Iliad As A Dictate Of The Fath :: essays research papers

Iliad as a Dictate of the Father The Lion Gate is gnarling down at anyone trying to advance past its massive guard. Inside the fortress, mighty shields and glistening swords await the visitor’s arrival. Skillfully carved armor decorations proclaim great battles and fierce hunts. The prevailing warrior ethos and his manly power are apparent in each Mycenaean artifact. It is this strong patriarchal culture that gave birth to the creation of the Iliad. The respect that the father receives as the head of the family is made obvious in the legendary epic. Not only is the father the primary concern in the Iliad, but the heroic code is based on paternal injunction. That way the father determines the values and behavior of the heroes in the Iliad. Throughout the Iliad the warriors are identified by their genealogy. The first line begins, â€Å"Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilleus†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1, 1). With the opening we see how important the father’s name is in describing the identity of the hero. The same occurs in the lines to follow, â€Å"†¦Atreus’ son the lord of men†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1, 7). In this line the name Agamemnon is not even mentioned, even though it introduces the hero for the first time. The fact that he is the son of Atreus provides enough information for the audience. Genealogy has the power to cease battle between enemies. Such is the case when Diomedes, challenged by Glaukos on the battlefield, questions him of his descent. After Glaukos has given the full story of his ancestry, Diomedes realizes that their grandfathers have been friends and proposes a truce. "See now, you are my guest friend from far in the time of our fathers./ Brilliant Oineus once was host to Bellerophontes/ the blameless, in his halls, and twenty days he detained him,/ and these two gave to each other fine gifts in token of friendship. /†¦Therefore I am your friend and host in the heart of Argos;/ you are mine in Lykia, when I come to your country./ Let us avoid each other’s spears, even in the close fighting./ †¦But let us exchange our armour, so that these others may know/ how we claim to be guests and friends from the days of our fathers" (6, 215-231). Glaukos and Diomedes must continue the ties of friendship their forefathers once had, if they are to adhere to the heroic code. The warrior comes after the king in the Dumezil social structure. Iliad As A Dictate Of The Fath :: essays research papers Iliad as a Dictate of the Father The Lion Gate is gnarling down at anyone trying to advance past its massive guard. Inside the fortress, mighty shields and glistening swords await the visitor’s arrival. Skillfully carved armor decorations proclaim great battles and fierce hunts. The prevailing warrior ethos and his manly power are apparent in each Mycenaean artifact. It is this strong patriarchal culture that gave birth to the creation of the Iliad. The respect that the father receives as the head of the family is made obvious in the legendary epic. Not only is the father the primary concern in the Iliad, but the heroic code is based on paternal injunction. That way the father determines the values and behavior of the heroes in the Iliad. Throughout the Iliad the warriors are identified by their genealogy. The first line begins, â€Å"Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus’ son Achilleus†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1, 1). With the opening we see how important the father’s name is in describing the identity of the hero. The same occurs in the lines to follow, â€Å"†¦Atreus’ son the lord of men†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1, 7). In this line the name Agamemnon is not even mentioned, even though it introduces the hero for the first time. The fact that he is the son of Atreus provides enough information for the audience. Genealogy has the power to cease battle between enemies. Such is the case when Diomedes, challenged by Glaukos on the battlefield, questions him of his descent. After Glaukos has given the full story of his ancestry, Diomedes realizes that their grandfathers have been friends and proposes a truce. "See now, you are my guest friend from far in the time of our fathers./ Brilliant Oineus once was host to Bellerophontes/ the blameless, in his halls, and twenty days he detained him,/ and these two gave to each other fine gifts in token of friendship. /†¦Therefore I am your friend and host in the heart of Argos;/ you are mine in Lykia, when I come to your country./ Let us avoid each other’s spears, even in the close fighting./ †¦But let us exchange our armour, so that these others may know/ how we claim to be guests and friends from the days of our fathers" (6, 215-231). Glaukos and Diomedes must continue the ties of friendship their forefathers once had, if they are to adhere to the heroic code. The warrior comes after the king in the Dumezil social structure.

Ethical Issues in Oroonoko: Slavery

For years, man has illustrated his willingness to perform injustices to those weaker than he. From the bully in the schoolyard, to the king and his court, it seems that man has a desire to control and dominate others. Oroonoko, by Aphra Behn, illustrates that slavery is unethical, humiliating, demoralizing, and worse than death. Oroonoko is a powerful story about the tribulations of a gallant prince named Oroonoko. Throughout the novel, he is shown to be a brave prince and a friend to many. He is given command over an army and shows his military and strategical prowess by winning his battles and conquering his enemies. In the beginning of the novel, the prince presents Imoinda, the daughter of his foster father, with a gift of slaves that had been captured in his victorious battles. For Oroonoko, slavery was accepted and part of his daily life. However, in the novel, Behn presents slavery as a controversial and central issue towards the downfall of Oroonoko. Is it ethical to enslave another human and own them like a piece of property? What does the novel say about an issue such as slavery? The book, in fact, condemns this type of horrific behavior. She illustrates this issue by showing that slavery is demoralizing and humiliating to the people who are involuntary subjected to this kind of torment. In the beginning of the story, Behn describes the native people of Surinam, a colony in the West Indies, as beautiful, respectable, and friendly. Behn says, â€Å"for those we live with in perfect amity, without daring to command ‘em; but, on the contrary, caress ‘em with all the brotherly and friendly affection in the world. † The natives are very useful to immigrants who came from other areas of the world into Surinam. Behn thought of them as being helpful because she could learn their culture and their everyday style of life. Behn finds it, â€Å"Necessary to caress ‘em as friends, and not to treat ‘em as slaves. † Here, Behn says that treating the people of Surinam as slaves is improper and immoral. She says that friends should not be enslaved because they are helpful and caring. Through this effect, Behn considers slavery as an unethical issue. In the novel, Behn displays slavery as an issue that is associated with misery and torment. This occurs when the prince encounters the English captain who deceitfully places Oroonoko and others in captivity. Oroonoko is portrayed in a state of suffering when he is enslaved, â€Å"We were no sooner arrived but we went up to the plantation to see Caesar; whom we found in a very miserable and unexpressable condition; and I have a thousand times admired how he lived in so much tormenting pain protesting our innocency of the fact, and our abhorrence of such cruelties. † While Oroonoko is at the plantation, his attitude is different from when he was the commander of the army. He is miserable, sad, and in a position with less power than he had before. In conjunction with the misery that is involved with slavery, the actions that coincide with a slave such as whippings are also condemned in the novel, â€Å"No, I would not kill myself, even after a whipping, but will be content to live with that infamy, and be pointed at by every grinning slave. † Behn depicts a slave as someone one who is mentally and physically humiliated. In general, public humiliation is and torment is an unethical issue and Behn’s portrayal of misery, humility, and torment proves that slavery is immoral Oroonoko. In Oroonoko, Behn creates a mindset that favors death over slavery. One situation in the novel where slavery is condemned is when the king threatens to send Imoinda off to another country to be sold as slaves. â€Å"He ought to have had so much value and consideration for a maid of her quality as to have nobly put her to death, and not to have sold her like a common slave; the greatest revenge, and the most disgraceful of any, and to which they a thousand times prefer death. † She states that slavery is the perfect revenge against someone who has deceived another. The king orders, that â€Å"they should be both sold off as slaves to another country, either Christian or heathen, ’twas no matter where. This cruel sentence, worse than death, they implored might be reversed. † After constantly repeating the idea of someone preferring death many times over slavery in the novel, Behn shows the reader that slavery is unethical. In conclusion, Behn shows that enslaving a friend is wrong, and that slavery brings about humiliation, torture, and grief. Behn uses the morbid effects of slavery to the extent when she categorizes slavery as being many times worse than death. Using these techniques, Behn gives an immoral connotation to slavery in Oroonoko.

Different Parenting Styles

There are many different ways of parenting children. Some are more favorable than others and some can even damage one’s emotional future, causing problems such as anxiety, unhappiness, and other low self-esteem issues. Although there are four distinct parenting styles, many parents are often somewhere in between a couple on the scale. My parents often took to the authoritative style, which is known currently as the most successful approach. The authoritative parent is involved in their child’s life and is accepting as well as sensitive to their needs.Sometimes, I could see my parents as being authoritarian, which is common because many parents find a kind of medium between these two styles. Unlike authoritative, the authoritarian parenting style is highly ineffective. However, there is a contrast of the severity of the authoritarian style. Authoritarian parents are portrayed as criticizing and bitter, often yelling, threatening, and habitually resorting to punishment in stead of the warm guiding ways of the authoritative parent. The authoritarian side of my upbringing was often used by my father.Although spanking is commonly frowned upon, my dad used spanking as a way to show me right from wrong, and I believe that he used the punishment in the best way it could possibly be used. I was spanked when I brought bad grades home from school, when I showed bad behavior, and especially when I lied. This punishment was used, I think, in a way of encouragement to better myself. On the other hand, my mother was the one who used the authoritative style. She began using the technique when I got older and more mature, I believe, because I could understand another’s point of view.When I did something wrong against another person, my mom would sit me down and tell me why I was wrong and how the situation appeared to the other person. The effects of different parenting styles vary from family to family, but they are often very similar. As a child, I showed a lot of the characteristics of a child of authoritarian parents, such as low self-esteem, shyness, and anger. However, as I matured, I began showing more characteristics of a child of authoritative parents.I became more social, got a higher self-esteem, and realized that my problem solving skills have increased. My best friend growing up was Allison. Her parents were a constant conversation topic for us, as they were not the best parents in the world. I guess you would call them extreme authoritarians. They utilized extreme control, insisted on absolute obedience, and constantly criticized her. Eventually, this threw her into an all-time low self-esteem, which is something that commonly occurs to children of authoritarian parents.Furthermore, she had become anxious and withdrawn. Because authoritarian parents often take on a type of psychological control, which includes behaviors that intrude on and manipulate children’s verbal expression, individuality, and attachments to p arents, Ally became defiant and angry as well. Her parents wanted to decide practically everything for her, and in the process, put down her ideas and decisions and made clear that they disapproved of her friends. Authoritarian parents often withdraw their love from their children.Ally’s parents were one of these parents. An example is how her parents had supported her decision to go to her dream college. Once she got the acceptance letter, they withdrew their blessing, along with the financial help they had promised her. She no longer has an opportunity to go to college. Another example, and major distress to her, Ally’s parents kicked her out of their house before she turned seventeen, and she has been bouncing from house to house ever since. Unlike me, because Ally’s parents were extremely authoritarian, Ally did not turn out as well.Don’t get me wrong, she was a nice, sociable girl growing up. But as she matured, she sought out love and attention in g uys. I figure that because her father never gave her the proper love or attention, she turned to various guys to find the â€Å"love† and attention she craved. As far as my relationships go, I believe that my parents did a good job with the way they acted around me. What I mean is, seeing the way my parents treated each other as equals definitely influenced my outlook on relationships in a positive way.They are a huge influence on me but I don’t exactly â€Å"hear† their voices when I am doing something they would consider unfavorable. Once in a while when I am in those situations, I do feel a bit of remorse towards what I am doing. I figure that it is from the autonomy granting and problem solving qualities of authoritative parenting. Before taking this class, I had thought very little of how I would parent my future children. I did not even know that there were different styles of parenting.When I learned about the distinct styles of child rearing, I began to think of which style my parents had used. I also started considering what style I might use. I decided that I like the way my parents raised me, contrary to my prior beliefs. I like how they balanced their parenting between authoritative and authoritarian, leaning more to the authoritative side, of course. There are a few exceptions to their style, though, that I would like to change into my own parenting style. For instance, I would like to use even more of an authoritative style than an authoritarian one, than my parents had.

South African Racialism essays

South African Racialism essays Racialism Research Assignment ________________________________________ Hypothesis: that racialism began to develop in South Africa when the Dutch first arrived. It gradually worsened as the white population took advantage of the native Blacks, and the government system of Apartheid was introduced, despite attempts to alleviate it such as protests and rallies. Finally, in the latter part of the twentieth century outside pressure forced the Apartheid system to disappear and South Africas first black president emerged. Racialism began to develop in South Africa when the first white settlement was founded in 1652, which was established by the Dutch East India Company. However, shortage of labour quickly led to two decisions that were to have far-reaching consequences on South Africas history (Encarta Encyclopaedia, (2000): South Africa, Republic of). One of the decisions was the allowed use of slave labour, which originally involved imported workers from India and Indonesia, but as importation can be a costly business, and some labourers fall ill on the voyages, it wasnt long until some the local black populace was doing the Dutchs work. The other decision was former company servants were allowed to become free burghers (Encarta Encyclopaedia, (2000): South Africa, Republic of), which meant they were allowed to set up farms outside of the settlement. These farmers eventually became known as Boers. Many of the early Dutch settlers were devout Calvinists, who believe in predestination. Predestination is the eternal destiny of a person is predetermined by God's unchangeable decree (Encarta Encyclopaedia, (2000): Predestination). Unfortunately for the Negroes of South Africa, it was interpreted that the black mans destination was eternal damnation, and that they were less than the white man. We call predestination God...

A Brief History of Cameroon, Africa

A Brief History of Cameroon, Africa The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were likely the Bakas- or pygmies. They still inhabit the forests of the south and east provinces. Bantu speakers originating in the Cameroonian highlands were among the first groups to move out before other invaders. During the late 1770s and early 1800s, the Fulani- a pastoral Islamic people of the western Sahel- conquered most of what is now northern Cameroon, subjugating or displacing its largely non-Muslim inhabitants. Arrival of the Europeans Although the Portuguese arrived on Cameroons coast in the 1500s, malaria prevented significant European settlement and conquest of the interior until the late 1870s, when large supplies of the malaria suppressant, quinine, became available. The early European presence in Cameroon was primarily devoted to coastal trade and the acquisition of slaves. The northern part of Cameroon was an important part of the Muslim slave trade network. The slave trade was largely suppressed by the mid-19th century. Christian missions established a presence in the late 19th century and continue to play a role in Cameroonian life. From German Colony to League of Nation Mandates Beginning in 1884, all of present-day Cameroon and parts of several of its neighbors became the German colony of Kamerun, with a capital first at Buea and later at Yaounde. After World War I, this colony was partitioned between Britain and France under a June 28, 1919, League of Nations mandate. France gained the larger geographical share, transferred outlying regions to neighboring French colonies, and ruled the rest from Yaounde. Britains territory- a strip bordering Nigeria from the sea to Lake Chad, with an equal population- was ruled from Lagos. Struggle for Independence In 1955, the outlawed Union of the Peoples of Cameroon (UPC), based largely among the Bamileke and Bassa ethnic groups, began an armed struggle for independence in French Cameroon. This rebellion continued, with diminishing intensity, even after independence. Estimates of death from this conflict vary from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. French Cameroon achieved independence in 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon. The following year the largely Muslim northern two-thirds of British Cameroon voted to join Nigeria; the largely Christian southern third voted to join with the Republic of Cameroon to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The formerly French and British regions each maintained substantial autonomy. A One Party State Ahmadou Ahidjo, a French-educated Fulani, was chosen President of the federation in 1961. Ahidjo, relying on a pervasive internal security apparatus, outlawed all political parties but his own in 1966. He successfully suppressed the UPC rebellion, capturing the last important rebel leader in 1970. In 1972, a new constitution replaced the federation with a unitary state. The Road to Multi-Party Democracy Ahidjo resigned as President in 1982 and was constitutionally succeeded by his Prime Minister, Paul Biya, a career official from the Bulu-Beti ethnic group. Ahidjo later regretted his choice of successors, but his supporters failed to overthrow Biya in a 1984 coup. Biya won single-candidate elections in 1984 and 1988 and flawed multiparty elections in 1992 and 1997. His Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) party holds a sizeable majority in the legislature following 2002 elections- 149 deputies out of a total of 180. Source Public Domain material, US Department of State Background Notes.

Monopolistic behavior of facbook, is it a monopoly Essay

Monopolistic behavior of facbook, is it a monopoly - Essay Example 3). A monopoly refers to a market with only one seller of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a single seller in the market and, therefore, no competition. In connection to this, the seller makes abnormal profits as a result of market domination. Abnormal profits are realized because there are many buyers in the market, and the seller is the price maker. Moreover, the seller controls the good or service prices in that market; there is information asymmetry; consumers do not have complete information; the product does not have close substitutes and there are barriers to entry. (Sexton 332) An oligopoly is a market that is dominated by few sellers. It has two to ten firms in the business competing with each other. Oligopoly mostly results from collusion where several firms come together to form a single firm and, therefore, reduce competition. Oligopolies compete on the basis of prices, technological innovation, quantity, reputation, or advertising. Oligopolies are characterized by few firms in the business such that the actions of one firm influence those of another. The products may be homogenous or differentiated; there is non-price competition where firms compete on other terms apart from prices including differentiated products, loyalty schemes or advertisement; oligopolistic firm are so large that their individual actions affect the market conditions; the firms have perfect information, but buyers have imperfect information. (Sexton 332-333). From the description Facebook is not a pure monopoly since there are other firms in the business as twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace among others. It would be considered a leading oligopoly since collusion and acquisition of other firms has given it an advantage over other social network firms. However given the recent efforts example buying Oculus Rift and WhatsApp there is concern that this

Discussion of the theories on Optimal Capital Structure Essay

Discussion of the theories on Optimal Capital Structure - Essay Example The study by Modigliani and Miller was based on the following assumptions: 1. There are no brokerage costs. 2. There are no taxes. 3. There are no bankruptcy costs. 4. Investors can borrow at the same rate as corporations. 5. All investors have the same information as management about the firm’s future investment opportunities. 6. EBIT is not affected by the use of debt. This theory says that if these assumptions hold true, the value of the firm is not affected by the capital structure. This situation is expressed as follows: VL = VU = SL + D. Here VL is the value of a levered firm, VU is the value of an identical, unlevered firm, SL is the value of the levered firm’s stock and D is the value of its debt. As we know that WACC is a combination of cost of debt and cost of equity. The cost of debt is lower than the cost of equity. As a company raises capital through debt, the weight of debt increases and hence, it drives up the cost of equity as equity gets riskier. According to the assumptions by Modigliani and Miller, the cost of equity increases by an amount to keep the WACC constant. In other words, under these assumptions it does not matter whether the firm uses debt or equity to raise capital. So, capital structure decisions are irrelevant in such conditions. Modigliani and Miller: The Effect of Corporate Taxes In 1963, Modigliani and Miller relaxed the assumption that there are no corporate taxes. The corporate tax laws favour debt financing over equity financing because the tax laws allow companies to deduct interest payments as expense and on the other hand dividends are not deductible. So this treatment encourages debt financing. Interest payments reduce the amount the firm pay s to the government in the form of taxes and more of its cash is available for its investors. Hence, tax deductibility of the interest payments acts as a shield for the firm’s income before tax. Modigliani and Miller presented this concept as follows: VL = VU + Value of side effects = VU + PV of tax shield. They further simplified the concept as: VL = VU + TD. Here T is the corporate tax rate and D is the amount of debt. This relationship is expressed in the graph below. If the corporate tax rate is 40%, then this formula implies that every dollar of debt will increase the value of the firm by 40 cents. Hence, the optimal capital structure is 100% debt. Under this theory, the cost of equity increases as the amount of debt increases but it does not increase as fast as it does under the assumption that there are no taxes. As a result, under this theory the WACC falls as the amount of debt increases. This relationship is shown in the following graph. Miller: The Effect of corpor ate and personal taxes Later Miller brought in the aspect of personal taxes in this model. He said that income from the bonds is considered as interest which is taxed as personal income at a particular rate (Td). On the other hand, income from stocks comes in the form of dividends and capital gains. The tax on long-term capital gains is deferred until the stock is sold and the gain is realized. Of the stock is held until the owner dies no capital gains tax is paid. So he concluded that the returns on stock are taxed at a lower effective tax rate (Ts) than returns on debt. Looking gat this, Miller argued