Feminism in both Hamlet and Lady Oracle Essay

The literary works, Hamlet and Lady Oracle, chart both the life’s course of their main characters and underline the protagonist’s trajectory in some decisive moments of their existence, when both of them, Hamlet and Joan Foster, need to take some decisions which may change their destinies. In this brief essay I will try to point out similarities and differences between these two stories taking into consideration a feminist approach. First and foremost I would like to mention what do I mean by feminist approach and how do I intend to apply it to my essay. Feminism is a political discourse aimed at equal rights and legal protection for women. It involves various movements, theories and philosophies, all concerned with issues of gender†¦show more content†¦In Hamlet the story takes place in a historical past after some important events which take place around the year 1600 in the final years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who had been the monarch of England fo r more than forty years and was then in her late sixties. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlets father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlets mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness—from overwhelming grief to seething rage—and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption. On the other hand, there is Lady Oracle.This novel has been written during the second-wave of feminist movement; second-wave feminism refers to the period of activity in the early 1960s and lasting through the late 1980s. This feminist-wave movement saw womens cultural and political inequalities as inextricably linked and encouraged women to understand aspects of their personal lives as deeply politicized and as reflecting sexist power structures. Atwoods novel is a post-modern novel written in 1976, whose heroine, Joan Foster, is a woman who h as faked her own death in order to escape the difficulties created by her compulsive creation of multiple personalities for herself. The

Arthurian Legend - Essay - 1388 Words

Arthurian Legend, group of tales in several languages that concern the legendary King Arthur of the Britons, his realm, and the knights of his inner circle. The legend is one of the most enduring tales in recorded history. It first appeared in the 5th or 6th century ad and took its basic form between the 12th and 15th centuries. It continues as a popular subject in modern times. The legend presents Arthur as a leader in ancient times who defeats the Saxons and other enemies. He thereby unites the people of Britain in peace and harmony. Eventually his kingdom weakens from within—in part because of the illicit love between Arthur’s queen, Guinevere, and the knight Lancelot—and Arthur himself is struck down by his own illegitimate son,†¦show more content†¦| | | As Arthur fathers an illegitimate son, so too does Lancelot, although he does so while under a spell that makes him think the woman (named Elaine) is actually Guinevere. Lancelots son, Galahad, is entirely free of sin and weakness, and thus he alone is ultimately qualified to complete the quest and find the Holy Grail. (Sir Bors and Sir Percival accompany him, but they are excluded from the final holy vision that appears to Galahad as he reaches the Grail.) Once the quest is ended, peace does not last, and eventually Arthurs armies are embroiled in new wars, including one with the Romans, who demand tribute from Arthur and provoke a battle. Not all the conflicts involve foreign enemies, however. When Arthur discovers Lancelot and Guineveres love affair, his system of justice requires that Guinevere be arrested and condemned to death. Lancelot flees but then returns to rescue her. During the ensuing battle, Lancelot kills the brothers of Sir Gawain, who remain loyal to Arthur. As a consequence, Gawain and Lancelot, formerly the closest of friends, become enemies. Arthur’s absence from court while battling the Romans and pursuing Lancelot offers Mordred the opportunity to seize the throne. He attempts to do so by buying the allegiance of Arthurs barons, and some texts say that he eitherShow MoreRelated Arthurian Legend Essay1498 Words   |  6 PagesArthurian Legend Even though the Arthur legend is hundreds of years old, our culture today is still fascinated with the idea of the Round Table and the love triangle between Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere. There are movies and books galore to read about the different takes on the legend of Arthur. However, it makes one wonder if our culture really understands the Arthurian legend. Especially in the movies the central idea of a literary work can be lost. Compared to Malory’s Le Morte d’ArthurRead More Chivalry in Arthurian Legend Essay926 Words   |  4 PagesChivalry in Arthurian Legend Merriam-Websters on-line dictionary defines chivalry as the system, spirit, or customs of medieval knighthood. As Leon Gautier, author of Chivalry, defines this system and spirit of knighthood by identifying rules of chivalry, two of which are well illustrated in Lanval, TheWife of Baths Tale, and The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnel: Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word, and Thou shalt be generous, and give largessRead More The Sword in the Stone of the Arthurian Legend Essay1773 Words   |  8 PagesThe Sword in the Stone of the Arthurian Legend King Arthur and the knights of the round table belong to a long line of books and stories of the Arthurian legend. Merlin, Lancelot, The lady of the lake, King Arthur, and Excaliber are all very important in the Arthurian legend. In this essay we will talk about King Arthur, the knights of the round table, and Merlin in the famous story, The sword in the stone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Sword in the stone is a book about an adopted child named wart. He is ofRead More Women in Beowulf and Arthurian Legend Essay examples1279 Words   |  6 PagesWomen in Beowulf and Arthurian Legend A common theme in the stories we have read is that glory, happiness, and success come in cycles (this theme is commonly represented as the wheel of fortune). This theme is present in the Arthurian tales, as well as in Beowulf. Each story tells a tale (or part of a tale) of a rise to glory, and the proceeding fall to disarray. The men always were the kings and warriors, but the women played different roles in the different stories. The women of BeowulfRead MoreEssay about Arthurian Legends Effects on English Society2368 Words   |  10 PagesThere is said to have legends speaking of his mythical being and also people attempted to prove that there indeed was a King Arthur. The Arthurian Legends reveal King Arthur, not as a historical figure, but as a mythical chivalrous king obtaining massive amounts of achievements. From his search for the Holy Grail to his perfect society in Camelot with his development of the Round Table, King Arthur’s legend displays his heroic character. Through the many countless legends of the glorious KingRead MoreEssay about A Comparison of Arthurian Legend in Various Stories960 Words   |  4 PagesMichelle Feddema ENG 4U Mr. Nielsen Friday November 19, 2010 A Comparison of Arthurian Legend in Various Stories Arthurian legend was a genre many writers used in Chaucer’s day. It is a story made of romances, heroism, and ballads mostly about Arthur’s chief knight Sir Gawain who was mainly a man of social and ethical virtue. Often time’s Arthurian legend is a story of a knight who fights the bad guy, learns a lesson, saves the day and get’s the girl. Although sometimes the knight may startRead MoreThe Mythical Tale Of King Arthur Written By Thomas Mallory1619 Words   |  7 Pages In this essay, one can analyze the mythical tale of King Arthur written by Thomas Mallory, Le Morte D’Arthur, and translated via classroom textbook by Donna Rosenberg. If you love the mystical realm or enjoy nobility and what they do behind closed doors, then read Le Morte D’Arthur. Or, if you love conflict that is between the desires of the flesh, but also desires and responsibility of being King of Britain, then you may find the legend of King Arthur just your cup of tea to read. A myth can haveRead More King Arthur Essay2674 Words   |  11 PagesKing Arthur The Arthurian legends are well known in todays society. However, very few people know of the real Arthur -- who he was and what his accomplishments were. This paper will establish a difference between legend and truth, show evidence to support and explain who the real Arthur was, and shed some light on the sometimes confusing Arthurian legends. To establish any sort of idea that there was, in fact, a real Arthur, it is imperative to look over the legendary ArthurRead More King Arthur Essay1428 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent depending on the era, culture, and the particular writer who is relating his version of the Arthurian legend. Three Kinds of Arthur There is much debate whether Arthur was an actual historical person. There is no absolute evidence, but it is possible that Arthur was a Briton or Romano-Briton king who led the Celts against the Anglo-Saxons in the early 8th century (Americana, Arthurian Romances, 1972). The kings of the medieval period were warlords that protected a particular area ofRead MoreThe Real Merlin Essay2171 Words   |  9 Pages From the shores of Avalon to the court of King Arthur, tales and accounts of the mystical Merlin abound. Did Merlin really exist, and if so, was he the dark magical wizard of legend or an image conjured up by superstitious townsfolk to explain occurrences they didnt understand? To answer this question, one should first look at the actual accomplishments of the figure Merlin. When was the character introduced and what did he do afterwards? What kinds of feats did this person accomplish to make

Why People Commit Murder Free Essays

What Triggers People to Commit Murder? Alicyn Nitsch Criminology April 17, 2013 Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide. (Wikipedia) In most countries, a person convicted of murder is typically given a long prison sentence, possibly a life sentence where permitted, and in some countries, the death penalty may be imposed for such an act. (Wikipedia) Murder has been a common crime in the United States and it has taken a lot of influence for kids and teens. We will write a custom essay sample on Why People Commit Murder or any similar topic only for you Order Now   Control Key and Word – Text and Graphics. The rate of killings in the U. S. involving five or more victims — one generally accepted definition of a mass killing — represented less than 1% of all homicides 25 years ago, and still does today. (Kluger,Jeffery)Though it is difficult to have a control on such factors but a little attention of parents on their children can minimize growth of criminal nature in their kids. Education is another criterion of prevention of such criminal activities. Education makes a person to distinguish between right and wrong and makes him stable and balanced. He is thus able to withstand any kind of circumstances and develops a potential to overcome any situation. (Shipali, Sharma) Murders are committed for many different reasons. One major reason people commit murder is due to anger. People are often confronted with feelings of disappointment, frustration and anger as they interact with government officials, co-workers, family and even fellow commuters. (Greeneimer, Larry) In Anger, a person often tends to lose his senses. He loses the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Also, the rush of adrenaline makes him to commit crime. What turns anger into action is self-control. Watching a movie showing violent acts predisposes us to act violently. Even just listening to violent rhetoric makes people more inclined to be violent. Ironically, the same mirror neurons that make people empathic make them very vulnerable to all sorts of influences. Indeed, after many years of studies on mirror neurons and their functioning, scientists are shifting their lab research to the study of the control mechanisms in the brain for mirror neurons. The key issue is the balance of power between these control echanisms are called top-down—because they are all like executives that control from the top down to the employees—and bottom-up mechanisms, in the opposite direction, like mirror neurons. This anger could turn into something deadly such as revenge. Revenge can make a person to commit crime. When a person is not able to take revenge by direct means then he adopts indirect and unlawful means to punish his enemy. Pe er influence and poor parenting skills are the reasons for easily giving up the path of honesty and truth. Signs that a person is disturbed enough to take action are quite visible. When it does happen, the people likeliest to commit the crime fall into a drearily predictable group. They’re 95% male, and 98% are black or white — not a big surprise since more than 87% of the population is made up of those two races. action itself is a sign, a desperate form of communication from a disturbed individual. Connecting with the subject, that person may have rethought some of the activity of mirror neurons toward a truly empathic behavior, rather than in the service of the deranged imitative violence leading to action. The violence shown in Televisions is also highly responsible in negatively affecting one’s mind. Kids and teenagers generally try to mimic the stunts and the violence acts shown in the TV. The violent games of video games and computer games are very famous among kids and teens. Such games and scenes shatter their innocent brain and are responsible for making them aggressive and violent. Another key note in why people commit murder is due to mental health and past experiences. According to neuropsychologist Jonathan Reed; 49. 4% had a developmental disorder in childhood, 87% had a brain injury, 85% had a history of substance abuse, 45% had a psychiatric history and 35% have had a history of abuse in childhood. Exactly what is going on in their heads can never be known and the neuropsychological factors don’t explain the trigger or situation in which the murder took place. However, it is clear that there are neurological and neurodevelopmental factors going on here, and given what we know about these in childhood and from case studies, it is unclear how much control such individuals have in a given situation. (Reed, Jonathan) So many of these people’s problems seem to stem from experiences and events in their childhoods. People are not criminals by birth. Their circumstances, needs and their upbringing make them criminals. Another big factor that criminals are brought up by is poverty. Poverty is one of the main factors for committing a crime. When a person is helpless with no money in hand and a huge family to support then in such cases his circumstances forces him to take up the gun in his hand. There are many terrorist associations that hire such needy people for little money and use them in their criminal acts like murders, bomb explosions, kidnapping etc. Unemployment, which is another cause of poverty, is the main cause of aggression in today’s youth. Lack of job opportunities misleads the youth to take up this direction and earn money in this way. (Shipali, Sharma) The Greed of possessing materialistic things and the intense desire to have a luxurious life by any possible means leads a person to follow this track of crime. It is a human desire to lead his life luxuriously which is sometimes not possible in the little income of a person. (Shipali, Sharma) For this reason some people look up for easy and fast methods of gaining cash and they do not even hesitate to take up the life of some other innocent person. It’s greed that completely weighs over their judgment. How to cite Why People Commit Murder, Essays