Like all true religious figures, Merrick is faced with both internal and external conflict in his religious education. He for example faces the hostility of Gomm when the latter debates the merits of science vs. religion with Bishop How. Merrick is also faced with fundamental religious negativity by his mentor, Treves. Treves for example relates to Merrick a story regarding the afterlife: a patient who died and was subsequently revived told Treves that the afterlife was not spectacular at all, but rather the contrary.
Internally, Merrick shows the fundamental traits of a suffering religious figure. Throughout the play, he never protests anything that happens to him, or his suffering. He accepts it as best he can and is often both despised and adored by society as a whole. The recurring phrase, "it is done" is also indicative of Merrick in his religious capacity.
Either because or regardless of his suffering, Merrick…...
Only toward the end of Merrick's life do Merrick's rescuers come to recognize that he is of normal or even superior intelligence after overhearing him reciting the 23rd Psalm. Prior to that, Merrick had not revealed that he could understand complex thought or even speak. It is likely that his utter lack of self-esteem held him back from trying to communicate with others because he assumed that nobody cared what he had to say anyway. Merrick's rescuers eventually do come to recognize that he is intelligent and articulate and they begin to treat him in a manner that is more appropriate and conducive to the development of self-esteem. In fact, Merrick becomes something of a celebrity in London society and comes to enjoy the company and appreciation of others.
After having experienced the dignity that he (and all human beings) deserved, Merrick is once again returned to his former life as…...
The hideous ugliness of normalcy is perhaps best demonstrated in the mob scene where Merrick is trapped in an underground station, and cries out that he is not an animal, but a human being. In truth, the so-called normal persons have been acting like a stampede rather than compassionate creatures, unlike Merrick who still retains the individualism, that is humanity's truest birthright. This reversal or world upside down where the persons dehumanized with animal or medical names actually exhibit the values that make human beings distinct from animals validates the suggestion that the way that both popular and medical culture celebrates health, symmetry, and beauty is profoundly misguided.
In her essay, "From The Crooked Timber of Humanity, Beautiful Things Can Be Made," Anita Silvers makes a profound call that the standards of symmetry and wholeness be rewritten as a standard for human health in a way that is sounded like a…...
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Works Cited
The Elephant Man." Directed by David Lynch. 1980.
Silvers, Anita. "From The Crooked Timber of Humanity, Beautiful Things Can Be Made." From Beauty Matters. Edited by Peg Brand. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 2000.
Dovima ith Elephants
Richard Avedon's photograph "Dovima with Elephants" was taken in Paris, France during the month of August in 1955. It was a commercial piece for Harper's Bazaar to promote the work of Christian Dior. The picture was taken with trained circus elephants that are visibly shackled while the woman at the center is not, indicating the underlying social tension and low position of women during the period, although that might not have been realized at the time the photograph was taken. The model Dovima, who was born Dorothy Juba, is wearing a whit Dior evening gown and, as the title of the picture suggests, she is surrounded on both sides by large elephants. There are actually two photographs which have the same title and were taken on the same day. One has the model in a black dress. They are both culturally significant but for the sake of cultural…...
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Works Cited
Edwards, Owen. "Fashion Faux Paw: Richard Avedon's Photograph of a Beauty and the Beasts
is Marred, He Believed by One Failing." Smithsonian Magazine, October 2005.
Pochna, Marie France. Christian Dior: the Man who Made the World Look New. Arcade, 1996.
Swartz, Mimi. "The Couture Cinderella." Vanity Faire, June 1991.
Blind Men and the Elephant
An Integrated Approach to learning
In contemporary psychology, learning is one of the key topics; however, defining it is a very complex thing. According to the general accepted definitions of learning, it is "understanding," "knowledge," or "comprehension" that is achieved with experience or practice. Due to the ill-defined terms such as mastery, comprehension, and knowledge that it contains, many psychologists would call this definition improper. ather, we choose a description of learning that refers apparent behavior changes. Gregory A. Kimble (1917-2006) suggested one of the popularly accepted definitions that describe learning as a comparatively lasting change in behavioral potentiality that happens due to reinforced practice (Kimble, as cited in Olson and Hergenhahn, 2013). Even though this meaning is well-liked, it is far from accepted across the world. Let's look at it more vigilantly before reviewing causes of disagreement over Kimble's description (Olson and Hergenhahn, 2013).
According to Stewart…...
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References
Argyris, C. And Schon, D. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Argyris, C., & Schon, D. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading Mass: Addison Wesley.
Deborah A. Stewart. (2004). Effective Teaching: A Guide for Community College Instructors. Community College of Vermont. Amer. Assn. Of Community Col Publications.
Eric Frangenheim. (2005). Reflections on Classroom Thinking Strategies. Practical Sage Publications.
He hates what he has become and what he does. He confesses that he secretly roots for the Burmese and roots against "their oppressors (335). He admits he is "stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible" (335). He is like those in oppression in that he is not free to do what he actually wants to do. His reputation is on the line and he acts to defend it. A man in his position "mustn't be frightened in front of 'natives'" (339), he writes even though he knows that in order to impress those natives, he must act of line with his conscious. He does the "right thing" (340) according to the law he did also killed the elephant "solely to avoid looking like a fool" (340). Asker asserts that wrapped within…...
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Works Cited
Asker, David Barry. Aspects of Metamorphosis. Atlanta: Rodopi. 2001.
Kenneth Keskinen, "Shooting an Elephant.' An Essay to Teach." English Journal. 1996 GALE
Resource Database. Information Retrieved March 28, 2009.
However, when his assistance is needed by the townspeople, the two very different populations show similar responses to the bloody scene of shooting an elephant, "It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat," (Orwell, 649).
Orwell furthers this blend of modern and primitive as seen through the use of his language. The narrator describes the scene of the village as using the native terms, yet juxtaposes this with eloquent English adjectives, "It was a very poor quarter, a labyrinth of squalid bamboo huts, thatched with palmleaf, winding all over a steep hillside," (Orwell, 650). It is the description of a scene as witness from an outsider, (Rodden, 390). The narrator's response to the eastern village is combined with his own distain based on being familiar with more "civilized" representations of society. This is also apparent through the…...
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Works Cited
Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." Mixing the Methods.
Rodden, John. George Orwell. Transaction Publishers. 2002.
" For this reason, "Shooting an Elephant" is a bold political essay. Colonialism and imperialism were waning trends when the essay was written, but the author understood that the structures of political and economic power put in place by colonial governments were long lasting. From the British East India Company and the Dutch East India Company to British Petroleum, the ravages of colonialism are felt at ever level of every society worldwide.
Poverty and political disenfranchisement cannot in all cases be traced directly to British or European colonialism. However, most cases do reveal some indirect or direct influence of colonialism on prevailing social, economic, and political oppression. Orwell's essay is also about the way colonialism damages not just the societies that are oppressed and ruled over, but the rulers too. He states, for instance, "my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be…...
Here you are trying to be like them and actually succeeding. Do you actually see a big difference between me and yourself? We are all basically the same: we are frightened creatures that are in search of a white light that never comes and we finally end up fighting to find this life in spite of the fact that we risk everything we have. The difference between me and you is that you quit searching for the white light because you think that there are more important things in life.
I do not have the authority to tell you what is right and what is wrong for you. But one thing I can tell you is that I hope that you are happy with yourself when you go to sleep at night. There are many elephants like me and there are many people like you. However, we must not follow…...
Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" provides readers with ideas related to morality and to the fact that society has the tendency to put labels on things. The central characters in the story form a rather dysfunctional family, with the father being pressured by his mother to do a series of things that he doesn't want to while she appears to leave in an imaginary world. The idea of good is used to such a degree in the story that it eventually comes to lose significance. The grandmother seems to be obsessed with this respective concept and uses it to describe a series of things. Instead of actually making it possible for readers to gain a more complex understanding of the idea, she brings confusion to the topic as a result of generalizing it and using it in context where it does not necessarily…...
Sara Gruen is a Canadian citizen, moved to United States in 1999 for a technical writing job. After she got laid off she decided to be a writer. She is an animal lover and has written famous novels Riding Lessons, Flying Changes, Ape House and Water for Elephants.
Main characters of Water for Elephants
Jacob Jankowski -- The novel's protagonist. He is a ninety or ninety-three-year-old nursing home resident who spent his life as a veterinarian in a circus during the great depression.
Rosie -- An elephant that Uncle Al bought from another circus. She understands commands only in Polish. She is the target of August's rage.
Marlena -- eautiful star performer of the circus, who fell in love with Jacob Jankowski.
August -- Head animal trainer and husband of Marlena. He is a charming and brutal both to the humans and animals.
Uncle Al -- The violent and abusive owner of the circus.
Camel -- One…...
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Bibliography:
Guen, Sara. "Water for Elephants: a novel." 2007. Algonquin Books.
O'Connor, Anahad. "Always Follow the Elephants: More Surprising Facts and Misleading Myths about our health and the World We Live In." 2009. Macmillian.
He still has his pride, even if his pride does not trickle down to his work. He is anything but ambivalent about the reaction he will get from the people, and so, he must shoot the elephant to save face, rather than to "serve and protect." This illustrates his ambivalence to everything but his own reputation in front of the people. However, he discovers he has lost more than just is reputation.
Finally, the narrator comes to understand that he has essentially given up his freedom in his support of the tyrannical British government. Orwell states, "I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys" (Orwell). Thus, the narrator becomes even more ambivalent about his duties because he realizes just what he has lost in protecting his reputation, supporting the empire (at least in front of the people), and…...
Immune Elephant
Experience and Reaction: Different Views on the Physiology and Psychology of the Negative
There are many different explanations for the way in which thoughts are formed, impressions are made, and perceptions are shaped, and though the modern era has provided an abundance of objective observation and experimentation in the area this has not settled the issue. Far from it, in fact; if anything, the growth of reliable research and evidence in this area has contributed to a divergence of theories that, at least in some aspects, currently appear to be mutually exclusive. The theories of psychologists and neuroscientists at times seem especially opposed to each other, and it will require deeper investigations and the uncovering of more substantial evidence to truly bring many of these well-founded theories in line with each other.
An excellent case in point of the apparent divergence of psychology and neuroscience when it comes to explaining behavior…...
Gerstner
Louis Gerstner's book, ho Says Elephants Can't Dance, chronicles the dramatic turnaround of business giant IBM under his capable hand. hen Gerstner took over the company's reigns in 1993, it was on the brink of being sold off in parts. Through his capable and determined vision, he changed the company's culture to one that once again responded to the needs of the marketplace. In this book, Gerstner indeed demonstrates that a giant company like IBM can be rescued from the brink of extinction, and respond to the ever-changing market place, proving indeed that elephants can dance.
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. has a long history of success both in the worlds of business and education. He received an MBA from Harvard in 1965, and a BA from Dartmouth College in 1963. After graduating from Harvard, he joined the management consulting firm of McKinsey and Co., Inc. Following his time at McKinsey, he…...
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Works Cited
Gerstner, Louis V. 2002. Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? Inside IBM's Historic Turnaround. HarperBusiness.
In this case, the language, perpetrated by a few, is becoming pervasive in society, and so, it is taking over many aspects of society. However, for the most part, society seems to be resisting much of this doublespeak type of language. It is not prominent in the media, (perhaps in the government), and is seems that language, in general, is about the same as it always has been, full of slang and "fad" words, but in everyday use, doublespeak is not as common as some might thought it might be. This might make society stronger than a prevailing use of the language, but it may also mean that people like Lutz, in their zeal to remove doublespeak from the language, have actually made a difference and created more public awareness about something that needs to be changed. In this case, perhaps one person is not able to stand up…...
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References
Lutz, William. "Doublespeak." 256-261.
Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant."
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