A Canoeing Adventure
Although I was born in Texas, my father was transferred when I was just ten and I spent most of my impressionable years in a tiny village a few minutes from a national park. This move to a rural area was an event that changed my life forever. Surrounded by beautiful forests and lakes, most of my free time was spent romping through the woods, navigating rivers in a canoe and camping in the many provincial parks nearby.
At the university, I came across a group of students who had never experienced "the great outdoors" before. Most of their lives had been spent in the hustle and bustle of big cities such as New York and Chicago. They wanted me to show them what it was that inspired me to head north every weekend with a truck packed to the brim with camping gear. I explained to them that the only way that they could experience my passion for nature would be to join me on one of my outings. They agreed, and I designed a four day canoeing/camping weekend for five men and two women in Algonquin Park, one of Canada's finest treasures. I felt that this trip was well planned (two months in the making). But once the trip was underway, it was evident that there were a lot of things that I hadn't planned for.
Four hours into the canoeing, our map blew out of the boat and could not be found. Our only compass was attached to it. Not having been on this river before, I had to navigate by instinct. This method takes considerably longer and nightfall was creeping up on us. Various hazzards such as beaver dams and unseasonably low water levels exhausted us as we pulled the canoes, rather than paddled them through these areas. Before we knew it, darkness had overtaken us and we were far from our designated campsite. The surrounding area was extremely marshy and I couldn't find any solid land. Taking a rope out of my bag, I lashed the three canoes together to form a raft and then anchored off for the night. The evening sky was clearer than I had ever seen it before. Sleeping in a canoe is far from comfortable, but accompanied by brilliant stars and the sounds of wolves howling from the nearby hilltops, not one person complained.
Abstinence from overly dramatizing the actions of the play may be reflective of Hamlet's character prior to his escape from true self: a once-lived life of normalcy focused more wholly on "smoothness" (7) rather than an uncontrolled "torrent, tempest, / ...whirlwind of passion" (5-6).
In Shakespearean time and even up to the turn of the 20th Century men were expected to be the sole provider of the family, entailing them to be either well educated or hard working. They were also expected to be good with the handling of finances and property. It was also acceptable for them to be barbaric, boisterous and socially well connected. This has given the men of this time an overwhelming sense of power, respect and freedom; rights which were not given to women at this time. Far from what was socially acceptable in regards to men, the gender identity of women was of a somewhat weaker nature. Women during Shakespearean time were regarded as docile, quiet and non-opinionated. Their socially acceptable role in many cases was to be domestic, entailing them to spend countless hours in the home, tending to basic familial needs, such as cooking and cleaning. This position prevented many women to receive an education or to socialize outside of the home. As a result of their inferior social status, they were expected to be submissive and to cater to her husband’s needs at all times. Women in Shakespearean time were also treated as property, either by their husbands or fathers, which diminished any sense of self-worth they may have possessed. This gender ideology ultimately paralyzed women, as the majority were helpless to alter their social standing or designated familial role.
"Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them." -Oscar Wilde. This quote embodies the fight over gender roles and the views of women in society. Taming of the Shrew deals with Kate and Bianca, two sisters who are at the time to he married off. However, suitors who seek Bianca as a wife have to wait for her sister to be married first. Kate is seen as a shrew because she is strong willed and unlike most women of the time. In his 1603 play The Taming of the Shrew, William Shakespeare enforces traditional gender roles and demonstrates how little say women had in society. He accomplishes this through the strong personality of Kate, Baptista 's attitude towards his daughters as transactions, and
In the beginning, a lot of what we learn about Kate comes from what other people say about her. In Act I, she is only seen briefly and she speaks even less, but our picture of Kate is pretty clear. Shakespeare, sets up a teaching lesson, helping us to see the mistakes of our own judgment. When Baptista announces that Kate must marry before Bianca may take suitors, Gremio describes Kate by saying "She's too rough for me" (1.1.55). Later in the scene, Gremio reiterates his dislike for Kate, claiming she is a "fiend of hell" (88) and offering that "though her father may be very rich, any man is so very a fool to be married to hell" (124–126). He finishes by saying that to marry Kate is worse than to "take her dowry with this condition: to be whipped at the high cross every morning" (132–134). Hortensio, too, is quick to add to the situation, calling Kate a devil (66) and claiming that she is not likely to get a husband unless she is "of gentler, milder mold" (60). Tranio, Lucentio's servant, is perhaps the only man in this scene not to talk ugly about Kate, claiming she is either "stark mad or wonderful froward" (69).
Stories are a big part of the human race. From conceptualizing the birth of our race to nagging our parents to tell bedtime stories, our life is nothing but a series of stories. It is in human nature to narrate significant incidents of our lives to others. Storytelling as a method has been progressively used by various companies as a tool to connect with their employees and customers. It helps to build a bridge of loyalty, longevity, mutual trust and understanding and connection. Storytelling helps to get that instant personal connect. Stories are significant because they are inherent to human experience. By stories we pass on our accumulated wisdom, beliefs and values to the future generations.
In addition to this internal struggle, Hamlet feels it is his duty to dethrone Claudius and become the King of Denmark. This revenge, he believes, would settle the score for his mother’s incestuous relationship and would reinstate his family’s honor. These thoughts are solidified in Act I, Scene 5, when his father’s ghost appears and informs Hamlet that is was Claudius who murdered him, and that Claudius deprived him “of life, of crown, and queen” (line 75). This information leads to Hamlet’s promise to kill Claudius, while not punishing his mother for their incestuous marriage. His statement, “thy commandment all alone shall live within the book and volume of my brain” (lines 102-103), demonstrates his adamant decision to let nothing stand in the way of his promise for revenge.
...m to put his life in danger to find out more information about Hamlet, which ultimately leads to his death. Claudius also planted the idea of murdering Hamlet into Laertes’ mind, and this became the main goal of Laertes towards the end, which leads him to his death. Hamlet has hurt the women that he loves, both Ophelia and Gertrude die. Claudius and Hamlet also die, which is ultimately how the corruption of the nation of Denmark ends, through this it can once again be the great nation that it once was.
In Hamlet's speech to the players he tells them, "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature; for anything so o'erdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end both at the first, and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature, to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure." What Hamlet wants is for the actors to be moderate and natural in their depiction of life, not exaggerated, and not dull. The speech shows us the significance of how the fictional reality of art, can bring out the reality that Hamlet seeks in his uncle. He also believes that the theater exists to "hold the mirror up to nature" and hopes that Claudius will see his evil nature reflected in the performance.
And now I'll do 't. And so 'a goes to heaven, and so am I revenged.
There are three possible turning points in Hamlet: the players’ scene when Claudius’ guilt concerning the murder of King Hamlet is confirmed; the prayer scene when Hamlet forgoes the opportunity to kill Claudius; and the closet scene where Hamlet first takes action, but kills Polonius inadvertently. In the players’ scene, the ghost’s story is proved to be true, allowing Hamlet to avenge his father’s murder. In the prayer scene, Hamlet misses a perfect opportunity to kill Claudius, giving Claudius time to act against Hamlet. In the closet scene, Hamlet’s actions give Claudius the impression that he poses as a major threat to his continued succession on the throne. The death of Polonius also triggers a series of repercussions by altering the characters’ mindsets.
A Shakespearean scholar expanded on this, “The play enacts the defeat of the threat of a woman’s revolt; it does so in a comic form – thus so offers the audience the chance to revel in and reinforce their misogyny while at the same time feeling good” (Gay). The Taming of the Shrew at many points is just praising the men in the novel despite their behavior and putting down the women for being anything but perfect. The novel makes the actions happening comedic and the reader does not get upset at the things happening, but in reading further into it and comparing in to modern day, it is not hard to see the plain and simple abuse. Although gender roles are still prominent into today’s society they are toned back. In contemporary version of The
stood upon, was frightening. The only was to go was down. I took a deep
I remember a time in my life not too long ago when my family and I went white water rafting for the first time. We had been spending some of our summer vacation at a cabin in the Smokey Mountains, close to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The next day we would experience feelings of exhilarating excitement, with a sense of suspense and anticipation as we rafted down the Nantahala River.
Narrative Essay It all started my sophomore year of high school. People always tell you that when someone knocks you down, you should always get back up and keep trying. I had this mindset at the beginning of my sophomore year, but I ended up letting a teacher knock me down to the point where I did not get back up for a couple of years. I never expected my second year of high school to go so awry.
Sailing has been around for millennia, and is considered to be one of the earliest and most environmentally friendly methods of water transport. Sailboats act as a method of transportation, exercise, and entertainment. These now more structurally developed and masterfully modeled ships have been engineered for efficiency, and these advancements have ensured durability and speed among modern sailboats. The great strength and ability of sailboats has given competitive owners the opportunity to participate in races, but generally sailboats have come to exist as more of a relaxed hobby. The expensive activity of sailing is demanding both physically and mentally, as it tests anticipative abilities and endurance. To understand the physics concepts at work in a sailboat is immensely advantageous, as it can generally improve one’s performance.