Computer Literacy Essay Example for Free

Computer Literacy Essay Thou shall not vandalize Web pages. Thou shall not shut down Web sites. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s MP3s. FBI agents are spreading a new gospel to parents and teachers, hoping they’ll better educate youths that vandalism in cyberspace can be economically costly and just as criminal as mailbox bashing and graffiti spraying. The Justice Department and the Information Technology Association of America, a trade group, has launched the Cybercitizen Partnership to encourage educators and parents to talk to children in ways that equate computer crimes with old-fashioned wrongdoing. The nascent effort includes a series of seminars around the country for teachers, classroom materials and guides and a Web site to help parents talk to children. â€Å"In a democracy in general, we can’t have the police everywhere,† said Michael Vatis, director of the FBI’s National Infrastructure Protection Center, which guards against computer attacks by terrorists, foreign agents and teen hackers. â€Å"One of the most important ways of reducing crime is trying to teach ethics and morality to our kids. That same principle needs to apply to the cyber world,† he said. Recognizing Virtual Crime Vatis and other FBI agents attended a kickoff seminar, titled the National Conference on Cyber Ethics, last weekend at Marymount University in Arlington, Va. Part of the challenge: Many teens still consider computer mischief harmless. A recent survey found that 48 percent of students in elementary and middle school don’t consider hacking illegal. Gail Chmura, a computer science teacher at Oakton High School in Vienna, Va., makes ethics a constant in her curriculum, teaching kids about topics such as computer law, software piracy and online cheating. She has argued with students who don’t see that stealing from a computer with bad security is as wrong as  stealing from an unlocked house. â€Å"It’s always interesting that they don’t see a connection between the two,† Chmura said. â€Å"They just don’t get it.† The FBI’s Vatis tells students, â€Å"Do you think it would be OK to go spray-paint your neighbor’s house or the grocery store down the street? On a Web site, it’s the same sort of thing. It’s somebody’s storefront or an extension of themselves.† Chmura tries similar messages. For instance, she asks a budding composer how he would feel if his music was stolen and given away online. â€Å"They do sometimes realize that when they’re copying someone’s product, it’s not just that 5 cent disk, but someone’s work that they’re copying,† she said. â€Å"I think they do come to appreciate the fact that it’s somebody’s salary they’re stealing.† Driving Home Consequences Vatis cites a long list of cyber crimes perpetrated by minors, including attacks on defense department computers in 1998 and the February jamming of major Web sites such as Amazon.com and eBay. He tries to drive home the consequences of hacking — including the resources it drains from his center, as law enforcement scrambles to find who is responsible at the outset of an attack. Authorities â€Å"don’t know if it’s a terrorist or a foreign military,† Vatis said. â€Å"It diverts very scarce resources of people who are trying to focus on crime, warfare and terrorism.† And children aren’t the only ones in need of training. College students and parents also are frequently undecided about what crosses an ethical boundary in cyberspace, where anyone can download pirated musical recordings. â€Å"We had some discussion about the legalities of whether you’re sharing something with your friend or burning CDs to sell at your school,† said Deborah Price of Lewisville, N.C., parent of a 14-year-old daughter. â€Å"I’m not real certain about Napster ethics myself.† Price — whose daughter uses Napster, the music-sharing service considered a threat to the recording industry — feels that computer ethics are an important issue. â€Å"I think it should be part of the discussion at the school,† Price said. â€Å"It’s only going to get bigger.† References: ABC News W A S H I N G T O N, Oct. 10 FBI Pushes for Cyber Ethics Education By D. Ian Hopper http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119369

Vogue: Across Cultures | Analysis

Vogue: Across Cultures | Analysis ABSTRACT The popularity of fashion magazines over the past few decades has risen to new heights. Fashion magazines being the Bible that many young women and men live by, it is highly important to understand the role these magazines play in different societies and cultures. The researchers of marketing, consumer behaviour, trend analysis and trend forecasting consider culture or the differences and similarities in them to be an â€Å"obvious given†. Culture is most often seen as something that stands in the way of complete globalisation. Theory suggests that differences in target groups and marketing segments can be easily overcome through explicit research. While agreeing to the general thought that culture should be ‘respected and ‘treated seriously, the major driving force of marketing and consumer studies is most often, completely, how to overcome and ‘manage culture (Roothart, H. and W.van der Pol, 2002) There has been some research done on the representation of w omen and feminist ideas in the west but an extensive research needs to be done on the representation of women, men, society and culture through media in an Asian context. Over the past few years the Asian countries have changed their public policies surrounding media its ownership and contents. Taking advantage of this opportunity many international magazines like Elle, Vogue and Cosmopolitan have launched their local versions in these countries. These local versions have continuously faced accusations and criticism from society be it racism, discrimination or nudity, although their international versions have been highly appreciated, thus indicating that cultural differences need to be explored for the successful launch of any brand. For this paper the similarities and differences within different cultures would be determined using the covers of a common brand of magazine VOGUE across cultures. This comparison would also help to determine whether culture and/or society play any role in the successful placement of a magazine and whether Vogue has managed to maintain its brand personality by going local. Chasing a Dream INTRODUCTION Beauty is not concrete and may vary from culture to culture changing over time and shift according to location. The concept of beauty is an image which has been created by society to which woman and men have had to subject themselves to be â€Å"real†. History confirms that the ideology of beauty or what is accepted as being the right appearance has been created by society and largely propagated by media. For United States of the 1950s Marilyn Monroe was the pinnacle of beauty which soon changed to Twiggy in the 1960s. While porcelain skin is valued in China, scarification of the skin and decorating it with tattoos is considered as a status symbol in Africa and other parts. Thus the physical attributes and ideas attached to beauty vary across cultures. â€Å"Womens magazine industry is understood as a monolithic meaning producer, circulating magazines that contain messages and signs about the nature of femininity that serve to promote and legitimate dominant interests.† (Anna Gough- Yates) They have been a great source to study the changes in society. Moving from the purely fashion magazine to lifestyle and home to ‘do it yourself and ‘New woman to ‘woman can work too magazines have always reflected revolutions in society and influenced the opinion of women across nations. Given the increase in trade to Asia and the spread of the beauty industry across nations, it is disappointing that there has hardly been any study on how people are depicted internationally in the fashion magazines. Previous research has established that womans magazines can act as agents of socialising, publicizing certain gender stereotypes and certain beauty ideals like size zero and institutionalizing conventions like photographic poses. (Rudman and Verdi, 1993; Griffin, Viswanath, Schwartz, 1994). Yet hardly any research has been done on the differences in representation of women internationally and locally. GLOBAL MEDIA Over the past few decades there has been a rapid expansion of the global media in the area of womans fashion magazines. Local editions of Elle, Harpers Bazzar and Vogue are now being published in Asia. â€Å"Theory holds that increase trade and improved communication are bringing about a mix of cultures and global unity† (Giddens, 1990, Thompson, 1997). The internationalization of a magazine is not a new phenomenon although until quite recently the most popular womans magazines have been published locally. Harpers Bazaar, a U.S magazine launched itself in U.K. in 1929 (Anna Gough-Yates, 1993), Elle a European magazine began publishing its first edition in Japan in 1960s while Vogue a U.S magazine entered the Indian market in the 21st century. However â€Å"the establishment of an integrated global media market only began in earnest in the late 1980s and did not reach its full potential until the 1990s.† (Herman and Mc Chesney ,1997, p10) According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers the Asia/Pacific magazine market excluding Japan is projected to grow by 7.2% annually, reaching $20.7 billion by 2010, Advertising is also expected to rise by 5% annually to $8.1 billion in 2010. This means theres plenty of potential for countries in South Asia, where advertising spending is just about 0.34% of GDP. Until now foreign brands were allowed only 26% ownership when venturing into Asian countries. But in 2005 most of the Asian countries levelled the field for non news publications allowing 100% foreign direct investment. (D. Ruth, 2007, Forbes) Like all the other global media, magazines use many different strategies to cross borders. But the main reasons for doing so are ‘saturation of home markets and to generate revenue by providing international consumer brands with advertising vehicles that reach into the expanding foreign markets'(Dr. Katherine Frith, 2006,pg4-5). With Condà © Nast having to close down Mademoiselle in November 2001 due to competition and flagging sales, markets with rising economic rates like Asia and Middle East have now become a target for westerns producers of beauty and fashion magazines. HISTORY A study of fashion and magazine covers over the past 100 years gives us a clear picture of the extent of change media can bring about. From the corsets and 16 inch waists to jersey fabrics to bikinis the amount of womans liberation brought about along with the growth of womans beauty and fashion magazines is pretty evident. Magazine publishing surfaced much before the 19th century but up till than due to limited resources and technology publishers did not need illustrated or photographed front covers to sell a magazine. By the end of the century development in technology meant that every publisher could now make use of cover illustrations. The 20s and 30s saw two or more people on the front covers. Red lips, cigarettes, dapper looking men and understated elegance came into fashion. During the second world war men disappeared from the cover pages just as they disappeared from everyday lives of woman. Magazines became womens true friends and the government used them to communicate with the home front. Silk fell from grace and hosiery became scarce. The cover girl emerged, women were pictured wearing aprons holding sheaf of corn. With the end of the world war magazine publishers stuck to a fixed formula of selling magazines by using colour and arresting cover lines. Christian Dior made a splash and womans liberation began. The 1960s saw a revolution of self expression, music and ‘models who became as famous as movie stars. This was the start of a new era for women. The cover of Harpers Bazaar (1965) with the model Jean Shrimpton wearing a Day-Glo bright pink space helmet and the acid green brand emblem at the top is often seen as an emblem of the 60s. Jerseys, pullovers long hair for men and woman were the characteristics of the 70s. Photographs more than an illustration was often seen as the cover pages while cover lines became bigger, brighter and bolder. The 1980s was the decade of Madonna and Michael Jackson with shoulder pads and workout wear which dominating the fashion scene. ( Publication: Vogue Country: United Kingdom Date: 15 April 1980) This ended individualism in the 1990s with Grunge, Goth and a sense of anti style with tattooing and body art becoming in vogue. (Publication: Phase Country: United Kingdom, Date: May 1994) In the 20th century the key to selling magazines was the use of celebrity faces and anorexic models with porcelain skin. Diet plans and Make up tips more than ‘†how to catch a guy and keep him† cover lines make the magazine move. Environment friendly clothes and cosmetics modelled by Julia Roberts and Leonardo di Caprio were the latest trends. (Publication:ElleCountry:Spain Date: August 2002) Until the 90s, Asian society and fashion has been very traditional with local influences. In 1990 fashion icon Princes Diana wore a Salwar kameez and Asian fashion became a noticeable global trend. The 1990s also saw the rise of the â€Å"Asian -chic†. International pop icons like Janet Jackson promoted the Asian look and gave it an International stage. â€Å"As Asian economies flourished, than crashed and began to recover, Asians of different class, ethnicities and gender faced the decision of whether they should wear Western or Asian clothing.†(L. Ann Marie, J. Carla, 2003). The growth of international magazines in Asia and promotion of the Western beauty ideals confused already puzzled nations, drastically affecting the self esteem of many young men and woman. A lot has been recorded about the fashion influences, cultural changes and media in the West however there is hardly any record of such changes in the East. Study has proven that there is great difference between the local and international versions of the magazines but there is no record of the influences and effects on society due to these differences. MAGAZINES TODAY The difference between international magazines and their ‘local versions is that the international issues tend to carry a predominance of images for multinational products. (Shaw, 1999). Such magazines are growing in popularity in Asia and this popularity has bought about a change in perspective regarding the depiction of woman and products in local magazines. Griffin, Viswanath, and Schwartz(1994) found in a study comparing images in weekly U.S. news magazines (Time and Life) to weekly Indian magazines (India Today and Illustrated weekly of India), that many of the western advertising principles and poses for women were being conveyed across nations. They confirmed that female models in India were taking on poses that related closely to ‘gender portrayals ‘of the advanced western nations. A recent analysis of magazines international and local in China by Frith, Cheng and Shaw (2004) suggests that Caucasian models are more frequently shown in seductive dresses than Asian models. Feminist critiques like Kates, Shaw and Garlock (1999) would argue that western magazines are cultural institutions that represent women in a problematic and often unacceptable way although attractive female bodies and sexual content have for long been used in the west to attract consumers to a product and generate interest. Comparing this to the representation of woman across cultures with reference to the few studies conducted on the topic; Griffin, Viswanath and Schwartz (1994) concluded that the use of â€Å"Sexual pursuit† as a theme was used three times more often in U.S. magazines than in Indian magazines. In conservative Asian countries like Malaysia and Indonesia only Caucasian women were used in Lingerie advertisements (Frith and Mueller, 2003). Any magazine wanting to be resonant with its target audience needs to represent the social norms and cultural values of the given society. International magazines like Vogue and Elle although have publishing houses in Asian countries most often train their employees in the west. The result being that the forms of representation and especially that of woman can take on a globalized look. As Kyung-Ja Lee,(2000, pg 86) has rightly said â€Å" for thirty years, media have been taken to task for reproducing and reinforcing stereotyped images of woman. Yet unfair representation of woman in media still prevails worldwide. Sex stereotyping has been so deeply ingrained, even glorified, that the woman themselves have become desensitised to their own inferior portrayal. The prospects appear even gloomier as the globalisation of media progresses† Previous researchers have noted that the images of models used in magazines have been extensively retouched to represent the ideal of beauty that is unattainable for all but a very few people.(Greer,1999; Gauntlett, 2002). By showing models that are ‘uniformly thin, flawless and perfectly proportioned the media may contribute towards low self esteem and unhappiness among woman and give rise to problems like eating disorders. In fact media is a large contributor to the global increase in plastic surgery to change physical appearance among young girls. Finally as global media takes readers away from local publications it is important to study the impact of international beauty ideal on local consumers. With most models used in international magazines being ‘white the publications are rarefying the ethnic beauty ideals. In fact the obsession with whitening products may be a result of this overuse of White models in Asian publications. For the Caucasian women the body may represent beauty while for the Asian woman it might be the face. For some Asian countries beauty is the simplicity in a ‘sari clad woman while in some parts of Africa its a tattoo adorned naked female. To better understand how beauty and women have been represented internationally as compared to locally and their differences based on society and culture I have considered 3 issue of Vogue magazine across cultures (U.S, India and China) for the period of 6 months from February 2009 to June 2009. The unit of analysis was restricted to the cover pages, containing at least one model. Looking at Vogue magazine over the last twenty years we can easily conclude that the magazines expansion strategy has been very aggressive. Condà © Nast which has a portfolio of 127 magazines in 23 countries believes Vogue to be its cash cow. At present there are a million fashion and beauty magazines such as In Style, Elle and Cosmopolitan circulated around the globe, but in times of crises citizens all over turn to Vogue to confirm the latest fashion news. With readership and subscription levels of about 220,000 a month for the British Vogues, 133,000 a month for the French Vogue and American Vogue, at 1.2 million a month Vogue is the leading magazine in the business of fashion. The Greek, Indian and Chinese Vogues not being as influential are important only to their local countries. The French and Italian Vogue cater to the edgier end of the market while American and British Vogue embrace fashion in the broader sense owing to their larger readership. (A. Lisa, 2009, Times online)

Gender Analysis of Anna and the King Essay -- Movie Film Anna King ess

Gender Analysis of Anna and the King If you are not the lead elephant, the scenery never changes. (Moonshee, Anna’s servant) One of the main issues in â€Å"Anna and the King† is the differences between men and women. What is less obvious is that those differences are of two types: the existing inequality of the social status of men and women, and the ways in which men and women try to deal with (end or prolong) this inequality. First of all, let us observe the structure of the Thai society. Men occupy the dominant position in all aspects of life from top to bottom of the Thai social structure. The King rules the society, and men enforce all the laws and government regulations (we see no women participating in the King’s council or in any government office). In addition to that, the ritual and custom behavior point to the humiliating position of women in Thai culture. According to Prince Chulalongkorn, men never apologize to women. The body language of the relationship between the two genders in the movie indicates that a woman always bows in the presence of a man and usually stays bowed until he dismisses her. All these customs, laws, and regulations separate Thai society into two unequal classes: men and women. In the situation of inequality, there is always a group of people who are not satisfied with the life around them. We will call them the agents of change. Although, the women in Thai society are very submissive, we can observe the attempts to change their life and/or social status. For example, the slave woman acts directly. She pays money to her mistress to buy her freedom (i.e. to change her life). She is acting according to the law that â€Å"bond-servants have the right to buy their own freedom.† However, her a... ...country to change: the King. He invites the â€Å"imperialistic† teacher to teach his eldest son. Why? In the letter confirming Anna’s employment, the King says that he wanted Siam â€Å"to take its place among the nations of the modern world.† As a man and as a king, he acts very carefully. He wants to ensure that in his country â€Å"no man is above the law.† He does not make any extraordinary changes, but he allows Anna to teach his children anything she wants (he knows Anna’s liberal position). His decision determines the future of Siam: his son abolishes slavery, institutes religious freedom and reforms the judicial system. In conclusion, we should say that it does not matter how big the social separation between men and women is and how unequal their statuses are – there are always ways to make that gap smaller, but this requires efforts on the part of both men and women. Gender Analysis of Anna and the King Essay -- Movie Film Anna King ess Gender Analysis of Anna and the King If you are not the lead elephant, the scenery never changes. (Moonshee, Anna’s servant) One of the main issues in â€Å"Anna and the King† is the differences between men and women. What is less obvious is that those differences are of two types: the existing inequality of the social status of men and women, and the ways in which men and women try to deal with (end or prolong) this inequality. First of all, let us observe the structure of the Thai society. Men occupy the dominant position in all aspects of life from top to bottom of the Thai social structure. The King rules the society, and men enforce all the laws and government regulations (we see no women participating in the King’s council or in any government office). In addition to that, the ritual and custom behavior point to the humiliating position of women in Thai culture. According to Prince Chulalongkorn, men never apologize to women. The body language of the relationship between the two genders in the movie indicates that a woman always bows in the presence of a man and usually stays bowed until he dismisses her. All these customs, laws, and regulations separate Thai society into two unequal classes: men and women. In the situation of inequality, there is always a group of people who are not satisfied with the life around them. We will call them the agents of change. Although, the women in Thai society are very submissive, we can observe the attempts to change their life and/or social status. For example, the slave woman acts directly. She pays money to her mistress to buy her freedom (i.e. to change her life). She is acting according to the law that â€Å"bond-servants have the right to buy their own freedom.† However, her a... ...country to change: the King. He invites the â€Å"imperialistic† teacher to teach his eldest son. Why? In the letter confirming Anna’s employment, the King says that he wanted Siam â€Å"to take its place among the nations of the modern world.† As a man and as a king, he acts very carefully. He wants to ensure that in his country â€Å"no man is above the law.† He does not make any extraordinary changes, but he allows Anna to teach his children anything she wants (he knows Anna’s liberal position). His decision determines the future of Siam: his son abolishes slavery, institutes religious freedom and reforms the judicial system. In conclusion, we should say that it does not matter how big the social separation between men and women is and how unequal their statuses are – there are always ways to make that gap smaller, but this requires efforts on the part of both men and women.

Worn Path Essay -- essays papers

Worn Path Knowing secret information can be a very enlightening thing. Knowing information that someone else does not helps make the reader feel more powerful. Such is the case when the reader knows of the mythical Phoenix and then reads â€Å"A Worn Path.† Eudora Welty’s â€Å"A Worn Path,† the story of an elderly grandmother’s journey to the doctor’s office for medication for her grandson, explores allusions to mythology, including the character Phoenix and her journey. â€Å"In an Egyptian tale the Phoenix, a large bird, retains immortality by restoring itself every five hundred years by setting fire to its nest and immolating itself by fanning fire with its wings. From the ashes a new Phoenix arises. Then it collects the ashes and flies to Heliopolis, a religious city in Egypt, and deposits the egg at the Temple of the Sun. This bird is a direct link to Old Phoenix in Eudora Welty’s story† (Donlan 5). Mythology is shown in the physical characteristics of Phoenix Jackson. There are many events throughout the story that remind the reader that Old Phoenix looks and sounds like the mythical bird. The phoenix bird in Egyptian myth is known for its scarlet and gold body† (Donlan 6). In the opening of the story Welty describes Old Phoenix’s appearance as â€Å"a golden color ran underneath, and the two knobs of her cheeks were illuminated by a yellow burning under the dark. Under the rag her hair came down on her neck† (Welty 2). Another example is when Phoenix’s cane ma...

Boston Teaparty :: essays research papers

Boston Teaparty In 1773, Britain's East India Company was sitting on large stocks of tea that it could not sell in England. It was on the verge of bankruptcy. In an effort to save it, the government passed the Tea Act of 1773, which gave the company the right to export its merchandise directly to the colonies without paying any of the regular taxes that were imposed on the colonial merchants, who had traditionally served as the middlemen in such transactions. With these privileges, the company could undersell American merchants and monopolize the colonial tea trade. The act proved inflammatory for several reasons. First, it angered influential colonial merchants, who feared being replaced and bankrupted by a powerful monopoly. The East India Company's decision to grant franchises to certain American merchants for the sale of their tea created further resentments among those excluded from this lucrative trade. More important, however, the Tea Act revived American passions about the issue of taxation without representation. The law provided no new tax on tea. Lord North assumed that most colonists would welcome the new law because it would reduce the price of tea to consumers by removing the middlemen. But the colonists responded by boycotting tea. Unlike earlier protests, this boycott mobilized large segments of the population. It also helped link the colonies together in a common experience of mass popular protest. Particularly important to the movement were the activities of colonial women, who were one of the principal consumers of tea and now became the leaders of the effort to the boycott. Various colonies made plans to prevent the East India Company from landing its cargoes in colonial ports. In ports other than Boston, agents of the company were "persuaded" to resign, and new shipments of tea were either returned to England or warehoused. In Boston, the agents refused to resign and, with the support of the royal governor, preparations were made to land incoming cargoes regardless of opposition. After failing to turn back the three ships in the harbor, local patriots led by Samuel Adams staged a spectacular drama. On the evening of December 16, 1773, three companies of fifty men each, masquerading as Mohawk Indians, passed through a tremendous crowd of spectators, went aboard the three ships, broke open the tea chests, and heaved them into the harbor.As the electrifying news of the Boston "tea party" spread, other seaports followed the example and staged similar acts of resistance of their own.

The Rising of the Characters in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises

Ernest Hemingway’s novel entitled â€Å"The Sun also Rises† is a story of different men from different backgrounds. The main character or protagonist in the story is Jake Barnes. Along with him in his journey were Robert Cohn whom to be his closest friend, Lady Brett Ashley whom to be the love of his life, Mike Campbell whom to be Brett’s fiancà ©, and Bill Gorton whom to be the other friend of the group. The story started in a biographical description of Jake on his friend Robert Cohn. He called him Cohn while he narrates his story, their story.Jake is a World War I veteran whom soon becomes a journalist while Cohn is a rich Jewish writer. Cohn asked Jake to go with him to the South America but Jake refuses to go with him. When they went to a disco club, they saw Brett. Jake reminisce the memory when he and Brett met during the World War I. It was actually a great time for them to have their relationship but Brett refuses to make up with him because she learned that because of Jake’s wound, he is already impotents and she could did not want to sacrifice her sexual urge just for Jake.Soon, Brett and Mike met that made Brett fall in love with him. Brett became Mike’s fiancà © and would like to go to Spain to spend their moment together and watch the fiesta. They met Jake, Cohn, and Bill during their trip. During the journey, they could not able to find each other so they went to Spain in pairs – Jake and Bill as a pair, while Mike, Brett, and Cohn as the other pair. They had a great time during the first night but it’s been Brett who has the greatest night because she had the opportunity to know Pedro Romero, a handsome but young bullfighter.Brett decided to go with Romero but soon went back to Mike and said that she does not want to ruin Romero’s life and career. The story ends when Brett asked Jake to accompany her to Mike. Brett realizes that Jake is a good companion during their journey together. Jake and Cohn have many similarities and differences throughout the whole novel. Even if they have different backgrounds, they are similar in the way on how they treat a woman and how they think about the larger perspective of human life.Because in the beginning of the novel, Jake illustrated the biography of Cohn, he had stated all his strengths and weaknesses that made the readers understood the personality of Cohn in the beginning of the novel while Jake’s character emerged and evolved into a larger scale as the novel went through. Jake described Cohn depending on how he perceived Cohn’s identity whether on his career, personal life, or love life. â€Å"He was more enthusiastic about America than ever, and he was not so simple, and he was not so nice,† (Hemingway 16).Even if Cohn was not a war veteran, both of them have simple dreams and per4spectives in life. It was seen on their journey in Spain and the way they treated women especially Brett. Even if Cohn did not acknowledge his feelings right through Jake’s naked emotions, he knew that he likes Brett, next to Francesca. Because they both like Brett, they wanted Brett to be happy even if the cause is strange to both of them. However, Jake is more prank than Cohn. Cohn does not show his feelings so much while Jake is open to his feelings or emotions in different people.The difference between Cohn and Jake aside from the fact that Jake went to the war while Cohn did not is that Jake is more open to reality while Cohn was not that broad when it comes to the real situations. Another thing is that Jake is a journalist while Cohn is a writer. It means that Jake is more on the actual or real revelation of the reality while Cohn is more on the fictional sense of the world. â€Å"The publisher has praised his novel pretty highly and it rather went to his head.Then several women had put themselves out to be nice to him, and his horizons had all shifted,† (16). Cohn lived in a fiction al life with all the praises and acknowledgement of the people behind him while Jake lived in a realm where there is battle, fear, hatred, and sufferings that he needs to overcome while he is living. Their differences evolved into a wider scenario as the novel went on. However, in the beginning of the novel showed their big differences as Jake did not want to go where Cohn wants and vice versa.Cohn wants more on the historical side while Jake wants on the cultural side of the country they want to go. â€Å"So there you were. I was sorry for him, but it was not a thing you could do anything about because right away you ran up against the two stubbornness: South America could fix it and he did not like Paris,† (20). However, the thing is that Jake is more convicted with what he says rather than Cohn. When Jake wants something, he pursued it even if there are things that might be interrupted. Nevertheless, he worked on it to avoid circumstances that Cohn could not obtain.This is what Jake learned in the war that Cohn did not learned while having his rich life and popularity as a writer. As a whole, both Jake and Cohn showed their contrasting and similar personalities throughout the whole novel. All the other characters helped them obtain their characterization and realization in the beginning and end of the story that mould them to become significant protagonists in the novel. The author showed balance information on how to perceive the characters in different angles and concepts that would not overlap Jake and Cohn’s establishment of characterization.

Ideas And Issues In “The Visit” And “A Chronicle Of A Death Foretold” Essay

Many works of contemporary literature discuss ideas and topics which are seen in the world around us today. These themes are either directly demonstrated or implied. Two works as such are â€Å"The Visit† by Friedrich Durrenmatt and â€Å"A Chronicle of a Death Foretold† by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The issues raised in these two books are justice, communication, tradition, and moral values. Tradition is the ongoing obligation to commit to something, which is an act that has existed for many years. More often than not, tradition helps keep a community in one piece, much like laws do. In other cases, tradition obligates people and makes them do things they normally wouldn’t do. In â€Å"A Chronicle of a Death Foretold†, tradition is one of the forces that drives the Vicario twins to kill Santiago Nasar and therefore clean their family’s name. However, the Vicario brothers try to escape tradition. They had a debt which they greatly doubted and criticized. They know what the whole town expects them to do. But on the other side, their everyday life and friendship with Santiago Nasar, their victim, fills them with haste to fulfill tradition and do their pre-said duty. In â€Å"The Visit†, it’s tradition in the first place that brings the much anticipated lady Zachanassian to Guellen. So, in other words, tradition kills Ill as well as Santiago Nasar. Intertwined with the complications of tradition are the moral values behind any clearly human act. The only reason tradition has always been so difficult to adhere to is because of the moral issues behind the acts that tradition is composed of. This is seen in both pieces. In â€Å"A Chronicle of a Death Foretold†, the Vicario brothers are in a state of great misfortune not only because of the shame inflicted upon the Vicario family name but also because of the deed the have to carry out. However they also want their duty to be done. In an attempt to combine both, the twins unsuccessfully try to be caught whilst looking for Santiago Nasar. In other words, they seek someone to stop them by telling the whole town of their intentions. â€Å"†¦ ,in reality it seemed that the Vicario brothers had done nothing right with a view to killing Santiago Nasar immediately and without any public spectacle, but had done much more than could be imagined to have someone stop them from killing him, and they had failed† (p. 56). In â€Å"The Visit†, the town tries to hold its moral values despite the ironic reward the people and state will get if they do not. Later on in the book, even though Guellen has completely lost its morality and plans on doing Maddamme Zachanassian’s bidding and killing Ill, the townspeople will not admit, whatsoever that they have lost their towns values. Moreover, they blame Ill for not having any morality and tell him that if he had any values he would use a gun on himself outright. Ill, however denies the Mayor’s suggestion. â€Å"Mayor: Pity. You’re missing a chance to redeem yourself and be a more or less decent human being. † (p. 81) Tradition and the morality behind it are the two most ancient forms of justice. Today, justice is defined by laws and mainly is democratic and clear. But every person has their own form of justice for things, often acquiring either guilt or praise thereafter; or none of the two. Self-justice is reflexively self-justifying. In â€Å"The Chronicle of a Death Foretold†, the Vicario brothers want Justice. However, their morality, as discussed above, does not allow them to justify their family’s shame by killing Santiago Nasar. For the sake of tradition they kill Santiago anyway. Pablo and Pedro Vicario tell everybody they come across that they will kill Santiago Nasar, hoping to get caught.. That way, they would have done their justice and duty as the brothers of Angela Vicario, the violated girl, by attempting to kill Santiago and not actually slaying him. They do not commit a crime the do not want to commit and which they consider immoral. Also, when Santiago appears to them, the Vicario twins do not face him head on. Instead they give him a chance of escape by remaining of the opposite side of the street and giving him a head-start through their body language. Clara Zachanassian in â€Å"The Visit† loses all of her moralities during her childhood as a prostitute and thus ends up defying the right and wrong of justice. Therefore, she goes ahead and offers money for an assassination. The townspeople of Guellen try to force back their moralities but fail to do so. As a result they take an alternative route to solving their problem. They masquerade the immorality of the crime of murder as justice. What follows is that they kill Ill with their bare hands. For justice and tradition to be enforced, a clear communication line must be drawn. Communication is what leads to the smooth flow of traditions and miscommunication to their collapse of justice. Morality has to do with a person’s ability to communicate to oneself what they truly consider right or wrong; in this case it is contributed to justice and questionable traditions. Pedro and Pablo Vicario’s failure to alert the whole town of Riochacha of their imminent crime is a result of poor communication. They misinterpreted the ability of the townspeople to pass on information and the rate in which the news would diffuse their way to Santiago Nasar or to the police. However they did not take one aspect of tradition into account: â€Å"But most of those who could have done something to prevent the crime and did not consoled themselves with the pretext that affairs of honor are sacred monopolies [according to tradition], giving access only to those who are part of the drama. † (p. 114). So, according to tradition, most people in town could not tell the authorities, nor anyone for that matter, about the Vicario twins and on top of that they could justify themselves by blaming it on the town’s ethics. â€Å"Destiny makes us invisible† (Quote, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1928) The town of Guellen, on the other hand, had a level of communication between them far better than any other. They could communicate through the sub-conscious. It is not exactly stated that the Guelleners had actually decided upon killing Ill, so this could be assumed. They were very well organized and swift in killing Ill, as they were able to put many new products they wanted, more than needed, on account. As is clear, tradition, morality and justice are all connectable aspects which are usually bound together by a means of communication. Situations become elaborate and complications arise. â€Å"The Chronicle of a Death Foretold† and â€Å"The Visit† are two great examples of a situation that results from the combinations of those four issues.