Merchant of Venice Essay: The Depression of Antonio -- Merchant Venice

The Depression of Antonio in Merchant of Venice    In the Merchant of Venice, we see a truly anti-Semitic play by Shakespeare.   However, we also see a tale of money (greed and generosity), love (heterosexual and homosexual), and emotion (joy and sadness).   The play revolves around Bassanio's love for Portia.   Bassanio needs money to play the suitor to Portia in "style".   His friend who loves him, Antonio, agrees to give him the money, but, because all of his money is invested in his merchant ships he must take a loan from the greedy Jew Shylock.   Shylock loans him the money in exchange for a pound of his flesh if he does not pay the loan back on time.   Bassanio wins Portia's hand, but, before they are joined together, Portia will disguise herself in order to win the freedom of Antonio when his ships meet with ruin and he cannot repay Shylock.   Shylock ends up losing half his wealth and must convert before Portia is through with him.   Antonio is a fascinating character study when it comes to psychology because he is such a sad but noble character.   He is world-weary and life's material things do not bring him joy.   He is also confused about his sadness.   As he says in the opening speech of the play, "In sooth, I know not why I an so sad:/It wearies me; you say it wearies you;/But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,/What stuff 'tis made of, whereof it is born, I am to learn;/And such a want-wit sadness makes of me/That I have much ado to know myself" (Shakespeare   203).   Antonio explains he has scattered his investment risks quite adequately, so it is not his "merchandize" that makes him sad.   Yet, he does admit that he feels it is his nature to be sad, as if he has a chemical imbalance that classifies him as cl... ...nificance with those of the Jewish faith who might befriend him, and it gives him a cynical, negative perspective of the culture around him.   However, at the end of the play Antonio does seem to find some small measure of happiness when he comes to understand how much Portia has done on his behalf.   This shows him that his perceptions of her understanding may have been limited because he more than likely did not expect his strongest ally to be the wife of the man he loves, "Sweet lady, you have given me life and living;/For here I read for certain that my ships/Are safely come to road" (Shakespeare   228).   Thus, Antonio could be recommended for therapy because his depression has the potential to be ameliorated with a deeper understanding and acceptance of his thinking regarding life. Works Cited Shakespeare, W.   The Complete Works.   Random House, NY:   1975.   

Essay --

Memories from July â€Å"He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back.† Fifty years later. â€Å"Running through the stormy weather, he ran to the spot where he meets the love of his life every afternoon during July. Ever since they were eight, they would meet through the forest at an enormous pond to chat and skip rocks. They decided early on that the amount of rocks they skipped would represent the number of things that they need to get off of their chest. Once he reached the water’s edge, the boy bent over and picked up a pearl colored stone and skipped it, releasing all of his bottled up emotions. After the stone was swallowed by the vast pond, he immediately picked up another and gently tossed it.† â€Å"Making her way down to stand next to him, the girl asked, ‘Why only two?’† â€Å"‘No reason. I’ve just had a lot of things on my mind lately.’ the boy grinned, motioning for the girl to pick up a stone.† â€Å"Did they love each other?† a small child anxiously asked her grandmother. â€Å"Slow down dearie.† said the old woman, smiling. â€Å"You wouldn’t want to skip any parts, now would you?† The young girl eagerly shook her head and looked up at her grandmother’s green eyes once again. â€Å"When the sun began to set,† the grandmother spoke, â€Å"the boy and girl decided that it was time for them to go home. The boy was from a wealthy family, and had messy, golden hair that came just above his eyes. His eyes were as golden as the honey from a honeybee. The girl, however, came from a poor family and had jade green eyes, and dark red, curly hair that she wore in a French braid. The boy’s mother absolutely hated the girl, and forbid him from ever seeing her again.† â€Å"But why?† whined the tiny child. â€Å"What did he do?!† The grandmother chuckled... ...the rest of the year, and when July finally came around again, they waited for the other at the rock. They grew closer to each other with every passing day and never went a day without skipping stones.† â€Å"So they fell in love and got married?† asked the smiling toddler. â€Å"Not exactly,† her grandmother said. â€Å"The end of July neared once again, and they were feeling blue, knowing that their days together were coming to an end. It stormed on the last day of July, but they didn’t think anything of it. The young couple said their heartfelt goodbyes and went their own separate ways.† â€Å"Nick stopped replying to Katalina’s letters around Christmas time. He would send a letter a few times here and there, but never explained why he didn’t write to her as often. Katalina felt as if things weren’t the same anymore so she asked him to meet her at their spot, but he never showed up.

What is a sample?

Whereas a population is the entire group of objects that a certain researcher is interested in; a sample is defined as the fixed number of objects you get from a certain population. For example, Amelia wants to know if red flowers attract bees more than yellow flowers. In order to prove this assumption, Amelia takes a sample of a red flower (e. g. rose) and a yellow flower (e. g. a sunflower). There are lots of flowers that are red and yellow in color. Amelia could not afford to obtain every red and yellow flower in order to prove her assumption.Thus, it is practical for her to take a â€Å"representative† from all the red flowers and a â€Å"representative† from all the yellow flowers. Taking â€Å"representatives† from the entire population, you could now call these â€Å"samples†. It is essential to remember that the fundamental assumption underlying most of the theory of sampling is random sampling. This consists of the selection of individuals from th e population in such a way that each individual of the population has an equal chance of being selected. The process of such selection is called random sampling.The aim of the theory of sampling is to get as much information as possible, ideally all the information about the population from which the sample has been drawn. From the parent population, in particular, we would like to estimate the parameters of the population or specify the limits or ranges within which the population parameters are expected to lie with a specified degree of confidence. At work, we use sampling to prove or test something. For example, you want to determine if the new time management scheme will be beneficial to cut the costs on your company.So, as a manager, you could take some employees to undergo this new time management scheme in order to see if the new process is suitable for both the company and the employees. 2. What are the differences between the binomial and normal distributions? What are the similarities between the binomial and normal distributions? The normal distribution is the most commonly encountered distribution range in science. Random variables in normal distribution should be capable of assuming any value on the real number line, though this requirement is often not applied.For example, height at a given age for a given gender in a given racial group is adequately described by a normal random variable even though heights must be positive. A continuous random variable X, taking all real values in the range. The graph of variables with normal distribution is a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve, centered at its expected mean value. Typically, a binomial random variable is the number of successions in a series of trials in binomial distributions.For example, the number of ‘heads' occurring when a coin is tossed 50 times; thus a discrete random variable X is said to follow a binomial distribution with parameters n and p. However, the probability trials must meet the following requirements: a. the total number of trials is fixed in advance; b. there are just two outcomes of each trial; success and failure; c. the outcomes of all the trials are statistically independent; d. all the trials have the same probability of success. The similarity of normal and binomial distributions rely on the use of random variables as part of the data and their values could be both positive and negative.3. What do confidence intervals represent? Give an example of the use of a confidence interval. Before a simple research question could be resolved like, for instance, â€Å"What is the mean number of flowers that one person can remember? † it is necessary to specify the population of people to which this question will be addressed. The researcher could be interested in, for example, children under the age of 12 and girls. For the present example, assume the researcher is interested in all girls aged 9. Once the population is specified, the next step is t o take a random sample from it.In this example, let's say that a sample of 10 girls is drawn and each student's memory tested. The way to estimate the mean of all girls would be to compute the mean of the 10 girls in the sample. Indeed, the sample mean is an unbiased estimate of ? , the population mean. However, it will certainly not be a perfect estimate. By chance it is bound to be at least either a little bit too high or a little bit too low. For the estimate of ? to be of value, one must have some idea of how precise it is. That is, how close to ? is the estimate likely to be?So we use the confidence intervals to determine how close would be the unbiased estimate we have in our sample to the values that is indicated in the population mean. If the number of flowers that the 10 girls remembered were: 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9 then the estimated value of ? would be 5. 9 and the 95% confidence interval would range from 4. 71 to 7. 09. The wider the interval, the more confident yo u are that it contains the parameter you are interested in. The 99% confidence interval is therefore wider than the 95% confidence interval and extends from 4. 19 to 7. 61.

Case Study “Scouts Canada” Essay

Question 1 Using the full spectrum of segmentation variables, describe how Scouts Canada could segment its market place. Scouts Canada is a Canadian organization; therefore the organizations segmentation strategy is primarily geographic. The company focuses on the Canadian market, including all provinces and territories of the country. Based on what the organization wants to accomplish Scouts Canada should dedicate their marketing strategies to study and segment the market based on demographics (age, family size, life cycle) and psychographics. Demographic Segmentation fragments the market into categories according to different demographic factors, usually with regards to the wants and needs of multiple consumer groups. The organization provides opportunities for many people of different ages and gender. Whether people want to participate in a program, volunteer, or strive to be a leader. Scouts Canada caters to their target market and offers incentives to attract people in various life cycles. The programs of Scouts Canada are aimed at different age groups: Beaver Scouts (5-7), Cub Scouts (8-10), Scouts (11-13), Venture Scouts (14-17), and Rover Scouts (18-26). They can tailor their programs to those with large families, in which each member can feel included and involved. Psychographic segmentation – this marketing strategy incorporates the lifestyle aspect approach, because part of their mission is to provide adventure, healthy active living, getting outdoors and learning how to be environmentally friendly and responsible, etc. Question 2 What changed first: the potential scouts member or the scouting experience? Explain your response by discussing the principles of market targeting. â€Å"It began with a vision. It was nurtured with passion. It will succeed through action.† In accordance with their targeting strategy differentiated marketing, the organization strived to alter and improve their scouting experience to appeal to a larger number of scout members by customizing separate offers to appeal to appropriate segments. They updated their programs to have an increase in appeal to a broader range of members. In doing so they also created more volunteering spots as to provide easier access and increase opportunities. They also increased their appeal to younger members by providing potential for leadership growth. In addition they had the uniforms redesigned by Joe Fresh, an innovative Canadian designer. Also they intensified their environmental campaign and centric values by planting trees, promoting recycling, and other projects. To further promote their new image they published a simple and effective scouts manual, detailing new information, as well as designing a new logo and bilingual motto to appeal to the countries two official languages. Finally they fabricated new print advertisements that highlighted health issues such as obesity, and â€Å"quirky† ads, which captured the public interest. Question 3 What steps did Scouts Canada take to reposition its offering? An initial aspect that Scouts Canada has reconstructed is their experiences, with the hopes of expanding their potential scout member range. The case study stated that members would start when they were very young and lose interest after a few years. So one of the things Scouts Canada had to do was find a way to retain them past those few years. The reason why Scouts Canada faced its loss of potential members was because they failed to understand their market segments. They could not tailor their product or ‘membership’ so that it would meet the needs of more individuals; they just kept a simple plan across the board. Because they did not apply differentiation and understanding of the cultural shift towards â€Å"being green† they suffered a high member loss between 1996-2000. Question 4 Will Scouts Canada ever return to the membership levels its experienced in the 1960? Why or why not? Scouts Canada has the potential to reach equal or higher membership levels than in 1960, (maximum member period), but only if they continue to take certain actions. They need to target specific groups of people who focus on being â€Å"Green† and invironmentaly friendly, as well as creat valuable exciting experiances for all. Scouts Canada’s target market is relatively sturdy, and there stands much to be harnessed from it. Conclusion Since the internal and external reefurb of the organization, membership has increased in every province. Almost 6000 scouting groups have increased membership by over 15%. Scouts Canada should strive to continue to watch and analyze the changing market, and adjust its marketing and retention strategies accordingly. They should also Implement a stronger training program for scout leaders, as they are the future of the company. Finally, they should seek to increase their efforts in focusing on alumni members because experienced members serve to help in grounding the organization and further legitimize the company’s existence. Thanks to the innovative marketing strategy, the new company branding has proven a successful overall increase in acquiring new members, and maintaining loyal participation throughout the country.

Conflict in Othello

Othello is a play which contains many conflicts between the characters. The main conflicts in ‘Othello’ are between friends and foes. Othello’s inner conflict, cultural and racial differences which lead to racial judgement and discrimination, to express these conflicts; Shakespeare uses many techniques such as soliloquies, dramatic irony, imagery foreshadowing and symbolism. Amongst the main characters there are many conflicts, however the main reason for most of the conflict if Iago and Shakespeare use the techniques to show us how Iago causes the conflicts. This also analyzes Othello’s pride, his self conscious nature, his jealousy and his rash behaviour. Conflict between the characters especially Iago and Othello is partly portrayed through the use of language devices such as imagery and metaphors animal imagery, sexual innuendo, irony and dramatic irony, repetition, classical and religious allusions. These devices are used to provide insight into the characters relationships, thematic concerns and a wide variety of alternatives reading. The metaphors and imagery portray how Iago despised Othello and the conflict to come between them. Conflict is also presented through the Binary Opposition, which allowed the audience to see the change within the characters or between characters from one extreme to another. For example, we are able to follow the personal conflict and deterioration through the Binary Opposition of love and hatred as well as rational and emotional. This provides the audience to see how Othello transforms from a rational to an irrational man. Another example is the Binary Opposition of wisdom and foolishness which illustrates the conflict between Iago and Othello. Other forms of conflict involved in this play are internal which includes hate and identity, external that consists of race, sex, gender and marriage. Adding on there is in international conflict with the Turks and Venice, racial conflict as Othello being the outsider, conflict within marriage which involves Desdemona and Othello as well as Iago and Emilia and filial conflict within the family with Desdemona and her father.

Book Summary Essay

The book I chose to read was â€Å"When I Say No, I Feel Guilty† by Manuel J. Smith. The first thing to stand out to me in this book was it seemed a little outdated. Even though the writing style and the examples appeared to be from a different era, I was still able to see how different points were relevant today and to me personally. This title screamed my name when I was browsing the list of choices because no matter what I am saying no to, I always feel guilty. From the first moment that we can feel and translate emotions, we have been manipulated by others. We have grown up under the sense that we should feel certain ways about particular actions. We forget to a chore when we are young, we should feel guilty. We bring a bad grade home on out report card, we should be scared of getting in trouble. Many activities are labeled either good or bad and we should portray emotions to match. As a manager, you should try to keep commands or statements neutral. A neutral statement is one that doesn’t assign the label of good or bad to a behavior so the recipient will not feel manipulated. Everyday, people try to manipulate you into doing what they want by making you feel nervous, uninformed, or blameworthy. If you let them push you around you will feel frustrated, angry or depressed. When you permit others to control your actions, you renounce your sense of personal responsibility. Smith states that the first step in fixing the situation is to know that â€Å"no one can manipulate your emotions or behavior if you don’t allow it to happen. † Also, following the Bill of Assertive Rights will help lead to non-manipulative relationships in all situations. The rights are the basis for all healthy relationships and are listed as: You have the right to judge your own behavior, thoughts and emotions, and to take the responsibility for their initiation and consequences upon yourself. You have the right to offer no reasons or excuses for justifying your behavior. You have the right to judge if you are responsible for finding solutions to other people’s problems. You have the right to change your mind. You have the right to make mistakes – and be responsible for them. You have the right to say, â€Å"I don’t know†. You have the right to be independent of the goodwill of others before coping with them. You have the right to be illogical in making decisions. You have the right to say, â€Å"I don’t understand†. You have the right to say, â€Å"I don’t care†. The first right is the foundation of all of the remaining rights. When you become your own judge, you help to build a barrier against manipulation. Judgements should be based on your values and not external systems of what is right or wrong. People base their manipulative actions on the belief that you should live up to their rules. If you are accepting of this situation, you open yourself up to a limitless variety of manipulation. Criticism is a common tool people use to get someone to behave according to their standards. Reactions to criticism can be negative with anxiety, denial, and defensiveness. Learning to take criticism in a constructive manner helps to avoid manipulation. Verbal coping methods to help accept criticism effectively are fogging, negative assertion, and negative inquiry. Fogging is when you only agree to the truths in a statement and respond to what someone has specifically stated rather than what is implied. A negative assertion is statement that takes responsibility for something you have done wrong. It takes courage to make a negative assertion and say, I’m sorry. Last, using negative inquiry encourages the critic to reply assertively instead of manipulatively. This tactic is typically used to ask for additional information about a critique. There are also different types of relationships that fall into three categories, commercial, authority, and equality. Basic verbal skills used to minimize manipulation do not change as problems are handled throughout these different relationships. Commercial relationships are clearly defined with a contract. Since this type of relationship follows a defined structure an assertive verbal skill works most effectively. In an authority relationship there is one person in charge while the other is not. Authority based relationships emphasize finding compromises that grow on existing interpersonal dynamic. Both parties are equal in an equality relationship. This relationship is the most informal and tends to have everything open for discussion. Thoughtful open communication reassures people that you will not hinder their decision making, even if you may disagree. The main concept I took away from this book is, it’s my life and what happens in it is completely up to me! I will not cower when I face manipulation. My reactions to particular situations can pave the way for a disaster or a triumph. We must always be in touch with reality to promote our own well-being and happiness. We also have to accept the possibility that changing our mind is completely normal and healthy. Keeping the Assertive Bill of Rights in mind will help to stand up against manipulation and keep our dignity, self-respect, and control over our own behavior.

Obama Perfect Union Speech – Contemporary Racism

Contemporary Racism President Obama’s speech â€Å"A More Perfect Union† was a response to many outbursts made about things that Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s former pastor, had said on issues of racism. The reverend made statements that Obama called dismissive when what the world needed most was unity to overcome the continual racism in the country. Quotes from the Reverend such as â€Å"In the  21st  century, white America got a wake-up call after 9/11/01.White America and the western world came to realize that people of color had not gone away, faded into the  woodwork  or just ‘disappeared’ as the Great White West kept on its merry way of ignoring black concerns† and â€Å"Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run! †¦We [in the U. S. ] believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God† caused an uproar in Washington.Obama used this opportunity to address race and the problems in the country relating to it. This speech relates to many of the topics we learned about in class regarding race and racism. Obama talks about his family’s background and how various people don’t like him in office for ridiculous reasons such as that he’s â€Å"too black† or â€Å"not black enough† to be the first black president. They even go as far as to say that he’s in office due to affirmative action.He goes on to talk about his white grandmother and the racist statements she would make, such as that when a black man passes her by on the street she fears him. President Obama’s speech relates to white privilege in the sense that the country has only ever had white presidents and therefore a stereotype has been formed that only the typical white collar, white male deserves to be in office. White people say things like that because they feel like power is being taken away from them and given to blac k people by having a black president in office.Obama even quotes about white privilege and the power of whites being taken away by saying, â€Å"Most working- and middle-class white Americans don't feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race†¦Ã‚  when they hear an African-American is getting an advantage in landing a good job or a spot in a good college because of an injustice that they themselves never committed; when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudiced, resentment builds over time. In his speech he also talks about institutional racism which goes all the way back to Brown vs. Board of Education which was the Supreme Court case that ruled separation of black and white students unconstitutional. Obama also talked about this in his speech saying, â€Å"Segregated schools were and are inferior schools; we still haven't fixed them,  50 years after Brown v. Board of Education. And the inferior education they provided, then and now, helps explain the pervasive achievement gap between today's black and white students. He went on to say how this gives an inferior education to blacks and how this explains the gap in the income levels of white Americans vs. black Americans which in turn doesn’t give black men as many economic opportunities as white men. This not only relates to white privilege because they feel they are deserving of these jobs and educations but it also has a lot to do with institutional racism. By giving these economic opportunities to the better qualified person you are giving it to the one who has a better education.Through his speech, Obama illuminates the problem within our schools. Funding and quality of education go hand in hand, and since often times African Americans live in poor urban communities, schools struggle for funds to heighten the quality of their education. By talking about the dependence of schools on the income of the people living in the areas surrounding, Obama points out that privileged white kids are able to come out on top verses an African American child who grew up in an underfunded school.These white kids then get into more prestigious colleges, in turn landing more high paying jobs than the majority of their African American counterparts. Obama also goes on to talk about how people try to act like there is no racism anymore even though it is so blatantly out there. He quoted â€Å"Talk show hosts and conservative commentators built entire careers unmasking bogus claims of racism while dismissing legitimate discussions of racial injustice and inequality as mere political correctness or reverse racism. He talks about how things like this widen the gap of racism and how we need to work to close the gap instead. He calls it a racial stalemate saying, â€Å"Contrary to the claims of some of my critics, black and white, I have never been so naive as to believe that we can get beyond our racial divisions in a single el ection cycle, or with a single candidacy — particularly a candidacy as imperfect as my own. † Obama believes that only by exposing the true roots of racism can we move forward, slowly but with conviction. He encourages more debate and open discussion instead of hiding behind polite political facades. But I have asserted a firm conviction — a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people — that, working together, we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union†. Overall, the goal of President Obama’s speech was to highlight the most taboo of topics in our society: racism. Since the era of reconstruction, white people have tried hard to ignore skin color, but Barack Obama is trying to make a point of not ignoring the color of his skin, but rather using it to his advantage by pointing out the problems we have created.White sup remacy is still very much a real idea, even in our modern 21st century society. Poor education makes finding a good job in tough economic times an almost impossible task for the African American community, simply because they never had the same opportunities as their white peers. Obama encourages Americans to forgive past grievances and instead create a â€Å" new normal† – one of racial equality and opportunity regardless of race.