Abstract This paper looks at why "The Arabian Nights" story has remained famous and popular as a significant work in Arab literature. It examines the universal and positive appeal of the tales, their influence in Western literature and specific writers influenced by the Arabian Nights.
From the Paper ""Alf Layla wa Layla" translated as "A Thousand Nights" and also known as "An Arabian Night's Entertainments" has had a remarkable history equal to that of the characters in its tales. Some scholars surmise that these tales originated over years ago in ..."
Tags: Alf Layla wa Layla, Arabian Nights, A Thousand and One Nights
Abstract The purpose of this study was to research and study why we have nightmares, night terrors, and how lucid dreaming can help us understand them. By studying nightmares and terrors, we can figure out the cause and pinpoint the problem and resolve it so that we can have a good night sleep.
Abstract In this paper, the use of disguise in Twelfth Night and King Lear are similar in their usage of various behaviors, costumes, and gender roles that are exchanged to discover the real truth through hidden identity. The paper discusses The Earl of Kent's use of disguise of Caius; contrasting with elements of disguise in Twelfth Night that offer a comedic gender role reversal for the men and women involved in love intrigue.
From the Paper "In this drama study one can compare and contrast the various uses of disguise that arise within Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and King Lear. By realizing the depth and scope of romantic love within the comedic Twelfth Night, Shakespeare intertwines various aspects of relationships that are disguised through gender roles. In contrast to Shakespeare's comedies, King Lear offers a tragic point of view through disguise, which involves the role of power and leadership, which drives King Lear to madness. In essence, by comparing and contrasting the theme of disguise in both tragedy and comedy, one can evaluate how Shakespeare enacts these crucial factors within a textual analysis."
Abstract This paper discusses how "Acquainted with the Night" describes the persona's confrontation with 'the long, dark night of the soul', in which he stands alone in a universe that is bereft of any overarching divine meaning or even a mundanely constructed order or morality. It discusses how, far from engendering a sense of hopelessness, the indifferent ambiguity of the universe motivates the narrator's exploration of his own nature, displaying the curiosity that is the birthright of humanity.
From the Paper "The opening stanza of the poem consists of three declarative sentences that describe the persona's ambiguous relationship with the night, as well as suggesting the commencement of a journey. By stating that "I have been one acquainted with the night" (Frost, l.1), the narrator immediately removes himself from objective time and begins to describe a relationship located in neither the past nor present, but rather a subjective temporality that is akin to the dream-state of semi-consciousness. The repetition of the personal pronoun 'I' emphasizes that he is alone in his wandering and that this is an exploration of the self and its relationship to the outer world. "
Abstract This paper presents a review of "Night" by Elie Wiesel. The paper outlines the stages of the author's descent into the Holocaust. The stages are clearly defined in this story.
Abstract The purpose of this paper is to understand what Shakespeare meant by the title "A Midsummer Night's Dream" following the clues in key speeches. It also looks at the theme of the title, midsummer madness and supernatural elements.
From the Paper "The themes embodied in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream recall the line that questions whether all that we see or seem is merely a dream within a dream. Unlike his other plays the title of Shakespeare's fantastic..."
Abstract This paper reviews the 2004 movie "Friday Night Lights" about high school sport in America. The author includes an introduction, analysis, justification for the movie, relationship of the movie to sport in American life, contribution to society and conclusion.
From the Paper ""Friday Night Lights" starred Billy Bob Thornton, Tim McGraw, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lucas Black and Garrett Hedlund. "Friday Night Lights" is a movie that chronicles the true story of the Odessa Texas high school football team the Permian Panthers and ..."
Tags: Friday Night Lights, sports, obsession, movie review
Abstract This paper discusses Shakespeare's play; "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and analyzes how it satisfies the functions of literature, raising a heightened sensitivity of the complexities of life. The paper also discusses plot devices.
From the Paper "A Midsummer Night's Dream: One of the functions of literature is to force the reader to question the things he has taken for granted; another is to heighten his sensitivity to the complexities of life and individuals. Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" fulfills both functions masterfully. Shakespeare's play creates an intricate juxtaposition of plot and characters that reduces even the careful reader to a state of confusion."
Tags: A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare, literature
Abstract In this paper, the author examines the questions raised in Elie Wiesel's novel, "Night." A brief background of Wiesel and this work is presented. The paper also focuses on this book being about the experiences of a victim and not an account of the reasons behind the Holocaust. The paper also considers some of the literary devices used by Wiesel to describe his experience. The author found Wiesel's story to be particularly compelling because it is from the point of view of a child who could not be expected to understand the political and social disruptions of the time.
From the Paper "The main figure in Elie Wiesel's Night is a surrogate for Wiesel himself. The story is true, and Wiesel distances himself from the story as he speaks of the young man, Eliezer, who was once himself as if he were observing another person, and one critic notes that the book uses "novelistic methods: it is retrospective, it is clearly the result of narrative choices and omissions, and its first-person narrator is at a distance from its character, whose name, Eliezer, is different from that of the author" (Vice 164). Perhaps this distance is necessary to allow Wiesel to probe into a time of great pain to himself and to others. However, the attitudes expressed and the views of Jewish life and the Jewish future are clearly those of Wiesel."
Abstract This review analyzes the different types of love that the characters of "Twelfth Night" undergo in their attempt to find love. The paper relates that the various characters in the story experience or show fabrications of love, lustful infatuations, and true conventional love.
From the Paper "There are various types of love experienced by the characters in Twelfth Night, along with the consequences that are created. The various individuals show fabrications of love, infatuation, as well as conventional love. At the end of the last act, Sebastian and Viola are reunited and their personalities in this scene allow all the puzzle pieces (i.e. mistaken identities) to fit together. The masks and disguises are ultimately removed and the characters can now follow their own identity, gender, and love interests."
Abstract This paper is a discussion of the book "The Politics" by Aristotle. In this book Aristotle introduces the idea of a middle class, and argues it's significance for the good of mankind. Aristotle argues that the middle class is the most suitable class to be rulers since unlike the rich who do not want anyone to rule them, or the poor, who do not have the means to rule, they live in the middle and have seen the best qualities of both the rich and the poor.
From the paper:
"The poor, conversely, cannot be good rulers because their attributes usually consist of being overly indigent, weak, or lacking in honor. These qualities make it difficult for the poor to follow reason, and they usually become malicious and base in petty ways. If the malicious were given the entitlement to rule, it seems that their hateful and wicked ways would cause a tyrannical, or master/slave society. As was said before, the poor are full of envy for the rich and could, perhaps, attempt to revenge on those they resent. Either the rich or the poor can commit Acts of injustice. Whether it is through arrogance or malice, both are groups likely to act against the best interest of the city. The middling class must rule because both the rich and the poor, if given the claim to rule, are likely to cause nothing but injury to the cities."
Abstract This paper compares the rules and theories set forth by St. Augustine to those followed by citizens of the Middle Ages who sought to be chivalrous. It studies both codes which represent the pinnacle of Medieval society. It describes the many classes in the Middle Ages including The Feudal Class, the Religious Class and more. It includes an historical overview of the Middle Ages and the spread of Christianity at the time.
From the Paper "It is interesting to note that St. Augustine's City of God was written in the Fifth Century, which is generally considered to be the onset of the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages gained notoriety and expanded mainly due to the spread of Christianity. St. Augustine's Christian beliefs, coupled with the chivalric code, seemed to serve the theoretical basis for the foundation that the Middle Ages were built on.
"The order of the chivalric code and St. Augustine's rules also show the importance of religion in society. St. Augustine's code begins with the general statement, ?Before all else, dear brothers, love God and then your neighbor, because these are the chief commandments given to us.? This general plea not only serves as the precursor for St. Augustine's code, but would not be out of place if it was written right before the code of chivalry. There are many aspects of the chivalric code which support the general statement made by St. Augustine. They include, "thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone" and ?thou shalt love the country in the which thou wast born.? These two elements of the code of chivalry note that commoners should respect their neighbors and the country in which they live."
Abstract This paper discusses the revival of theater in Europe, beginning in the tenth century, as inspired and sponsored by the Catholic Church. The writer examines how historians now consider the High Middle Ages as the third major theatrical era in Western history. The paper further illustrates how major dramatic forms were connected with the church, its rituals, and its calendar of religious observances. The author explains the importance of these dramas , which included making church services more appealing and teaching scriptural history to the masses. The three types of plays that came out of the High Middle Ages are presented. The author concludes by arguing that drama other than that associated with the Church did exist at this time, influencing theater in the Late Middle Ages and even today.
From the Paper "Since Plato's The Republic, the depiction of art, particularly theatre, has been treated as a secondary if not inconsequential chronicle and portrayal of any given era. Nowhere is this more clearly illustrated than during the Middle Ages, where the major dramatic forms, if they existed at all and if they could be called theatre, could only be performed if they were connected with and sanctioned by the church. Coinciding with the well-deserved title of the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church has been historically credited of having begun a revival of theatre in Europe. Extant plays, sponsored by the church and dating back to the tenth century, are categorized into three distinct genres: liturgical drama, which enacted part of the liturgy of the Catholic Mass; cycle plays, which illustrated scriptural history; and morality drama, which metaphorically endorsed the symbolic structure of Christian life. The provincial dramaturgical view generally holds that that these were the only forms of theatre of the time. However, more recent scholarship demonstrates that as these performance-based church rituals begot theatre and theatre further begot church ritual, other plays like university plays, pageants, mummings and disguisings, interludes, other non-cycle religious plays, and drama came into play and that collectively, theatre of the High Middle Ages impacted the evolution of theatre into the Late Middle Ages, and what it is today."
Tags: theater middle ages renaissance cycle play mummings church, pageant robin hood morality drama
Abstract This paper explains that, in the Middle East, there is a societal belief in the superiority of men. The author explores the ways in which laws and customs based on religious beliefs and social and governmental policies violate women's human rights in Middle Eastern countries. The paper outlines the steps women have taken to attempt to protect these rights.
From the Paper "On December ..., the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration sets forth thirty Articles that listed certain inalienable rights of all human beings."
Abstract This paper examines Middle East terrorism. It looks at how ever since the emergence of Middle East terrorism in the nineteen-seventies, it has become increasingly evident that terrorism thrives on media coverage, and tends to fade in influence and significance when media attention is diverted elsewhere. It discusses how subsequently, radical Islamic terrorist tactics and strategy are very media-oriented, for the mass media is seen by terrorists as a long-range weapon that can strike fear into their enemies, regardless of where they live.
