Abstract In this paper, the writer discusses the institution of marriage as demonstrated in the Victorian play 'The Importance of Being Earnest' by Oscar Wilde. The writer shows that the morality of being unity with a loved one is certainly the external social apparatus of Victorian marriage, but Wilde often points out the reality of patriarchal institutions that make marriage more like a business. Further the writer demonstrates that by realizing what moral virtues uphold the union of man and woman in love; the contrary affect of female abuse and sublimation are often the satirical reality in Wilde's classic play.
From the Paper "This drama study will examine the morality of the Victorian marriage within the context of Oscar Wilde's 'The importance of Being Earnest'. By defining the often patriarchal nature of marriage in the Victorian period, one can realize the social institution that forged the strict observance of men and women being 'one' through a legal and moral binding. However, Oscar Wilde often conflicts with the institution of marriage, and argues that it is a business, rather than a pleasure. In essence, the Victorian institution of marriage is often hypocritical in that it portrays an image of money and legality, which denies the supposed moral pleasure of loving commitment. The opening First Act presents the conflict of pleasure and business in relation to marriage, as Algernon and his butler Lane discuss the topic of morality in marriage."
Abstract The author of this paper suggests that Chrisopher Marlowe's work,"The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus", functions as a kind of medieval morality play but that, at the same time, the play is also a manifest parody of the Catholic faith. Throughout his critique of the play, the writer brings examples from the play itself to substantiate his arguments as well as references from other research papers and books.
From the Paper "In terms of its philosophy, Marlowe's play has been called atheistic in a quintessentially Renaissance fashion, condemning both Protestant anxieties about Catholicism as well as Catholicism itself. Biographically, this is supported Marlowe's likely membership in the infamous Elizabethan secret society known as the 'School of Night' along with Sir Walter Raleigh and the mathematician John Dee. A sampling of the words others claimed to be Marlowe penned by this secret association: "Them that love not tobacco and boys are fools. /The first beginning of religion was only to keep men in awe. /If the Jews, among whom Christ was born, crucified him, they knew him best" (Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, Renaissance Thought and the New Universe,, 1997). Initially, in the spirit of secularism and the Renaissance Faustus shines as: his "opening soliloquy expresses his desire to reach beyond the constraints of ordinary fields of knowledge" (Kinney 1997). But his attempt to transcend all limitations can only be articulated within the constraints of his own language and his own imagination" and seemingly deflates the possibility of dwelling in a world without God to limit human behavior (Kinney 1999). Ultimately, Faustus' desire for knowledge that transcends morality makes him attractive as a character on one hand, but when, as a mortal, he is given infinite power, he does not seek wisdom, but rather uses it in a petty manner to amuse himself, such as when he conjures up the 'Seven Deadly Sins' for his and Mephistopheles' enjoyment. "What character in English Renaissance drama better exemplifies desire and appetitiveness than Faustus? What character more thoroughly banishes the world in order to replace it with the solipsistic trappings of his fantasy" (Hamlin 2001, p.27)."
Abstract The essay discusses Lord Goring who is socially "idle", yet ideal in terms of philosophy. Moreover, it describes Goring as the most interesting and outstanding persona in the play, his ambivalent behavior, and the change he goes through during the play, and why he could be considered Wilde's alter ego. The paper ends raising the question of whether or not Wilde has lost grip on this character. Did Wilde manipulate Goring's behavior in order to obtain the desired ending of the play?
Abstract This paper presents an examination of the various modern treatments and productions of Marlowe's character Mephistopheles, and how this affects the tone of the play as a whole. The paper looks at the plot and symbolism.
From the Paper "We know that classic plays are reinterpreted multiple times throughout history. In recent years we have seen modern interpretations of a number of Shakespearean dramas on stage and film. These include but are not limited to the modern renderings of Romeo and Juliet Hamlet and Othello. Certainly we can agree that Marlowe's Doctor Faustus is a classic in its own rite and thereby worthy of such reinterpretation. No matter the version of the play that we see however the story remains the same ..."
Tags: christopher marlowe, mephistopheles, doctor faustus, drama, treatment
Abstract This paper is a long essay on the life, times & career of Oscar Wilde. Some major works are touched on, including 'Salome', 'The Importance of Being Earnest', and 'The Soul of Man Under Socialism'. However, this paper is primarily looking at the external life, background, influences, and career of Oscar Wilde, rather than his writing. Major influences on his philosophy and career are mentioned including Ruskin, Mahaffy, his parents, family and lovers. There is brief mention and discussion of his "outing" and subsequent trials.
From the Paper "Oscar Wilde Irish playwright, author, and poet Oscar Wilde was a radical in many ways. His flamboyant lifestyle, open homosexuality, outrageous disregard for cultural norms, as well has his socialist and anarchist ways of thinking were more than a century ahead of his time. His ideas and styles are more common today than one hundred years ago, but are still outside of the mainstream and are considered quite "alternative" and radical. Wilde's radical nature was expressed throughout his writing, his lifestyle and his philosophy. George Bernard Shaw said of Wilde, "He plays with everything: with wit, with philosophy, with drama, with actors and audience, with the whole theatre" (Holland 96 1988). In this paper one will see how this clever, irreverent, playfulness was extended into the rest of his life, career, and philosophy. The details of Wilde's short life are fairly well known. Oscar O'Flahertie Fingal Wills Wilde was born October 16, 1854 in Dublin... "
Abstract This paper examines themes in "Into the Wild," the story of Chris McCandless's fateful journey into the Alaskan wilderness. The paper considers McCandless in terms of his relationships, and suggests that he had a fear of intimacy. The author also explores Chris's family background and childhood and its impact on his adult behavior. The paper also explores how and why he died. Two themes from the book, of living a fantasy and of going on a spiritual quest are also considered. Finally, this book is compared and contrasted with "Hunger" by Jane Stevenson.
McCandless's Relationships - #1
Krakauer's View of McCandless - #2
McCandless's Family #3
McCandless Death #4
Two Themes in Into the Wild - #5
Chris McCandless and the Mulrooney Sisters
References
From the Paper "Chris McCandless was a very private and secretive person; yet, he was apparently sociable and attractive to people as evidenced by the relationships he established after he graduated from college and left his parents. Interviews in Into the Wild show his friends speaking of him with great affection; however, we can only infer how he felt about them. We know he must have felt some attachment because he wrote to them after leaving them and sometimes called them. He did not "burn his bridges behind him" by any means, but he always left them before too much intimacy could develop. Krakauer (1996) suggests that Chris may have had a psychological problem, a fear of intimacy. The quotation the author uses at the beginning of Chapter 7 by Anthony Storr suggests that some trauma in early childhood made such an impact on him that his "principle need was to find some kind of meaning and order in life which was not entirely, or even chiefly, dependent upon interpersonal relationships" (p. 61). Perhaps this explains what appears to be an obsessive hunger for meaning and his conviction that it could only be found in the wilderness. He could not allow relationships to get in the way of satisfying that hunger."
Tags: Chris, McCandless, Into the Wild, Alaska, Krakow, Mulroony, sisters
Abstract This paper analyzes the marketing strategy of "Wild Oats," a chain of natural supermarket, through an examination of their promotional techniques. The author describes the different advertising approaches found on the chain's homepage. Although the tone of the marketing is not overtly persuasive, it subtly uses persuasive informative and reminder-type techniques. The author finds that "Wild Oats" successfully employs an integrated marketing communication strategy that appeals to middle class consumers.
From the Paper "Wild Oats thus deploys a mass advertising promotional strategy through its web page, which gives consumers information about the product, and uses Amazon.com to increase the sales as well as the visibility of its product on a national level through the web. However, within the local stores themselves, Wild Oats makes use of community outreach through schools, by selling and promoting local products, and by engaging in other efforts through the stores themselves to increase local visibility, such as advertising the farms from where its products were purchased. Finally, by offering purely informational material on its Internet site, it draws additional traffic from web-surfers who may be looking for information regarding the benefits of 'going organic,' and after becoming persuaded about the general superiority of such produce, decide to make their next grocery store trip at Wild Oats."
Abstract This paper explains that the re-wilding of North America means the re-introduction of large vertebrates, such as elephants, camels, lions, cheetahs and species of horses and asses, to the United States. The author points out that the objective is to protect these animals from extinction. The paper relates that they would be kept in private parks across unused areas of America.
From the Paper "Pleistocene, re-wilding, refers to reintroducing animals that disappeared from the North American continent years ago particularly its mega-fauna. The plan by conservationists is to promote the restoration of large wild vertebrates into North America ..."
Abstract This paper examines the fateful expedition of young adult Chris McCandless in Jon Krakauer's book "Into the Wild." The paper's author considers the themes and characters presented in the book. The paper compares Krakauer's experiences as a youth to those of McCandless, and argues they both had a need for adventure. The author further contends that this is the reason for Krakauer's non-judgemental portrayal of McCandless.
From the Paper "Chris was intensely curious and hungry for experience, and apparently Krakauer was, too, at that age. Chris wanted to roam free and sample nature's offerings, to test himself on a journey alone in Alaska, to live off the land, and be completely self-reliant. Krakauer devotes two full chapters to telling the story his own "quest," in which he climbed the Stikine Ice Cap (which was considered impossibly dangerous to climb). He states, "I interrupt McCandless's story with fragments of a narrative drawn from my own youth." Like Chris, nature was his noble adversary when he went off alone to test himself, his endurance, and ability to survive in harsh, harsh conditions. Although he was fortunate to come down out of the mountain alive, he does not see his obsession with getting to the top, or doing the impossible, as abnormal in any way and cites many examples of men through history who tested themselves similarly. Plus, to give up might imply failure. "In truth my escapade on the north face had rattled me, and I didn't want to go up on the Thumb again at all. But the thought of returning to Boulder in defeat wasn't very appealing, either." "
Tags: Into the Wild, Jon, Krakauer, Chris, McCandless, expedition, wilderness, Alaska, death
This paper is a reconstruction of Nietzsche's moral theory in "On the Genealogy of Morals" and its application to the moral-political philosophies of the Old Regime and the French Revolution.
Abstract This paper is an examination of Nietzsche's "On the Genealogy of Morals" and its relation to the historical context in which it was written. A parallel is drawn between Nietzsche's view of the historical evolution of morality and the development of the moral-political philosophies of the Ancient (Old) Regime and the French Revolution. The Ancient Regime is associated with Nietzsche's idea of "good, bad" morality, while the French Revolution is connected with "good, evil" morality. Some other issues discussed are the idea of the slave revolt and the morality of Napoleon.
From the Paper "Every civilized society is concerned with its moral fabric: the ethical and behavioral norms that all citizens are expected to obey. Morality, on its surface, appears to be a philosophical issue. Some people speak of a universal morality, beyond time and devolving upon all people equally. In this way, they explain the prevalence of certain moral laws, for instance, the prohibition against murder, in almost every society. Others view morality as a subjective concept, yet still one with philosophical origins. They maintain that many societies possess laws against murder because each group of people has made an independent philosophical evaluation, and determined that the value of life is something they as cohabitants of the same state all uphold. For Friedrich Nietzsche, both of these approaches are fundamentally flawed."
This paper examines the concept of learning morality through film or fiction by drawing comparisons between the two theories of Noel Currie and Gregory Carroll.
Abstract This paper discusses moral understanding, using the theories of Currie and Carroll. The paper is broken down into three parts in which moral understanding is defined, personal morality is determined and imagination and morality are argued as one and the same, thereby concluding that imagination leads to moral decision making which leads to a potential for novel moral understanding.
From the Paper "Fundamentally, cinema bears a rather foreboding problem for the individual that may be seeking something more than entertainment. That is to say, attempting to learn from fiction inherently carries the portentous weight of potential error, depending on what one attempts to learn and exactly what method that individual intends to implement to learn those things. One thing that seems to be an established agreement amongst many of the thinkers in this field is that, in order to garner factual information from fiction, one must already have a clear understanding and basis for what is fact in the real world. In bringing that preconceived judgment to fictional cinema, one can, hopefully, differentiate and regulate the information that he receives and considers as fact. Morality, however, presents a fundamentally alternate approach, as what can be considered moral, for all intents and purposes, differs from one individual to the next. Thusly, drawing moral education from fiction relies far more heavily on the learner's personal stances and experiences rather than on his background knowledge of reality."
Abstract In this article, the writer maintains that Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development is a cornerstone of our understanding of moral development. The writer notes that in the tradition of Piaget, Kohlberg proposed that children form their ways of thinking--including their moral reasoning--through their experiences during development. Thus, the writer relates that moral development and reasoning is a function of the usual childhood development and lies well within the realm of psychology. The writer concludes that Kohlberg's theory of moral development is a strong extension of work already conducted by Jean Piaget on the developmental process. However, the writer claims that it is severely limited in its applicability as Kohlberg imagines incorrectly it can function as a universal guide for moral reasoning.
From the Paper "Kohlberg's theory of moral development is built on a foundation of Jean Piaget's own work on the question of moral judgment and development. Piaget's work on the subject divided moral judgment into two stages of development, with a stark division in ways of thinking between children aged more or less than ten or eleven. Younger children, Piaget argued, view morality and rules as fixed and absolute, while older children treat moral issues in more relativistic terms based on individual circumstances. Piaget found that a number of related changes occur at about the same time, when children are roughly ten or eleven. In addition to above mentioned change, when children pass this milestone they also shift from a focus on consequences to a focus on intentions. For a young child, the end result of a decision is the basis for the child's evaluation of the decision as moral or not. An older child will consider the intention of the act before making any strict judgments. Piaget's two stages of moral development are, however, quite limited and do not consider potential changes in moral reasoning that might occur as individuals pass other developmental milestones. Kohlberg recognized this deficiency and extended Piaget's work to develop a greater number of stages in moral reasoning. He argued for a more gradual, longer process of moral development that involved six distinct stages divided into three discrete levels of development. This extension of Piaget's work has been one of Kohlberg's greatest contributions to the study of moral development."
Abstract This paper discusses the role that human nature plays in the actions taken by people in their lives. The paper uses the different characters in Joseph Conrad's book "The Secret Agent," to show varying levels of morality and goodness. The author also argues that individuals actions, affect the lives, and morality of those around them.
From the paper:
"Verloc is a slightly more complex character. Immediately one can see that he possesses flawed morals because of the shop he ran. For all purposes, it was a primitive sex shop. It may not have been as gaudy as the sex shops of today are, but its clientele was similar; either young men with too much time and money, or older men who had fallen on hard times. When the reader learns that Verloc runs the shop as a means to cover up his real profession as a terrorist, one no longer accepts his poor moral values, but must question whether he has any at all. Verloc's only redeeming value is that he married Winnie and helps her support her feeble brother."
Tags:morality, nature, good, evil, greed, lust, murder, terrorist, instinct, character
Abstract This essay analyzes Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula" in the contexts of Victorian cultural and the social morality that dominated 19th century London. Stoker's novel is both a criticism of the effects of sexual repression, as well as an eroticized account of the necessity of moral virtue. Stoker portrays contradictory characters that are manifestations of perverse sexuality (homosexual, bisexual, promiscuous women) and contrasts these with morally virtuous persons who must confront the realms of seduction without succumbing. This essay explores how these encounters portray the loss of innocence in Victorian society, and also validate the moral superiority of purity.
Abstract This essay brings out the positive and negative points in the three major systems of morality: teleology, deontology, and the Aristotle's virtue-based systems of morality. It then explains why Mill's theory of Utilitarianism (teleology) would be better in today's society.
From the Paper "The majority of the population, probably including yourself, claims they act "morally". Many of these people ask other people to act "morally", but when you ask these "moral" people what morality is they stand there for a minute, and almost every single person will give you the wrong answer. So what is morality? In brief, morality is a basic set of principles that people follow. A perfect example would be Osama Bin Laden, a man that believes completely in what he does, and does it to his best. He has his own set of "morals" which he follows perfectly. He is acting morally. On the other hand we have Saddam Hussein; he does not follow any set of standards consistently, and therefore is not considered "moral". Obviously someone who acts morally may be acting morally according to their set of standards, but in our opinion are very wrong. This is because we have different systems of morality. There are three major systems of morality: Immanuel Kant's theory of Deontology, Aristotle's theory on Virtues, and finally the theory of Utility, or the Utilitarian principles of Teleology."
