15). Before Thames was at the point of peace, it was seen as one of the dark places of the earth (Conrad 75). The thought of the Thames going back into its state of darkness is what Conrad seems to be most concerned for, as he seems to say that darkness never really leaves; Marlow, a character from the book, states, it is like a running blaze in a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds. We live in the flicker may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling! (76). From this, it seems that Marlow is saying that the state they are in right now is the flicker of light in the midst of the darkness. This darkness mainly resides in the wicked hearts of people and, if not taken care of properly, can be released again. Marlow has seen this type of darkness first hand from the Congo and all its atrocities. Obviously it is not that Africa is a place that turns men wicked; however, Africa seems to be a place where wicked men do not curb their corrupt behavior. By seeing this, Marlow has a sense of prejudice due to his ignorance of the matter, and because he has had no other experiences to base them off of, so he hastily makes his own conclusions on others.
A prime example that Conrad uses to display not only Marlowr's bias, but to express his own empathy for the situation is the fireman. The fireman is an African who has been trained to operate the boatr's boiler. While watching him, Marlow refers to the fireman as an improved specimen (Conrad 99) and he thinks there's an evil spirit inside who gets angry if its not given enough water. Marlow also gives a very harsh description of the fireman, referring to him as a dog dressed like a person. Despite this unfavorable description, it seems that Marlow sympathizes with the fireman. Marlow feels that the fireman would be better off with his relatives instead of being seperated from them and forced to work for the Europeans (Conrad 100). This statement from Marlow was most likely sincere, as Achebe states, For Conrad things being in their place is of the utmost importance (18). When things are where they are supposed to be, it helps relieve future conflict that could arise; however, when people, or things, are placed where they do not belong it can cause chaos to erupt.
Had Europeans decided not to colonize Africa, many of the events and tragedies discussed in Heart of Darkness would have been completely avoided. This fact seems to uphold the idea that Conrad felt that Europeans had no right being in Africa; furthermore, in Paranoia and Pain in Joseph Conradr's Heart of Darkness author Al-Assad Omar quotes, In this short novel, he dramatized his own confiding attitudes toward passion and reason, savagery and civilization (1). Conrad may have felt that Heart of Darkness was the most effective way to express his views on the situation. None of the Europeans depicted in Heart of Darkness seem interested in helping or educating the Africans; instead, most of them ignore the anguish around them and continue to pursue their own personal endeavors. The fact that Conrad decided to portray the Europeans in such a negative light seems to suggest that he disagreed with their being in Africa and hoped to share his feelings on the subject. In an analysis of Joseph Conrad and his works, Aaron Records states the following on Conrad: I surmise that arguments of intention are dangerous and that no one should make them because they are largely insupportable. If anything, an argument of intention has all the qualities of prejudice and once investigated, seems just as absurd as arguments for racism (159). The statement made by Records debunks the claim that Conradr's writing was intentionally racist. With no evidence to back up the claims, they are not valid. Furthermore, Achebe uses the argument that because Conrad lacks focus on the African characters Heart of Darkness has a racist nature; however, Conrad choosing to show the savagery of the Europeans on the French Ship seems much more appropriate to cover. Marlow describes the scene; In the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, firing into a continent (82). The thought of a French warship approaching a small village with spears and arrows seems a tad extreme. This treatment of the natives further shows the crude behavior of the whites. When he first sees the ship, Marlow sees a gang of Africans who look to be severely overworked and malnourished. As the ship passes by, all the Africans seem to be unphased by Marlowr's presence despite being in close proximity to him. Their lack of regard for Marlow shows their paucity of connection for the moment and just how their treatment on the ship had made them lose all connection with their surroundings.
Again seeing the harsh realities of the situation, Marlow sees the impact Europe had on the natives. He states, They were dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now - nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation (84). Marlow implies in this passage that the natives were mistreated, used relentlessly for labor until they were spent, at which point they were "allowed" by the civilized whites to crawl into the grove of death to die. At this point, Marlow seems to have a revelation. He sees these Africans in a new light than before, and acknowledges their pain. Not only does Marlow make note of the Africans on the ship, he also observes cannibals that he seems to have high regards for.
Marlow begins to give insights into some of the Africans that crew his ship. He states of the cannibals, fine fellows cannibals - in their place. They were men one could work with, and I am grateful to them (98). The fact that Marlow places such an importance on the value of work, and that he describes the Africans as men one could work with seems to show the level of respect he has for them. To flip the situation around, there is never an instance where Marlow describes any of the Europeans as people he could see himself working with. In fact, there is another altercation in the novella where the Europeans take food from a group of cannibals and throw it overboard. When this happens, Marlow wonders why the cannibals have such restraint over themselves and states, It takes man all his inborn strength to fight hunger properly (103).
The restraint demonstrated by the cannibals has a huge contrast to the pilgrims and Marlow even comments on how unwholesome the pilgrims looked (103). The fact that Marlow viewed the cannibals with such high esteem and the Europeans with such low disregard furthermore highlights the feelings Conrad had toward the Europeans.
For this particular situation, Marlow wants to highlight the overwhelming dissimilarities between the Africans and the Europeans. The Africans show striking uprightness in not eating the Europeans; especially because they had them outnumbered thirty to five (103). Perceived to be vicious, one would not think that cannibals can have integrity; however, Conrad shows that they can. As time goes on, Marlow starts to see the Africans for who they truly are and understand that they are not the ones who are always in the wrong. In a text written about Heart of Darkness, author Glen Retief states the following, First, Heart of Darkness, is in many ways, the quintessential narrative of Africa written by an outsider: both Conrad and Marlow know nothing of the Congo beyond what they have read in newspapers and books (225). Many time, when someone does not have enough knowledge on a particular situation, they can tend to make their own assumptions; while this is not right, it does not necessarily make that person a vicious person, it just makes them ignorant to the subject and shows they need to be informed about it. In a novel about racism titled The Bluest Eyes, author Toni Morrison states, Being a minority in both caste and class, we moved about anyway on the hem of life, struggling to consolidate our weaknesses and hang on, or to creep singly up into the major folds of the garment (17). This quote can be used to describe the African situation for how they were perceived. They were not of a high-class and were often looked down upon, and because of this, they were always easy targets for others to make their presumptions and cast judgment.
To say that Heart of Darkness is an intentionally racist text would be a far cry from what many see as Joseph Conradr's true intentions for the novel. While it does have a tendency to focus on, and give insights, into European characters while demeaning Africans, this is not due to racism, but a calculated attempt to illustrate the cruel behavior of the European characters. Conrad shows the hard truth of how many Europeans act when they are freed from the restraints of society and in this process, he also shows that the ones being portrayed as savages are the ones who are not the troublemakers. Many revert back to animalistic behaviors and doing things spitefully, while the savage African cannibals show restraint even when they are provoked by the Europeans. Joseph Conrad was trying to show the reality of European imperialism, that for the most part, would have gotten overlooked and ignored by society. His stance for the topic shows that he was not scared to write about the truth, whether it was good or bad. The true message behind Heart of Darkness is not racism, but that power corrupts even what the world sees as the best of people and nations. There is always two sides to every story, and sometimes the good that we see, is underlined with miles of evil that is just waiting to be opened up. There is darkness inside every individual. Whether or not a person frees their darkness is an eternal decision they must make.
Cite this page
An Exploration of Racism in Heart of Darkness. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Symbolism in “Heart of Darkness”
Joseph Conradr's Heart of Darkness tells the tale of a sailor, a petty trader and commander, as well as a tyrannical company, through symbolic hidden meanings and irony. Ultimately bringing forth, the true meaning of the novella. Throughout Heart of Darkness, How these figurative elements are executed, lures the reader and envelopes them in a novella that reveals the truth of colonialism and the influence it has on the whites and minorities, making this work worthy of study in a literature course.
Conrad uses symbolism in an attempt to reveal the truth of colonialism and the influence it has on the whites and minorities For instance, Kurtz and the river, both are more than what they appear to be; a man and a natural unit. The symbol is something used to insinuate that one has to look below the surface, dig deeper, in order to find the hidden meaning. As you read the novel, you come to find that the ringmaster of the heart of darkness found within the Congo, is Kurtz. Kurtz, the central figure of the novel, symbolizes many things. For one, he represents the great influence the individuals found in the Congo, referred to as savages, have on the man believed to be civilized and insane. Kurtz also represents the power hungry and greedy whites as he leads the savages to do what he ultimately desires, which is to be treated and referred to as a god like figure. While attempting to train the savages he turned into one himself. Kurtz hurt others with no remorse as he climbed the ladder of success he had built himself during his time in the Congo.
Another major figure is Marlow, he too has a symbolic role in the novel. Marlow symbolizes the spirit one would find in a student. He seeks new knowledge constantly and like a child, curiosity. Once he absorbs something new during his journey, he takes a moment to observe it, analyze the human behavior, and categorize it regarding morals/values. After some time, Marlow, similarly to Kurtz, begins to show the influence savagery can have on a civilized man and how everyone contains that darkness within them. One of the minor characters in the book, the manager of the central station, symbolizes futility. Day by day he works like a machine and holds the same characteristics as one as well; unable to fear, love, or respect. The manager, similar to a set of machinery, is empty. Perhaps one of the most important symbols in this book, one that is not a character but an object, is ivory. The novel revolves around ivory, symbolizing the white man's greed. The individuals in the novel scour the Congo in search of this for a chance of success and superiority. All things found in the Heart of Darkness have a deeper meaning than one may initially believe so. Through the use of symbolism Conrad reveals the truth of colonialism and the influence it has on the whites and minorities, making this work worthy of study in a literature course.
Conrad uses irony to uncover the hidden meaning in the Heart of Darkness. Irony can be described as something that is said versus what actually occurs or is true. There are many ironic situations in the novel, one of the two most important ones, regard to the two greater figures in the novel. One being the influence the Congo had on Kurtz who before traveling there, was a successful agent for a company that wrote an informative brochure on the so called 'amazing impact whites have on the Congo as a whole; including its savages. The form states how the whites can tame the savages and transform them into civilized human beings. However, their way of causing this transformation is extremely savage-like, making the entire situation an irony. They have become accustomed to inflicting pain on the savages and killing them in order to cause fear. Fear would then cause order and this is what they advertise to accomplish. Also, Kurtz is believed to be one of the best to civilize the savages due to his great moral restraint. This is an irony within an irony. Not only is their way of civilizing the savages immoral but Kurtz also allows his position in the Congo get to his head, leading him to become a savage himself. In the civilized man's attempt to transform a savage he was unable to control his moral self and became a savage himself. During his time there, Kurtz becomes so power-hungry that he begins to order the savages to worship him as if he were a god and to scour the Congo for ivory so that he too can be successful and above all, far more superior than the rest. Him being a part of a company that speaks of being able to civilize savages and then being easily transformed into a savage himself, is one of the greatest ironies the novella holds. The execution of these ironic moments and how they blend into one another seamlessly not to mention how well they compliment each other, make it worthy of study in a literature course.
From the beginning, Conrad brings the reader aboard the Nellie in a tale saturated with ironies and symbolism. His execution of these two figurative elements lures the reader into the Congo alongside Marlow for a tale of horror. Conrad reveals the truth of colonialism and the influence it has on the whites and minorities, making this work worthy of study in a literature course.
Cite this page
Symbolism in "Heart of Darkness". (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Colonialism and Imperialism in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
"It ceased to be a blank space of delightful mystery”a white patch for a boy to dream gloriously over. It had become a place of darkness" (Conrad 71). While Marlow is waiting for the Doctor to begin his physical, he notices a map of Africa, color-coded with the nations who have conquered the lands. Those empire has caused the most damage and committed the most cruel actions to the land and the people. There is a large yellow patch in the middle of the map that marks the area Marlow will be traveling to. In the journey, as he get deep into the jungle, Marlow discover an external darkness and an internal darkness. He sees the reality of European presence, the evil side of human's nature, and how people even himself get dehumanized by the colonization. The deeper into the Congo, the less humanity they have.
As Marlow travels from the Outer Station to the Inner Station, he sees first hand the reality of colonization. The European colonist enforcing the aimless work onto the Africans. Chained Natives are being forced to dig holes into the ground for the purpose in an unreal charity. "It wasn't just a hole, it might have served some philanthropic desire of giving the criminals but basically slaves." Those natives did not do anything wrong and just be called criminals (Conrad 26). And along the way, Marlow sees the French ship was firing into the depth jungle. Marlow described those fire shot as "squirt", to express the useless of those shots (Conrad 20). He also described the Europeans as flabby, devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly, those
Chen !1
Europeans are using violence to satisfied their own desire and greedy hearts. Marlow begins to wonder about repercussions of dominating not just the jungle, but the world in this way.
Marlow is who Kurtz used to be when Kurtz first began his journey in the Congo. Kurtz was willing to bring the idea of European civilization to Africans, but become a savage himself when he get into the jungle. There is a evil side lie within everyman, but being repressed by other stuff. Marlow discover Kurtz natural evil secluded from his heart. The Company are only run for the profit and Kurtz becomes corrupt by the power, both of them are ruthless, greedy, and amoral (Conrad 17). Kurtz wants everything get in his control, he states "My ivory, my people, my station, my river" (Conrad 73). Also, Kurtz get ivory by ribbing from the village and put those who "rebel"'s head around the house. Kurtz's own desire makes him occupied by the darkness in his heart and show out the evil side in his nature.
This echoes back to the Doctor, who told Marlow the changes take place inside, you know."(Conrad 75). In the beginning, Marlow felt out of place because he did not have the other menr's thirst for imperialism. Later, Marlow becomes disturbed by the senseless amount of death and the lack of empathy for the natives. He then becomes disturbed by Kurtzr's greed and the unspeakable evils he has committed to get the ivory. Marlow watches the man succumb to his heart of darkness and die weak. He then reflects on the ease that any man, including himself, could fall in the way Kurtz did. At first, Kurtz claim that he was the kind of person who hates lie, however, he lies to Kurtzr's Intended the last world of Kurtz was her name (Conrad 157). Although Marlow has seen the horrors of colonialism, he keeps them to himself and also affected by its darkness.
Chen !2
At the end of the book, Marlow is world-weary and jaded and feels partly responsible for the brutalities inflicted on the natives. His view of imperialism is negative. He comes to realize that The Company is keeping up appearances so that the rest of the civilized world will not know the extent it is ravaging Africa, its land, its animals, and its people.
Cite this page
Colonialism and Imperialism in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Jane Austen: an Influential Writer in History
Cite this page
Jane Austen: An Influential Writer In History. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
Key Points in Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, written in 1797 and published in 1813.
Themes:
In the book, Pride and Prejudice, some themes are pride blinds our eyes when we judge, truth is not always apparent, and marry for love not wealth, which is Austen's worldview as well. Austen showcases the first theme in Eliza and Darcy's relationship with one another. Eliza is too proud to fully see the motive of Darcy's actions and instead dismisses them before fully understanding. Secondly, the next theme perfectly describes Wickham and Eliza. At first, Wickham is this dashing solider who is generous and charming. However, Eliza learns more about him and his true nature, but he is still able to fool others, especially Lydia who becomes his wife.
Finally, Austen's worldview: marry for love not wealth. While there are examples of relationships following that, Austen also includes the other side of the coin. The relationships in high standing of that are Eliza and Darcy, Jane and Mr. Bingley; however on the other side there is Wickham and Lydia, and Charlotte and Mr. Collins. Within the themes, Austen criticizes the way people act and their reasoning behind it. She also criticizes the time, poking fun at the social classes and the pursuit to find financial security, rather than love.
Characters:
- Elizabeth Bennet: Main character. Most intelligent of the five kids and very quick-witted.
- Jane Bennet: Eliza's sister, oldest Bennet child. Reserved, pretty, and well liked.
- Mary Bennet: The middle child, sensible, and a know it all.
- Catherine Kitty Bennet: Second youngest child, coughs a lot for attention.
- Lydia Bennet: The youngest child, most like Mrs. Bennet, and is a red coat chaser. Runs away and marries Wickham.
- Mr. Bennet: The girls father; favors Eliza because they are both sarcastic and skeptical. Not a good parent: ignores their concerns with life and marriage.
- Mrs. Bennet: Obsessed with marrying off her girls. A silly woman who talks a lot.
- Fitzwilliam Darcy: A wealthy man, nephew of Lady Catherine. In love with Eliza.
- Georgiana Darcy: Darcy's sister, pretty and shy. Almost married Wickham when he took her away, but Darcy stopped it.
- Charles Bingley: Darcy's best friend and in love with Jane.
- Miss Caroline Bingley: Bingley's obnoxious sister who hates Eliza because she wants to marry Darcy.
- George Wickham: A handsome solider who seems nice, but is a mercenary.
- Mr. Collins: The Bennet's cousin who will inherit the property. A clergyman for Lady Catherine, who he is in love with.
- Lady Catherine De Bourgh: A noblewoman, who is rude and does not follow the rules of etiquette. Darcy's aunt and wants him to marry her daughter.
- Ann De Bourgh: Lady Catherine's daughter, frail.
- Mr. Gardiner: Mrs. Bennet's brother. Caring and him and his wife like parents to the Bennet girls.
- Mrs. Gardiner: Mr. Gardiner's wife. Nurturing and has common sense.
- Charlotte Lucas: Eliza's best friend and marries Mr. Collins for financial security.
- Colonel Fitzwilliam: Darcy's cousin, well mannered.
Organization:
The novel is organized to show the chase beginning and ending with inconveniences in the middle. It follows a chronological order from when Mr. Bingley arrives at Netherfield Park, the estate next to the Bennets, to the end where Eliza and Darcy are married. The first sentence of the book lays out the terms of the chase: a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife (1). The terms show through the book with prime examples in Mr. Collins trying to find a wife to raise his status, Wickham to ensure that he will keep whatever money he has and that he will gain more money. Likewise, the women in the novel also partake in the chase, but they are not as vocal about it, they have to wait for what the man will do: propose or not. The novel shows the chase between Darcy and Eliza as well as Jane and Bingley. Pride and Prejudice ends with the chase over and Darcy and Eliza married.
Settings:
The settings in Pride and Prejudice go from Longbourn, the Bennet's estate, Netherfield Park, the estate that Mr. Bingley is renting, Meryton, where the soldiers are being lodged, Rosings Park, Lady Catherine's estate, and Pemberley, Mr. Darcy's estate. Hertfordshire is the county where Longbourn, Netherfield, and Meryton are, Hunsford is where Charlotte and Mr. Collins live, Brighton is where the solider move to after Meryton, and Derbyshire is where Pemberly is located. The settings create space and realism when the characters have to travel from one place to the next.
Summary:
When Charles Bingley, a rich single man, moves to the Netherfield estate, everyone in town, especially Mrs. Bennet who wants to marry off her daughters”Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, are overjoyed. The Bennet daughters meet Mr. Bingley at a local ball and are impressed by his personality and friendly disposition. However, when they meet his friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, they are less impressed because of his pride and arrogant nature. Eliza dislikes him even more because she overheard him saying how she was only tolerable and not good enough to dance with.
Bingley and Jane, the oldest Bennet daughter, become very close quickly, but any serious relationship between the two would not work because Bingley's sisters do not like that Jane is part of the lower class and Darcy believes Jane does not really like Bingley. Meanwhile, Darcy finds himself interested in Eliza despite his objections to her family. He is drawn to her wit and significant eyes. Caroline Bingley's jealous criticisms of Eliza can do nothing to lessen Darcy's admiration even though she wants to marry Darcy.
As Darcy grows more interested in Eliza, she continues to despise him and is instead attracted to George Wickham, a charming solider. Wickham tells Eliza that his father worked for Darcy's father and that he and Darcy grew up together. Wickham tells Eliza that he was favored over Darcy by Darcy's father and claims that Darcy disobeyed his father's request to give money to Wickham so he could become a clergyman. Eliza fully believes Wickham's story because of her already preconceived notions about Darcy.
During this time, Mr. Bennet's cousin, William Collins, visits the Bennet family. Mr. Collins is a clergyman who will inherit Mr. Bennet's estate when he dies. Mr. Collins informs the family that Lady Catherine has instructed him to marry and that he plans to choose a wife from the Bennet daughters. He settles on Eliza, but is dumbfounded and insulted when she refuses him. He quickly moves on to Eliza's best friend, Charlotte Lucas, who wants to marry for security rather than love. The two are soon engaged and married.
At the same time, Jane is disappointed to find out that Bingley and the entire Netherfield party have left for London. Caroline Bingley writes to Jane that they do not intend to return. Caroline also predicts there will be a match between Bingley and Darcy's sister, Georgiana, who is in London. Although Jane accepts that she can never be with Bingley, Eliza is outraged and suspects that Bingley's sisters and Darcy are pulling the strings to make sure Bingley and Jane are kept apart.
Eliza visits Charlotte at her new home in Hunsford, Kent, and meets Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Lady Catherine is an overbearing woman who thrives on interfering with other people's lives. Soon after Eliza's arrival in Kent, Darcy visits his aunt with his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam. Darcy confuses Eliza with his behavior. He finds her for her company, but he does not say much. One day, he surprises Eliza by proposing to her. Still deterred by his pride and believing Darcy is responsible for Bingley's separation from Jane and for Wickham's misfortune, Eliza refuses him. The next day, Darcy gives her a letter explaining his role in turning Bingley away from Jane and gives an explanation of Wickham's situation. After examining the letter carefully, Eliza concludes that Darcy is innocent and discovers how even when she did not like Darcy for his pride, she was just as proud.
After returning home for a month, Eliza goes on a trip with her aunt and uncle Gardiner to the Derbyshire County. While there, they visit Darcy's estate, Pemberley. There they meet Darcy unexpectedly and are all surprised at how cordially he treats them. He calls on Eliza at her inn, introduces her to his sister, and invites her for dinner. Darcy is still in love with Eliza, and Eliza realizes that she has similar feelings for him.
During the situation, Eliza received letters from Jane informing her that Lydia has eloped with Wickham. Hearing the news, Eliza and the Gardiners left for home immediately. Eliza fears that Lydia and the Bennet family are permanently humiliated and that her newly discovered love for Darcy is useless. However, when Lydia is found, she and Wickham marry. After the wedding, Eliza discovers that Darcy was involved in arranging the marriage. In doing so, he saved the reputation and eligibility of marriage for the other Bennet girls.
Bingley soon returns to Netherfield and asks Jane to marry him. Jane accepts and Mrs. Bennet's excitement is only diminished a bit by Darcy's occasional visit. Meanwhile, Eliza's happiness for Jane is interrupted by a visit from Lady Catherine, who has heard a rumor that Darcy and Eliza are engaged, which is not true. She rudely tells Eliza how the careless it would be for them to end up together. She tries to make Eliza promise to never marry Darcy and Eliza refuses. The refusal leads to Lady Catherine telling Darcy of Eliza's impoliteness and warns him of how degrading a marriage to her would be. Still, her response gives Darcy hope that she feels the same way and when he proposes again, Eliza agrees to marry him.
Incident:
Wickham's character encompasses the theme truth is not always apparent. Before Eliza is introduced to him, he tried to run off and marry Georgiana. He also lied about Darcy's nature to further convince Eliza that he was a bad guy. Finally, he ran off with Lydia with no intention of marrying her, but instead to have fun. He is a horrible man, but is cunning and convinces everyone that he is wonderful. Only a few people know his true nature. When Lydia ran off with Wickham, her judgment was misguided by his attractiveness and could not see him in the proper light. When he agreed to marry her he expanded the lie and ensured himself of gaining material wealth, which is all he truly cares about.
Symbol:
A symbol is the first ball. At the ball Bingley asked Jane to dance twice, which not only, in the moment, shows how much he admires her, but it also foreshadows to the two times that Jane and Bingley are together. The first time they are together is in the beginning, he asked to for the second dance, and the second time they are together is after being separated for a bit then coming back together, he asked her again during the fifth dance. The ball represents the push and pull of external forces and other people, and the growth of love.
Point of View:
The story is told through third person from Elizabeth. A way that this is effective is because we know everything that Eliza is thinking and her motivations behind her actions. The point of view being limited to one character allows for suspense, mystery, and personal epiphanies. The story becomes more personal because it is like being inside of Eliza's mind. As the story unfolds and she is learning new things, it becomes more apparent. Yet, with the view there are disadvantages. The other characters motives are unclear and other characters private opinions about people are hidden. The whole story is not told because only one view is experiencing it rather than more characters.
Quotes:
- By you I was properly humbled (Pg. 317 Darcy).
- Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed (Pg. 48 Darcy).
- Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously (Pg. 15 Mary).
- It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife (Pg. 1 Narrator).
- In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels (Pg. 17 Charlotte).
- I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine (Pg. 15 Eliza).
Cite this page
Key Points In Pride And Prejudice. (2019, Jun 12).
Retrieved November 6, 2025 , from
https://studydriver.com/2019/06/page/19/
