Illusion in The Tempest

Illusion in The Tempest Throughout his thirty-six works which frequent stages around the world, Shakespeare was able to explore not only the human psyche and characteristics of humanity, but he also investigated the natural and unnatural world. In one of his more original plot lines, The Tempest, Shakespeare experimented with many themes, such as power, love, revenge, and pride. Shakespeare also explored the relationship between reality and illusion. Throughout the piece, Shakespeare portrays that illusion may be used to veil reality, but in the end, reality always makes itself apparent through the characters actions. The veil of illusion and unnaturalness can be centered around the character, Prospero. Prosperos whole life has been dedicated to the achievement of magical abilities. In the first act, Prospero tells his daughter, Miranda: I, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated to closeness and the bettering of my mind with that which, but by being so retired, Oerprized all popular rate, in my false brother awaked an evil nature. And my trust, like a good parent, did beget of him a falsehood in its contrary as great as my trust was, which had indeed no limit, a confidence sans bound. He being thus lorded, not only with what my revenue yielded but what my power might else exact, like one who having into truth, by telling of it, made such a sinner of his memory to credit his own liehe did believe he was indeed the duke, out o th substitution and executing th outward face of royalty, with all prerogative. Hence his ambition growing. (1.2.89-105) Prospero reveals to his daughter that while he was caught up with perfecting his mind and his ability to control the unnatural world, he gave his brother, Antonio, the power to run the state in his absence. Antonio then betrayed him and took Prosperos title, and had him and Miranda marooned on an island. This is just one of the many clues given to the audience in the second scene that there is something unnatural about Prospero and his island. Later in the scene, Prospero reminds the spirit, Ariel, that, It was mine art, when I arrived and heard thee, that made gape the pine and let thee out, (1.2.345-347). As the story progresses, Prospero has the spirit, Ariel, conjure a large illusion of a storm, and wreck the crew of a nearby ship, which included his treacherous brother, on the island. Prospero has much control of the island, and through his various spirits, he controls much of the action in the play. In this way, Shakespeare creates a world of illusion. The characters go into most situations with an altered sense of reality. One example of this is when Prospero has his daughter meet the young prince, Ferdinand. Prospero leads the prince to believe that he is the only survivor of the wreck, and that his meeting Miranda is completely by chance, and he takes her to be a goddess and unnatural being. In reality, Prospero wishes Ferdinand to marry his daughter, so he leads them to each other. Another example is when the slave, Caliban meets Alonso, Sephano, and Trinculo. Although in reality, they are there, he believes them to be spirits of Prospero come to torture him: His spirits hear me and yet I needs must curse. But theyll nor pinch, fright me with urchin-shows, pitch me i th mire, nor lead me like a firebrand in the dark out of my way, unless he bid em. But for every trifle are they set upon me, sometime like apes that mow and chatter at me, and after bite me, then like hedgehogs which lie tumbling in my barefoot way and mount their pricks at my footfall. Sometime am I all wound with adders who with cloven tongues do hiss me into madness. Lo, now, lo! Here comes a spirit of his, and to torment me for bringing wood in slowly. Ill fall flat. Perchance he will not mind me. (2.2.1-17) After Caliban is given wine by Stephano, he believes them to be gods more powerful than Prospero, and he convinces them to overthrow and kill Prospero, and to rule the island in his stead. But Prospero uses illusion to cloak himself, and travels around the island invisibly. He unavoidably discovers the treacherous plan, and puts an end to it. The story ends with Prospero unveiling the reality of the island. His illusions are ready to be exposed. In the last act, Prospero claims, Now does my project gather to a head. My charms crack not, my spirits obey, and time goes upright with his carriage, (5.1.1-3). He confronts his brother, Antonio, saying, Flesh and blood, you brother mine, that entertained ambition, expelled remorse and nature, whom, with Sebastian, whose inward pinches therefore are most strong, would here have killed your kingI do forgive thee, unnatural though thou art, (5.1.78-83). Prospero later admits that the island was enchanted, You do yet taste some subtleties o th isle, that will not let you believe things certain, (5.1.124-126). Prospero then reveals that Ferdinand is not dead, and a veil rises, revealing him and Miranda, yet the King is slow to believe, if this prove a vision of the Island, one dear son shall I twice loss, (5.1.179-181). The last thing Prospero reveals is that the ship is not, in fact , wrecked on the shore, but merely harbored on the other side of the island: The best news is that we have safely found our king and company. The next, our ship which, but three glasses since, we gave out split is tight and yare and bravely rigged as when we first put out to sea! (5.1.229-233) The group then prepare to leave the island, and Prospero vows to leave his magic on the island, promising clear reality for the future. While Shakespeare portrays that illusion may be used to veil reality, in the end, reality always makes itself apparent through the characters actions. The relationship between reality and illusion is explored throughout this work, as well as a few of his other works. Shakespeares search to understand the world and the human being has led to a chapter of literature educational for all audiences. The world is lucky to still be frequented by his works, especially The Tempest.

Gullivers Supposed English Superiority Essay -- essays papers

Gullivers Supposed English Superiority Gulliver’s typical Anglocentric Enlightenment views are best exemplified in Chapter 1 of Part IV of Gulliver’s Travels. The long paragraph, in which he describes his encounter with the Yahoos as well as the circumstances leading up to it, illustrates the climax of his Anglocentric views, after which his English pride begins to gradually degenerate and his desire to emulate the Houyhnyms arises. His English pride in this paragraph is demonstrated by his resolution to trade his life with the local â€Å"Savages† using â€Å"Toys† as his only means, his judgment of the Yahoo’s lack of comprehensive language ability, and his ever-present disgust for bodily functions. As the passage opens, Gulliver considers his situation and decides â€Å"to deliver [himself] to the first Savages [he] should meet; and purchase [his] life from them by some Bracelets, Glass Rings and other Toys, which Sailors usually provide themselves with in those Voyages.† Despite all his previous voyages in which Gulliver encountered people who were not at all savage (and possibly more civilized than him), he automatically assumes again that people in territories outside of Europe will be inherently savage. Not only does he underestimate their level of civilization, but he then proceeds to assume that the Native people will be intellectually inferior when he believes he can buy his life with what he himself refers to as â€Å"Toys.† Gulliver’s belief, however, is not completely grounded in arrogance because imperialistic powers did trade cheap jewelry with the Native Americans for furs or even land. Using this logic, Gulliver feels he can extend trading â€Å"Toys† for life. He feels that if they are dumb enough to trade furs f... ...e from the Houyhnhnms. The excrement itself is not the reason behind his pride. Nobody would want to be covered in it. The excrement, however, is the major foundation for Gulliver’s loathing for the Yahoos and he would not have been so affected by it had he not lived in a society which is ashamed of its natural processes. In his novel, Swift does not use the Yahoos to show the evil of man but rather, to show the potential for evil that man has. Gulliver, however, takes his notions of judgment, and presupposes his intellectual superiority which feels he confirms based on the Yahoos’ lack of language and their not-so-warmhearted welcome. As he gradually begins to believe that all humans are at the Yahoo level, however, his Anglocentric pride fades. Thus, this passage is effectively the last time we really see Gulliver act on his presupposed English notions.

Persepolis View on Culture

Western Pop Culture Marianne Satraps, aka Marci, displays her life in this graphic novel to correct the misconceptions often made by the Western world. She makes sure her audience knows who she is, where she came from, and what her country is like. Though she is born and raised for much of her life in Tehran, Marianne Satraps is as much of a product of Western culture as of Middle Eastern culture. In the book you can see the Influence that the western countries have on Iran.Her parents both ascribe to Western political viewpoints and are not reluctant to let their daughter Indulge In Western popular culture. Marianne Like clothes and shoes such as Jeans, Nine's, and head scarves. She Is even rebellious about the veil they are forced to wear. Many popular music artists are referenced In Chapter 17. Kim Willed, the English pop singer In the ass, was very well known for her debut single, Kids In America, which Marl sings the chorus to. This picture In Chapter 1 7 page 134 demonstrates v ery well Marl's perspective of Western culture. E highly supports it with her fashion style that Is quite rebellious and different than any other kid her age. The size of the layout is fairly big so you can see the Nine's logo and her full outfit. The sentences are short to focus on the specific articles of clothing she is wearing. Chapter 17 also shows how Mar]xi's parents are fully supportive of her beliefs and what they do for her happiness. Her mother wanted to help Marci bring her Kim Willed poster through customs and put lots of effort in sewing it discreetly in her husband's coat.This Just shows how far her parents will go o because the coat doesn't look rather normal anymore but he is still prepared and willing to wear it for his daughter. Those who live in the West have different ideas of what the West is depending on where they are in the world. Some see it as a place for freedom, and it can also be a source of entertainment and influence. Others see it as a place of oppor tunity, wealth, and prosperity. America's pop culture has allowed Marci to obtain a little freedom and independence in the environment of the Iranian Revolution and has had a huge effect on her teenage life.

Interim Report Project Title Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2203 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? According to the voice of banking and financial services (2013), the UK banking sector is unique due to its remarkable size, efficiency, breadth, dynamism and diversity. In fact, UK banking industry ranks as the third largest, following the USA and Japan. The domestic markets mainly focus on personal and corporate lending, while the international markets are to enable the fine functioning of global capital markets and provides investment management services to overseas corporations especially the multinational companies, governments including China, and individuals particularly the affluent investors throughout the world. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Interim Report Project Title Finance Essay" essay for you Create order The total employees in the banking sector are merely 3.5% of UKs total workforce, while the sector services about 95% of the population. In 2005, the total assets were 5526 billion, while the lending and deposits were, respectively, 3284 billion and 4984. The selected banks are the HSBC Holdings plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, and Standard Chartered PLC, which are dominating the banking industry in the United Kingdom. Rational for of ratios used in the analysis Considering that the financial ratios are easy to use and understand this paper use multiple ratios including the financial ratios and the non-financial ratios to compare the financial positions and operating performance of different banks. Rinastiti and Philip (2004) once developed a model to divide the ratios into five groups. They are the profitability ratios, the asset utilizations ratios, the long-term solvency ratios, short-term solvency ratios, and the market value ratios. With respects to the banking sector, it is different. The banking industry, as is in the service sector, is specific since it has no or small amount of inventory but large amount of financial assets. Then it is possible for large amount of capitals, reserves, bad loans, and other special accounts. Then the ratios used in this paper are not similar to those in the manufacturing sectors or the retailing sector. Due to the unavailability of several groups of data, the main ratios are listed in the table below: Table 1 five groups of financial ratios ÃÆ' £Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Ratios 1 Return on average ordinary shareholders equity 2 Risk asset ratio Tier 3 Risk asset ratio Total 4 Core tier 1 capital 5 Advances to core funding ratio 6 underlying cost efficiency 7 Employee engagement 8 Risk-adjusted revenue growth 9 Basic earnings per ordinary share 10 Dividends per ordinary share growth 11 Return on average total assets 12 Book value per share 13 market share 14 Net asset value per share Preliminary competitive analysis using five forces Threat from new entrants Threat from new entrants, in accordance with Porter (1998) refers to the pressures that potential new entrants may pose to a company, which is likely to increase the competition. According to the voice of banking and financial services (2013), the UK bankers are advantageous because of remarkable size, efficiency, breadth, dynamism and diversity. As a consequence, due to the large amount of capital that is used in the banking industry, threat from new entrants is modest. Threat from substitute products Threat from substitute products in accordance with Porter (1998) refers to the pressures that the substitute products pose to a company, which may be featured by higher quality, efficiency and effectiveness. According to Berger et al (2003), the significant global integration is under way particularly in the banking sector. With the globalization and the degradation of cross-border Corporation and investment that removed multiple regulatory barriers to inter-national banking, as well as the innovation in the financial market, the substitute products are available to the domestic customers and the overseas customers. Then there is considerable threat from the substitute products. Moreover, in the United Kingdom, there are a wide range of other consumer financial service organisations such as the building society, Abbey and so on. Bargaining power of the buyers Bargaining power of buyers in accordance with Porter (1998) refers to the pressures that consumers are likely to propose to a company to bring down the prices or ask for higher quality and more efficient and effective services. With respect to UK banking industry, buyers mainly include the wholesalers and the consumers. Then for the consumers, they have limited bargaining power, while the wholesalers especially the large wholesalers have great bargaining power in accordance with the game theory. Bargaining power of the suppliers Bargaining power of suppliers in accordance with Porter (1998) refers to the pressures that suppliers are likely to propose to a company so as to raise prices. With respects to the UK banking industry, the suppliers are mainly the domestic investors, savers and the overseas suppliers. Notably, the overseas corporations, governments with currency surplus, and individuals who are in general the affluent investors throughout the world have different bargaining power largely depending on the amount of capital they provide. Intensity of competitive rivalry Intensity of competitive rivalry in accordance with Porter (1998) is depending on the number of companies in the market and the production and the needs of the products or services. With respect to the UK banking industry, the retail and commercial banking markets are dominated by Barclays plc, HSBC Holdings plc, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, and Standard Chartered PLC with businesses and branches around the world. For the small banks, there is fewer advantages. Prior competitive analysis using PEST analysis Political and legal factors According to the voice of banking and financial services (2013), the UK government has set out a number of robust plans to stimulate the economy, as well as firstly safeguard the economy from the damage impacts of the recent financial crisis. Accordingly, there are a number of strong, sensible and proportionate growth oriented regulations to support these plans. In particular, the financial sector has more plans. So as to sustain the ability of banks to lend to the economy and satisfy the needs of a wide range of consumers, there would be a balanced approach that is applicable to renew the banking sector. Then the British Bankers Association and Accenture, along with senior bankers, successful business leaders, politicians, prestigious academics and influential commentators, has discussed the UK banking sector and the way forward in this volatile time. It is considered that global recession especially the European recession and further weakness of sovereign debt are likely to have re percussions for the UK economy, as well as direct and indirect impacts on UK banks. Then, most European countries began to initiative to strengthen financial regulation and bank balance sheets. Moreover, the European financial transaction tax and other proposals are thought to be influential to the UK banking industry. According to Treanor (2013), the Bank of England recently discussed its newly granted powers to force commercial banks to hold more capitals against the potential bubbles, which is drastically dangerous in todays economy. Taking the 2008 financial crisis into consideration, it is useful to curtail the risks of bankers to build up the capital. Moreover, this act is also in line with Banks Financial Policy Committee (FPC), when it starts to use its new tools. More specifically, some particular sectors should especially hold more capitals including the commercial property. There is already legislation that are recently under through the parliament, indicating that this power is likely to granted to the Financial Policy Committee in the coming meeting. As a consequence, the banking industry is expected to have a lower growth rate due to this act. In line with the general rule, one additive percentage increase in the capital usually increases the costs of borrowers by as high as 25 basis points, which in turn would decrease the bad loans. However, the Gross Domestic Product would be cut down by about 35 basis points. In addition, the regulators also require that the bank should ascertain that customers are capable to pay back loans before the mortgages are to be approved has sounded the death knell for these specific loans. In brief, these acts are on one hand unpopular with some banks due to the decreasing growth rates expected. On the other hand, it is inevitable and banks should actively react to the potential impacts of such regulatory regime. Economic factors On one hand, the financial crisis has profound influential on the whole economy throughout the world, especially in the banking industry. Financial Services Authority (2009) pointed out that this crisis is mainly due to the inadequate capital and liquidity. As a consequence, in the short run, most bankers prefer to have capital so as to prevent from losses and support lending that is mostly used in the real economy, eventually reacting to the existing slow down. Further, the crisis reveals the macro-imbalances and financial market developments and innovations. The macro-imbalances are mainly due to the oil exporting counties such as Iran which lead to substantial fluctuation in oil prices and the operating expense of vehicle, and the rapidly developing countries such as China, which are with large amount of account surpluses and extremely high saving rates. Adversely, account deficits are in other countries such as USA and UK, which has respectively the largest and third bank sector. Recently, the exchange rates between the surplus countries and the deficiency countries are committed to be soundly managed or even be fixed. The financial market innovation is one of the main reasons of the recent banking crisis. This is largely stimulated by the macro-imbalances. The origination, packaging, trading and distribution of securitised credit instruments are more and more popular in recent years. This directly or indirectly influences the banking industry, increasing the risks. According to the voice of banking and financial services (2013), the European economies especially the Eurozone countries and their banks will continually exert direct and indirect but great influences on United Kingdom and its banking sector. The head of the International Monetary Fund, on the other hand, asserted that the Eurozone shows signs of recovery, representing regional growth in the coming year (Wearden, 2013). Admittedly, the attitudes of International Monetary Funds representatives may be useful to restore the consumers confidence as well as the bankers, the borrowers, and the lenders. Similar to the positive expectation, the common would promote their confidence in the private sector, which is crucial to recovery. Similarly, according to the voice of banking and financial services (2013), the financial and economic crisis has exerted great influential on UK banks during the past several years. Both the bankers and the governors have taken timely and effective actions to strengthen the balance sheets and adapt their business models to the new environments. The growth rate of UK in 2012, as a consequence, was much higher than those of its neighbours in the Europe especially the Eurozone. As is shown in figure 1, the real interest rates in UK is decreasing in the past several decades, indicating less profitability for banks. Figure 1 UK real interest rates (20 year bonds, yield at May 25 or nearest week day) Source: Bank of England Real Yield curve calculations In addition, according to the Guardian (2012), recently, the Consumer Price Index showed a down trend in the past years. But it is still above 2%. At the same time, Retail Price Index showed similar trend. On the other hand, in 2012, the GDP growth rate was primarily negative. In 2011, the GDP was 1,750,395.00, representing a slight growth of 1%, while in the year of 2009 the GDP was 1,573,466.00, representing a drastic negative growth rate of -4%. But at the end of the past year, the GDP growth rate began to be positive, representing recovery of the economy, which is encouraging to the banking industry. Figure 2 UK CPI and RPI headline indicators, % Source: the Guardian, 2012 Figure 3 United Kingdom GDP growth rate Source: www.tradingeconomics.com. Social and cultural factors the main task for UK banks is to balance the different needs of a wide range of customers and the society. Both the needs of individuals and the macro economic growth rate should be taken into consideration. In this sense, the social and cultural factors should be seriously considered, since the needs of the customers are highly depending on these factors. Technical factors UKs banking industry has greatly evolved with technologies especially the information technology. In 2006, the expenditure on IT investment amounted to $ 23 billion, much above that of other countries. These investment set out the e-banking age. As a consequence, it becomes the biggest single driver of UK banking industry. From 2004 to 2008, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of IT spending in UK banking sector was as high as 8.1 %. On one hand, the technological improvements considerably streamline the information collecting and distributing processes, promoting the efficiency of the banking sectors. More specifically, the online channel, especially the multi-delivery channel, is convenient to all kinds of the customers due to the broadened access to the Internet and the strengthened safety of online transactions. Moreover, the phone banking, internet banking and automatic banking are popular among most peoples. Automatic teller machines (ATMs) are a typical innovation in the past years in the banking sector. From 1994 to 2004, the ATM network doubled to 50,000 in merely 10 years. These allowed more branches of the banks at lower costs and shorter time to launch new products. The information technologies have, on the other hand, made it possible for the financial market innovation more and more complicated. The explosive and complex financial market innovation is likely to bring considerable risks to the banks. Further, the increasing use of alternative banking channels (European Central Bank, 1999) has greatly changed the traditional way of understanding and undertaking banking activities both from the customers perspective and from the bankers perspective.