Comparing the Humility of Kings in Shakespeares Richard II through Henry V :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Humility of Kings in Richard II through Henry V  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though Shakespeare was a conservative, he believed in the humility of Kings. The plays Richard II through Henry V assert Shakespeare's idea that a King must understand the common man to be a good ruler. These four plays chronicle the history of three Kings' ability to recognize, relate to, and be part of the humanity he rules. Shakespeare advocates his belief with the falling of Richard II, who could not or would not understand his subjects; the constancy of Henry IV, whose combined humility and strength won him the thrown; and Hal, whose raucous behavior led his father to worry and his country to victory. King Richard II is Shakespeare's example of a king who removes himself from the reality of the common people. Richard views his position as a source of amusement. His "cares" as King, other than an opportunity for an agreeable audience, are merely a burden. Instead of investigating the accusations of treachery from Henry and Mawbrick, he exiles both men as an easy way out. Richard was born a King, and knows no life other than that of royalty. Unfortunately the lesson that must know men to rule them costs him the thrown. Richard's lesson influences his usurper and his usurper's heir to the thrown, demonstrating to them both the value of humility. After exiling Henry, Richard takes the opportunity to criticize his "courtship to the common people." His speech at first seems to merit Henry for his sociability, but it quickly becomes clear that, to Richard, commoners are not fit for royal consumption: How he did seem to dive into their hearts With humble and familiar courtesy, What reverence he did throw away on slaves, Wooing poor craftsmen with the craft of smiles (I.iv.25-8) Shakespeare is of course establishing Henry's ability to gather support from the masses, the very key to his victory over Richard later in the play. The speech also clarifies Richard's position on the subject to underline this contrast between the two men. To fine tune Richard's character, Gaunt gives a revealing and unbridled description of Richard to his face just before dying. After Richard exiles the soul heir to his estate, Gaunt is bitter and fed up with his weak and pompous qualities: A thousand flatterers sit within thy crown, Whose compass is no bigger than thy head,

Book Review: The Blueprint of a Green Economy

The Blueprint of a Green EconomyDavid Pearce, Anil Markandya, Edward BarbierBook Review Background The book â€Å"A Blueprint for a Green Economy† was written as a study for the Department of Environment in the U.K. under the name – â€Å"Sustainable Development, Resource Accounting and Project assessment: State of the Art Review† popularly known as the Pearce Report. Post the well-known Brundtland Report, the authors, conservationists, economic experts David Pearce, Anil Markandya and Edward Barbier have presented the â€Å"economic underpinnings of the thought of sustainable development† in the book documenting their thoughts and positions refering sustainability. The book depicts the meeting of the market doctrine of Margret Thatcher popularly called Thatcherism with the late articulated concern for the environment. Refering the demand of the hr inquiry, the book became a best merchandising in the field of environmental economic sciences when it was released in 1989. Contented Analysis and Major Subjects The rules were three:Policy to be based on sustainability, Delegating rating to environmental effects and incentivizing environmental betterment. Thesustainability constructis explained as a two-pronged attack, as much capital and environmental wealth to future coevalss as the present coevals. The 2nd subject concerns therating of environmental effectswhich aimed at seting a positive monetary value / economic value on the environment alternatively of 0 monetary value policy. The 3rd subject advocates theusage of market inducementsfor accomplishing preferable environmental results. The writers have tried to develop a market-based attack to reflect all these issues as it is in footings of variables of demand, supply and monetary values as they steadfastly believe that is the easiest and best manner to react and turn to the issues of environment-development tradeoff and sustainable development. The Congestion charges of London, the Carbon credits trading—are a twosome of illustrations of the 3rd subject mentioned. The Blueprint for a Green Economy believes in long-run policy steps for following a way to sustainable economic development. The book brought the way interrupting thought of sing Environment as capital plus brings out the position to include non merely natural resources and inputs as portion of these assets but besides the constructs of eco-tourism, and installations or chances such as fishing, hunting, wildlife sing etc as natural capital. As this natural capital is non earned unlike our fiscal and physical capital, there tends to be a grade of sloppiness associated in footings of our point of view. Hence, there is inclination to over-exploit and see them as abundant or limitless without caring for their equal saving and handiness for the future coevalss. While such usage leads to immense growing now, its long-run impact would be to sabotage it. The book answers the refering inquiry is where to pull the line, what is the tradeoff? Blueprint of a Green Economy gives a different return to theenvironment vs. economic growing argument. It points out that the existent trade-off is between our stock of semisynthetic capital ( viz. physical and human capital ) and our natural capital. It does non prophesize abandoning any economic development merely because there would be environmental impacts. The book recognizes worlds and the fact that some sum of environmental effects is ineluctable even at zero-growth phases. All that the book argues is that such a trade-off must be rational i.e. the economic development must warrant the environmental cost it would incur and for that the economic rating of the environmental impact must be right and non undervalued as it has ever been historically. Therefore, a undertaking should be undertaken merely if its economic benefits exceed the overall environmental costs every bit good as the benefits that are presently accruing due to non-existence of such a undertaking. The Southern Cross of unsustainable development in today’s universe is the gross undervaluation of environmental impact of economic development. Such wrong rating leads to incorrect picks as the trade-offs are non right assessed. Another cardinal subject highlighted in this book is theimmensefalse belief in disregarding the rating of cardinal constituents of natural capitalthat provide us services or serve of import natural maps for free such as purification of H2O by coastal wetlands. As this map has a nothing monetary value and there is no market place for it, there is natural hazard of its development or over-usage resulting in debasement. Exhaustible resources like oil have a market-determined monetary value that would mostly maintain in cheque such a effect but such natural capital is bound to stay unaccounted for. Hence, the writers have mandated environmental accounting so that a stock of such resources is profiled in a balance sheet. The flow of their utilizations must besides be accounted and stairss taken to guarantee that their stocks and flows are matched to maintain an history of their efficient use and look into development besides doing informed rational picks in the trade-off. Further, such ac counting and rating will besides supply the policy-makers a dependable and consistent database for effectual direction of the natural capital of the economic system. The book besides generates some contention over theundertaking assessmentsand their concern of dismissing the hereafter by sing that the price reduction rates do non necessarily move as a disadvantage to the environment. The present value of costs of 1000000s of dollars over the period of a longer clip frame say 100 old ages reduces it to a few dollars doing any action highly difficult to warrant on economic evidences. Continuing on their accent on market-based instruments for sustainable development, the writers argue that market-based incentive systems like pollution licenses for industries are better environmental-protection steps than Govt.-mandated bid and control steps. Critical Appraisal This book depicts treatments on the construct of a green economic system and presents an docket for policy on environment. The book limpidly explains why such an economic roadmap to a greener hereafter is indispensable, if modern economic systems are to develop successfully and sustainably. With the increasing jutting growing rate and force per unit areas on natural resources, it is indispensable to anticipate the deductions of this on the environment and program steps to carry through sustainable development. The market rule can happen some relevancy in economic policy-making in India excessively where the environment vs. growing argument finds a considerable policy infinite. However, any undervaluation or wrong measuring of these variables will get the better of the whole procedure and hence must be guarded against. This is a authoritative on the academic topic – environmental economic sciences and widely recommended for reading by pupils and research workers. This is a great book for acquiring started on the issue for a cause that finally has a much larger and long-run impact. The book explores the span of the ways in which we have distorted and damaged the environment and what can be done to account for that harm and perchance cut down or change by reversal it. This is a well-written book on the environmental economic sciences in seven chapters. The writers devote attending to assorted aspects in a systematic and limpid mode. The usage of illustrations, tabular arraies and graphs makes reading and understanding better. Not dismissing the powerful thoughts that the book puts Forth, my broad-spectrum feeling of the book is that the potency of the book is non rather realized. Although the book identifies attacks and schemes for rating of the environment, it seems to be a hard text for the non-practicing economic expert to work with. The book has besides dealt with the pecuniary every bit good as physical attacks to environmental accounting but does non reply which attack to follow but leaves the treatment by acknowledging that the work on the same is still at babyhood and more research needs to be done about it. Obscure Concepts such as ‘intergenerational equity ‘ , ‘informational value of hold ‘ , ‘uncertainty ‘ , ‘irreversibility ‘ , ‘importing and exporting sustainability ‘ , etc. are used in an abstract mode. Chris Patten, the Secretary for Environment at that point of clip, failed to implement the ideas put away by the study, but this does nonper Secan be used to indicate fingers at the content of the study. But the positive image was that, that the book brought all the issues on the tabular array and in public position. The writers could hold included alternate theoretical and methodological attacks like the followers: †¢Tangible thoughts of execution for sustainable development – focal point on how instead than what. †¢Quantitative non qualitative processs for measurement e.g instead than physical/monetary attack, rating of a tree by the energy stored in it, chance cost et Al Overall, although the book is over two decennary old, it is still both appealing and pertinent for person who believer in the cause of the environment. The read should be supplemented by reading the subsequence written twenty old ages post the publication of the original book i.e. â€Å"A new Blueprint for a Green Economy: which highlights the new attacks needed to pull off the turning environmental concerns. The subsequence emphasizes on the implementable policies for economic systems, and explains the importance for the same. In a nutshell, the book’s practical relevancy even today can non be doubted. It has influential thoughts and its realistic proposals continue to fascinate policy shapers till day of the month. Its message underscoring the importance of sustainable economic development is merely deriving more relevancy with each go throughing twenty-four hours in today’s epoch of planetary heating and clime alteration. One can merely disregard this at its ain hazard.

Brave New World: A Shortened Long Form Essay

The Author and His Times Aldous Huxley was born to an elite and intellectual family on July 26, 1894. His family consisted of writers and scientists, and he felt obliged to have the same success. When he was younger, he showed more intelligence and insight than the rest of the children. He also, however, had a rather large head which kept him from walking until he was two. His large head also gave him the childhood nickname of â€Å"Ogie†, which was short for Ogre (Brave New World P.S. 3). In school he was interested in becoming a scientist. However, at the age of sixteen, he contracted an illness which rendered him almost completely blind. In one of his letters to George Orwell, he stated that, â€Å"Since poor sight makes it necessary to ration my reading, I had to wait a long time before being able to embark on Nineteen Eighty-Four†(Brave New World P.S. 12). His condition did not stop him from graduating from Oxford with honors; however it did stop him from serving in the military during WWI with his friends. He was married twice and had one son, named Matthew Huxley. Aldous wrote about forty- seven books during his lifetime, but his most popular are all novels. He wrote a few of the books while experimenting with drugs such as LSD, which he believed allowed a person to achieve an expanded mind. However, the influences that affected him were not all drug related. Other things and events that may have influenced him include his mother dying of cancer when he was fourteen, his life in England and his social status, his visit to America, and his beliefs about drugs and insanity. Form, Structure, Plot, and Point of View The novel flows in chronological order, however, it often switches between two or more conversations, which can be confusing. The novel starts with Henry Foster guiding a group of young scientists through the lab where embryos are decanted. He explains the processes and shows them how the infants are conditioned to like and dislike certain objects based on their class. Outside the group sees Mustapha Mond, one of the world leaders, and he tells them about History. In the girl’s bathroom, Lenina is being berated by her friend for having an exclusive relationship with Henry Foster. It is strange because in this world â€Å"everyone belongs to everyone else† (Brave New World 43). She admits, however, that she finds Bernard Marx. In another part of the building, Bernard is furious at Henry and the Assistant Predestinator for treating Lenina and talking about her like a piece of meat. Later, Lenina accompanies Bernard on a trip to the Savage Reservation. There, they meet Linda, the Director’s ex-lover, and her son John. The sight of the aged people and mothers revolts both Bernard and Lenina. When they return to their home, Bernard pulls some strings and the two savages are allowed to live with them. Linda revolts the other women and the Director resigns when she says that he made her have a baby. Linda then locks herself in her room taking soma holiday after holiday, which would eventually kill her. Meanwhile, John has made Bernard quite popular, and he is able to get more girls. However, the live in London revolts John, and when he refuses to attend a party, Bernard’s social success instantly plummets. Bernard introduces the boy to his friend Hemholtz. The two like each other, but john is laughed at when he recites Shakespeare. Lenina becomes obsessed with John, and tries to seduce him. It does not work, and he responds with more Shakespeare. After he makes a call and finds out his mother is dying from the soma. When the lower class boys who are getting their death conditioning say that she is ugly, John loses it and starts a riot. This is probably the main conflict, because John, Hemholtz, and Bernard are arrested and sent to Mustapha Mond. In his office, John and Mond discuss the World State’s Policies. Mond explains to john why art, religion, and science have been done away with. An argument breaks out, and Hemholtz and Bernard are sent to a far away island. John lives in a light house. When word gets out of his location, he is met by several London citizens. He reacts by taking out his whip. An orgy takes place, and in the end he hangs himself for submitting to the World State Society. Characters Bernard Marx is a male Alpha who was mistaken for a lower class when he was decanted. It resulted in him being smaller than the other alphas, which is his source of insecurity. He does not take interest in sports like the other normal people, and has unorthodox beliefs about relationships and community events. In a conversation about Bernard between Lenina and Fanny, Lenina says, â€Å"Bernard’s an Alpha Plus. Besides, he asked me to go to one of the Savage Reservations†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"But his reputation?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"What do I care about his reputation?†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"They say he doesn’t like obstacle golf†¦ and then he spends most of his time by himself- alone† (Brave New World 44-45). Lenina was being questioned by Fanny about her seriousness on having relations with Bernard because of his reputation. However, he is in love with Lenina and would love to have a relationship with her, but his unorthodox mind is furious at the way she treats herself and is treated by other men. His character is surprisingly human for the new world. He feels jealous and lovesick; things that people like Mustapha Mond say have been eliminated. However, Bernard really just wants to be like everyone else, and is therefore seen as a hypocrite. It is not known what class Lenina belongs to, but she is thought to be an Alpha or a Beta. She is a vaccination worker at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. She is very promiscuous, except for her four month relationship with Henry Foster. She is attracted to Bernard and his strange appearance, and becomes obsessed with John and his strange behavior. She is desired by many men, and Henry even says, â€Å"Lenina Crowne†¦ oh, she’s a splendid girl. Wonderfully pneumatic. I’m surprised you haven’t had her† (Brave New World 44). She is the image of the World State’s Policy; she relates to people through sex, and cannot understand John and Bernard’s alternate way of thinking. John is the son of Linda, the Director’s ex-lover which took her to the Reservation, and then lost her. He reads Shakespeare, and loves Lenina. He was alienated from the rest of the Reservation children, much like Bernard and the World State. When John goes to the World State, he is alienated even more, and is looked at like a museum item. He worries about his mother taking so much soma, and when she dies and the lower class trainees say she is ugly, he starts a riot. However, when he first arrives in the World State, he is happy to finally see the place his mother loved and missed so much. When he arrives he says, â€Å"O brave new world that has such people in it† (Brave New World 160). So at first he really likes London. However, when he starts to learn more about the place he is in he becomes disgusted, and when he is drawn into an orgy, he hangs himself for conforming to such a society. Theme Sex in Brave New World is depicted as something that even children should be able to do. It is so important to the World State that two-thirds of Women are sterilized, and the rest have to use contraceptives. Abortion is necessary for failures to use them, if the women wish to stay a part of society. Being a mother is considered an obscenity, while being a father is not as bad, but is still absurd to the people. In a way this is similar to our own world, where women who are promiscuous in any way are considered dirty or unclean, while men are free to sleep around, and are even congratulated by their friends for doing so. The book, however, takes sex to the next level. Children run around naked and interact with erotic play. It is considered as normal as using soma and participating in orgies. At the beginning of the book, Lenina says, â€Å"Everyone belongs to everyone else† (Brave New World 43). This lets the reader know what to expect from the characters as far as their sexual relationships are concerned, and it also lets the reader catch a glimpse at what the World State is about. Throughout the book, the view of sexual relationships is different only for John and the Savages. The savage women beat John’s wife for sleeping with their men, and Linda has no idea what she has done to deserve it. John, on the other hand, from reading Shakespeare learned to be sexually passive, and earn the love of a woman with chivalry instead of seduction. This other view is confusing to Lenina, who sees nothing wrong with the way she acts. John tries on many occasions to get her love, but instead is only met with lust. He tries Shakespeare to no avail, and is very frustrated with the way London’s people think and act. Towards the middle of the book, Lenina says, â€Å"but it was fun†¦ wasn’t it?† after she and Bernard slept together. He was feeling bad about not waiting, while she was confused and told Fanny that she found him to be odd. At the end of the book, after John has participated in the orgy, he says, â€Å"Oh, my God, my God!† (259), and hangs himself for conforming to such a society. Style/Motifs/Diction/Tone The author makes his writing more interesting by switching between conversations that are happening simultaneously. It shows that their world is very busy, and moves at a fast pace. However, it also tends to confuse its readers because they forget who is talking about what, and the rest of the conversation that a certain group of characters are discussing. Besides switching between conversations, the author uses his diction to make the writing more interesting. His word choice shows that the more intelligent characters are telling the story, as opposed to the lower class Epsilons and Deltas. The language was formal, and gave a feeling of sternness and confidence. The novel was not at all poetic, but it got its point across with formal language and very educated word choice. The scientific procedures seemed to be accurate and valid; as though they could someday be real. The recurring motifs of sex, the word pneumatic, Ford instead of God, references to Shakespeare and alienation play important parts in the novel. The word pneumatic is used throughout the book as a way to describe both Lenina and a chair. For Lenina, it is a reference to her skin, and for a chair, that it is airy or has air pockets in it. Though it is unusual for a person to be called pneumatic, it is not unheard of. The use of Ford instead of God means that the new world is completely rid of religion. The word Ford is used instead to show that religion has been replaced by technology. Three of the characters; John, Bernard, and Hemholtz, are subject to alienation throughout the book. John is an outsider in both the savage village and the World State, Bernard is too small to fit his position, and Hemholtz is too smart to even be an Alpha Plus. They are all treated poorly because of their differences (except Hemholtz who is very popular with the women). Sex is probably the most recurring motif because the World State is abundant with free love and open relationships. Everyone belongs to everyone else, and it is wrong to see only one man for a long period of time. The last motif is Shakespeare, which inspires and drives John to act the way he does. He can recite lines from Shakespeare with no trouble, and tries to make Lenina fall in love with him, instead of her just trying to seduce him. In a way, Shakespeare is how John understands the world around him, so he is very lost when he gets into the World State. He feels like he is the only true human, with human emotions and wants. Memorable Quotes/ Personal Response Overall I enjoyed the book to an extent. The story was interesting, but the way it was written bored me and it was hard to follow the switching of conversations. Its strength lies in the story itself, while the weakness is in the execution (the way it was written). It really reminded me of 1984 by George Orwell. It has a different view on how the world will end up, but both worlds are controlled by certain people, and population control is in place. The biggest difference is that one encourages sex, and the other forbids it. I would recommend this book to people who like to read. Some quotes that stood out to me include: â€Å"Cleanliness is next to fordliness† (110), â€Å"We had Elementary Sex for the first forty minutes†¦ but now it’s switched over to Elementary Class Consciousness† (27), and â€Å"I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin† (240). The first is another version of a saying that we use, the second refers to the children being exposed to sex very early, and the third refers to the fact that even though the population is conditioned, some still have the ability to revert to human mind sets. Works Cited â€Å"Aldous Huxley – Biography – The Author And His Times.† Aldous Huxley – Biography – The Author And His Times. Web. 8 May 2012. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946. 8 May, 2012. Print.