Friday, January 24, 2020

The Notion of Good and Evil in Stevensons Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay

The Notion of Good and Evil in Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde The book entitled 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' was published in 1886. Although in the book Stevenson does not ever state the exact year, it was at the time recognized immediately as a grand work. The main theme running throughout the book is about the duality of human beings and the battle in all humans between good and evil. This book is very allegorical because the characters and events are representing other things and symbolically expressing a deeper spiritual and moral meaning. For humans the battle between the potential for extreme good and extreme evil is in the mind, but Jekyll's experiment has given one man a split personality of the two extremes in the physical realm. The book also involves a theme of hypocrisy, as shown by Jekyll and Hyde of Victorian society. On one hand it was pleasant society, respectable, conventional, deeply religious, and polite. On the other was a much more bohemian England, symbolized by dishonesty and darkness. The combination of the two aspects in contrast to each other made an impression on Stevenson. This was a world of appearance not truth with Victorian oppression, fighting against basic human nature. Throughout the story is an omniscient narrator who tells the story from full view of different people with different perspectives (e.g. the view of the maid lets us into her feelings and attitudes towards Hyde). The author could have chosen another route by possibly telling the story as a confession from Jekyll's point of view. The author chose not to write in this way because he wanted to give a view of... ...This is a warning from Stevenson to the reader not to take the easy way out. It also proves that Stevenson wants the reader to judge Jekyll harshly as he was weak and took the "cowards" path out, which lead to his death. Although Jekyll seems to have no control over Hyde, once he has transformed, it is Jekyll's original attitude towards evil in the first place, which brings him trouble. He sees the ability to lose moral control and be free from the ties of society as a kind of liberation, which is why the transformation into Mr Hyde is so appealing to him. It is not that he has no regard to society as a whole, or he wouldn't need to turn into Hyde, but that he cannot tolerate that certain behaviour is prohibited. By becoming Hyde, Jekyll can follow his wildest imaginations without worrying about the consequences.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Face Negotiation Theory Essay

The Face Negotiation Theory is established by Stella Ting-Toomey, which discusses the way by which people with different cultures communicate and manage conflict. In 1985, Stella Ting Toomey explains in her theory that disagreements and conflicts are usually brought about by identity management on the individualistic and collectivistic levels. The different facets that characterizes the identity of an individual or group is referred to as â€Å"faces†. Faces serves as the public image of an individual or group, which the society as a whole assessed depending upon the cultural norms and values of the people’s respective culture. According to Ting-Toomey, the distinction between individualistic and collectivists cultures is seen on how the former gives more importance to the face of the individual while the latter gives more attention to the welfare of the group (Gudykunst, 2005). The major tenets of the Face Negotiation Theory are greatly applicable with my life, especially since I interact with people that have different cultural background. I have friends who do not share the same culture that I have and sometimes this is the cause of misunderstandings between us because cultural differences also affect the values and principles that we have in life. However, I realized that in order to get along with my friends I need to understand and accept our differences and in doing so, I need to properly communicate with them in a way that shows my respect to their values and beliefs, which is actually one of the important things that is explained in the theory. In relation to this, I also learn that the theory can actually help me to enhance my communication process in the future wherein I could try having a more collectivistic face, which will allow me to give more importance to the welfare of the group rather than my individual interests. Moreover, I realized that the relevance of the Face Negotiation Theory has become more vital than ever because our society is becoming more interconnected with each other, especially with the greater interaction of different people all over the world. Reference Gudykunst, W. B. (2005). Theorizing about intercultural communication. California: SAGE.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Who Are the Sun Gods and Goddesses

Who is the sun god? That varies by religion and tradition. In ancient cultures, where you find deities with specialized functions, youll probably find a sun god or goddess, or several within the same religious tradition. Riding Across the Sky Many sun gods and goddesses are humanoid and ride or drive a vessel of some sort across the sky. It may be a boat, a chariot, or a cup. The sun god of the Greeks and Romans,  for example, rode in a four-horse (Pyrios, Aeos, Aethon, and Phlegon) chariot. In Hindu traditions, the sun god Surya travels across the sky in a chariot pulled by either seven horses or a single seven-headed horse. The chariot driver is Aruna, the personification of dawn. In Hindu mythology, they fight the demons of darkness. There may be more than one god of the sun. The Egyptians differentiated among the aspects of the sun and had several gods associated with it: Khepri for the rising sun, Atum for the setting sun, and Re for the noontime sun, who rode across the sky in a solar bark. The Greeks and Romans also had more than one sun god. Female Sun Deities You may notice that most sun deities are male and act as counterparts to female moon deities, but dont take this as a given. Sometimes the roles are reversed. There are goddesses of the sun just as there are male deities of the moon. In Norse mythology, for example, Sol (also called Sunna) is the goddess of the sun, while her brother, Mani, is the god of the moon. Sol rides a chariot that is drawn by two golden horses. Another sun goddess is  Amaterasu, a major deity in the Shinto religion of Japan. Her brother,  Tsukuyomi, is the god of the moon. It is from the sun goddess that the Japanese imperial family is believed to be descended. Name Nationality/Religion God or Goddess? Notes Amaterasu Japan Sun Goddess Major deity of the Shinto religion. Arinna (Hebat) Hittite (Syrian) Sun Goddess The most important of three Hittite major solar deities Apollo Greece and Rome Sun God Freyr Norse Sun God Not the main Norse sun god, but a fertility god associated with the sun. Garuda Hindu Bird God Helios (Helius) Greece Sun God Before Apollo was the Greek sun god, Helios held that position. Hepa Hittite Sun Goddess The consort of a weather god, she was assimilated with the sun goddess Arinna. Huitzilopochtli (Uitzilopochtli) Aztec Sun God Hvar Khshaita Iranian/Persian Sun God Inti Inca Sun God The national patron of the Inca state. Liza West African Sun God Lugh Celtic Sun God Mithras Iranian/Persian Sun God Re (Ra) Egypt Mid-day Sun God An Egyptian god shown with a solar disk. Center of worship was Heliopolis. Later associated with Horus as Re-Horakhty. Also combined with Amun as Amun-Ra, a solar creator god. Shemesh/Shepesh Ugarit Sun goddess Sol (Sunna) Norse Sun Goddess She rides in a horse-drawn solar chariot. Sol Invictus Roman Sun God The unconquered sun. A late Roman sun god. The title was also used of Mithras. Surya Hindu Sun God Rides the sky in a horse-drawn chariot. Tonatiuh Aztec Sun God Utu (Shamash) Mesopotamia Sun God