Brick says that 'Mendacity is a system we live in. Liquor is one way out, death is another...'. Discuss Williams' treatment of mendacity and truth and a theme in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'.

Brick says that "Mendacity is a system we live in. Liquor is one way out, death is another...". Discuss Williams' treatment of mendacity and truth and a theme in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'. 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is essentially about Tennessee Williams as a writer exposing universal truths to an unsuspecting audience, by testing social boundaries. The characters in this 1950s patriarchal play are sensationalised and give us an unclear ending to prove to the audience that his issues are something to be debated. The idea of 'mendacity' is Williams' way of microcosmically encompassing society through a central character's role within a family setting. It explores human relationships and attitudes towards one another. Brick is a character facing the effects of being pushed into social limbo in order to achieve a conventionality that simply cannot exist. All of the characters are involved with lies in one form or another. The audience is shown how people lie to placate themselves as the truth can be too difficult to accept. Brick significantly poses the question, 'Who can face the truth? Can you?' Brick's character depicts resignation and capitulation. His own name embodies this; he has assumed the status of a brick as a result of his entire life. Being one of the play's protagonists, he challenges the status quo as society's repressive attitude to 'unnatural

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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We shall now attempt to explain the three main parts of a dream in reverse to the order in which they occur in the mind, but in the order that we become consciously aware of them. The Manifest dream

All Dreams Represent Wishes; Their Motive is a Wish and they Represent the satisfaction of It by Martin Pierce. Student No: 1057404 "Dreams, psychologists immediately recognized, are phenomena that offer a means to explore mental structures and processes that are inaccessible to normal waking awareness. By means of careful observation, experimentation, and research, psychologists have found that dreams reveal many important aspects of our mental world. The dynamics of personality, the workings of perception and memory, the interactions of reason and emotion, the complex relations between mental experiences and bodily functions -- these are just some of the important subjects that psychologists have learned more about by studying dreams" (Bulkeley, 1997, p. 2). A dream is the (disguised) fulfillment of a (repressed) wish (Freud, 1900a). This is probably the most concise definition of a dream given by Freud. "A more detailed definition of dreams would have to include such topics as the latent dream content, the dream work and the manifest dream, of which the dream-work is the most 'essential' part. Only through understanding its laws and conditions can we reach the latent dream content which contains the true and disguised wish. The reason behind the generally held view that dreams are invariably wish fulfillments is that dreams come from, and are products of the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Compare the opening of 'King Lear' to a Shakespeare play you have read before, focusing closely on the way Shakespeare introduces the main themes.

A2 ENGLISH LITERATURE ESSAY TUTOR: Mr. D Anson Compare the opening of 'King Lear' to a Shakespeare play you have read before, focusing closely on the way Shakespeare introduces the main themes. The act of creating and developing a character called characterization not only establishes a character, but serves as a means for the play write to reveal the themes of the play; "A literary character is the invention of the author, and often inventions are indebted to prior inventions", (Kirsch). Therefore, through characterization many common themes repeat within an author's literary collection. Shakespeare is the inventor of many characters and throughout his plays themes often reappear. Othello and King Lear, two of Shakespeare's great tragedies, exemplify this technique explicitly. The protagonists of these two plays, Othello and King Lear, by means of their actions, thoughts and words, reveal the same themes revolving around jealousy, hatred and madness, which stem from the corruptions of the time. In King Lear, Shakespeare introduces to us the story of an old man who moves from a position of encompassing enormous power, status, wealth, responsibility, social complexity, and security, step by step into a terrible isolation from his fellow human beings, his family, and nature itself, and suffers horribly from the stripping away of his entire identity. He then goes mad as a

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  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Shakespeare's play Othello.

Abdul In Shakespeare's play Othello many issues are undertaken and explored. The three women play a vital role in this. Only one of the women in this play survives. All the women have no separate identity within the play; all three are married or associated with a male character. Bianca is the mistress of Cassio, Emilia is married to Iago and Desdemona is married with Othello. According to the time that the play was written in and the general hierarchy within Venetian society men hold all the power and women are considered to be of low intellect. Yet it is the women that speak the most sense throughout the play and it is also the women that are able to trust other characters in the play. Each woman represents a different social level, Desdemona being the highest and Bianca being of the lowest. Each sexual relationship in the play provokes some jealousy between the couple. essaybank.co.uk Bianca does not appear in the play as much as the other female characters yet her presence is key to the death of Desdemona as well as other play themes. Iago often refers to her as a prostitute, "A house wife that by selling her desires, Buys herself bread and clothes". She has fallen in love with Cassio, yet he does not speak of his returned affection for her due to his desire for status, and her social standing would affect this dramatically. She is the jealous partner in this

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  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" Summary This poem, the earliest of Eliot's major works, was completed in

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" Summary This poem, the earliest of Eliot's major works, was completed in 1910 or 1911 but not published until 1915. It is an examination of the tortured psyche of the prototypical modern man--overeducated, eloquent, neurotic, and emotionally stilted. Prufrock, the poem's speaker, seems to be addressing a potential lover, with whom he would like to "force the moment to its crisis" by somehow consummating their relationship. But Prufrock knows too much of life to "dare" an approach to the woman: In his mind he hears the comments others make about his inadequacies, and he chides himself for "presuming" emotional interaction could be possible at all. The poem moves from a series of fairly concrete (for Eliot) physical settings--a cityscape (the famous "patient etherised upon a table") and several interiors (women's arms in the lamplight, coffee spoons, fireplaces)--to a series of vague ocean images conveying Prufrock's emotional distance from the world as he comes to recognize his second-rate status ("I am not Prince Hamlet"). "Prufrock" is powerful for its range of intellectual reference and also for the vividness of character achieved. Form "Prufrock" is a variation on the dramatic monologue, a type of poem popular with Eliot's predecessors. Dramatic monologues are similar to soliloquies in plays. Three things characterize the

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  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Discuss Your Response to Shylock in the Light of Secondary Sources.

Gabriela Belmar-Valencia 12CA 30th November 2002 Discuss Your Response to Shylock in the Light of Secondary Sources "The Merchant of Venice" was first performed in 1597 and the four hundred year period between then and the present day has seen many diverse portrayals of Shylock. Shylock, over the years, has changed from a comical monster, to a complex villain, to a sympathetic victim, each era developing a different aspect of Shakespeare's villain. Shylock provokes a response of fascination and respect. He is a complex villain, a twisted product of an anti-Semitic society whose personality has been reduced to malevolence and vengefulness through the ill-treatment he has suffered at the hands of the frivolous and superficial Venetians. He clings devoutly to his Jewish faith while cleverly scheming revenge against those who have wronged him. Shylock's intellect shows that he is above the derogatory names and petty insults heaped upon him by the Venetians. He is eloquent and calm, losing control only once in the play when he misses his daughter and cries out "Oh my daughter! O my ducats!" He makes powerful speeches demonstrating an intellect that wins the audience's respect when he challenges the Gentiles by asking "Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?" Shylock is also remarkably clever

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Governor Kathleen Blanco was persuasive in her address to rebuild New Orleans. Her speech takes on a motivated sequence design

Baron Muth 1/18/05 CMST Sec. 29 Reconstruction In a speech given on Wednesday September 14 2005, Governor Kathleen Blanco addressed the Joint Session of the Louisiana State Legislature in Baton Rouge, Louisiana about hurricane Katrina's aftermath. The audience included President George W. Bush, the Speaker, members of the House and Senate, clergy members, commanding officers, and honored guests. In her address, Kathleen Blanco focused solely on New Orleans. She thanked everyone involved in the relief effort, outlined ways to get the people who are displaced home and safe, and focused mainly on a plan of action to rebuild New Orleans back to normal. Just two weeks after the storm, governor Blanco was ready to address the nation about New Orleans. News crews were at the scene including the local news and CNN. The speech was recorded and is available online. She stood behind a podium in the chamber, and used a microphone to amplify her speech to the stadium seated audience. Kathleen Blanco's main objective was to get funding and support from the federal government for rebuilding the rampaged city of New Orleans. She is credible to ask for federal funding because she is the governor of Louisiana. She established even more credibility because she promoted identification, commemoration, plans of action, and personal experience in her speech. First, she ushered in a sense of

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  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Discuss the Role and Importance of the First "Flashback" Scene in Death of a Salesman.

Discuss the Role and Importance of the First "Flashback" Scene in Death of a Salesman The main point of this scene is to show how Willy feels and what he is thinking. It also explains to the audience the reasons for why Biff's life has been turned upside down and how Willy was connected to this. We are not entirely sure whether all of this is true: I think that Willy changes his memories to how he interprets them. The structure of the scene is a crescendo. Basically it starts off with Willy remembering the best things that he did and how good those days were. Then as he remembers more he recalls all the bad things that happened and that maybe it wasn't such a good time. Everything in his life was going well, he was successful at his job, he had respect, his family looked up to him and his two boys were also doing well. Then Willy's bad memories start to filter through. There were signs that Biff was stealing and was not performing well at school when he takes a football from school without permission and Bernard informs Willy that he is going to flunk maths. We also find out that he is not doing so well at his job as he made out to his sons when he talks to Linda: he is not selling that much when working and that people don't really take him seriously. Probably the main revelation is that we find out that he has had an affair with a woman in Boston while on business.

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  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Odysseus, An Egotistical Cretan. Odysseus tells Athena, whom he believes is a shepherd, a false account, of how he came to Ithaca, primarily since he needs to keep his identity a secret, familiarize himself with the situation on Ithaca and formulate a pl

Emily Noble Legacy of the Mediterranean Odysseus, an Egotistical Cretan Odysseus tells Athena, whom he believes is a shepherd, a false account, of how he came to Ithaca, primarily since he needs to keep his identity a secret, familiarize himself with the situation on Ithaca and formulate a plan to execute the suitors. He perceives that he has arrived in a mist-shrouded and unknown land. And thus secondarily, he needs to present a feasible reason for being alone and stranded with copious amounts of treasure for safety reasons as well as to allay suspicion in relation to his identity. Athena affects how he tells his lie because he can see and listen to her. To manipulate her more effectively, Odysseus exploits these factors to produce a story specifically tailored to the information Athena provides. Odysseus considers Athena's, or the shepherd she appears to be, appearance and response to his inquiry about where he is; by doing this Odysseus can form ideas about her social status, her intelligence, her nationality, and if she is hostile and unwelcoming or friendly. He does with the intention of creating a lie that she will believe as well as of sending a clear message that fulfills his primary goals concerning the suitors and himself. Athena is masquerading as a young man, a shepherd "...like a King's son, all delicately made." and is holding a hunting lance

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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Demonstrations of power from Creon and Prospero play a very pivotal role in the plots of The Tempest by William Shakespeare and "Antigone" by Sophocles, two plays about power relations.

Rick Serra February 6, 2012 Professor Bush CAL 105 Power Struggle Demonstrations of power from Creon and Prospero play a very pivotal role in the plots of "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare and "Antigone" by Sophocles, two plays about power relations. Both Prospero and Creon are able to control the actions of those around them but instead abuse their power and use it as if they were gods. In the play "Antigone," Creon, a king, uses his political power selfishly to rule over and force people to do what he wants. Prospero, from "The Tempest," uses his magical powers to help his daughter and others, along with himself. Sophocles and Shakespeare show the audience how power can be abused so easily and how power relations dictate the two plays, yet each play has very different outcome. In "Antigone", Creon uses his royal power, more for his own personal gain, with no real regard for his people. Throughout the course of the play, Creon abuses his power despite being warned of wrong doings. The play even begins with Creon abusing his power when he settled a decree that prohibited anyone from burying Polyneices' dead body, decreeing that "He's to have no funeral or lament,/ but to be left unburied and unwept," (Sophocles p.10). Creon is proud of his decree, and he also states that he would be a good king by listening to what people had to say concerning his decisions. When

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Linguistics, Classics and related subjects
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