Sunday, December 22, 2019

A Powerful Weapon Words that Persuade in Shakespeare´s...

The power words are limitless. It does not matter in what language one speaks; persuasion is the key to manipulated people for good or bad. â€Å"Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.† Words are a weapon, and when one uses words carefully to persuade people, it can lead to chaos. In The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, Shakespeare portrays a universal theme in which friends and enemies turn to against each other, and a war stimulates out of lies and ambition for power. The usage of old and wise words to manipulated people lead to great revelry. In the beginning of the play, one important aspect of the theme is when Cassius tries to persuade Brutus to join sides with the†¦show more content†¦With the combination of Caesar’s arrogance, bravado, and pride, it was facile for Decius to manipulate and persuade Caesar. The final demonstration of the theme is when Antony, a follower of Caesar, cleverly uses pleasant words against Brutus and the conspirators. In the scene where Antony speaks, Caesar is already dead and Antony could publicly speak only if he did not dirtied Brutus’s name or Caesar’s. He blatantly calls the conspirator honorable: â€Å"The noble Brutus/ Hath told you Caesar was ambitious. / If it were so, it was a grievous fault, / And grievously hath Caesar answered it. / Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest/ (For Brutus is an honorable man, / So are they all, all honorable men), / Come I to speak in Caesars’ funeral† (3.2. 912-13). The power of Antony’s speech and the manner her referred to his enemies was fabulous. He achieved the plebeians’ ultimate approval and will succeed in avenging Caesar’s death. He did so by using wise and well-chosen words. Throughout the play, powerful, old, and wise words lead to the plot and theme of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. A leader that wants power at no cost will hide bad intentions in beautiful words. Words must not be trusted completely, for they lead to

Friday, December 13, 2019

The Influence of Ferlinghetti Free Essays

Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s father died before he was born, and his mother was placed in an insane asylum. He was left to be cared for by relatives, and eventually foster parents. Lawrence was ten years old when the stock market crashed October of 1929, which led to the Great Depression. We will write a custom essay sample on The Influence of Ferlinghetti or any similar topic only for you Order Now He was twenty when World War II began in September of 1939. Serving as a Lieutenant Commander of the Navy during the war eventually exposed him to the traumatic effects of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. He explained how anyone who was able to witness the aftermath â€Å"would suddenly realize that they’d been kept in the dark by the United States government as to what atomic bombs can do. † (nndb. com) This event changed Ferlinghetti. He became one of the key people of the Beat movement. The Beat poets â€Å"rebelled against what they saw as their country’s social conformity, political repression, and prevailing materialism† (868, Ann Charters). His City Lights bookshop â€Å"was an early gathering place of the Beats, and the publishing arm of City Lights was the first to print the Beats’ books of poetry† (biography. om). Although he was not always recognized as a core member of the young group of poets, his poems often contained remarks that had the potential to transform other peoples’ views. Through three of his poems, he influenced change by protesting the repression in society, the violence in war, and the injustices of the Unite d States Government. Ferlinghetti finds popular culture unsettling, and expresses his view of society in his poem, â€Å"The World is a Beautiful Place†. He hopes that people will recognize what they have become, and long for individuality and change. Our Name Brand society / is prey to / [its] men of distinction† refers to how our society is constantly trying to keep up with the latest trends and what is popular at the moment. And the men of distinction are the ring-leaders in a sense; they are the advertisers, the market researchers, and often the trend setters. They quickly learn what to market, how to market, and who to market to. Most people are afraid to step out of the box in fear that they would not be accepted by the majority, and be left on the outskirts of mainstream society. Thus, the â€Å"Name Brand† society can be viewed as being a slave to the â€Å"Men of distinction†, and unable to break away. He goes on to show his disapproval of pop culture in another poem titled â€Å"I Am Waiting†. He writes, â€Å"I am waiting / to see God on television / piped onto church altars / if only they can find / the right channel / to tune in on. † Society today is heavily influenced by mass media and advertisements. Ferlinghetti realizes that America no longer contains the core Christian values that the country was built upon, because all their energy has been absorbed by advertisers, trends, and constant consumerism. The mention of how people would not even be able to find the right channel if God were on television means that he believes society is too deeply absorbed into popular culture that it would be almost impossible to break away at this point. He challenges society to change their ways. The capitalization of the word â€Å"God† is used in syntax. â€Å"Lowercasing God† in certain cases can be seen as â€Å"An attempt to obscure the reference to God† (ncsu. edu). Ferlinghetti chooses to capitalize God because of the context in which he uses the word. He tries to allude to the Christian faith, because of the fact that this country was established as one nation under God. If he had not capitalized the word, the meaning may have been lost. Additionally, war is something that Ferlinghetti speaks out against often in his poems, especially after witnessing its devastating power first-hand. In â€Å"I am waiting†, Ferlinghetti is â€Å"Waiting / for the Age of Anxiety / to drop dead†. The words â€Å"Age† and â€Å"Anxiety† are capitalized because he makes a reference to another poem. The Age of Anxiety is an eclogue by Wystan Hugh Auden that captures the imagination of the cultural moment during World War II, and is about a man’s quest to find his identity in the middle of it all (press. princeton. edu). Ferlinghetti refers to that man’s concern of not being able to find his identity. He realizes that in a war-torn world, full of violence and injustice, it is difficult to find self-identity because people are expected to focus on their country, rather than themselves; Ferlinghetti feels there is no use in trying to find something that he strongly believes no longer exists. Thus he is waiting for it to drop dead. â€Å"The world is a beautiful place/ to be born into/ if you don’t mind some people dying/ all the time† is a stanza from â€Å"The World is a Beautiful Place†. Being a Commander during World War II, he witnessed the destruction the war caused. He saw people get killed, and injured constantly. Ferlinghetti gained the courage to speak out against war, which influenced change; he set an example to others by being the change. In the preceding excerpt from â€Å"The World is a Beautiful Place†, Ferlinghetti not only juxtaposes beauty with death, but also birth with death. This creates a more powerful contrast to the word death, which is a direct result of the war he refers to in the stanza. Irony is a central theme in the poem. The title â€Å"The World is a Beautiful Place† is ironic because the majority of the poem portrays the world as a place full of negative experiences and tragedies. Also, Ferlinghetti separates the words â€Å"All the time† on its own line, allowing readers to easily understand that the poet is trying to stress that people are constantly surrounded by death when in war, which is another reason he calls for an end to it. In â€Å"A Tentative Description of a Dinner to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower†, Ferlinghetti shows his disapproval for not only President Eisenhower, but for all US Presidents that came after Franklin D. Roosevelt. Harry S. Truman, who took Roosevelt’s place after his death in 1945, was known for corruption. He ignored scientists’ warnings of how the radiation from the atomic bombs in Japan would cause severe health and environmental issues for generations. Also, republicans claimed that he â€Å"condoned and covertly supported corruption among members of the White House staff and within government departments† throughout his presidency (presidentprofiles. com). President Eisenhower was in office when the United States became more seriously involved with the Vietnam War, which is often remembered as one of the most controversial wars in US history. At the end of the poem, Ferlinghetti writes â€Å"After every soul was seated / and waited for the symbolic mushroom cloud soup to be served / and keynote speeches to begin / the president himself came in / and said / we resign†. The mushroom cloud is a direct reference to the mushroom cloud that resulted from the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, which Ferlinghetti saw the aftermath of. By placing the fictional storyline in this order, he proposes an alternative sequence of events; Instead of announcing that the bombs were going to be dropped, President Truman should have stepped back from the plan and figured out a better solution, especially since official surveys soon after World War II ended proved â€Å"the atomic bombs were unnecessary† (nytimes. com). Ferlinghetti wanted more Americans to notice what is regularly overlooked by most. By calling out these Presidents in his poem, he caused change by making people take more note of the Government’s wrongdoing. In the same poem, Ferlinghetti writes about how â€Å"No invitations had to be sent out / for the great testimonial dinner / except to politicians / whose respected names wouldn’t lend weight / to the projects / but who did not come anyway. † He refers to how politicians in general often avoid answering questions, or fail to give clear responses to questions that the public may have. Even when given the opportunity to justify their actions or claims, politicians have a tendency to avoid doing so, in fear of causing any sort of conflict. The poem â€Å"A Tentative Description of a Dinner to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower† has literary elements that play an important part in the meaning of the text. The title is tentative because the story is not true, but the message can be easily interpreted offensive or vulgar. The poem was written in 1958, while President Eisenhower was still in office. He may have been hesitant to put out a poem that mentioned impeaching the current President. The syntax that Ferlinghetti chose to use for certain parts of the poem allows the reader to imagine the setting more clearly. The imagery of the poem makes the reader feel as though he or she is in the room, sitting at the table, and waiting for their meal, which makes the story that much more believable. Ferlinghetti also uses repetition of the phrase â€Å"except peace†. He uses those words to promote peace, and to show how peace could have been a more sensible choice as opposed to turning to the bombs to end the war. Its repetition shows that Ferlinghetti sees peace as the answer to most issues. The word â€Å"except† could also be interpreted as â€Å"accept†. Because he is a pacifist, he encourages people to accept the idea of peace, rather than to turn the the fastest solution, as President Truman did when he ordered the bombs to be dropped. Evidently, Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born into an era where change was needed. The aftermath of World War II had greatly influenced him as a writer, and encouraged him speak out against what he saw in mainstream society, war, and the Government through his writing. He clearly had a lasting social impact. His poem â€Å"A Tentative Description of a Dinner to Promote the Impeachment of President Eisenhower† was so influential, it â€Å"Inspired Lorenzo Milan [An American writer and activist] to begin building community radio stations† (youtube. com), which allows people to speak their minds as Ferlinghetti so often did. Ferlinghetti is now 92, and amazingly â€Å"still writes and works in his City Lights bookstore, which is still at the same location, and still publishes affordable paperbacks by struggling authors† (nndb. com). How to cite The Influence of Ferlinghetti, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Demographic Factors Influencing Organizational Commitment free essay sample

Organizational Behavior, BUS 5450 September 16, 2012 Organizational Commitment ii Abstract A great deal of research has gone into determining which types of employees are more committed to their employers. The objective of this paper is to assess the demographic factors that influence organizational commitment and work habits. Specifically, this paper will focus on organizational and occupational commitment within the context of employee education. Based on the literature reviewed, the primary theme of this proposal is that education level and employee training programs are significant indicators of organizational commitment.Second, this review will provide a general overview of previous research methods and data collection within this area of research and conclude with a possible model and method for future research and analysis. Organizational Commitment 1 Demographic Factors Influencing Organizational Commitment A Review of the Literature Organizational commitment is generally defined as the level of commitment an employee has to an organization, as well as how closely the employee identifies with the organizations values and goals. The 2011 study on organizational commitment by Ismail Bakan, Tuba Buyukbese and Bureu Ershan was a quantitative study of the relationship between an employee’s education and their organizational commitment. Using data complied from employee questionnaires; the study was taken from employees in a textile company located in Turkey. The Bakan et al. (2011) study measured variables by utilizing Meyer and Allen’s 1990 three-component model of organizational commitment, which consisted of affective, continuance and normative commitment, measured the study variables. Affective commitment refers to the emotional attachment and willingness of an employee to remain with the company. Continuance commitment is measured in the employees perceived cost as it relates to leaving the organization, and normative commitment is the employees’ perceived obligation to remain with the company. Analysis was conducted using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Organizational Commitment 2 The Bakan et al. (2011) study clearly demonstrated that employees with higher levels of education we more committed to the organization.Moreover, it showed graduating levels of organizational commitment for employees with vocational and university level educations when compared to high school, secondary school and primary school educated respondents. Limiting factors of the study were acknowledged to be gathering data from just one organization. Additionally, respondents that had a high school level education didn’t report higher organizational commitment than respondents with lower education levels. In 2010, researcher Adman Iqbal completed an assessment of demographic factors and organizational commitment within the Pakistani knitwear industry.Mr. Igbal’s study was based on age, level of education and organizational tenure. For contextual purposes, only information specific to level of education will be discussed from this study. Consistent with the Bakan et al. (2011) study, this study utilized a Meyer and Allen’s three-component model of organizational commitment as well as Mowday, Porter, and Steers three characteristics of commitment, which are defined as: †¢ A belief and acceptance of the values and goals of an organization, †¢ a strong willingness to put in effort for the organization, and †¢ The desire to remain with the organizationOrganizational Commitment 3 This study produced limited results in the way of comparing employee education and organizational commitment. The author implies that there is a significant negative relationship between the educational level and the organizational commitment. Specifically, that employees with higher education have career expectations that are not being met with their current employer, or that the employer views the employees level of higher education as unnecessary for their current role within the knitwear industry.The author surmised that his study was taken from a small cross section of the Pakistani workforce and that future research in this area should occur across a broad range of occupational workforces. He went on to acknowledge that the textile industry in Pakistan was significantly influenced by the national and global politics at varying times. Since Pakistan has experienced the demise of two governments since the turn of the new millennium, the author suggests that national instability influences employee commitment, and thus overrides the demographic factors that are used to model the research itself.I found the results of this study to be inconclusive with respect to providing usable data to discern the impact of education on organizational commitment. For example, supervisor level employees had significantly less university education than their managers, yet they were more inclined to speak about Organizational Commitment 4 their employer in a positive manner to those outside of the company. Furthermore, there were only marginal statistical differences between managers, supervisors and workers that thought the company provided them with no gain.A 2005 study completed by Elzbieta Sikorska-Simmons examined predictors of organizational commitment with assisted living staff. Dr. Sikorska-Simmons conducted data from 317 employees at 61 facilities. The purpose of the study was â€Å"to identify a set of variables that predict organizational commitment. † Independent variables included job satisfaction, organizational culture and employee characteristics such as age, gender and education, marital status, religiosity, and organizational tenure.The results of this study concluded that education level was the only key sociodemographic indicator of an employee’s commitment to an organization. Dr. Sikorska-Simmons findings indicated that other sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, religiosity, and organizational tenure played a rather insignificant role in determining organizational commitment. Organizational Commitment 5 What’s most interesting about this study is that education was the third most significant predictor of organizational commitment, which followed job satisfaction (second) and organizational commitment (first).The author surmised that more educated employees were in positions to actively participate in the decision making process. Therefore, their organizational commitment was higher than employees with diminished involvement in decision making processes. The common theme in all of the research literature that has been reviewed and summarized is the method by which the data was collected. All of the aforementioned studies utilized a demographic and organizational commitment questionnaire that reported age, compa ny tenure, education, as well as level of education and position within the organization. In reviewing the research already conducted in this area, I believe that expanding the research factors to include multiple occupational areas and companies will yield a more comprehensive study of organizational commitment. Additionally, I would focus specifically on senior management positions in order to delineate if compensation is directly correlated to organizational commitment. Organizational Commitment 6 A possible method and design for this research would be utilizing both a written questionnaire and phone interview with a cross section of employees.I would anticipate that employee responses to the same questions will be substantially different than those that respond using the written questionnaire. In some instances, I would give the employee the choice of completing the written questionnaire or conducting the phone interview. Additionally, I would limit some respondents to answering the written questionnaire at their place of work or answering the written questionnai re at their home, and then mailing the completed questionnaire to an independent third party address. In all instances, the employee would be made aware that completed questionnaires would be held in strict confidence.