Othello Essays (595 words) - Othello, Michael Cassio, Iago

Othello In Othello, we encounter Iago, one of Shakespeare's most evil characters. Iago is an officer in Othello's army and is jealous of Cassio's promotion to Lieutenant. Through deception and appearance, we see many lies and clever schemes unfold. The astonishing thing about Iago is that he seems to make up his malicious schemes as he goes along without any planning. I agree with the critics that say Iago represents a "motiveless malignity". Throughout the play, Iago portrays himself as a devil figure and can compare with the devil. Iago has proved himself to be a master of deception. He lies to everyone to disguise his own thoughts. For example, in Act 1 scene 2, when he is speaking to Othello about his feelings toward Cassio, he uses very strong language, while at the same time, he lies throughout the whole speech faking loyalty to a fellow soldier. He says, "I had rather have this tongue cut from my mouth. Than it should do offense to Michael Cassio". This deception impresses and convinces Othello that his officer is a good and loyal soldier. Iago also succeeds in deceiving Cassio. After Cassio's drunken fight, Iago encourages him to speak to Desdemona about trying to convince Othello to reinstate him as lieutenant. While Iago is talking to Cassio, he knows that this will only help his plan of having Othello see him with Desdemona. Evidently, Cassio is capable of being deceived by Iago. In Act II Iago gives a description of his plan of deception in a soliloquy. Iago describes how the devil uses the appearance of something good to disguise the various temptations that we know are evil. He tells how he will do the same while Cassio is begging Desdemona to tell Othello to take him back. Iago then will start his destructive scheme. The devil also deceives by lying and twisting the truth. Through deception, Iago creates the appearance of good, which is what fools the people around him into thinking that he is loyal and honest. Since Iago is an officer, he already has the appearance of being a good and honest man. He has an advantage when it comes to keeping that honest look about him throughout the play. Iago deceitfully organizes his plan to appear trustworthy to everyone. Iago also uses appearances to create deception. When Cassio had finished asking Desdemona, in the garden, if she would talk to Othello for him, he left her presence. Iago and Othello were standing off in the distance observing them. When Othello asks him if it was Cassio that he saw, Iago replies "Cassio, my lord! No, sure, I cannot think it, that he would steal away so guilty-like, Seeing you coming". He uses that scene to convince Othello that Cassio looked very guilty when he left Desdemona. Othello proves this fact later on in the play when he asks for appearance as proof of Desdemona's deceptive behavior. Othello demands to see it with his own eyes in order for it to be convincing. Iago then changes the subject and lies to Othello outright by telling him that he heard Cassio talking in his sleep. He then goes so far as to say that Cassio was making sexual implications to him while sleeping. This upsets Othello, showing that Iago's slyness has no limits. The devil and Iago, both, have a unique way of twisting appearances into looking like truths. Sometimes this makes it hard to distinguish between the two evils. Iago has proven to be the essence of evil in that he uses the same tactics that the devil does to get what he wants. As for Othello, the tragedy would not have happened if it were not for Iago who was jealous of Cassio's lieutenant job and of Othello for being a successful soldier.

Inaccuracies in Gladiator essays

Inaccuracies in Gladiator essays In 1500 BCE, a tribe of Latins moved into Italy along the Tiber River, and eventually founded the city of Rome. Rome had a city-state government and, in 753 BC, was invaded by the Etruscans. The Etruscans built buildings, roads, and city walls; and thus transformed Rome into one of the most powerful cities in the Mediterranean. In general, Roman gladiators were condemned criminals, prisoners of war, or slaves bought for the purpose of gladiatorial combat. Professional gladiators were free men who volunteered to participate in the games. The movie Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott in the year 2000, is a movie about classical Rome that is riddled with historical inaccuracies. The plot of this movie portrays a Roman general, having been sentenced to die for not supporting the new emperor, escaping and then seeking out revenge upon the corrupt ruler. Characters that did not exist, battles that never occurred, and frequent misapprehensions about the Roman government and gladiators are f ound throughout the movie Gladiator, a movie that, although entertaining, is overflowing with historical inaccuracies. In the movie Gladiator, many characters are made-up, and if they were once real, were completely changed to help the plot of the movie and make it more entertaining for the public. The overlooking of much historical material on Commodus, one of the main characters and a man who actually existed in the classical Roman era, is a mainstay in this movie. One accuracy about Commodus was that he was enthralled with shows of beast hunting, chariot racing, and gladiatorial combat; he even trained himself in those skills and eventually fought in the public arena as a gladiator. Except for his documented love of the games, there is not much that is historical about Gladiators portrayal of Commodus. In the movie he seems to be in his mid-to-late twenties with dark hair, when in all actuality, ...

Mulvey's Analysis of Visual Structure Extended to Consider Racial Essay

Mulvey's Analysis of Visual Structure Extended to Consider Racial Difference - Essay Example Her work was inspired by theories presented by Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan (Mulvey 836). She incorporated their theories as â€Å"political weapons† (Mulvey 833) into her own work. Based on these concepts, she contended that conventional Hollywood cinema place the viewer in a masculine subject situation; and women are depicted as mere objects of admiration. Traditional Hollywood cinema fostered spectators to relate to the hero, evidently a man. She states (Mulvey 837): â€Å"In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness. Woman displayed as sexual object is the leit-motif of erotic spectacle: from pin-ups to striptease, from Ziegfeld to Busby Berkeley, she holds the look, plays to and signifies male desire. Mainstream film neatly combined spectacle and narrative.† On the other hand, Mulvey states that wom en were â€Å"to-be-looked-at-ness† (Mulvey 837). She conceived two primary roles in which males construed female characters during this era. These were â€Å"voyeuristic† and â€Å"fetishist†. ... In addition, that she had not borne in mind that the impact of a feminist role might be different on bisexual or heterosexual spectators. Moreover, she failed to account for media audience researches related to fans and their interface with celebrities. Mulvey wrote in rebuttal that the purpose of her writing was to provoke though and present novel notions instead of a logical academic work. However, her views were slightly modified on some issues as demonstrated in her subsequent article â€Å"Afterthoughts on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema†. Generally, the portrayal of blacks in Hollywood cinema and their categorical absence in films leads to condemnation by spectators. Normally, black spectators avoid identifying themselves with depicted characters and even oppose the convincing elements of films. Most articles such as Mulvey’s ‘Imaginary Signifier by Christian Metz’, ‘Difference’ by Stephen Heath and the like revolved around issues of gendered viewership. Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott have presented an attention-grabbing analysis of the personification of blacks in Hollywood in their article titled â€Å"How the Movies Made a President† (Dargis and Scott). They illustrate the development of characters assigned to blacks during the previous decades â€Å"from the ghetto to the boardroom, from supporting roles in kitchens, liveries, and social-problem movies to the rarefied summit of the Hollywood A-list†. This draws attention towards the crucial resemblance between how blacks are allotted stereotypical and relegated roles and how women encountered similar derogatory treatment. Although, the stereotyping in characters is different for the two groups; but primarily it represents the

Induction of Gene Expression Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Induction of Gene Expression - Research Paper Example They are preceded by a single promoter/operator region which controls the expression of all three genes. Even further upstream of the promoter lies the gene lacI which codes for the lac repressor protein. This protein is a regulator and binds to the promoter/operator region of the lac operon in the absence of lactose in the medium. This is simply an economic measure by the bacterium to prevent the wasteful synthesis of enzymes when they are not needed. In the presence of lactose, the repression is relieved as lactose binds to the repressor protein and changes its conformation in a manner that makes it dissociate from the promoter. However, there is an added control level to the regulation of this operon. In the presence of a preferred substrate, like glucose or its modified form, glucose -6- phosphate, the bacterium will still not synthesize lactose even though this is present in the medium along with glucose. This phenomenon is called catabolite repression. The mechanism involves the CAP protein which also can increase expression of the lac operon. When glucose levels are high, cyclic AMP levels lower. Cyclic AMP forms a complex with CAP before it binds to the DNA. So, when the cyclic AMP levels are lowered, the CAP protein bound to DNA also decreases, thus lowering the transcription of lac genes. ... Since the natural substrate lactose and the products of its metabolism are not coloured detection of their formation is difficult. For this purpose, the analog ONPG is used which upon hydrolysis yields a product which is deep yellow in colour and can be spectrophotometrically quantified to follow the reaction and hence the expression patterns of the operon. The aim of the work is to use this analog and others to obtain a better understanding of the workings of the lac operon. MATERIALS AND METHODS Culturing of the bacteria: 10 ml each of E. coli (lac+ strain) which had reached mid-log phase was aliquoted into separate flasks and incubated at 28- 30 C gently shaking to ensure aeration. The cells were allowed to continue growing. Induction: Two sets of induction experiments were performed. The first set was induced with IPTG at a final concentration of 0.5 mM. The second set was also induced with 0.5 mM IPTG but in addition glucose was added to the medium to a final concentration of 30 mM. For the first set 1 ml samples were taken out at intervals of 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 32 and 48 minutes and used for the assay of galactosidase activity. For set 2, samples were removed at intervals of 10 and 45 minutes after induction with IPTG. As a control, 1 ml of the culture was removed prior to induction from both sets and used as uninduced controls. -galactosidase assays: To determine whether expression of the operon was taking place, the activity of galactosidase was assayed as follows. 0.1 ml of the culture samples removed at each time point were transferred into spectrophotometer tubes appropriately labeled. 1.5 ml of ONPG assay medium was added to each tube. (100 ml of assay medium contains 8 mg ONPG, 0.1 ml mercaptoethanol, 0.001 M MgSO4, pH7). After brief vortexing

Glucose Improves Listening Span Essay Example for Free

Glucose Improves Listening Span Essay This study was conducted to see the consequences for listening comprehension by examining the effects of a glucose drink on performance. The researchers predicted a hypothesis. The hypothesis being that listening span will be sensitive to glucose consumption. Students who fasted overnight would improve after drinking a glucose drink, where the placebo drink would not improve performance after fasting. The hypothesis was supported. There was an alternate/ research hypothesis used in this study. The independent variable was the glucose and the placebo that was being used in the study. It also shows that there was a difference between the two groups being tested. The numbers show that the glucose level was higher when real sugar drinks were being used. The data was collected by physical measures. They took a convenience sampling of eighty A- level students from two colleges. Within the sample there were 44 males and 36 females. The participants were asked to report to a specific room at 9 a. m. No more than 10 were in each room within a particular college. They were randomly assigned either the glucose or placebo group (they were unaware of any distinction). They were administered a version of the Listening Span Test. The students listened to a series of sentences. Then on a response sheet, they would record whether the preposition in each sentence was true or false. Then the students were required to write down, in forward serial order the last word in each sentence. After completion there was a twenty minute interval. Students were given orange juice to drink. One group got real orange juice; the other was given a placebo drink to emulate orange juice. They were then given a different version of the Listening Span Test. Researchers took ten samples of blood; five from placebo and five from glucose group. There wasn’t a difference in the taste of the beverages that was given to the students, even though one drink had 50 grams of glucose and the placebo contained the 2 grams of sweetex in place of the glucose. There was a clinically trained staff member that handled all of the sampling as well as the disposal of the materials that was being used to conduct the study. The students that took part of this study gave three blood samples before the drinks were consumed, and three more samples of blood was required 20 minutes after the Listening Span Test was given for the second time. They used the experimental method to analyze the data, using the glucose drink and placebo drink as an independent variable compared to the test scores as the dependent variable. The researcher controlled as much as possible to determine the cause and effect relationship exists between the variables being studied. The research design was quantitative due to the data analysis and cannot take place until all data had been collected. The researcher starts with a hypothesis for testing, observes and collected the data, analyzes the data, and drew conclusions. There was a statistical significance found when comparing listening span test score of 2. 4 before the drink to 3. 1 after the drink. In examining the data collected, the corollary effects shown were the scores showed improvement in the glucose group after receiving the drink compared to no performance difference before the drink was consumed. Controlling blood sugar is very important because sugar is used as a fuel, but cannot be stored; it is broken down and released into the blood stream. Every person’s glucose levels are different; this test was done on healthy students that had never been diagnosed with having any problems with high glucose/sugar levels. If it had been done on some people that had been diagnosed with diabetes and some that are in good health, the results would have been much higher. There was a factor that could affect the internal validity of the study. The pancreas could affect blood glucose levels; because when blood sugar drops it releases glycogen from the liver. So after the fasting the body its self would release glycogen into the bloodstream. Therefore they could not present a clear relationship between blood sugar level and cognitive capacity. What we did learn was the brain uses glucose as its fuel. The glucose levels of the students that did participate in the study stayed the same, and the listening span did improve after the consumption of the glucose drink. There was no difference or change in the listening span of the students that had beverages containing saccharine. Fasting also played a role in this study; it helped improve the listening span after the students received drinks that contained real sugar (glucose). The purpose of using the Listening Span Test was to measure the capacity of verbal memory. Sentences were read to the students the longest was six sentences long. This was done to determine how much the students could comprehend in a short period of time. In conclusion the research showed a modest increase in listening span performance after a glucose drink was taken. It was preferable for students to eat a nutritious breakfast but if not the students could consume a convenient form of glucose to elevate blood sugar levels that suggests a relationship between glucose drink and improvement level of performance. This conclusion falls into explanatory use. It meets guidelines such as having a dependent and independent variable, a control group and experimental group. This study showed a clear cause and effect relationship due to the increase in listening span after drinking the glucose. All students were given guidelines to follow before the test was administered and was randomly selected from their local colleges. While the study had merit, the potential threat to the internal validity needs to be addressed. How much did the pancreas contribute to raising the glucose levels in the body?

Imaging Techniques and Cognitive Function Essay examples -- Medicine

Neuroimaging is a multidiscipline science and experts from the field of psychology, statistics, physics and physiology all contribute to its further development (Poldrack et al., 2007). In the last 20 years the imaging techniques developed from single proton emission tomography (SPET) to positron emission tomography (PET) and finally to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (Page, 2006). Their applications are numerous in experimental and cognitive psychology. However, at one level they can constitute another dependent variable (brain activity) as a response to an independent variable (stimulus manipulation) and at the other level, understanding the structure and processes of the brain can shed light on ‘normal’ cognitive functioning (Kaye, 2010). Therefore, this essay will argue that imaging techniques not only tell us about the brain structure but also try to explain its cognitive functions. Two non-invasive imaging techniques will be put forward, namely, electr oencephalogram (EEG) that measures electrical activity and gives excellent temporal resolution and fMRI that is based on changes in blood supply and provides excellent spatial resolution. The claim will be evaluated in the light of their basic assumptions, methodology and contribution to examining the brain function. Relevant evidence of studies with healthy adults will be provided. Finally, technologies that can only show the brain structure will be introduced. First, let us look at the electroencephalogram (EEG), which is based on recordings of electrical brain activity with millisecond temporal resolution and it provides â€Å"the most direct measure correlate of ongoing brain processing that can be obtained non-invasively (Johnsrude and Hauk, 2010, p. 28). The ba... ...12 from http://web.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1b047404-ffff-413f-b018-a4213e391053%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=110 Page, M. A. (2006). What can't functional neuroimaging tell the cognitive psychologist?. Cortex: A Journal Devoted To The Study Of The Nervous System And Behavior, 42(3), 428-443. Retrieved May 5, 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/science/article/pii/S0010945208703757 Poldrack, R.A., Fletcher, P.C., Henson, R.N., Worsley, K.J., Brett, M. and Nichols, T.E. (2007). Guidelines for reporting an fMRI study. NeuroImage, 40 (2), 409-414. Retrieved May 5, 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811907011020 Whatson, T. (2006) Studying the brain: Techniques and technology. In Exploring the Brain (2nd ed.), 11-41, The Open University, Milton Keynes.

Compare Contrast Fall of Han China and Roman Empire

The Roman and Han Empires were the most powerful empires among the Classical Empires. The Han Dynasty and Roman Empire were similar in their falls because they both fell to nomadic invaders, and because they both fell because of a decline in economic trade. The Han and the Roman Empires were different in their falls because the Han suffered from serious revolts whereas the Romans did not; also the effects of their falls were different because China was able to make a fairly quick comeback whereas Rome was never able to do so. The Roman and Han empires were similar in their falls because of they both fell to nomadic invaders. Nomads attacked the empires to try and conquer them. The Romans were attacked by Germanic tribes and Han China was attacked by the Huns. Because both empires borders were so large, they were unable to fully protect their borders making it easy for their invaders to defeat them. The Han and the Roman Empires failing due to nomadic invaders is similar to the fall of the Gupta because one of the main reasons they fell was because of nomadic invaders conquering them and then splitting them up into regional kingdoms. The Roman and Han empires falls’ were similar because of their decline in economic trade. Trade was extremely important for the Romans and Chinese so when it began to decline, so did the rest of the empire. As both empires borders expanded, they had to take more of the military to defend the borders rather than the trade routes, so the trade routes became compromised. People began stealing goods from merchants making the routes extremely dangerous. Because their was much less trade, the taxes to the government were greatly reduced so they had to tax the people more. Most people could not afford the hike in taxes so the government was still unable to get all of their money, thus resulting in decline. This is similar to the decline of the Qin Dynasty because the Qin Dynasty had to raise taxes on peasants to try and support the government, causing it to decline as well. The fall of the Han Dynasty and the Roman Empire are different because the Han fell to revolts whereas it was not a major cause in the fall in the Roman Empire. The Han Dynasty had many revolts; an example is the Yellow Turban Revolt, caused by frustration in the government. In Rome there were not many revolts because the government provided the peasants with bread and circuses in order to boost morale and keep them loyal to the government, which worked fairly well. The effects of the falls of the Han and the Roman Empires are different because China was able to make a comeback whereas Rome was not. After the Han fell, China was able to pull together, largely due to the economic and culture unity, whereas Romans were unable to do so. The Roman empire fell separately so the people in the eastern and western halves were very different, along with the economies. They were so different they could not come together, the government was far to fractured and the people were no longer united.