A Critique of Endgame and Play Essay -- Plays

The mis-en-scene which is the arrangement of actors and scenery in a theatrical production is vital to the success of a play. Throughout this critique I will review two different plays and examine their use of costume, lighting, and set design to convey a message through a strong mis-en-scene. â€Å"Play† opens with three figures encased in large urns with only their faces visible. The urn as a prop is significant because it symbolizes the individuals’ being trapped by their own desires; doomed to repeat them. They can neither see nor hear one another. A spotlight, acting as a voiceless interrogator projected on the faces of the actors, swivels between them prompting each in turn to speak; when the light leaves, the faces fall silent. A man and two women (a husband, his wife and his mistress) are compelled by the light to recount the story of their love triangle. Through precise use of lighting, shadows, and props the audience is compelled to become fascinated with the story. As the bodies repeatedly recount their stories, various tones are used to describe/convey new details each time. â€Å"Play† begins with a humorous tone, but with each repetition the story becomes darker and wearier? However, the consistency of that single set makes for a po werful message and keeps the audience in tune and focused. The play â€Å"Endgame† opens by initiating the sole mise-en-scene of the play. It is early morning, and Clov has entered a barren room containing two trash cans (covered with an old sheet) and an armchair on casters (also covered with an old sheet). The light of the rising sun suffuses the room as this event takes place. Using a ladder, Clov begins his daily ritual of drawing back the curtains of two small windows (fir... ...ul boring being costumes, Hamm was dressed in red, this representing how he views himself about the universe and play. As a visual designer I gained the importance of what an individual set could do for a play, and how this is one of the main components. This play was the first time I had seen a play that can use one set, and it’s definitely a way to think about future projects and how having one consistent theme rather than integrating multiple ones can be powerful for a story, I also found it fascinating that the author of the play use a hobby of his and incorporated it into the play in a unique way. Works Cited A.C.T Theater. "Endgame And Play." Web. 22 May 2012. Class Reading. "Analysis of Endgame." Web. 22 May 2012. "Mise-en-Scene." What Is Mise-en-scene? Web. 22 May 2012. .

Animals vs. Humans in Medical Experimentation Essay -- Biology, Animal

For centuries mankind has experimented on animals for a number of different reasons. Early experimentation with animals was originally born out of curiosity but eventually became a necessity to find medicines to cure viruses and a myriad of illnesses. If not for the existence of animals, humans would be left to experiment on themselves at a high rate which would create a worldwide moral dilemma. Such a dilemma could be dictated based on the question of who should be chosen for experimentation; should it be a particular race or class of people? Animals commonly used in medical research are rats and chimpanzees. Over time these species have proven to be plentiful and they have exhibited the ability to sustain the various testing regimens that mimic human experimentation. â€Å"The need for animals in research, particularly medical research, is because of the need to determine the toxicity and dangers of new drugs.† (Prater 1). Animals are great learning tools for medical students. â€Å"For basic research, to understand a disease, dogs are an excellent mimic of the human cardiovascular system.† (Dixon 1). As one may see using animals as cruelty, it avoids the death of numerous humans. Animals such as guinea pigs can be tested on as opposed to performing a huge surgery on a human being and he/she does not make it through. The effect of some animals does not always affect people, but it can give you an idea of what dangers you may encounter. Other animals like, cats, mice, hamsters, rabbits, pigs, and sheep are also tested in labs, â€Å"animal research has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century – for both human and animal health. From antibiotics to blood transfusions, from dialysis to organ-... ...des Improvements." PubMed.com. N.P. May 2009. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Gargaro, Carolyn C. "Animals Used For Medical Research." Gargaro.com. N.P. July 1991. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Greek, Ray. "Is The Use of Sentient In Basic Research Justifiable." PEHM.com. N.P. Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Jessen, Walter. "Animal Research: Animal Welfare Vs Animal Rights." HighlightHealth.com. N.P Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Prater, Alicia M. "Should Animals Be Used For Experimentation." Helium.com. N.P. Nov. 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Rolling, Bernard E. "Animal Research: A Moral Science." Emboreports.com. N.P. Aug. 2008. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Tatchell, Peter. "The Long Fight Against Animal Testing." Guardian.com. N.P. July 2009. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Trull, Frankie L. "The Essential Need For Animals in Medical Research." AmericanChronicle.com. N.P. Oct. 2005. Web. 21 Nov. 2011.

Material Society, Material Thoughts :: Free Essay Writer

Material Society, Material Thoughts Ever since Midas' lust for gold, it appears to be that man has acquired a greed and appetite for wealth. Juana, the Priest, and the doctor have all undergone a change due to money. They are all affected by their hunger for wealth and inturn are the base for their own destruction, and the destruction of society. Steinbeck's "The Pearl" is a study of man's self destruction through greed. Juana, the faithful wife of Kino, a paltry peasant man, had lived a spiritual life for what had seemed like as long as she could remember. When her son Coyito fell ill from the bite of a scorpion, she eagerly turned towards the spiritual aspects of life. Beginning to pray for her son's endangered life. The doctor who had resided in the upper-class section of the town, refused to assistant the child, turning them away when they arrived at the door. Lastly they turned to the sea to seek their fortune. When Juana set sight on the "Pearl of The World." she felt as though all her prayers had been answered, if she could have foreseen the future what she would have seen would have been a mirror image of her reality. Juana's husband was caught in a twisted realm of mirrors, and they were all shattering one by one. In the night he heard a "sound so soft that it might have been simply a thought..." and quickly attacked the trespasser. This is where the problems for Juana and her family began. The fear that had mounted in Kino's body had taken control over his actions. Soon even Juana who had always had faith in her husband, had doubted him greatly. "It will destroy us all" she yelled as her attempt to rid the family of the pearl had failed. Kino had not listened however, and soon Juana began to lose her spiritual side and for a long time she had forgotten her prayers that had at once meant so much to her. She had tried to help Kino before to much trouble had aroused, only to discover that she was not competent enough to help. A hypocrathic oath is said before each medical student is granted a Doctors degree. In the oath they swear to aid the ill, and cure the injured. In the village of La Paz there lived a doctor who had earned his wealth by helping those that were ill and could afford his services.

Methaphor & Metonymy – Condensation & Displacement.Doc

Displacement; a shift or move in the unconscious when the mind redirects a thought or word dangerous or unacceptable and substitutes it with a more affable thought or word. Condensation; where all the different elements, bits and pieces of thought and dreams combine into one to make sense. In this way they can stand for several different thoughts, feelings, wishes, ideas, etc. For Freud, condensation and displacement / substitution were used as a defense mechanism to contain aggressive and sexual impulses and hide the true unconscious thought (anxiety). Brought to light through slips, jokes and dreams, these little bits of language produce the whole picture. The Signorelli example, from The psychopathology of everyday life is a fine example of displacement and linguistics. Travelling through Bosnia, Herzegovina; Freud forgets the name of a famous painter; Signorelli. Two other less familiar names come to mind; Botticelli and Boltraffio. By combining different bits and parts of the words Signorelli, Botticelli, Boltraffio and Bosnia, Herzegovina, he realises the repressed thought (death and sexuality regarding a patient). A further example comes from jokes and their relation to the unconscious, during a conversation Hirsch – Hyacinth of Hamburg; Pottery agent and extractor of corns, recalls a meeting with the wealthy Baron Rothschild where Rothschild treated him as his equal – ‘quite famillionairely’. (Condensation accompanied by the formation of a substitute) Metaphor – A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or concept it does not literally denote in order to suggest comparison with its basic meaning (metaphors = suppress). A rough man. Metonymy – is a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related or which it is a part i. e. substitution of one word for another. (metonymy combines). The cup was drunk. Jacques Lacan; (1901-1981) believed that the human psyche is found in language. He thought it an extremely important part of Freud’s understanding of the unconscious. He wanted to expand on Freud’s work or condensation and displacement. Using metaphors and metonymy Lacan related directly to Freud’s thinking in terms of condensation and displacement in so far as the original is changed and a new idea – concept is formed. He placed great importance on linguistics’ (phonemes, multiple use of the same material, double meaning, puns etc) in relation to slips and Para praxes . He relied on the borrowed work of a number of linguistics in this regard. The linguist, De Saussure believed the relationship between words were greater than objects. Two elements combine in a relationship called signification to produce the linguistic sign. There must be both a signifier (idea) and signified (concept). Lacan noticed the similarities between Saussure and Freud’s work in relation to signifier and signified. In Freud’s representation S/s the signified slips beneath the signifier. A second linguistic, Roman Jacobson believed the production of language twofold. Selection / substation and combination of the linguistic units. He gives an excellent example of the use of metaphor and metonymy. Quoting from Lewis Carrols, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: ‘â€Å"Did you say pig or fig? said the cat. ‘I said pig,’ replied Alice. (Baby to pig suggests a person who is not nice). Other examples include, the Cheshire cat (grin like a Cheshire cat). The March Hare (as mad as a March Hare) etc, etc.

Hantavirus

Disease is common throughout the world and can spread at a fast rate. It is spread very often by animals other than humans and is often spread through person to person or animal to person contact. The small deer mouse can infect a human with a disease named the Hantavirus from the family Bunyaviridae. Hantavirus is a deadly disease that has shocking causes, dangerous effects and also has preventions and treatments. The causes of Hantavirus are shocking. Hantavirus starts when a contaminated deer mouse’s droppings or nest are inhaled. The disease is also not contagious because it is only spread by the deer mouse. Once the disease is inhaled it goes straight to the lungs or kidneys and infects them. A person that contracts this disease will not know that they are infected until the effects of the disease are almost in its worst stages. Therefore, immediate medical attention needs to be given to the infected person. Hantavirus is caused by the deer mouse which then leads into some very deadly effects. The disease enters the body and targets the respiratory or urinary systems. The disease goes into the lungs or kidneys which are vital organs in anyone’s body. As a fact, half of all patients treated with Hantavirus in the U. S have survived the disease. Other effects include kidney failure, lung failure, and rapid shallow breathing. The effects of Hantavirus are killer but there are preventions and treatments for it. At this time, there is no cure for the lungs but the kidneys are easier to treat. The doctors will try to use oxygen therapy for the lungs to help the patients breathing. Any person can prevent the Hantavirus by setting mouse traps or by simply calling an exterminator for a check of your house. In conclusion Hantavirus has shocking causes, effects that may lead to death and has preventions and treatments. Hantavirus is a deadly disease caused by a small deer mouse. This treatable disease has also been the cause of some deaths around America. The disease was first seen in the United States in a village called Four Corners Arizona in 1993. Hantavirus may be part of the reason why many people have a phobia of mice.

Global Youth Culture Essay

Culture obviously varies all around the world from country to country, but the basics are always the same. What makes up culture? Does culture change based on the age of the people or the different generations? Culture consists of language, entertainment through mediums such as music, movies, literature, etc. , fashion, art, food, and more. Culture most definitely changes depending on where you are in the world. For example, it can be as simple as spoken word. The language we speak here in American is vastly different then language spoken over in China or France, and that is one of the fundamental building blocks of culture differences. One thing that is really great and unique about the United States of America is that we have such a diverse mix of people and cultures. America has often been referred to as the â€Å"melting pot† because of the variety of people we have living here. Our culture as a nation has been shaped and molded from all of the people from other places in the world. As a young adult in America, I pay a lot of attention to many parts of our culture such as music, movies, books, and fashion. After exploring the web for blogs from different countries, I found that that doesn’t change throughout the globe. A twenty-year-old student that lives over in London, England is a lot more like me than you might guess. This one blog called â€Å"London Culture Blog† especially caught my attention. I stopped on this blog and started scrolling through some of the posts and realized that a lot of what they are talking about are things that my friends and I talk about too. This was pleasant surprise because ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted to go to England and be just like the British. I thought it was so cool having an accent, wearing cute uniforms to school and having a leading royalty. Although that is still a dream I’ve yet to live out, it was really interesting looking at this blog and seeing that I’m not that far off. Some of the posts on the blog were about things that we talk about in America too, for instance, the movie/ musical Les Miserables as well as International superstar, Justin Bieber. It is very cool to me that there are those parts of our culture that is shared by people all over the world. I find it very comforting and interesting that I could be listening to a Bieber song at the same time as someone across the world. However, as to be expected, parts of the blogs were about artists I have never heard of, and those posts were just as fascinating. I found myself reading about a certain British musician and getting so intrigued that I had to go look up their music. I read a post about a young male musician named Jake Bugg. He was born and raised in England and his music often reflects that. The blogger said, â€Å"His influences stretch back 40 years – he’s got some of the basic song structures of early Beatles’ tracks and there’s more than a hint of the Bob Dylan troubadour style too. He also takes inspiration from the more recent generation of Britpop; at times, he sounds like an early, acoustic version of Oasis. † When I listened to some of his songs, they sound completely different than songs you would hear on everyday radio in America and that’s just because the difference of culture. In my opinion, British music is a lot more meaningful and deep and actually causes you to think and relate to the lyrics unlike some American music. Global youth culture around the world is a lot more similar than I thought I would find. I expected it to be a lot different but the fact is that we feed off each other. We use other cultures to constantly shape and change our own and vice versa. Whether it’s fashion, music, cuisine, or dance, we take ideas and use them to create a new addition to our culture. That’s what ties this whole world together and keeps us so connected.

Mister Pip Relationship Essay

In the novel Mister Pip, the characters are stripped of all luxuries, which expose their innermost beliefs and their conflicting personality, causing disruption between the different characters. This essay will examine intense personal relationships between Matilda, Dolores and Mr Watts that lie at the heart of this novel and will argue that the relationships lying at the heart of Mister Pip are both intense and intricately wound into the story with a purpose of either driving the plot forward or getting an important idea across to the reader. Matilda has a common mother-daughter relationship with Dolores and often doesn’t agree with how her mother does things. As Mister Pip is written from Matilda’s point of view in first person, the readers gain an interesting perspective on her relationships with others. Matilda states things without being emotionally charged, which Jones has done so that the readers are positioned to empathise with Matilda. Mothers and daughters do not always have the best relationship, and so we as readers are caught up in their arguments, the plot is driven forwards. Matilda understands that Dolores is jealous of how interested she is in this new book Great Expectations rather than her heritage but she is too stricken by the book to stop reading it. Jones shows this when Matilda says, ‘What made her mother’s blood run hot was this white boy Pip and his place in my life’. This shows the reader that Dolores clings on to Matilda because she sees Matila as all she has left in the world. Dolores shows her hatred and fear of anything â€Å"white† as she doesn’t understand white people and doesn’t want Matilda to get hurt. Dolores has a fear of her daughter entering a different world, often a fear for mothers as their children grow up and no longer do they have the control over their lives that they used to. Although we are lead to dislike Dolores, we see how much Matilda really used to look up to her when she finds out that Dolores stole Great Expectations. When she finds the book, she is so angry and confused, showing it was the worst time ever in their relationship. It is hard to put into words my feelings of betrayal at that moment’ shows that although Matilda is frustrated by her mothers religion, she trusted Dolores to do the right thing and although she understands why her mum took the book, she loses this trust in her mother to be morally responsible. She also realises how desperately Dolores wants to keep Matilda close and protect her, but she is so betrayed by her behaviour that this pushes her away from her mother even more. Dolores and Mr Watts have the most controversial relationship in this novel. Mr Watts stands for everything that Dolores didn’t believe in, as she was extremely religious yet he was an atheist. They are two completely different people that are forced together when Mr Watts becomes Matilda’s teacher. While Dolores is adamant that Matilda should live a life alongside ‘The Good Book’, Mr Watts focuses more on what it means to be a gentleman, an idea completely idyllic to Matilda. Although this is a significant aspect of his teaching, his teachings were more about change. Conflict stems from Mr Watts being a white man; Dolores hates white men because of their effect on Bougainville through the mines and blames them for the loss of her husband. This idea is used to drive the plot forwards, as the reader learns alongside Matilda about a whole new world and way of being. Mr Watts teaches the young Bougainvilleans that ‘A gentleman is a man who never forgets his manners, no matter the situation’, and ‘a gentleman always does the right thing’. This is an interesting concept, as although both Dolores and Mr Watts have a high regard in doing the morally right thing, Dolores despises Mr Watts for teaching Matilda values that she sees to be immoral. The author shows that this may be because it gets across the idea that Dolores doesn’t understand the world outside of Bougainville, the ‘white’ world. This shows the intensity of the relationship between Dolores and Mr Watts, as eventually Dolores shows she is the paramount ‘gentleman’ when she sacrifices her life for Matilda’s virginity and essentially gets raped for defending Mr Watts. The idea of conflict from being ‘white’ and ‘racism’ between Dolores and Mr Watts is mentioned many times throughout the text. Dolores is hostile towards all white people, as she sees them responsible for the civil war â€Å"there were white people crawling over Panguna like ants over a corpse†. The children say ‘We had grown up believing white to be the color of all the important things, like aspirin, ice cream, ribbon, the moon’. This shows that Mr Watts does not only fascinate the locals, but racism really comes to be a part of this novel, as the older generations are influencing the thoughts of the younger children. Jones shows the intensity of this relationship when Dolores goes into the schoolhouse to preach to the children – she sees Mr Watts teachings as infiltrating their innocence, and believes that the bible is the only way to live by. This is another contradictory idea though, as although Dolores swears by the bible, she breaks one of the Ten Commandments when she steals the book. This shows that her urge to protect Matilda’s innocence and to do what she believes is morally right is greater even than her Christianity. Dolores has one redeeming feature, which is her love for Matilda. When the soldiers say they are going to rape her, Dolores says ‘She is my only girl. Please. I beg you. Not my darling Matilda’. This is when the reader really learns that Matilda is all she has left, and is willing to give her life to make Matilda’s a little easier and to preserve her innocence. The thoughts that Matilda had on Dolores as being ‘the bravest woman’ were at the end, so it is only after the death of her mother and when Matilda was older that she completely understood her mother. In Mister Pip, the relationships between Dolores, Mr Watts and Matilda were very intense. Jones showed these relationships had two purposes, which were either to drive forward the plot, or to get important ideas across such as being a gentleman, and the ‘white’ world. The reader would clearly see that these deep and personal relationships shaped the novel, and the path that Matilda’s life took.