How is Cleopatras infinite variety reflected Essay Example for Free

How is Cleopatras infinite variety reflected Essay How is Cleopatras infinite variety reflected in the language that she uses? In your answer you should include detailed reference to at least 2 passages from the play. Throughout the play many sides of Cleopatra are shown, this suggests she is constantly masking her true feelings, this ability shows her as a good queen of Egypt, but also a stubborn, yet scared person. The first passage I will refer to is Act I, Scene 1, where Antony and Cleopatra are happy and flirtatious. Here Cleopatra is portrayed as a flirtatious and dominant character, almost like a femme fatale with her use of language suggesting this via words and statements such as If it be love indeed, tell me how much, Hear the ambassadors, these two statements are direct and dominant, she tells Antony to do these things rather than asking him. Also, the way she talks about love in this manner shows her as independent and strong. In this scene she also teases and manipulates Antony with her talk of Fulvia, his wife, and Caesars hold over him, this is encouraging him to write them off and declare his loyalty to her, as he seems to be doing with his statement Let Rome in Tiber melt, and the wide arch of the rangd Empire fall: here is my space. Although this scene shows Antony and Cleopatras love, it also shows Cleopatras strong will and manipulation skills, as can be seen on many occasions throughout the play. Another side to Cleopatra is seen in Act III, Scene 11, where she has abandoned Antony at sea, and is now apologizing to him. In this scene, I feel her true feelings start to show through, especially through her language used; Oh lord, my lord, forgive my fearful sails here she is calling Antony lord, so talking of him highly, yet putting herself down by insinuating her and her navy are fearful, so basically, weak. Her reference to Antony as My lord the second time round is significant as it shows her fear of losing him because of her actions. Overall, Cleopatra does not say much in this scene, showing her shame and sorrow at the situation she is in. When she does speak she is very apologetic and says very little, especially in comparison to Antonys long speeches. Her final words in this scene say it all; Pardon, pardon. In these two scenes Cleopatras variety of personalities are shown through these two polar facades, in one she speaks a lot, is dominant, demanding and manipulative, in the other, she says very little, is apologetic almost to the stage of begging, and speaks to Antony with respect. This seeming role reversal between Antony and Cleopatra is seen a number of times throughout the play, in accordance with the events occurring in the plot. Another variety of Cleopatra is shown in Act III, Scene13, where she is deliberately masking her true thoughts and feelings in order to fool Caesars man Thidias. She is playing her cards very close to her chest by flattering Caesar and his men, asking questions about him rather than talking about herself and talking of the past rather than the present; Say to great CaesarI kiss his conquering hand: tell him I am prompt to lay my crown at his feet this shows her sweet-talking Caesars messenger and also shows her signaling to him that she will go along with Caesars words. Cleopatra asks for the messengers name, this is a change from her usual abrupt way with messengers, showing her flattery to make him think that she cares what him name is and also stalls the conversation to give her time to think. She talks of the past by bringing up Caesars father, whom she was with before Antony. She talks of him fondly, suggesting she still cares for Caesars father, and in turn, Caesar and Rome also. In two of these three scenes Cleopatra is able to mask her feelings completely, with her use of language being sophisticated enough to manipulate two powerful men. In all three scenes she is seen in a different light, almost like it were three different characters. Shakespeare keeps the audience intrigued by these changes, and shows Antony and Cleopatras relationship advancing, and also different characters roles and personalities, through Cleopatra and the other characters language. Cleopatras language is very clever, showing a surface meaning that could be completely different when looked at on a deeper level, this close textual analysis allows me to see what her true feelings were, in comparison to these masked emotions that are portrayed to the other characters. This could be Shakespeares way of pre-empting the tragic end and other major events in the play.

The History of Alcatraz Essay -- American America History

The History of Alcatraz INTRODUCTION Alcatraz is an island that is 22 acres and according to geologists it is a drowned mountain peak and is made up of mostly rock and dirt. The island itself is a part of a cluster of islands that are in the San Francisco Bay area. The island's name came from a Spanish explorer, Lt. Juan Manual de Ayala, and the ship's pilot, Jose de Canizarer, on August 12, 1775. He called it La Isla de los Alcatraces, in English is Island of the Pelicans. Alcatraz is just the singular form of Alcatraces. The owners of the island have changed three times in its history. First Spain owned it until 1822, then Mexico won its independence and claimed ownership and finally in 1846 Mexico/California went to war and it then became the property of the United States. On the day of November 6, 1850, President Millard Filmore agreed to make Alcatraz official government property. It was to be turned into a fortification to protect the city from hostile vessels and the reason for putting it there was because it was on an island in the middle of the bay- very strategic. There would be two batteries on both ends of the island along with a two-story brick wall that would enclose all of it. Inside there would be soldiers' barracks, guard houses, powder magazines, and warehouses that would be the backbone of Alcatraz. The official day of opening of Alcatraz was in December of 1859 and it had two purposes, one of fortification and another of a prison. The prison was there for military members that committed various crimes. The prison had about 15 - 50 prisoners there, but they were not all military, some were local citizens and politicians who committed crimes of varying degrees. The idea of having a prison on an is... ...aying that any land that was in surplus would be theirs. Then the City of San Francisco wanted the island so they could destroy what was one their and start commercial development. However, that did not happen because there were to many protestors about saving Alcatraz. Then there was of period of 4 or 5 years of many proposals about what to do but in 1972 it was decided to turn it into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Alcatraz was now open to the public and today you can go down and get on a tour to see where some of the U.S. most famous criminals stayed. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.geocities.com/~marguerite_b/ http://alcatraz.san-francisco.ca.us/ http://www.sf50.com/alcatraz/ http://library.thinkquest.org/21109/alcatraz/index.htm "Alcatraz." The World Book Encyclopedia. 94 ed. 1994. "Alcatraz." Encyclopedia Britannica. 15th edition. 1985.

An Evaluation of Pip, and His Great Expectations Essay

In the year 1860, author Charles Dicken’s began his thirteenth novel, Great Expectations. The work is a coming-of-age novel, which tells the life story of an orphan boy named Pip, who much like Dickens’ in his earlier years is unhappy with his current life. A number of Charles Dickens’ personal life events are mirrored in the novel, leaving Great Expectations to be one of his most autobiographical works. Young Pip, the protagonist of the novel is stuck living in the marsh country, he is working a job that he hates, and considers himself to be too good for his current surroundings, much like Dickens’ did when he was younger. While working on Great Expectations, Dickens’ made weekly installments to the novel, leading it to be one of his most well structured works. Great Expectations is a novel which develops a number of different themes as the story progresses, with the primary theme being personal growth and ambition. The story tells us that morals s uch as affection, loyalty and conscience are much more important in reality than social-class, social advancement, and wealth. The protagonist, Pip, is destined to learn this lesson through his ‘great expectations’, as he explores different ideas of ambition and self-improvement. Great Expectations is a convincing tale told in the perspective of an orphan named Pip, who tells his realistic life story from the very beginning of his ‘great expectations’, which all began one evening when he had a strange encounter with an escaped convict in a cemetery, while he was looking at the tombstones of his parents. This mysterious stranger ordered young Pip to bring him food and a file to break loose the shackle on his leg. If Pip does not comply, the strangers promises to murder him. After bringing the convict food and an iron the next day, Pip finds out that the convict has been arrested, and the mysterious criminal has protected Pip by telling the authorities that he stole the food himself. Some time after this event took place, a lawyer by the name of Jaggers appears in the marsh country that Pip lives in, and he comes with strange news: a strange benefactor has given young Pip a large fortune, and Pip must leave his life of being a blacksmith at the for ge behind in order to go to London with Jaggers and become a gentleman, and get his education. During his time in London, Pip discovers many truths about his life, the mysterious benefactor, and his past. A man from the country marsh named Orlick who is the polar-opposite of Pip reappears in his life, and is dead set on ruining it, as well as hopefully killing him. The reader is kept guessing what will happen with Orlick and Pip as the story progresses, as well as who Pip’s mysterious benefactor is. Dickens’ managed to make Great Expectations and interesting read, but a rather dull journey lacking any sort of excitement. Instead of having any sort of surprise throughout Great Expectations, the author simply gives answers to questions asked and created throughout the story, none in which intrigue the readers. The end holds no real surprise, and the novel ultimately ends up being just a message to the readers, saying that money and living in a good social class is not important in comparison to family, friends, and happiness. There are a number of events throughout that story that are irrelevant to everything, such as Pip and his friend Herbert end up being in debt. The debt has absolutely no negative or positive effect on the story, but is only a bit of filler throughout one of the chapters. The main character of Great Expectations, Pip, is the most guilt-ridden character in the novel, he has no prejudice. His most noticeable and crucial characteristics are his naturally good conscience, and his immature glory of romance. Pip eventually faces an internal conflict once he better understands the reality behind poverty and immorality, he decides that he wants to achieve as much as possible. Because of this, Pip puts his life at the marsh country behind him, he abandons the people who care for him the most, and goes to London where he becomes a gentleman. In London, Pip views his past actions very negatively, and very seldom does he ever give himself credit for good deeds he has done in the past. As a gentleman, Pip starts to act as he always imagined a gentleman would, this adds to him treating his family poorly. Many of the characters throughout the story do not seem to be very realistic, it is almost as if they were meant to come across as being quite fictional. Estella is an unrealistically ‘cold’ character, who has zero feelings for anybody or any living thing. She has absolutely no ability to express emotions to the extent that it seems completely unreal.Despite this, Estella almost does come across as being quite sympathetic for her being the way she is. She warns Pip regularly that she has â€Å"no heart†, and strongly urges him to love somebody else, for she is not good for his wellbeing and happiness. At the end of the novel, however, Estella finally begins to feel like as though she is out of Miss Havisham’s control, and is finally her own person, as she tells Pip, â€Å"Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching. . . I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.† Miss Havisham is the most unrealistic character in Great Expectations, she lives in a rotted mansion, and has not removed her wedding dress in over ten years. Miss Havisham has stopped every clock i n her mansion at twenty minutes to nine, and refuses to ever know what time it is, whether it be day or night. Great Expectations takes place in the 19th century, the main character, Pip, is born in England in the 1800’s and is telling his story in the year 1860. The novel is set around the life of Pip, who is on a mission to meet his â€Å"great expectations†, whatever those may be, and to become a gentleman. His life story takes place both in the southeast marsh country of England, and eventually in London, England, where Pip lives as a gentleman. Great Expectations takes place during a very busy time for England, with the Industrial Revolution occurring, as well as the voidance of slavery in the British colonies during 1834. To the people, London is considered to be a prospering capital, and England is a powerful giant on the globe. However, the way Dickens’ depicts is quite the opposite of that. Pip’s hometown Kent, which resides near the marshlands is twenty miles away from the ocean, and the townsfolk can see the Thames River flow through it. Off in the distance of the marshland and ocean is where the convict ships dock, causing many criminals to lurk about the area. The setting is important because of the time period the story takes place, the economy is thriving and there is plenty of opportunity for money. The mood throughout the story feels rather empty, there is never much tension, never much pain, and never much happiness throughout Great Expectations. There are times throughout the novel when some places Pip travels to bring the mood to different levels, for example, Miss Havisham’s rotting mansion sets a darker mood on the tale, but shortly after when Pip is back in London, the story is back to the usual calm mood of Great Expectations. The story often goes through mood swings because of this. When certain characters come into the picture, they do hav e a slight effect on the atmosphere, though the atmosphere of the novel is usually made clear through Pip’s thoughts, as well as his actions. The year is 1860, Charles Dickens’ has just begun his thirteenth novel, the irritating tale of a young man named Pip, who has come across a large fortune of money, and decides to selfishly leave his family and loved ones behind in order to go to London, and be rich. As the novel progresses, Pip develops as a human being and learns many things, as well as beats himself up for his past. Throughout the ride, Pip comes across a great deal of many different people,such as a heartbroken old timer who grieves every day in her own self pity, a stone cold young lady who holds no love for any living thing, a criminal who has a strong sense of high values, and a lawyer who takes Pip under his wing to becoming a gentleman. Each character is unique in their own way, yet each continue to be uninteresting throughout the novel. Dickens’ not only presented the readers with a number of dull characters, but gave his audience a boring tale which ultimately holds no sort of significance in the end. While the novel is generally quite uninteresting, the setting of the novel is rather exciting as it takes place during the Industrial Revolution of England, however this is hardly noted in the novel, therefore putting readers in front of a rather empty, â€Å"too much like home† world, where the men work hard and the women stay at inside all day, the rich are greedy and the poor are struggling. Charles Dickens had a great idea with Great Expectations, but focused too much on other things as well throughout the story which ultimately helped lead it to become uninteresting and irritating to get through, at times there was too much going on in the novel, while at other times unnecessary events were taking place, which did not progress the story in any way whatsoever. Though the theme of Great Expectations exists, the end gives readers more of a relief that the book is finished, rather than leaving them in an intrigued state which Dickens seemed to have originally intended.

The Fall Of The Roman Empire - 1404 Words

The Fall of Rome The Fall of the Roman Empire, one of the greatest empires that human civilization has ever encountered, is viciously debated today among scholars all over the world. No one theory is the absolute truth as there are many fatal factors and mistakes that forged the collapse of this supreme civilization. Problems ranging from political instability, to different economic predicaments, to barbaric invasions, to imperialistic ideologies, the empire just became too complex for its own good and ultimately planted the seeds for its own ruin. However, after reaching its pinnacle in 120 A.D, the constant expansion of territory held the most weight when bringing the empire to its knees. The height of the Roman Empire in the first and second centuries was known as the pax Romana. Although it only lasted for a short while, during this period, the empire stretched a glorious 2.2 million square miles from England to modern day Iraq. From here spurred the imperial age of Rome. They be gan to expand so far east that they eventually came into contact with China. They had conquered so much land and controlled so many trade routes that the republic in Rome realistically could not govern it all. Messages could not be relayed quick enough to communicate between distant cities like Tarsus and Trapezus and the capital. Other holdings like Britain were too far away and could not recruit enough soldiers to defend the borders. Forces in Britain had to resort to building a 73 mile longShow MoreRelatedFall of the Roman Empire1288 Words   |  6 PagesThe Pax Romana was a two hundred year time period where the Romans had peace and prosperity under Augustus. The Roman empire started to decline at the end of the prevail of the last five emperors, Marcus Aurelius in 161-180 A.D. The rulers in the next century had no idea how to deal with the problems the empire was having. There was many reasons to the fall of the Roman Empire but three stood out the most. The preliminary reason was the economy begins to decline. The alternative reasoning was RomeRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1537 Words   |  7 PagesAncient Rome was an empire so dominant, wealthy and economically- stable which came to a dramatic fall in the period of 250AD- 500AD. Ancient Rome faced unexplained unfortunate events which crumbled the Great Empire from the affluent empire to a impoverished society. For centuries historians have timelessly theorised and analysed many debates and research in relation to the Fall of the Roman Empire. What really caused the predominate Roman Empire to fall? Did Rome fall naturally? Was disease, suchRead MoreFall of the Roman Empire758 Words   |  4 PagesTaylor Davino Professor Horsley HIS 126 3 March 2010 The fall of the Roman Empire Political, economic and social aspects were all involved in the fall of the Roman Empire. In 395 A.D., Rome was divided into two empires, with one capital in Rome and the other in Constantinople. During that time, the western Roman Empire was being invaded by barbarian tribes from the North. In 410, the Visigoth tribe succeeded in conquering the western capital in Rome. In 476, the western EmperorRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1419 Words   |  6 PagesThe Roman Empire was a powerful governing body of extensive political and social structures throughout western civilization. How did this empire fall and were internal factories responsible? Slow occurrences in succession to one another led to the fall of the empire rather than one single event. The fall of the Roman Empire was a combination of both internal and external pressures, not just one, leading up to the complete decay of the cities—Rome and Constantinople. However, one could argue how oneRead MoreThe Fall Of Ro man Empire1185 Words   |  5 PagesThe Fall of Roman Empire Roman Empire was considered as one of the most influential and dominant Empire in the history that has ever existed. â€Å"The Roman Empire at its zenith in the period of the Principate (roughly, 27 BC to AD 235) covered vast tracts of three continents, Europe, Africa, and Asia† (Garnsey). It was an ancient, modern Empire, and it supported anyone who made discoveries and technological improvements. The Empire was the strongest governing body in the Mediterranean. If the RomanRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1440 Words   |  6 PagesSophie Loren Plays a Leading Role in the Fall of the Roman Empire? The reason for the fall of the Roman Empire is a controversial topic under much historical debate. How did such a great empire, known for being one of the largest that lasted over a millennium, fall? The Roman Empire transitioned from a republic to an empire in 31 BCE. 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First, Christianity, offered by Edward Gibbons; He suggests that ChristianityRead MoreThe Fall Of The Roman Empire1495 Words   |  6 PagesFor a long period of time, the debate about the cause of the fall of the Roman Empire has been a popular topic amongst historians. Most of these historians look at the issue from a standpoint that accepts that there were most likely several causes. The main root of the issue is whether or not these causes were internal or external. Some historians even go more in depth and try to hypothesize what the internal or external causes were. In fact, Adrian Goldsworthy and Peter Heather do just this when