Free Essays on Age Of Anxiety And European Culture

At its start, the Great War of 1914-1918 was a popular war. The war was even blessed by those thinkers and artists who were non-violent by nature. The war, many people sincerely believed, would be quick and glorious. The war soon gave way to bitter disillusionment. This bitterness is illustrated in the film Paths of Glory (1957) as well as in Erich Marie Remarque's novel, All Quiet on the Western Front (1929). The stupidity of the war became apparent to all those men who fought for their nation. On the home front, of course, the story was a bit different. But when soldiers, lucky enough to still be alive returned home, it was to a land which knew nothing of the Somme or Verdun. "A land fit for heroes"? Perhaps. Never such innocence, Never before or since, As changed itself to past Without a wordthe men Leaving the gardens tidy, The thousands of marriages Lasting a little while longer: Never such innocence again. (Philip Larkin, MCMXIV) It was William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) who remarked, in 1879, that "war is at best barbarism†¦. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell." But it was the British poet Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) who added, "war is hell and those who initiate it are criminals." This was the final verdict of the Great War, especially among the Anglo-French. "The Old Lie: Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori." The initial "vision of honor and glory to country" faded quickly and was replaced by sorrow, pity and cruelty. For the BRITISH WAR POETS, the whole affair ended in bitterness. People felt betrayed by those men who were "running the war." The horrors of the trench rotting horseflesh, mud, poor food, weapons that would not fire, poison gas and the sheer terror of waiting for death these were the images and experience of the Great War. It was t... Free Essays on Age Of Anxiety And European Culture Free Essays on Age Of Anxiety And European Culture At its start, the Great War of 1914-1918 was a popular war. The war was even blessed by those thinkers and artists who were non-violent by nature. The war, many people sincerely believed, would be quick and glorious. The war soon gave way to bitter disillusionment. This bitterness is illustrated in the film Paths of Glory (1957) as well as in Erich Marie Remarque's novel, All Quiet on the Western Front (1929). The stupidity of the war became apparent to all those men who fought for their nation. On the home front, of course, the story was a bit different. But when soldiers, lucky enough to still be alive returned home, it was to a land which knew nothing of the Somme or Verdun. "A land fit for heroes"? Perhaps. Never such innocence, Never before or since, As changed itself to past Without a wordthe men Leaving the gardens tidy, The thousands of marriages Lasting a little while longer: Never such innocence again. (Philip Larkin, MCMXIV) It was William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) who remarked, in 1879, that "war is at best barbarism†¦. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell." But it was the British poet Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) who added, "war is hell and those who initiate it are criminals." This was the final verdict of the Great War, especially among the Anglo-French. "The Old Lie: Dulce et decorum est, pro patria mori." The initial "vision of honor and glory to country" faded quickly and was replaced by sorrow, pity and cruelty. For the BRITISH WAR POETS, the whole affair ended in bitterness. People felt betrayed by those men who were "running the war." The horrors of the trench rotting horseflesh, mud, poor food, weapons that would not fire, poison gas and the sheer terror of waiting for death these were the images and experience of the Great War. It was t...

Between Silence and Light essays

Between Silence and Light essays Architecture is a meeting place between the measurable and the unmeasurable. The art of design is not only rooted in the aesthetic form, but in the soul of the work. In Phenomena and Idea, Stephen Holl once wrote, " The thinking-making couple of architecture occurs in silence. Afterward, these "thoughts" are communicated in the silence of phenomenal experiences. We hear the "music" of architecture as we move through spaces while arcs of sunlight beam white light and shadow." Undoubtedly, Holl adopted this concept from its author, Louis I. Kahn. Unquestionably, I am referring to "Silence and Light", a concept created and nurtured by Khan, and one that dominated the later half of his work. Kahn had chosen the word Silence to define the unmeasurable or that which has not yet come to be. According to Khan, the unmeasurable is the force that propels the creative spirit toward the measurable, to the Light. When the inspired has reached that which is, that which known, he has reached the Light. Eloquently expressing the architect's passion for design, Khan wrote "Inspiration is the of feeling at the beginning at the threshold where Silence and Light meet. Silence, the unmeasurable, desire to be. Desire to express, the source of new need, meets Light, the measurable, giver of all presence, by will, by law, the measure of thing already made, at a threshold which is inspiration, the sanctuary of art, the treasury of shadow." Khan believed that in order for architectural theory to be credible, it had to be constructed. Thirty years ago, Khan began one of his most successful executions of the Silence and Light with the Library at Phillips Exeter Academy. This New Hampshire landmark physically illustrates and ideologically embodies many of Khan's concepts and incorporates many of his beliefs, synthesizing them into a tight little package with a powerful punch. The subtleties of materiality coupled with multiple plays of light truly e...

Biography of Arthur Miller, Major American Playwright

Biography of Arthur Miller, Major American Playwright Arthur Miller (October 17, 1915–February 10, 2005) is considered one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century, having created some of Americas most memorable plays over the course of seven decades. He is the author of Death of a Salesman, which won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize in drama, and The Crucible.  Miller is known for combining social awareness with a concern for his characters’ inner lives. Fast Facts: Arthur Miller Known For: Award-winning American playwrightBorn: October 17, 1915 in New York CityParents: Isidore Miller, Augusta Barnett MillerDied: Feb. 10, 2005 in Roxbury, ConnecticutEducation: University of MichiganProduced Works: All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A View From the BridgeAwards and Honors: Pulitzer Prize, two New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Tony AwardsSpouse(s): Mary Slattery, Marilyn Monroe, Inge MorathChildren: Jane Ellen, Robert, Rebecca, DanielNotable Quote: Well, all the plays that I was trying to write were plays that would grab an audience by the throat and not release them, rather than presenting an emotion which you could observe and walk away from. Early Life Arthur Miller was born on October 17, 1915, in Harlem, New York to a family with Polish and Jewish roots. His father Isidore, who came to the U.S. from Austria-Hungary, ran a small coat-manufacturing business. Miller was closer to his mother Augusta Barnett Miller, a native New Yorker who was a teacher and an avid reader of novels. His fathers company was successful until the Great Depression dried up virtually all business opportunities and shaped many of the younger Millers beliefs, including the insecurity of modern life. Despite facing poverty, Miller made the best of his childhood. He was an active young man, in love with football and baseball. When he wasn’t playing outside, Miller enjoyed reading adventure stories. He also kept busy with many boyhood jobs. He often worked alongside his father; other times, he delivered bakery goods and worked as a clerk in an auto parts warehouse. College After working at several jobs to save money for college, in 1934 Miller left the East Coast to attend the University of Michigan, where he was accepted into the school of journalism. He wrote for the student paper and completed his first play,  No Villain, for which he won a university award. It was an impressive beginning for a young playwright who had never studied plays or playwriting. Whats more, he had written his script in just five days. He took several courses with Professor Kenneth Rowe, a playwright. Inspired by Rowes approach to constructing plays, after graduating in 1938, Miller moved back East to begin his career as a playwright. Broadway Miller wrote plays as well as radio dramas. During World War II, his writing career gradually became more successful. (He couldnt serve in the military because of a football injury.) In 1940 he finished The Man Who Had All the Luck, which reached Broadway in 1944 but closed after only four performances and a pile of unfavorable reviews. His next play to reach Broadway came in 1947 with All My Sons, a powerful drama that earned critical and popular praise and Millers first Tony Award, for best author. From that point on, his work was in high demand. Miller set up shop in a small studio that he had built in Roxbury, Connecticut, and wrote Act I of  Death of Salesman  in less than a day. The play,  directed by  Elia Kazan, opened on February 10, 1949, to great acclaim and became an iconic stage work, earning him international recognition. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, the play won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and swept all six of the Tony categories in which it was nominated, including best direction, best author, and best play. Communist Hysteria Since Miller was in the spotlight, he was a prime target for the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), led by Wisconsin  Sen.  Joseph McCarthy. In an age of anti-communism fervor, Miller’s liberal political beliefs seemed threatening to some American politicians, which is unusual in retrospect, considering that the Soviet Union banned his plays. Miller was summoned before the HUAC and was expected to release names of any associates he knew to be communists. Unlike Kazan and other artists, Miller refused to give up any names. â€Å"I don’t believe a man has to become an informer in order to practice his profession freely in the United States,† he said. He was charged with contempt of Congress, a conviction that was later overturned. In response to the hysteria of the time, Miller wrote one of his best plays, The Crucible. It is set during another time of social and political paranoia, the Salem Witch Trials, and is an insightful criticism of the phenomenon. Marilyn Monroe By the 1950s, Miller was the most recognized playwright in the world, but his renown wasn’t only because of his theatrical genius. In 1956, Miller divorced Mary Slattery, his college sweetheart with whom he had had two children, Jane Ellen and Robert. Less than a month later he married actress and Hollywood sex symbol  Marilyn Monroe, whom hed met in 1951 at a Hollywood party. From then on, he was even more in the limelight. Photographers hounded the famous couple and the tabloids were often cruel, puzzling over why the â€Å"world’s most beautiful woman† would marry such a â€Å"homely writer. Author  Norman Mailer  said their marriage represented the union of the Great American Brain and the Great American Body. They were married for five years. Miller wrote little during that period, with the exception of the screenplay for  The Misfits  as a gift for Monroe. The  1961 film,  directed by  John Huston, starred Monroe,  Clark Gable,  and  Montgomery Clift. Around the time the  film was released, Monroe and Miller divorced.  A year after divorcing Monroe (she died the following year), Miller married his third wife, Austrian-born American photographer Inge Morath. Later Years and Death Miller continued to write into his 80s. His later plays didnt attract the same attention or acclaim as his earlier work, though film adaptations of The Crucible and Death of a Salesman kept his fame alive. Much in his later plays dealt with personal experience. His final drama, Finishing the Picture, recalls the turbulent last days of his marriage to Monroe. In 2002, Millers third wife Morath died and he soon was engaged to 34-year-old painter Agnes Barley, but he became ill before they could marry. On February 10, 2005- the 56th anniversary of the Broadway debut of  Death of a Salesman- Miller died of heart failure  at his home in Roxbury, surrounded by Barley, family, and friends. He was 89 years old. Legacy Millers sometimes bleak view of America was shaped by his and his familys experiences during the Great Depression. Many of his plays deal with the ways capitalism affects the lives of everyday Americans. He thought of theater as a way to speak to those Americans: The mission of the theater, after all, is to change, to raise the consciousness of people to their human possibilities, he said. He established the Arthur Miller Foundation to help young artists. After his death, his daughter Rebecca Miller focused his mandate on expanding the arts education program in New York City public schools. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Miller won two New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Tony Awards for his plays, and a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. He also received the John F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award and was named Jefferson Lecturer for the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2001. Sources Arthur Miller Biography. Notablebiographies.com.Arthur Miller: American Playwright. Encyclopedia Britannica.Arthur Miller Biography. Biography.com.Arthur Miller Foundation.

Assesment instruments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assesment instruments - Essay Example (Cattell, 1996) The global factors the test measures are Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (OCEAN). (Hofer & Eber, 2002) Employers also use skill or knowledge specific tests. For example, tests for prospective employees of the United States, State Department are not unlike university examinations in a politics class. They are designed to determine an applicants knowledge of foreign governments, history and diplomacy. These are job-specific skills for that employer. Similarly, many factories will examine prospective employees to determine their level of knowledge of required skills from plumbing to computer technology. In essence tests of this nature determine an employees competence in the skills the company or position requires them to have. Tests of this nature have been used since time immemorial. Arguably, an apprenticeship program in a trade such as tool and die maker can be seen as one long testing process resulting in the apprentice receiving the designation of journeyman. Wikipedia suggests that academic careers can be seen as an apprenticeship program: â€Å"Even in academia, the tradition survives, with elementary, middle and high school completing general education; with post secondary degrees awarded in the Associates, Bachelor and Master levels; and PhD students as apprentices, post-docs and associate professors as journeymen and full professors as masters.† (â€Å"Master Craftsman†) Testing alone has one major advantage. It is entirely objective. There is no influence over a test relating to an interviewer liking or disliking a candidate. The candidate answers the test and the test results are calculated. However, this can also be its major disadvantage. Particularly if the test, such as the PF Questionnaire is designed to measure personality factors. The PF Questionnaire can accurately judge global personality

Death penalty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Death penalty - Research Paper Example In some communities, however, the death penalty among its members was shunned because of the fact that it was forbidden to spill the blood of fellow community members. In such cases, this sentence was often reserved for times of conflict with neighboring communities where captured individuals, especially leaders, were sentenced to death. The continued use of the death penalty to punish a diverse number of crimes in the modern world has come to receive praise and condemnation in equal measure. Those, who advocate for it, argue that it serves as a deterrent to crime, since those who are given the death penalty serve as an example to would-be criminals (Fagan, 2006). Furthermore, they state that there are those individuals, such as murderers, who if sentenced to death, would be good riddance from society. This is because of the fact that they will have been removed from society on a permanent basis, thus ensuring that they are kept from repeating the same crimes that they have committed . They further argue that the death penalty is a just punishment for those individuals who commit such heinous crimes as child murder and serial killing, because these are human beings without a conscience who must be completely removed from society. In addition, they state that the death penalty is completely justified especially when applied to cases where individuals are serial murderers or have committed mass killings; acts which are unforgivable in most human societies in the world (Vollum et al, 2004). It is argued that sentencing such people to death is a means of showing the members of society that such acts cannot be tolerated and that if they are committed, then the lives of the offenders would be forfeit. There are some among those who support the use of the death penalty, who have gone as far as to state that not applying it on people who have committed such crimes as murder and genocide is a miscarriage of justice (Davis, 2002). For them, those who call for the abolitio n of the death penalty are not living in a realistic world, because its abolition is likely to increase the occurrence of terrible crimes in human societies. Furthermore, it is stated that the punishment of a crime must be painful in proportion of the crime committed and this is used to justify the death penalty since leaving murderers alive would be unfair to the families of their victims. The opponents of the death penalty, on the other hand, argue that its application in all manner of cases is a violation of the human rights of the individuals who have committed crimes. They argue that not all of those who are sentenced have a desire to commit murder and that in fact, there are many who only commit murder in self-defense since to do otherwise would have meant their own deaths (Rogoff, 2008). Another argument that they give is that the application of the death penalty is discriminative since most of those people who are sentenced tend to come from minority groups which do not have the resources to get the best representation in the courts (Lynch and Haney, 2000). They state that the use of the death penalty is an act of violence and that its continued use encourages the propagation of a culture of violence within the human society.

Hertzian Contact Stresses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hertzian Contact Stresses - Essay Example Hertz identifies that the abutment of non-conforming forms was an example of stress accumulation that could be explicated liberated of the geometry and physics of stress field generated in the bodies. According to Heinrich Hertz," we can confine our attention to that part of each body which is very close to the point of contact, since here the stresses are extremely great compared with those occurring elsewhere, and consequently depends only to the smallest extent on the forces applied to other parts of the bodies." By circumscribing concentration to that fragment of the garb padlocked to the areas in contact with each other, the forces and wrench can be observed by evasion the slender cal arch of the surfaces of the two contacted bodies. The hertz theory is stimulated by two factors namely quadratic terms are used to delineate the geometry of general curved surface areas and the area of the body that have a curved surface mutilate as though they have elastic half spaces. From time t o time efforts are made to enhance hertz theory by considering higher order terms in the geometric elaboration of cylindrical or spherical profiles and by calculating the deformations of truly cylinder or spherical solids. Considering the hertz theory with respect to Marine engineering components, it has been observed that these components are designed to accommodate a defined life. Considering the case of Roll Bearings, which are used in ships, has approximately life of 65,000 hours and so accordingly this requires its replacement quite frequently during the tenure of the ship. The failure of these bearings is consorted with the inner raceway. The failures, which include the center radial, bearing of thrust bearing pair and radial drive end bearing, are also experienced. A very close examination depicts that the failure is the result of sub-surface fatigue. Once the cracks are instigated then it lead to grows and promulgate sub-surfaces. Following figure shows typical failure morphology of bearings This figure shows that Hertizan stresses plays important role in this failure process. On canvassing and implicating the Hertz theory in above scenario it is serene that shear forces are effectuated sub-surface and repose on plane close to

Journal 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Journal 5 - Essay Example These images are mainly for commercial and materialistic cause and it is important to ponder on their effect they have upon our lives (Tom, 80). Notably, two images are important; the automobiles and food. These images inform us on our culture: need for nourishment, pleasure and the conquering of time and distance. Minimalist art attempted to avoid allegorical associations, symbolism, and suggestions of spiritual transcendence of the previous generation of painters by stressing on their obscurity on expressivism. They started in painting and later establishing themselves in sculpture where they used objects, which were industrially produce to reduce the personal artistic signature of work. They endeared the simplicity in both the form and content by removing personal expression, which allows the audience to see composition without the distraction of the themes. They have the impersonal attitude and land art as they use the simple forms. In contrast to the previous art, the minimalist art is not about self expression but objective in their work (Tom 90). However, many modern Pop-arts aroused a new trend in creativity and diversity of modernism reflecting the values of so-called formalist artist criticize minimalist art as people who misunderstood the modern dialect of painting and