The Reflection Of Reading And Writing Experiences English Literature Essay

The Reflection Of Reading And Writing Experiences English Literature Essay On the first day of my Freshman high school English, I entered the classroom with an extremely self-assured, even intermediate, sort of feeling. I signed in late and tiptoed to the last seat in the classroom, comfortably supporting my feet on the seat in front of me. Every year, English has been my worst subject and I failed at it. I had to work hard for every grade I earned in that class and thus far proved to be a real challenge in my mind. Every time I complete an assignment, I procrastinated and eventually end up writing ten page essays the night before or the day of and still would average an A- on all of them. This was definitely the worst thing I could do to improve my Reading and Writing, since I felt no confidence or remorse towards my actions. I would stay up late or wake up 2 hours in the morning, just to finish a paper that I loathed writing. This bad nature of staying up to finish a paper led me to believe that I was untouchable, when it came to writing that is. This asp ersion led me to ask the question, what is there that I dont already know? I thought I was an english god. Too bad I was in for a major eye-opener. One big problems that I found constant throughout all my writing pieces and projects was the difficulty answering the why is it important? question. When I wrote something, I knew exactly what my thoughts and ideas meant, but the problem was, I assumed that my audience did too. I also never clarified the common knowledge that I would find by researching. I would increasingly display vague information and would assume that my audience felt the same kind of sympathy towards say, my memoir, as I did. This problem still progresses in all of writings to this day, but its not in the worst phase it could possibly be in. As I had started my freshmen year in high school, my writing was unreadable because it had no intentions, no moral. I would finish the paper just to get the A I need, and nothing more. But all that has changed as I progressed through my junior and senior years. Besides my slight writing deformities, I have accomplished many pieces that has made me content of my writing. Such as my excellent introductions, that not only catch the readers attention, but also to get them hooked into reading my entire pieces. In all my pieces, the introduction, for me, is the most important part, so I make it very descriptive and inspiring. They force the audience into a phase of wonder, and make them research about a certain topic even after theyve reviewed my paper. I love to put big words and complex looking sentences, just to make my audience happy, excited, and even in disbelief right from the start. If it wasnt for the constant peer reviews and teacher conferences during my junior and senior year, I would have had never been made aware of my strengths and weaknesses. At first, I hated peer reviews. I felt like it was a waste of my time and effort. But soon after I got the gist of the whole thing, my essays always came back with a Good job! or a smiley face, demonstrating my writing accomplishments. Peer reviews helped me see what I can improve on and where exactly I make my paper sound awkward or just plain weird. After all the experience, I like to say, peer reviews, thanks for everything. When it comes to Reading, my journey just takes a new route every single year. Even when I entered high school, I wasnt much of a readerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦nope, not even one book that I would actually want to read during my pastime. I felt so jaded from any kinds of reading materials, whether it was a book, a magazines, or even the Sunday comics. I felt very detached because most of my years I spent watching TV was when I shouldve picked up a book and plowed through it, if not even the first page. Even summer reading! I was never motivated to read those lame pieces of writing because they were a waste of my time (as I thought). Peer pressure on books, like Harry Potter, never seemed to induce me into reading either. At this point I had no idea what my future would be like without reading. But just as I had lost hope, just as I was about to stop, I gained moral reason through a system I like to called read and reward. For every book I read, I was awarded with a little extra credit or a pi ece of a snicker bar (sophomore year). I felt as if I was in a contest, and the rewards were sweet! As a result, I started reading more and more books, especially during my junior year. Such as, Of mice and men, The Great Gatsby, and little excerpts from Moby Dick. I may not have loved all of them, but at least I felt like I earned the grade I received through hard work (through actual reading). From that point on, I started to read and most importantly, began to feel more confident. With every page I read, I would clinch my dictionary in one hand and would sit there, reading and searching for an elongated word that I could add to knowledge. That for me was like playing a video game; turn the page (press the buttons) and search (look for a win). Now I felt like I was spending my time in the best way possible. Not just improving my reading skills, but also fitting into the society today. As I progress throughout my senior year in high school, I will always remember the strategies I have learned and taken from previous years. Reading and Writing may not be my best subjects, but so far they have been my best improvements. Im proud to say that now I have truly accelerated in my Reading and Writing career and will further due so.

How Does William Shakespeare Utilise the Genre of Tragedy

How does William Shakespeare utilise the genre of tragedy in the play, Macbeth. The utilisation of the genre tragedy in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is apparent through the actions that lead up to the tragic death of the plays hero. Other elements needed to classify a play as a tragedy are abnormal conditions of the mind and both inner and outer conflicts. The play consists of prophecies given to Macbeth, leading to the murder of innocents King Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family.Insanity takes a hold on Macbeth and his wife, as she kills herself. Macduff, not being born of a woman, slays Macbeth and restores the throne of Scotland to Malcolm. Through the plot, and other aspects of this play, Macbeth contains the correct standards for it to be classed as a tragedy. Macbeth can be classified as a tragedy, as it contains the death of a hero. The hero is Macbeth, an honourable man, loyal to the crown, before being corrupted by his wife, Lady Macbeth and the prophecie s brought onto him by three witches. Gentlemen rise; his highness is not well† (III, IV, LII), is stating that Macbeth is becoming mentally distorted and is losing his heroic traits, until he is killed in a duel, which brings harmony back into Scotland. Through the life and death of Macbeth, the use of the genre tragedy is apparent in the play. The genre tragedy is also evident in Macbeth by the progressively deteriorating mental conditions of the characters after the murder of King Duncan.This is shown through abnormal conditions of the mind, in which Lady Macbeth sleepwalks during Act 5 Scene 1, mindlessly rubbing her hands together, portraying the action of hand washing. â€Å"What, will these hands ne’er be clean? † (V, I, XLII) is a line in Macbeth which signifies the never-ending guilt that Lady Macbeth felt, which she had hoped would have been inexistent after the physical blood of Duncan had been washed from her hands.In the closing stages of the play, â €Å"By self and violent hands took off her life† (V, VII, XCIX) states Lady Macbeth commits suicide as the guilt was too much for her to bear, which is why Lady Macbeths death assists the play in being classed as a tragedy. The inner and outward conflict that is apparent in Macbeth is another reason that this play can be classed as a tragedy. The outward conflict consists of the ongoing vow of revenge by Macduff towards Macbeth for killing his beloved family. â€Å"Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff;Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough. † (IV, I, LXXI) Stated by an apparition sent to Macbeth from the witches, this line in the play resulted in the assassination of Macduff’s family by Macbeth. Macduff escapes the same fate as he earlier fled to England in hope that he can join Malcolm’s mission to overthrow Macbeth. When told the shocking news about the death of his loved ones, Macduff claims â€Å"Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and mysel f; within my swords length set him; if he escapes, heaven forgive him too! † (IV, III, Line CCVVVIII).From the loss of his cherished family, Macduff becomes enraged, as his desire to slay Macbeth intensifies, in hope that vengeance will be served. The conflict between these two characters is a perfect example of Shakespeare’s utilisation of the tragedy genre. Inner conflict is evident in the play as Macbeth slowly loses his sanity, being faced with the consequences of his rash actions to assassinate Banquo. â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none: So, all hail, Macbeth and Banquo. † (Act 1, Scene 3, Line 67) In the first, Banquo is illustrated as being Macbeth’s close and loyal friend.Because of the prophecy that Banquo will also be the father of kings, Macbeth chooses to have him killed. The inner conflict is noticeable in the dining room, where Macbeth sees The Ghost of Banquo sitting in the seat designated for Macbeth. This supernatural element of the ghost coming back to haunt his murderer is the inner conflict Macbeth feels, in which he is made to come into the realisation and consequences of his actions. Through the remorse he carries with him till his death, the genre tragedy is enforced in the play Macbeth.In conclusion, William Shakespeare has utilised the genre tragedy in the play Macbeth in a number of ways. Some of these include the life and death of Macbeth, who was thought to have been a hero before corruption and abnormal conditions of the mind, like Lady Macbeth’s sleeping walking and suicide and Macbeth’s hallucinations of a Banquo coming back to haunt in. Inner and outer conflict are also present, in Macduffs longing for revenge on Macbeth for killing his family, and in the murder of Banquo, making Macbeth suffer for his immoral actions.

Critical Analysis of the Conflict Theory Essay

There are three major theories: Structural Functionalism, Symbolic Interaction, and Conflict. These theories relate to the main aspects of life in a society: organized group membership, interaction, and conflict. Out of all three of these, conflict seems to be the most straight-forward. Every person has experienced conflict in life. The main focus of this theory is how power structures and power disparities impact people’s lives (The Catholic University of America, 2008). Conflict theory according to Crossman (2013) emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social order. This is derived from the works of Karl Marx, who saw society as fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic resources. According to Walsh (2012), Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) is the father of critical criminology; he is also associated with the ideas of socialism and communism. â€Å"The core of Marxism is the concept of class struggle: Freeman and slave, patrician and plebian, lord and serf, guildmaster and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another. The oppressors in Marx’s time were the owners of the means of production (the bourgeoisie), and the oppressed were the workers (the proletariat). The bourgeoisie strives to keep the cost of labor at a minimum, but the proletariat strives to sell its labor at the highest possible price. These opposing goals are the major source of conflict in a capitalist society. The bourgeoisie enjoys the upper hand because capitalist societies have large armies of unemployed workers eager to secure work at any price, thus driving down the cost of labor. These economic and social arrangements – the mater ial conditions of people’s lives – determine what they will know, believe, and value, and how they will behave.† To sum this up, Marx referred to these groups as the have’s (bourgeoisie), and the have not’s (proletariat). Read Also:  Critical Thinking Essay Topics Conflict theory is in essence a complex system with imbalance, which results in conflict that can leave to social change. It explains social life through understanding social processes as the result of the constant struggle between groups. In society there are limited resources, such as power, wealth, education, and prestige, as a result people compete for those resources for survival and to improve their position in society. As stated  by McQueeney (2011) according to conflict theory, society is: â€Å"A struggle for dominance among competing social groups (classes, genders, races, religions, etc.). When conflict theorists look at society, they see the social domination of subordinate groups through the power, authority, and coercion of dominant groups. In the conflict view, the most powerful members of dominant groups create the rules for success and opportunity in society, often denying subordinate groups such success and opportunities; this ensures that the powerful continue t o monopolize power, privilege, and authority. You should note that most conflict theorists oppose this sort of coercion and favor a more equal social order. Some support a complete socioeconomic revolution to socialism (Marx), while others are more reformists, or perhaps do not see all social inequalities stemming from the capitalist system (they believe we could solve racial, gender, and class inequality without turning to socialism). However, many conflict theorists focus on capitalism as the source of social inequalities.† The primary cause of social problems is the exploitation and oppression of subordinate groups by dominants. Conflict theorists generally view oppression and inequality as wrong, whereas structural-functionalist may see it as necessary for the smooth running and integration of society (McQueeney, 2011). As noted by the New World Encyclopedia (2013), conflict theory attempts to refute the functionalist approach, which considers that societies and organizations function so that each individual and group plays a specific role, like organs in the body. There are radical basic assumptions (society is eternally in conflict, which might explain social change), or moderate ones (custom and conflict are always mixed). The essence of conflict theory is best epitomized by the classic â€Å"pyramid structure† in which an elite dictates terms to the larger masses. All major social structures, l aws, and traditions in the society are designed to support those who have traditionally been in power, or the groups that are perceived to be superior in the society according to this theory (New World Encyclopedia, 2013). Conflict theory presupposes the following according to Ritzer (2007): conflict or struggle between individuals and groups who have opposing interesting or who are competing for scarce resources is the essence of social life; competition and conflict occur over many types of resources in  many settings, but power and economic resources are the principal sources of conflict and competition; conflict and struggle typically result in some individuals and groups dominating and controlling others, and patterns of domination and subordination tend to be self-perpetuating; dominate social groups have a disproportionate influence on the allocation of resources and on the structure of society. Ritzer (2007) mentions that in conflict; class struggle is the most fundamental and underlies all other forms. Political, ethnic, religious, and ideological conflicts not only manifest the predominant form of class conflict and the nature of the dominant class, but also in essence would not exist at al l were class conflict to be eradicated. As stated by Mooney, Knox, & Schacht, (2007), the conflict perspective explains various aspects of our social world by looking at which groups have power and benefit from a particular social arrangement. For example, feminist theory argues that we live in a patriarchal society – a hierarchical system of organization controlled by men. Although there are many varieties of feminist theory, most would hold that feminism â€Å"demands that existing economic, political, and social structures be change† (Mooney et al., 2007). The Russian Revolution of 1917 can be seen as an outcome of the conflict theory. This even illustrates the major revolutionary power of the rise of one social group against another. As indicated by the New World Encyclopedia (2013), the conflict theory can be applied on both the macro level (like the United States government or Soviet Russia, historically) or the micro level (a church organization or school club). Conflict theory seeks to catalog the ways in which those in power seek to stay in power. Conflict can arise in different areas: law, religion, education, or media, and can be found in the powerful protecting their monopoly, or the powerless att empting to change the status quo. There are some practice applications according to The Catholic University of America (2008) that the conflict theory could be used: it informs policy and may guide to a macro-level practice; it could be useful in formulating assessments involving oppression and client vulnerability; and could enhance understanding of conflict between persons, ideas, groups, classes, and larger social structures. Practice interventions could be listening for evidence of oppression within individuals, groups, and communities; paying attention to the role of conflict leading to client vulnerability; organizing to alter power  relationships; and recognizing that dominant and subordinate groups compete for resources (The Catholic University of America, 2008). When it comes to conflict the assumption is that if you have interaction, then you automatically have conflict. There is no human society that could exist without possessing conflicts of interest; conflict is normal and necessary for growth and social change. In understanding conflict theory, the New World Encyclopedia (2013) states that competition between social classes plays a key part. The following are four primary assumptions of modern conflict theory: firstly, competition over scarce resources (money, leisure, sexual partners, and so on) is at the heart of all social relationships. Competition rather than consensus is characteristic of human relationships. If everyone could get what they wanted, then there would not be any conflict. Secondly, inequalities in power and reward are built into all social structures. Individuals and groups that benefit from any particular structure strive to see it maintained. Thirdly, change occurs as a result of conflict between social class’s competing interests rather than through adaptation. It is often abrupt and revolutionary rather than evolutionary. Lastly, even war is a unifier of the societies involved, as well as war may set an end to whole societies. There are many assumptions regarding the conflict theory. In summary, conflict theory is the exploitation of the lower class by the wealthy, the unfair relationship between the worker/renter and the landlord/boss, and the idea that money will always bring about conflict. It is an interesting way to look at the world. Conflict theory may seem straightforward, but it isn’t always so cut and dry. In order to understand society, this Marxist theory must be considered without forgetting about other forms of conflict theory. According to The Catholic University of America, 2008, the conflict theory gives us some human behavior concepts such as: all societies perpetuate some forms of oppres sion and injustice and structural inequity; power is unequally divided and some groups dominate others; social order is based on manipulation and control by dominate groups; social change is driven by conflict, with periods of change interrupting periods of stability; and life is characterized by conflict not consensus. Conflict is an endemic; the goal is to manage conflict so it does not escalate to damaging levels. References The Catholic University of America (2008, August). Overview of theories of human behavior and the social environment. Retrieved July 25, 2013, from http://ncsss.cua.edu/res/docs/field/theories.pdf Crossman, A. (2013). Conflict Theory. Retrieved July 24, 2013, from http://sociology.about.com/od/Sociological-Theory/a/Conflict-Theory.htm McQueeney, K. (2011). Conflict Theory. Retrieved from www.unc.edu/~kbm/SOCI10Spring2004/Conflict_Theory.doc‎ Mooney, L. A., Knox, D., & Schacht, C. (2007). Understanding social problems (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. New World Encyclopedia (2013, June 13). Conflict theory. Retrieved July 25, 2013, from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Conflict_theory Ritzer, G. (2007). Conflict Theory. In The Blackwell encyclopedia of sociology (Vol. 2, pp. 662 – 665). Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. Walsh, A. (2012). Critical theories: Marxist, conflict, and feminist. In Criminology: The essentials (pp. 93-110). Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

Assisted Suicide A Controversial Issue - 880 Words

Assisted suicide is a very controversial subject in the healthcare world and like most things there are a lot of areas that are not written in black and white. Though assisted suicide is only legal in five states it is still practiced all across the United States. In most cases, little to no information is provided to the families and the terminally ill patients on what assisted suicide truly is and what it not. It all has to do with the intent, but most conversations are reduced to a wink or nod and a type of unspoken understanding that prevents healthcare providers from being prosecuted, but in the process leaving the family members confused and with unanswered questions. If the same practices continue, in the future healthcare providers will have to deal with the challenges of sidestepping questions and leaving the families in the dark during one of the most emotional and intense time of their lives. Keywords: assisted suicide, illegal, nurses, healthcare The Gray Areas of Assisted Suicide The article I selected speaks about assisted suicide, a health care issue that is being debated by Americans. Assisted suicide or also known as physician assisted suicide (PAS) is defined as the suicide of a patient suffering from an incurable disease, effected by the taking of lethal drugs provided by a doctor for this purpose (Oxford Dictionaries, n.d.). Currently assisted suicide is illegal in all states except Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Montana, and New Mexico. ThisShow MoreRelatedAssisted Suicide As A Controversial Issue1899 Words   |  8 PagesAssisted suicide has become a highly controversial issue over the last few years. The question left unanswered is: should people have the right to end their life with the help of a physician? Many are against the idea of aiding someone in dying. Doctors are some of the most vocal critics when it comes to assisted suicide. To doctors, helping someone end their life is incompatible with their role as a healer. However, there comes a po int when a patient sees death as hope for relief, not an act ofRead MoreThe Controversial Issue of Doctor-Assisted Suicide821 Words   |  4 PagesThe Controversial Issue of Doctor-Assisted Suicide Imagine youu have just found out you are going to die within three months. Recently the questions have been changed form, What am I going to do with the rest of my life? to When should I kill myself? With painful and crippling diseases such as AIDS and cancer, and Alzheimers along with doctors such as Dr. Kavorkian, some people are choosing death over life. 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