Strengths and weaknesses of using faith as a basis of knowledge in reli

According to Victor Hugo â€Å"Faith is a necessity to a man. Woe to him who believes in nothing† (Hugo). Faith, or the unquestioning belief in something, is crucial to the maintenance of society, and in fact makes up the majority of its foundations. Faith is more pervasive of one’s entire being than trust and, when exploited, can have both positive and negative effects on the individual and society. Faith’s consequences upon the human mind affect both reason and emotion, both of which are explored in this essay. Governments cannot successfully control their populations without a substantial amount of faith within them. Questioning a government’s every move exposes its flaws, which leads to chaos as citizens discover that their government is not the stable institution they had trusted. Faith is a quintessential part of controlling the masses and it exists in nearly every facet of society. History has shown that a lack of confidence in a government leads to a decline in its effectiveness in promoting the happiness of the average citizen, leading to civil unrest. The American and French revolutions, as well as the Arab spring, are all examples of this phenomenon. However, faith in government can have disastrous effects on the individual, as I have witnessed firsthand within my own country. The American people’s complete acceptance of the financial advice of their government in 2006 led to the recent housing bubble from which the lower and middle classes are still struggling to emerge. The government’s financial advisors, who practically ran Wall Street, twisted citizens’ perception by convincing them that buying a home was like building a mini bank and refinancing was investing in it. The Glass-Segall Act, which kept commercial an... ...re of the faith’s flaws, which could be considered dangerous by ardent believers. This essay seeks only to prompt discussion on the human need to believe, not insult it. Faith rules our society, from a domestic to international sense. This â€Å"trust without reservation† is necessary to keep relationships healthy, the soul pure, and the global community at peace. It’s role in areas of knowledge such as religion and science is essential to its maintenance and development. However, one is constantly at risk of being manipulated by that very institution. It is important to consider both the faults and benefits of faith in order to determine the role it plays in society today. Works Cited Victor, Hugo. "VIII: Faith and Law." Les Miserables. Trans. Fahnestock Lee and MacAfee Norman. New York, NY: Signet Classics, 1987. 521. Print.

A Selection from Perpetual Masquerade: Marriage,Sexuality and Suicide in Madame Bovary :: Research Papers

A Selection from Perpetual Masquerade: Marriage,Sexuality and Suicide in Madame Bovary Introduction: the Heroine’s Dilemma The essence of the happenings of ordinary contemporary life seemed to Flaubert to consist not in tempestuous actions and passions, not in demonic men and forces, but in the prolonged chronic state whose surface movement is mere empty bustle, while underneath it there is another movement, almost imperceptible but universal and unceasing, so that the political, economic, and social subsoil appears comparatively stable and at the same time intolerably charged with tension.1 The high incidence of suicide among women who people nineteenth-century fiction and drama, as illustrated in Flaubert’s Madame Bovary and Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, among others, often is viewed as the heroine’s quick and relatively easy way of escaping from her problems and from the complexities of life. The shock of suicide, especially as it is presented in Madame Bovary, brings to the fore the seriousness writers like Flaubert and Ibsen attached to the power society wields in molding a woman’s life and character into the model it deems appropriate. Their fictions show how dire the consequences may become should a woman’s needs lie dormant or fail to be fully realized. Among the needs that go unfulfilled in the women of these literary works are their sexual ones, which is why so many of these novels and plays center on sexual awakening and on the dissatisfactions of marriages of a conventional kind. The amount of research done and material written on this topic speaks to its significance when considering the issue of sexuality both for the characters in the aforementioned novels and for women in general. In This Sex Which is Not One, for instance, Luce Irigaray says that â€Å"Woman derives pleasure from what is so near that she cannot have it nor have herself. She herself enters into a ceaseless exchange of herself with the other without any possibility of identifying either† (31). Indeed, as we can see in these literary works, the oft overlooked (or merely misunderstood) subject of female sexuality, if even granted its own status, remains a threat to male control in such androcentric societies. Particularly prominent in the discussion of the place of and entitlements for female sexuality is Flaubert’s protagonist. Emma, because of her resistance to women’s pre-mandated roles and because she eventually succumbs to suicide, stands as a fitting example of a culpable character for those readers alarmed by the willful or independent woman. In this analysis, sexual and personal latitude, Emma’s case certainly suggests, breeds destruction of what most nineteenth-century bourgeois considered the core of existence: strict adherence to the social and moral codes maintaining a proper and

Germania: Tacitus’ Perceptions of Pax Romana Rome Essay -- Roman Histo

Germania: Tacitus’ Perceptions of Pax Romana Rome While the early 2nd century is usually considered to be the height of the Roman Empire, closer examinations reveal a deteriorating state hiding behind a faà §ade of power and wealth. As modern day historian C. Warren Hollister described, â€Å"life in Rome’s ‘golden age’ could be pleasant enough if one were male, adult, very wealthy, and naturally immune to various epidemic diseases. But if this was humanity’s happiest time, God help us all!† (14). Living during this time period, Cornelius Tacitus perceived of the rust slowly consuming through Rome’s golden shine. He writes, â€Å"the destinies of the Empire have passed their zenith,† predicting the end of an era 300 years before it occurred (33). He makes this conclusion based on observations of a deterioration of loyalty to the Empire due to weakened patriotism and societal values. His criticisms on the flaws of the Empire are interwoven into the text of his Germania, some b eing obvious while others are more discreet. Written in 98 AD, Germania is a description of barbarian lifestyle and culture that Tacitus compiled from different accounts and sources. What makes it a somewhat unreliable historical source is that Tacitus interjects the text with his own opinions about the Empire. For example, Tacitus’ cynicism with the supposed power and strength of the Empire is revealed through his descriptions of the strength of the Germans. In this time period, the Empire represented the paragon of strength in a society, but Tacitus immediately brings attention to the hardiness and unity of the Germans in their barbaric wasteland. While the Romans enjoyed a temperate Mediterranean climate, the Germans lived in a place where t... ...able and foresees the fall of the Western Empire three centuries years later. He even says that the Empire was still standing because the Germans were too busy fighting each other, and that â€Å"Fortune can guarantee us nothing better than discord among our foes† (33). Tacitus’ insight on the weaknesses of the Empire during its so-called â€Å"golden age† should press modern readers to re-evaluate preconceptions of the Pax Romana. Although Germania may paint a biased picture of the Germans living at the time period, Tactius’ work is valuable because of the interesting perceptions it conveys. Works Cited Hollister, C. Warren. Medieval Europe: A Short History. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1998. Tacitus. Dialogus, Agricola, Germania. Trans. Maurice Hutton. London: Heineman, 1914. IN Readings in Medieval History. 2nd ed. Ed. Patrick J. Geary. Toronto: Broadview, 1997.

How Much Land Does a Man Need Essay

Realism, as the word implies, deals with reality as its subject, that is, putting emphasis on what is happening in the real world, rather than stressing emotions as a source of aesthetic experience. In literature, it often focuses on moral or ethical choices such that it gives emphasis on the actions by the characters rather than the actual plot of the story. Characters are also portrayed with motive, more often than not, in relation to the view of their social class. In realism, sensational and dramatic elements that are often found in naturalism and romances are avoided. The short stories â€Å"The Bet† and â€Å"How Much Land Does a Man Need? † are examples of literature in the style of realism which focuses on the ethical choices of the characters in relation to their social class. â€Å"The Bet† focuses on the materiality of the world. It gave contrasts to the materialistic world view of the banker, and the simplicity of the young man in the story. Although the question at the beginning is whether or not the death penalty is worse than life imprisonment, the story has not given an answer to it (it was not its intention to answer this anyway), but rather, it presented views of morality. It altogether despises materiality. The young man at the end of the story proclaimed: â€Å"It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage†¦ I marvel at you who exchange heaven for earth. I don’t want to understand you† (Chekrov). Like â€Å"The Bet,† â€Å"How Much Land Does a Man Need? † criticizes the human sense of materiality. The story, however, shifts its focus on greed. It differs with â€Å"The Bet† in the sense that while â€Å"How Much Land Does a Man Need? † does not necessarily condemn acquiring material possession in this world, it presented a question of how much of this material possession does man really need. Pahom, the main character in the story, was given the opportunity to acquire land of his own, but was overcome by greed many times throughout the story. In the end, this greed was the cause of his death. The moral of the story is that man should only take what is necessary for living, nothing in excess. The story also implies that man cannot take in death what man possess in life. Works Cited Chekrov, Anton. â€Å"The Bet† Tolstoy, Leo. â€Å"How Much Land Does a Man Need†

Cask Of Amontillado Essay

When the tunnels come to a dead end, Mentors chains Fortunate and buries him in the e catacombs. The literary elements of foreshadowing, symbolism, and irony help to create a tale of horror or found in the short story â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† written by Edgar Allan Poe. To build suspense in the story, Poe often employs foreshadowing. For example e, when Fortunate says, â€Å"l shall not die of a cough (Poe 66). Mentors replies, mat rue [.. J† (Poe 66), because he knows that Fortunate will in fact die from dehydration and starve ion in the crypt.He reshow's future events by employing the topic of death into the conversant ion. On the other hand, Mentor's description of his family's coat of arms also symbolizes future eve ants. The shield features a human foot crushing a tenacious serpent. In this image, the foot represents Mentors and the serpent represents Fortunate. Although Fortunate has hurt Mentors with biting inns Its, Mentors will ultimately crush him. The c onversation about Masons also foreshadows Forth anta's demise. Are not of the masons. ‘ ‘Yes, yes,' I said; yes, yes. ‘ ‘You? Impossible! A mason? ‘ ‘A m son,' I replied. A sign,' he said. It is this,' answered, producing a trowel from beneath the folds of my require† (Poe 68). When he declares that he is a â€Å"mason† by showing his trowel, he means t hat he is a literal stonemason and that he constructs things out of stones and mortar, namely F rotunda's grave. Pope's use of symbolism describes each character. â€Å"The man wore motley. He had on a tight fitting predestined dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap an d bells. I was so pleased to see him, that thought should never have done wringing his hand† (Poe 63). His face covered in a lack silk mask, Mentors symbolizes hidden things.In this case, the mask sys embolisms Mentor's hidden thoughts to kill Fortunate. On the other hand, Fortunate dons the mot ele ctrode costume of the court fool, who gets literally and tragically fooled by Mentor's masked mot eves. The color schemes here represent the irony of Fortune's death sentence. Using symbolism such h as the setting of the dark and dank catacombs, Poe uses the gloomy environment to symbolize death a ND horrible things to come. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together on the dam p ground of the catacombs f the Mentors† (Poe 66).The bones in the catacomb symbolizes that Forth NATO would soon be one of them. Using irony, Poe further uses literary elements to create a tale Of horror. Using g dramatic irony, Poe reveals the path of death that Fortunate is heading to. Fortunate is head Eng towards death but ironically does not even question the suspicious Mentors until the last mom .NET. â€Å"It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunate cause to duo bat my good will. Continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the Hough of his immolation† (Poe 63).Fortunate doesn't know what will happen to himself but both the audience and Mentors knows that the story' will end with Fortune's death. Another example Of irony is the situation irony of Fortune's name. â€Å"He had a weak point-?this Of rotunda-?although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided him elf on his connoisseurship in wine† (Poe 63). Fortunate, Italian for â€Å"the fortunate one,† ironically means t he exact opposite in this story, representing situational irony. Instead of the fortunate one, Fortunate comes the unfortunate one, dying from the hands of Mentors.

Materialistic Americans Essay

â€Å"With these words I can sell you anything† by William Lutz and â€Å"At sale at Old Navy: Cool Clothes for Identical Zombies! † by Damien Cave the readings explain how Americans are fooled into purchasing so many unnecessary things that most of the time don’t do what they promise when advertised as well as how the buyers themselves are blinded and don’t realized that they are wasting money, all because of the value of their pride and their need to be better than everyone else yet they are doing the same things as millions of other Americans. Although it seems correct that most people should be materialistic, it’s not a good thing because this form of living is damaging American’s values in many ways and advertisements are just making it worst. In Cave’s excerpt he explains how most Americans have become so materialistic now and that it’s becoming a big issue. In one part Cave says, â€Å"Consumers are being scammed, says Klein, arguing that stores like Old Nave and Ikea are duping millions, inspiring mass conformity while pretending to deliver high culture to the masses† (109). This explains how Americans are so gullible when it comes to buying products because most of the time they don’t really look into what they are buying they just want to own what everyone else has because that makes them â€Å"fit† it into this materialistic society because it’s all about hierarchy and who’s on top of everyone else. â€Å"Klein and Frank say that few consumers recognize just how conformist their consumption habits have become† (Cave 109). Some people do realize that they do over spend but they still don’t do anything about it because they always want more. There are many adults that think that buying so many things for themselves and their families is good because people always want to have the best things that are out there for their loved ones without realizing that they’re just giving money away to things they don’t really need. â€Å"At virtually every opening of Old Navy’s and Ikea’s stores-in the New York, Chicago, and San Francisco areas, for example- tens of thousand of people appeared in the first few days. Even now, long after the stores first opened, lines remain long† (Cave 110). Americans value so much their pride to be over achievers and be better than everyone else they come across but yet they aren’t much different from other people because they spend as much as every other person who might not have that much money because everyone’s values are similar. In Lutz’s excerpt he explains how Advertisements usually don’t promise what they offer and take people for fools but yet people keep buying more. He states, â€Å"The biggest weasel word used in advertising doublespeak is ‘help’† (114). He explains how people are manipulated into buying products all the time that will help them with a desire objective and they are influenced by the advertisements. The things that people wear, drink, eat, etc are all influenced by something or someone, how else did they ever hear or see about those products. Advertisements are everywhere, people that see all these advertisements of products think those products apply to them because they know everyone else that will see them will want them too and they don’t to feel left out in not being part of the revolution of that product. Lutz also says, â€Å"Whenever advertisers want you to stop thinking about the product and to start thinking about something bigger, better, or more attractive than the product, they use that very popular weasel word, ‘like’† (119). American’s values are on risk when it comes to advertisements because people want their families to be well and grow a certain way, but that can’t happen when their television and billboards selling things that are out of the comfort of some people. Only by becoming an active, critical consumer of the double speak of advertising will you ver be able to cut through the doublespeak and discover what the ad is really saying† (Lutz 120). Americans value so much their pride and the liberty to do whatever they want that they think buying so much stuff applies to them. Americans also value their Independence in this country but it’s also being ruined by advertisements because how can people be independent when they are buying the same things as everyone else and are being exploited all at the same time? If people keep getting sucked into buying every little thing they see hey will doing the opposite of what they believe in, they will just be shaming who they are as Americans. Americans need to realize that buying everything that is advertised isn’t doing them any good. they will lose so much money on things they don’t really need and all for what? to be better than everyone else? People have forgotten about being independent and doing their own thing when it comes to having a different lifestyle from others. How can they take pride in themselves when they are just alike to everyone else and that’s what the readings explain, to not be gullible when it comes to this topic

Learning Notes Essay

|STAGE 1 | |CONTENT STANDARD: The learner understand the different types and forms of drama, the features ,elements and conventions which distinguish | |them from narratives thereby leading him/her to produced a reaction paper. | |PERFORMANCE STANDARD: The learner writes a meaningful reaction paper on a drama presentation. | |ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDING: The learner exhibits understanding and appreciation of drama by making sense of and reacting to the different issues| |presented in it.. | |ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How does one show appreciation of Philippine Drama? | |Learners will know: | |Types of Drama | |Forms of drama | |Drama conventions | |Expressions showing agreement and disagreement | | | |Learners will be able to: | |Explain types of drama | |Distinguish various forms of drama. | |Apply various graphic organizers to illustrate key concepts in a drama. | |Perform an array of reading techniques to concretize and unlock drama concept. | |Respond in various ways to express understanding of drama. | |Relate how drama mirrors real life. | |Deduce authentic experiences that can be incorporated in a drama. | |Analyze descriptions, dialogs and actions to discover, articulate, and justify characters in a drama. | |Draw insights on main and sub issues presented in a drama. | | | |STAGE 2 | |Product Performance Task: A meaningful reaction paper on a drama presentation. | | | |Evidence at the level of understanding: The learners should be able to demonstrate understanding by covering the six (6) facets of | |understanding. | |Explanation-Explain how the playwright justifies the actions, feelings, and attitudes of the character. | |Describe characters, and situation to show how drama reflects culture. | | Interpretation- interpret the series of connected events in a drama plot. Using events line | |Application-Apply role playing strategies in delivering dialogs between the protagonist and antagonist in the play | |Perspective- Develop perspective by evaluating a drama presentation. | |Empathy-assume role in Critiquing a drama presentation. | |Self-knowledge- self-assess one’s strengths and weaknesses in presenting assessment of a drama presentation. | |Evidence at the level of performance: Performance assessment of an original extended dialog for drama presentation based on the following | |criteria: | |1. Focus/Theme | |2. Accuracy | |3. Language | |4. Unity | |5. Coherence | |6. Style | | | |STAGE 3 | |TEACHING LEARNING SEQUENCE | |A. EXPLORE- At this stage, the teacher should be able to do the following: | |Make the learners aware of the desired result that is, for him/her to demonstrate understanding of understanding of the different types and | |forms of Philippine drama as well as the features, elements, and conventions which distinguish them from narratives | |Introduce the Essential Question (EQ), â€Å"How does one show appreciation of Philippine drama? † with the learners. Make them answer the questions| |as exhaustively as possible and cue them into the big ideas by activating their prior knowledge or past experiences. | |Use non-formative assessment procedure to check/evaluate learners’ readiness and competence on the prerequisite skills to the tasks at hand. | |Inform the learners of how they will be assessed. Their major output after the lesson is a meaningful reaction paper on a drama presentation. | |Likewise explain the rubrics. | |Activities |Materials |Date |Remarks | |1. Life is a drama TG. P. 4 |Types of Drama listed on a manila |August 15,2011 | | | |paper. | | | |2. Illustrate it TG. P. 4 |1. Manila paper |August 16,2011 | | | |2. Pentel pen/ pencil | | | | |3. crayons | | | |Note: | |1. Pre-test is given to students. To test their prior knowledge. | |2. Ask the EQ-essential Question | |3. Clarify expectation | |4. Hook and engage interest. | |5. Give the essential understanding. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |STAGE 3 | |TEACHING LEARNING SEQUENCE | |B. FIRM UP- At this stage, the teacher should be able to do the following: | |Make the learners enhance their knowledge of the different types and forms of Philippine drama, as well as the features, elements and | |conventions which distinguishes them from narratives. | |Highlight the grammar item by providing sufficient examples of word/phrase showing agreement or disagreement. | |Provide the learners with activities that are motivating and challenging | |Maximize learners’ participation in various tasks from controlled practice to free association phase of learning | |Provide feedback to check for understanding. | |Activities |Materials |Date |Remarks | |1. Which one are you TG. P. 6 |1. A copy of the words â€Å"JOLOGs and | | | | |â€Å"CONOS† | | | |2. A day for a play TG. P6 | | | | |- Read and write words in the play |2. A photocopy of the Drama- â€Å"Call | | | |that shows AGREEMENT and |Me Flory† by Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero | | | |DISAGREEMENT. | | | | |3. Lexicon TG. P6 | | | | |- Write the meaning of the phrases. |3. Manila Paper with the Phrases | | | | |taken from the play. | | | |4. Simple Recall TG. P7 | | | | |- Comprehension Questions |4. Manila paper with the | | | | |comprehension questions. | | | |5. Agree or Disagree TG. P9 | | | | |- Expressing agreement and |5. Manila Paper with two column A | | | |Disagreement |and B Agreement and Disagreement. | | | | | | | | |6. In my opinion TG. P10. |6. Various topics written on a | | | |- Choose one topic then write an |Manila paper. | | | |opinion paragraph stressing their | | | | |greatest argument for agreeing or | | | | |disagreeing. | | | | | | | | | |Note: Discuss and explain | | | | |expressions on agreement and |Outline of the topic | | | |disagreement. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |STAGE 3 | |TEACHING LEARNING SEQUENCE | |C. DEEPEN- At this stage, the teacher should be able to do the following: | |Provide learners with thought – provoking questions that will make them reflect, revisit, rethink, and revise earlier assumptions about the | |types and forms of Philippine drama, the features, elements, and conventions that distinguish them from narrative. | |Enable learners to apply the grammar items learned by giving them activities within the confines of higher order thinking skills. | |Address the learners’ uniqueness, their strengths and weaknesses by providing them with differentiated instruction as needed. | |Provide them with meaningful and challenging activities that will reinforce what they have learned. | |Engage them in meaningful self-evaluation. | |Give feedback. | |Activities |Materials |Date |Remarks | |1. Curtailed Freedom TG. P. 11 | 1. Topic on specific reality or | | | |- Have them agree or disagree†¦ |game show. | | | | | | | | |2. Mock Election TG. P11 | | | | |-Write and express their ideas | | | | | |2. â€Å"Written issue on a manila | | | | |paper- â€Å"Are you in favor of using | | | |3. Drama Inventory TG. P12 |the Filipino language during | | | |- Complete the table after |English time? † | | | |watching/listening to various drama| | | | |media. |3. Written CHART on a manila paper | | | | |as guide to the activity. | | | |4. Airing Feedback TG. P12. | | | | |- Role play any situation | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |4. Rubrics | | | |Notes: | | | |1. Discuss the Elements of Drama | |2. types of drama | |3. drama conventions | | | | | | | | | | | |D. TRANSFER- At this stage, the teacher should be able to do the following: | |Have the learners make independent application of the various processes (drama review, play reaction paper production, critiquing an original | |extended drama script, ect) they have learned. | |Make them do independent performance or project using varied and complex assessment procedure. | |Harness the learners’ growing proficiency by letting them establish the interface among the activities they have performed. | |Have them see the connections between tasks and the world. | | | |Activities |Materials |Date |Remarks | |1. Drama Review TG. P13 | 1.evaluation Chart | | | |- Complete the evaluation chart | | | | |after watching a scene in a drama | | | | |or play. | | | | | | | | | |2. DRP (Drama Reaction Paper) TG. | | | | |P13 | | | | |- evaluate the strength and |2. List of criteria written on a | | | |weaknesses of a play or drama. |manila paper | | | | | | | | | | | | | |References: | | | | |Laarni- A Dream by Loreto | | | | |Paras-Sulit | | | | | | | | | |Call Me Flory, by Wilfrido Ma. | | | | |Guerrero | | | | |The World is an Apple | | | | | | | | | | |Prepared by | | | |FERDINAND A. SANGAO | |Subject Teacher Noted: | |NORA D. DALAPNAS | |Head Teacher In Charge | | | | | | |