David Foster Wallace is on YouTube giving the commencement address at Essay

David Foster Wallace is on YouTube giving the commencement address at Kenyon College, a speech that when published, is called T - Essay Example As a function of seeking to understand this particular speech and a more effective manner, the following analysis will take a nuanced approach, incorporating criticism, review, and analysis of Wallace is pronouncements in the hopes that the reader will gain a more informed understanding with respect to the approach that he champions and the relevance of the information that he presents. Wallace starts by discussing the experience of life; exhorting the listener to â€Å"construct meaning and create relevance† from the otherwise mundane and seemingly pointless activities that all human beings, regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, or ethnic origin, must engage as a function of living. From there, the author delves into the issue of what a liberal arts education actually means; denoting that the education itself means nothing. Rather, the ultimate meaning that is derived from a liberal arts education is solely contingent upon what the individual has the potential to do with it. However, the author strongly encourages the listener to avoid a type of arrogance; maintaining critical awareness in its stead. Whereas it is true, as a Wallace states, that reality is ultimately designed with the individual experience as the only measurement through which understanding can be accomplished, seeking to define the world through such a selfish viewpoint necessarily decreases the degree of empathy and understanding that an individual might otherwise exhibit (Boswell 368). As a function of this, Wallace encourages the individual with regards to what they should pay attention to; defining the debate within oneself and utilizing the liberal arts education as a means of affecting this. As such, not becoming detached, not refusing reality because it is painful, sad, monotonous, or mundane, and continually exercising a right and will towards thinking come to be the prime mechanisms through which Wallace point of view can most reasonably be affected (Veggian 99). In effect, what Wallace is promoting is an understanding of the fact that thinking is a choice and should not be an automatic setting; albeit a choice that a liberal arts education necessarily encourages. Finally, hammering this point home further, Wallace discusses the necessity of not being lulled into a complacent routine. Rather, seeking out â€Å"thinking† and utilizing the experiences and knowledge that are gained from a liberal arts education is not only an opportunity but in fact something of a calling that each and every individual that experiences such an education and can draw upon it must necessarily engage. The irony of all of this has to do with the fact that even though each of these points is effectively expounded upon by Wallace, the author and speaker himself ultimately committed suicide in 2008 (Fest 127). Although the events surrounding his suicide remained largely misunderstood, it is the view of this particular author that Wallace was unable to ascribe to t he high standard of open-mindedness, compassion, and a sense of selflessness that he promoted to the audience within the commencement address. However, this inability upon Wallace part should not be understood as an effective dismissal of the

Implementations of Customer Relations Management System by Royal Mint Essay

Implementations of Customer Relations Management System by Royal Mint - Essay Example The Royal Mint Company requires a CRM system to facilitate the management of marketing information. The company will effectively acquire customer information and process it within the CRM system’s database to make marketing decisions and plans in addition to the evaluation of the impact of the company’s marketing endeavours. In implementing a Customer Relations Management system, Royal Mint stands to gain several benefits including better quality services and increased efficiency. CRM also helps to ensure reduced operational costs, increased profitability, and decision making support. The system leads to customer intimacy and thereby ensures the retention of existing customers. However, in the use of data stored in CRM, Royal Mint has to ensure the security of such data. This is because the use of such data could lead to ethical and legal issues. Access of such data has to be restricted as well as the transfer controlled. Introduction Romano and Fjermestad (2003, p. 233 ) define Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as the process of managing the interactive relationship of a business organization or a company with its customers. CRM is usually automated and applies technology to foster communication between a company and its clients. CRM therefore uses information systems which include computer application software which facilitate communication and interaction between a company and customers who are the major stakeholders of business functions and thus determine the success of the business. The composition of a CRM system is basically made of the hardware and software elements, the people who are involves, processes, procedures and policies which govern the application of the system to realize the goals of the business (Schierholz, Kolbe and Brenner 2007, p. 830). The benefits of CRM include increased profitability, better customer relations and higher quality products. The paper discusses the elements of a CRM system, its benefits and the ethic al issues involved in the use of the CRM system with a special relation on the Royal Mint Marketing strategy. Elements of CRM System According to Mandic (2011, p. 347), information technology is the major element of a CRM system because it is through these computer systems that companies are enabled to effectively communicate with their customer. The Royal Mint which is England’s legal entity which is authorized to mint or manufacture coins and medals has invested in information technology as the most appropriate way of facilitating interaction with its customers as described by Boulton (2011, p. 48). The marketing strategies of the company apply information systems to manage its customer base and enhance communication between the company and these clients. However the company has not utilized CRM system in making marketing decisions. Information technology in making marketing decisions is used to facilitate the management of customer information for marketing reasons. In a C RM system analytical tools and computer systems are used to gather client information and use it to make marketing decisions. Therefore the Royal Mint should apply information technology to maintain a database of its customers and also facilitate the interaction with its market. The use of CRM in marketing includes displaying the company’s products on the internet which can be accessed by the clients through creation of user accounts through the company’

Coherence and Fidelity in Narratives of Activist Essay Example for Free

Coherence and Fidelity in Narratives of Activist Essay Babels have now been considerably expanded to service organizations identified with the Charter of Principles of the World Social Forum. There are national coordination centers in France, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Turkey, Russia, the United States, Brazil, Korea, and Japan, and their website mentions Ð ° facility for linguistic coordination for Arabie, but it is not clear what this facility consists of. In addition to unpaid translation and interpreting work, the tasks undertaken by Babels volunteers range from giving (moral and material) support to interpreters to developing linguistic tools that are available to anyone, Babels is perhaps the best example to date of Ð ° carefully planned, equitably structured, and highly politicized international community of translators and interpreters; indeed, it explicitly describes itself as Ð ° player in the anti-capitalist debate. The group is also committed to orchestrating Ð ° conscious process of’ contamination in which the excellent language skills of the politically sympathetic trained interpreter interact with the deeper political knowledge of the language-fluent activist to develop Ð ° reflexive communications medium organic to the social forum movement. In other words, Babels does not see itself as Ð ° low-cost service provider for the social movement but rather as an active member of that narrative community with Ð ° key role in elaborating the narrative vision of the World Social Forum. Clearly the groups discussed above do not simply come together on the basis of national or other such static affiliations, nor are they motivated by personal ambition or profit. These are communities created by election, to use Fishers term. Translators and interpreters come together in these groups willingly to volunteer their time, to invest emotionally and intellectually in projects designed to undermine dominant discourses, and to elaborate more equitable and peaceful narratives of the future. What we make of their efforts depends on our own narrative location and on how we judge the coherence and fidelity of the narratives they elaborate about themselves. Narrative theory allows us to examine communities of these types and their work from at least two different perspectives. In the first instance, it is possible to examine the type of narratives these groups elaborate and to ask how they mediate those narratives, both in terms of the selection of material to be translated and the specific modes of translation adopted. Questions such as the following are productive in this regard. What type of texts do members of such activist communities select for translation? Do they embellish certain narratives in order to give those whose voices are suppressed and marginalized Ð ° better chance of being heard? Do they frame narratives with which they disagree strongly, such as the Project of the New American Century, in specific ways in order to undermine and expose their underlying assumptions? Do they omit or add material within the body of the text or do they rely on paratexts to guide the readers interpretation of each narrative? Do interpreters in the social for Ð ° reveal their own narrative location through such factors as tone of voice, pitch, or loudness? With regard to the issue of marginalization, for example, Robert Barsky argues that the nature of the asylum system is such that it systematically works against claimants, however valid their claims might be. He describes how interpreters working within this system often elaborate Ð ° claimants statement, supplement it with details they learned prior to the hearing, and improve it stylistically and rhetorically. Interpreters working for disempowered claimants who are ill served by their lawyers and the system as Ð ° whole may at times mediate the gap between the claimants competence in matters of self expression . . . and the requirements of the Refugee Board (1996:54); indeed, one of the functions they fulfill can be to quite simply tell Ð ° good story (1996:57). In terms of translation and activism, Ð ° systematic examination of interventions of this type in the output of committed communities of translators, using Ð ° theoretical framework that makes it possible to transcend narratives of neutrality and objectivity, would be Ð ° worthwhile and illuminating endeavor, І suspect it might demonstrate, for instance, that direct textual manipulation of the type that preoccupies many theorists of translation are relatively rare. In tact the accuracy of translation in this context becomes even more important, because blatant interventions can be used against the translators to brand them as biased and hence untrustworthy, which would have repercussions for the credibility of their own narratives and the narratives they set out to promote, undermining their characterological coherence (in Fishers terms, as outlined above). Instead we may well find that accuracy acquires an additional value in this context and that much of the political work is done through the selection of material to be translated and through various methods of framing the translation including paratexts, timing of the release of translations, where translations are placed, and so forth. Another line of inquiry informed by narrative theory involves examining the relevant translation communities own narratives for coherence and fidelity, using the framework outlined by Fisher above, Ð  brief analysis of the narrative of one such community, Translators without Borders, serves to illustrate the potential for this application of narrative theory. Aligning itself with what has been dubbed the sans frontierisme or without borderism movement, Translators Without Borders or Traducteurs Sans Frontieres consists ot Ð ° group of volunteer translators and interpreters who provide free translations for organizations they deem deserving, including Doctors Without Borders, Reporters without Borders, Amnesty International, and Handicap International. In some respects this is Ð ° very different type of community from Babels and Translators for Peace. As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Translators without Borders is an offshoot of Eurotexte, Ð ° commercial translation agency based in Paris, with offices also in Lisbon, Fishers principles of narrative coherence concern the way in which Ð ° story hangs together. Perhaps most relevant in this context is structural coherence, which to my mind would test negatively in the case of the narrative of Translators Without Borders because of Ð ° lack of internal consistency. This inconsistency results from the conflict between humanitarian and commercial agendas consequent on the identification of Translators without Borders and Eurotexte. The Eurotexte site features several prominent links to the Translators without Borders site, often collapsing the distinction between Ð ° commercial organization and Ð ° not-for-profit community of volunteer translators.

Australia And The Global Financial Crisis Economics Essay

Australia And The Global Financial Crisis Economics Essay The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was caused by various factors which impacted the Western worlds economies. It resulted from providing too many loans to people who could not afford to repay the loan and the packaging up of loans to on-sell (securitisation in the USA). The greed of consumers, bad investments, rising property prices, the wide spread distribution of income, and the overall poor regulation of monies also contributed. The Australian government takes credit for avoiding this recession by implementing Keynesian theory of fiscal and monetary stimulus by intervening early and a willingness to stimulate the economy. This stimulus was aimed to stimulate aggregate demand through increased consumption and investment expenditure the minority of this stimulus being monetary policy and the majority being fiscal stimulus. However this stimulus when compared to other contributions to change in GDP expenditure was not the major contributor to avoiding the recession. Net exports were t he most significant contributor during the GFC. This means that the stimulus did not save Australia from the recession. The net exports contributed greatly but when a consideration is made of all the National Income Measures (NIM) not just the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Australia did have a mild recession. It is clear that the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has created a recession not only all over the western world, but in Australia as well and the main contributor to its mildness was Australias net exports. The Australian government has used fiscal policies to smooth out the economic fluctuations caused by the GFC and to reduce its impact on consumers. Fiscal policy uses changes in government spending and/or reduces taxes to influence the level of aggregate demand to impact the general direction of the economy. When Australia was threatened by the global financial crisis, the government took the action of implementing the largest fiscal stimulus in the world (Makin 2010:5). The government spending was used for infrastructure projects for the purpose of stimulating the workforce during the GFC recession especially when the construction industry is particularly depressed. In addition, the government is spending on transfer payments to people under the Employment Insurance and Welfare programs increase during a recession and thereby providing more support to the level of aggregated demand. These stimulus packages (Government spending) include the Economic Security Strategy,  the Nation B uilding Economic Stimulus, the Nation Building and Jobs Plan and a Nation Building Infrastructure measures which have reached a more than $55.6 billion (Makin 2010:5). Most of this funding was targeted to support local jobs throughout Australia by building new projects and facilities that will have lasting benefits across the nation including (ALP 2011). Australia went through the GFC economically with the strongest growth of any advanced economy through 2009 (ALP 2011).  With the government stimulating the economy resulting in a multiplier effect, the planned aggregated expenditure increases. The Australian government also stimulated the economy with the aid of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to increase the planned aggregated expenditure by the use of monetary policy. The RBA sets the interest rate on overnight loans in the money market which affects other interest rates in the economy to varying degrees, so that the behaviour of borrowers and lenders in the financial markets are affected by monetary policy (though not only by monetary policy). This can be seen in the figure 1below as the supply curve shifts to the right which meant that the RBAs influence could be used to reduce the burden of the GFC. This could be done by three measures; the first measure was to provide extended opportunities for the banks to borrow from the RBA. This provided sufficient liquidity for banks to support them through the GFC. The second measure was to provide loans or make direct purchases to support certain markets. This allowed for mortgage-securities to be bought back and provide s hort-term stabilities. The third measure was the use of guarantees to stabilise markets, support banks in raising debt and to avoid a run on the banking system. This helped to increase the willingness to lend, since lenders were only willing to lend at short maturities. The ability to modify rates at any time provided the RBA with the flexibility to stimulate the economy in a downturn and prevent an overheating boom. Thus in the GFC the decrease in interest rates reduces the cost in borrowing resulting in increased planned aggIt regate expenditure. Figure 1: A Monetary Injection and How It Will Affect the Supply and Demand of Money. The Australian government increased government spending to increase private and public consumption by the use of monetary and fiscal policy to counter the negative contributions from public and private investment. The recorded contribution from direct Australian government consumption to a change in GDP(E) in the December 2008 quarter was  actually negative  (-0.1 per cent), followed by nil contribution in the March quarter. These were offset by negligible positive contributions from State and Local consumption spending. This was due to the result of administrative delays in implementing infrastructure spending causing the total public spending not to increase until the end of 2009, but only after the worst of the GFC had passed. During the time of the GFC from the September 2008 to the March 2009 quarters, the main contributors to expenditure were not private and public consumption but net exports which detracted from real expenditure growth in quarters before and after the GFC struck. The strong net export result can be explained by a sustained real exchange-rate depreciation of over 25 per cent in trade-weighted terms during the December 2008 and March 2009 quarters, which made exports substantially cheaper for foreign buyers and imports more expensive for domestic buyers. There was also sustained demand for commodities from key Asian trading partners, including China, over this time. The Australian strong economy can be credited to its net exports rather than government spending, to maintain a positive GDP during the GFC. Table 2: Contributions to GDP Growth (percentage points per quarter, seasonally adjusted) Federal Government Consumption State and Local Govt Consumption Federal  Government  Investment State and Local Govt Investment Statistical Discrepancy Real GDP Jun-2008 0.0 0.1 0.3 0.3 -0.1 0.2 Sep-2008 0.1 0.1 -0.2 -0.1 -0.1 0.4 Dec-2008 -0.1 0.1 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 -0.7 Mar-2009 0.0 0.1 -0.1 0.0 -0.9 0.7 Jun-2009 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 -0.3 0.5 Sep-2009 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.2 -0.1 0.3 Dec-2009 0.3 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.0 1.0 Source: Makin, A 2010, Did Australias Fiscal Stimulus Counter Recession?: Evidence from National Accounts, pg. 10, A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2010. A recession can be determined when there are two consecutive negative quarters of GDP and also when there is a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months. The nominal GDP fell in the March 2009 and June 2009 quarters implying there was a contraction in national income. The reason the average volume measure of GDP remained positive in the March quarter, while the current price value measure shrank, is that there was a sharp fall in the implicit price deflator (or overall price level), due in no small part to heavy retail discounting of goods for sale at this time. Meanwhile, real GDP per head, the single most important indicator of recession, fell successively over three quarters by a total of 1.3 per cent. The real GDP (E) measure in Table 1 is the only conventional GDP series that did not record at least two consecutive negative outcomes. Average real GDP was not negative for two successive quarters because the GDP (E) measures were sufficiently positive to make GDP (A) positive. He nce, the claim that fiscal stimulus enabled Australia to avoid recession according to the media definition of recession, in the end depends on the nature and robustness of the real GDP(E) measure for the March 2009 quarter. But Australia did have over 1.5% rise in unemployment, 1.1 per cent in the September 2008 and 1.5 per cent in the June 2009, meaning unemployment had a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months meaning Australia had a recession. Table 1: Conventional Measures of Gross Domestic Product (percentage growth per quarter, trend basis) Real GDP-Expenditure Real GDP-Income Real GDP -Production Real GDP-Average Real GDP per capita Nominal GDP Jun-2008 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.4 0.1 2.8 Sep-2008 0.1 -0.2 0.2 0.0 -0.5 2.1 Dec-2008 0.4 -0.2 -0.2 0.0 -0.5 0.6 Mar-2009 0.7 0.2 -0.2 0.2 -0.3 -0.8 Jun-2009 0.9 0.5 0.1 0.5 0.0 -0.7 Sep-2009 0.9 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.2 0.7 Dec-2009 0.8 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.3 2.2 Source: Makin, A 2010, Did Australias Fiscal Stimulus Counter Recession?: Evidence from National Accounts, pg. 8, A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2010. The claim that Australia avoided a recession rests on the definition of recession as two consecutive quarters of falling GDP. This definition is popular with media commentators and market economists and is tacitly approved by the Australian Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia. However, it lacks support from academic economists and policymakers abroad because it is too narrow. If a consideration is made to all the National Income Measures (NIM) not just the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicators of macroeconomic activity can broaden the margin for error that is always subjected to the economy-wide data especially in the face of a major shock such as the GFC, as evidenced by large statistical discrepancies in the national accounts. As shown above in Table 1, two successive quarters of negative growth  were  recorded in nominal GDP, the real production and income-based measures of GDP, and real GDP per head. The real GDP (E) measure was the only series that did not fall over two successive quarters. Alternative national income series for Australia gleaned from the most recent set of national accounts are included in Table 3, all of which reveal at least two successive negative quarterly outcomes. Though routinely ignored in economic commentary, the real gross and net domestic and national income series are especially important measures of Australias international macroeconomic performance because they reflect the impact of the terms of trade (or ratio of prices received for exports to prices paid for imports) on the economy. Derived by adjusting the volume measure of GDP for changes in the international purchasing power of national income which, in Australias case, occurs due to fluctuating export commodity prices, these series are broader measures of national economic wellbeing than the standard real GDP measure used in the media definition of recession, which can assist in a more accurate decision whether Australia is in a recession or not.   Table 3: Other National Income Measures (percentage growth per quarter, trend basis) Real Net Domestic Product Real Gross Domestic Income Real Gross National Income Real Net National Disposable Income Real Net National Disposable Income per Capita Jun-2008 0.3 2.2 2.5 2.7 2.2 Sep-2008 -0.3 1.2 1.6 1.5 1.0 Dec-2008 -0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.5 -1.1 Mar-2009 -0.1 -1.2 -1.2 -1.8 -2.3 Jun-2009 0.4 -0.5 -0.6 -1.0 -1.5 Sep-2009 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.1 -0.3 Dec-2009 0.4 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.2 Source: Makin, A 2010, Did Australias Fiscal Stimulus Counter Recession?: Evidence from National Accounts, pg. 13, A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2010. Fiscal policy uses changes in government spending and/or reduces taxes to influence the level of aggregate demand to impact the general direction of the economy. This resulted in a multiplier effect which increased the planned aggregated expenditure that monetary policy also contributed too. But the main contributors to expenditure were not private and public consumption but net exports which detracted from real expenditure growth in quarters before and after the GFC struck. A recession can be determined when there are two consecutive negative quarters of GDP and also when there is a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months. Average real GDP was not negative for two successive quarters because the GDP (E) measures were sufficiently positive to make GDP (A) positive. Hence, the claim that fiscal stimulus enabled Australia to avoid recession according to the media definition of recession. If a consideration is made to all the National Income Measures (NIM) not just the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicators of macroeconomic activity, all of which reveal at least two successive negative quarterly outcomes, Australia did have a recession. It than becomes clear that the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has created a recession not only all over the western world, but in Australia as well. Thereby in the short-run, increases in households discretionary income and increase in spending results in a sudden increase of disposable income to help fight the downturn. The Australian strong economy can be credited to its net exports rather than government spending but government spending did help maintain investment and consuming confidence that help to maintain the flow of monies.

Tragedy in Sophocles Oedipus The King and Antigone Essay -- Sophocle

Tragedy in Sophocles' Oedipus The King and Antigone The Greeks considered tragedy the greatest form for literature.   However, the tragic ends for the characters were not ordained or set by fate, but rather caused by certain characteristics belonging to that person.   Such is the case with the characters of Sophocles' plays Oedipus the King and Antigone.   Oedipus from King Oedipus, and Antigone and Creon from Antigone posses characteristics, especially pride, that caused their tragic ends.   As the play progress, other characteristics appear and further add to the problem to such a point that it is inevitable that it will end in tragedy.   Therefore the tragedies were not a result of a plot by the fates, but rather a result of the characteristics that the characters possessed. The characters posses a multitude of traits, some of them common to all of them.   Pride is especially prevalent.   This characteristic seems to be the major tragic flaw or hamartia that eventually causes the downfall.   Oedipus exhibits a vast amount of pride, which seems to border on sheer arrogance.   This is demonstrated in the beginning of the play where he states, "I, Oedipus, whose name is known afar."(p. 25).   This is reinforced by the priest's replies of, "Oedipus great and glorious,"(p.26) and, "O greatest of men."(p.26).  Ã‚   Therefore it may be concluded that Oedipus obviously posses a large amount of pride.   Antigone, daughter and sister of Oedipus also posses the same trait.   Creon acknowledges this when he says, "This girl's proud spirit,"(p.139) and Antigone confirms this with her grand speech to Creon, where she states, "I knew that I should have to die... living in daily torment as I do, who would not be glad to die?" (p.138).   Thus the pri... ...in both King Oedipus and Antigone there were characters whose lives ended in tragedy.   However these falls from grace were no the deeds of fate, but rather that of the character themselves.   The characteristics, especially pride, of the people set them on the path.   Therefore the faults of the characters were the cause of their ill-fated end. Works Cited Dodds, E. R. "On Misunderstanding the Oedipus Rex." Twentieth Century Interpretations of Oedipus Rex: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Michael J. O'Brien. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 17-29. Sophocles. "Oedipus Rex." An Introduction to Literature, 11th ed. Eds. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: Longman, 1997. Sophocles. Antigone. Exploring Literature: Writing and thinking About Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc, 2001.

Herodotus :: Ancient Greece Greek History

Herodotus Herodotus (484-424 BC ?) a Greek historian, known as the father of history, who was the first historian to apply critical evaluation to his material, while also recording divergent opinions. He made his prose style resemble the finest poetry by its persuasiveness, its charm, and its utterly delightful effect. Although his writings have been praised, their trustworthiness has been questioned both in ancient and modern times. After four years in Athens, he traveled widely in Egypt, Asia and the Black Sea region of E. Europe, before settling at Thurii in S. Italy in 443 BC. He wrote accounts of his various travels for the people of Greece. He read his, "History" publicly to the Athenians and was rewarded for this historical work. He contrived to set before his fellow citizens a general picture of the world, of its various races, and of the previous history of those nations which had one. He also was very careful to diversify his pages by scattering among his more serious matter tales, a necdotes, and descriptions of a lighter character, which are very graceful additions to the main narrative. Two men are famous contemporaries of Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon, who were both from Athens. Thucydides (460 BC - 400 BC?) was a better historian than Herodotus and his critical use of sources and research made his "History of the Peloponnesian War" a significant influence on later generations of historians. Xenophon (430 BC - 355 BC?) began his "Hellenica where Thucydides ended his work about 411 BC and carried his history to 362 BC. His writings were superficial in comparison to those of Thucydides, but he wrote with authority on military matters. Herodotus believed that many Greek rituals and customs were inherited from the Egyptians as the Greek civilization developed. He recorded the wide range of religious practices he encountered in his travels, comparing the religious observances of various cultures, such as sacrifice and worship, with their Greek equivalents. He quite possibly followed the cult practices of Serapis, which is the Greek Name for Osiris the embodiment of goodness, who ruled the underworld. He identified Isis with Demeter, the Greek goddess of earth, agriculture, and fertility. About two centuries later, under the Greco-Egyptian Empire, which was created by Alexander the Great, the worship of Osiris (Serapis) was developed as a means of uniting the Greeks and Egyptians. He observed that the Egyptians strongly opposed the acceptance of foreign customs.

Elphaba from “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire Essay

Analyze the Main CharacterThe main character named Elphaba, in the novel Wicked, raises the debate to whether evil is inherited genetically or developed by social injustice. Elphaba, having been born with a pale green skin tone and razor sharp teeth was automatically rejected by society at birth. As she grew older she developed a vast knowledge of the world around her which led her desire to be influential towards the greater good. Even though her intentions were genuinely efficacious she was labeled wicked due to the narrow views on eccentricity throughout society. This is the conflict in which Elphaba was to succumb in order to fulfill her desire to better the world. Elphaba was born a munchkinlander to the reverend of a unionist church and the daughter of a wealthy family. Even though she was born to a promising background she was destined for failure due to birth defects. Elphaba was born with green skin and razor sharp teeth because of a green elixir in which her mother ingested in large quantities during the pregnancy. These abnormal traits caused even the narrow minds of her parents to have distaste for her; her parents were afraid of her at first but later learned to love her for she had become an extremely kind and loving person. She was born with a negative connotation to her name which could possibly dampen her future. Despite the constant badgering and scrutinizing due to her irregularities Elphaba developed a mind of phenomenal capacity. Her father spent much time tutoring her in her younger years and teaching her to love knowledge. With this love for knowledge she excelled in public schooling and was accepted with full decoration to attend Shiz University. Wishing to attend Shiz to develop her brain she was soon discovered to be that of a witch with potential to develop amazing powers. She was then lead on by the head mistress madam Morrible to pursue her powers and then later to engage in a meeting with the wizard of Oz. Now, having developed a great magical ability, Elphaba was to meet the wizard who she thought could be able to help her fulfill her desire to better the world. To her surprise, it was revealed that the wizard had no power at all  and with the help of madam Morrible planned to use Elphaba as the power in order to fuel his own dictatorship. Elphaba quickly rejected the wizards’ proposal and went into hiding promptly. In doing so the wizard persuaded society that she was wicked because of her abnormal looks and that she was capable of destroying their Land of Oz. Society surged against Elphaba killing everyone and everything she ever loved. This drove Elphaba to lose all control and use her divine magical powers to harm the society that rejected her. This could be considered the point in which Elphaba fulfilled her title as â€Å"wicked.†Elphaba was born to abnormal looks with a kind heart but later became wicked because of the cruel behavior of society. If she were only given the chance to prove her intentions she may have succeeded in improving the status of the world. But due to the evil intentions of the wizard her life was thus written as the wickedest of them all.