Shakespeares Hamlet - Polonius :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Hamlet’s Polonius      Ã‚   Gunnar Boklund in â€Å"Judgment in Hamlet† gives an overall evaluation of the personality of Polonius in Shakespeare’s tragic drama, Hamlet:    Of the minor weeds which disturb Hamlet, Polonius is the most troublesome. We know that his advice to Ophelia and Laertes closely parallels the wisdom that eminently respectable Elizabethan fathers bestowed on their children; prudence was a more commendable virtue in the Renaissance than now, and the sentiment of â€Å"This above all, to thine own self be true† remains, I should hope, unexceptionable today. But Polonius’ prudence, loyalty to the King, and pitiful death in his service do not make him the â€Å"good old man† that the Queen sees in him. He is a gentleman of the situation who, for his own and his master’s purposes, manipulates human beings, including his own children, and who does not even do it very well. (122)    This essay will evaluate and interpret the character of this wise, old father of Ophelia and Laertes.    Polonius’ entry into the play occurs at the social get-together of the royal court. Claudius has already been crowned; Queen Gertrude is there; Hamlet is present in the black clothes of mourning. When Laertes approaches Claudius to give his farewell before returning to school, the king asks Polonius: â€Å"Have you your father's leave? What says Polonius?† And the father dutifully answers:    He hath, my lord, wrung from me my slow leave   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By laboursome petition, and at last   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Upon his will I seal'd my hard consent:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I do beseech you, give him leave to go. (1.2)    So right at the outset the reader/viewer respects the lord chamberlain as a very fluent spokesman of the language, and respectful of his superior, the king. Later, in Polonius’ house, Laertes is taking leave of his sister, Ophelia, and, in the process, giving her conservative advice regarding her boyfriend, Hamlet. Quietly Polonius enters and begins to advise Laertes regarding life away from home:      Give thy thoughts no tongue,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nor any unproportioned thought his act.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But do not dull thy palm with entertainment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,

Is Corruption free India Possible? Essay

Even after 62 years of India’s independence, the plight of common man has worsened. Corrupt public servants, corrupt judges, corrupt police, etc are proving to be parasites leading 5-star lifestyles at taxpayer’s expense. They in their greed for money, bribe are aiding & abetting terrorists, separatists, naxalites, underworld mafia, etc covertly & overtly, backstabbing our motherland. These corrupt public servants are crueler than Jalianwallah Bagh butcher General Dyer of British army. If Mahatma Gandhi was alive today, he would have been disgusted with the present way of democratic government, functioning of public servants & would have died heart broken. If our freedom martyrs like sri.Bhagath Singh or Sri. Madan Lal Dingra or Sri.Subhash Chandra Bose would have been alive; they would have given a befitting reply to this corrupt police, corrupt judges, and public servants. Whenever, a common man raises his voice for justice, he is silenced in various ways by the criminal nexus. The said criminal nexus has previously tried to silence me in many ways including attempts to murder, closure of newspaper etc. We can when we develop our roads n infrastructure we can control lot. On the other hand we should have eye old vehicles which are polluting lot n share autos too. I dont think so becuase it requires a lot of political will to impose anti pollution laws. And this political will is what is absent. Mere laws wouldnt suffice in a country with an overflowing population as ours, what we need is strict†¦ I THINK COPPUPTION IS BIG PROBLEM IN GROWING COUNTRY I THINK WE ALL RESPONCEBLE FOR THIS BECAUSE WE ALL USE A SHORTCUT FOR OUR WORK WE KNOW IS THIS A WRONG WAY BUT WE CLOSE OUR EYES & AFTER WE ARE PART OF COPPUPTION PLEASE FRIENDS STOP THIS & SOPPERT SELF FOR A MADE OF BATTER INDIA, THANKS FRIENDS FOR SOPPURT INDIA (NAMASKAR) Essay Improper and usually unlawful conduct intended to secure a benefit for oneself or another. Its forms include bribery, extortion, and the misuse of inside information. It exists where there is community indifference or a  lack of enforcement policies. In societies with a culture of ritualized gift giving, the line between acceptable and unacceptable gifts is often hard to draw. The last two decades of the existence of independence, India has seen a steep upward trend in the graph of existing corruption. The media, the public, the variety of forums for discussions and debates for the higher intelligentsia are all neck deep buried in highlighting the rampant corruption in every sphere. In this debate the rural folk are also not far behind. These days they are also very well aware of the malpractices in the highest of levels of all places. So much so that now, the average Indian has reached the highest level of disgust and disappointment at the way things are moving in this country. Let us first of all understand what is meant by corruption and corrupt practices. In brief, anything that is below all standard norms of morality in a country, is called or defined as corruption and corrupt practices. These norms are a fixed standard in any given society, and when these are broken we say that, a society is getting corrupted. This corruption as we see it today is not a development that has come overnight, it has been a continuous process for the last several decades and, to – day it has seeped into the very blood stream of the system. What we have to study next is, why and how this monster of corruption has taken such a firm hold on India so much so that, the country of the legendary Harischandra, the honest has reached the position of one of the top ten or so of corrupt countries of the world. This is no mean achievement, and has taken a few decades to fructify. It is not that, corruption did not exist earlier, it is not that to – day there are no honest people, then why do we all yes, I say all feel that, corruption is rampant everywhere and all the time. This is because of the simple reason that this malady has spread through the entire length and breadth of our social fabric and gone down to the deepest levels. How has this come to be? Would be quite a pertinent question. The corrupt practices have now become our lifestyle to such an extent that, we do not seem to feel that there is anything wrong in what all we are doing., and that things should not be as they are. We, on the contrary are inclined to justify all wrong saying that, without doing wrong we cannot exist or be functional. When we start thinking that corruption is a must, then I feel that the situation has reached a point of no correction. This present apathy shows how far the degradation of  our values have reached, and how low the system has dipped. When we start justifying all the wrongs we do, it is the beginning of the end., as, we are not only doing wrong, we are at the same time thinking that it is correct, then where can the scope be for correction? It would be rather interesting to note and specify as to how this process of continuous degeneration started, for it is the root that grows into a magnum tree. It is thus of great value to know who put the seed that grew into this poisonous tree. In this connection, it is understand that, this degeneration started from the top echelons of society, and then percolated downwards, without a hurdle. Who is at the top or the apex of our society? It is the set of people who have all the power that is invested in them by, us the people. Now, it is for the goodwill of this top layer of society to give the country’s society the trend it deems fit. Now, this layer at the top has been the politician who rules the country, and to say that the seeds of India’s corruption were sown by this class of our society, which has been at the helm of affairs of the country and today they have brought us to this point of no return as far as corruption is concerned. Where are politicians like Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and above all, the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi? It appears that India has stopped producing men and women of such integrity. Perhapse the breed of such politicians and other men have stopped taking birth. Where is that erstwhile political party, the Indian National Congress, that loyally fought for the freedom of the country, where is the discipline to follow the clarion call of Mahatma Gandhi? All it seems to have been lost, and the same Congress that fought against foreign rule and ousted the foreigners is now all set to install a foreigner as the head of Independent India. What has all this come to, what can be the implications of a foreigner as the head of the state seem to be lost to this Congress which worked to oust the foreigners – what a degradation of values. Have we Indians lost all self respect that we ourselves invite a foreigner to rule us? I dareasay we have become so immune to all finer feelings that we do not mind doing anything as long as we meet our ends. All this is the ugliest face of the corruption in India. All our ethics, our self respect and love for our motherland is lost somewhere in the last fifty years. Today we are standing at the threshold of a new millennium with, the eerstwhile Indian National Congress and many other parties without a single leader of stature. What does this show that, in the span of more than century, Congress has failed to produce a single leader, leave alone a leader of the stature of Sardar Patel and the like. Today the sets of politicians of all political parties are just money spinning actors just working to establish estates for their seven generations. The vision of a great India in the yes of the freedom fighters has been lost somewhere in our move in the last fifty years. When the oldest political party, the Congress presents such a dismal picture of honesty loyalty and service, what can be said or expected from the other much younger political parties. They are all bound to follow the footsteps of this erstwhile conglomerate of greedy money spinning politicians. Today, all the new political parties are following the path tread by the elder brother, the Congress, resulting in a mushroom growth of political parties all of the set pattern with no goals, no ethics, no ideals and no ideologies. This level being the highest level of our society is seen to have become most corrupt in the last two decades and the public is very well aware of the multi-scam decades of the eighties and nineties. Now, the scenario at the very top, can hardly allow for any space for any honesty to persist in any other layer of society. So, from this topmost layer, corruption has percolated to all levels and in all spheres of activities, and all this sure enough because it suits the politician. The politician has encouraged the bureaucrat to be corrupt, and in turn the bureaucrat has enjoyed the protection of the politician, in all his nefarious activities. From the senior bureaucrat the virus of corruption has slowly and steadily seemed down to the lowest levels of functionaries. This has become a totally corrupt and incorrigible institution. The Indian society in all its entirety is corrupt to the core, and now corruption is like a drug, without which the addict finds it difficult to survive. With this slow and steady and continuous spread of the fangs of corruption, today the situation is such that, there is no place or activity which is bereft of the fruits of corruption. Now, corruption has become our way of life and to uproot it is a Herculean task. The tentacles of corruption can be dealt with only with an iron hand, and above all, must start cleaning from the top echelons of society. However, as we have seen umpteen times, this does not happen. Our experience shows that, as soon as a big name is involved in any corruption case, there is a lot of hullabulloo for some time, and it all dies down with  the passage of time and the corruption continues unabated. How does this happen? This is very obvious for all those who have to be at the clearing end are bought, so, no damage can ever come to the so called high ups. This is the main reason why there is never any breakthrough in any scam. In this situation it will be a wonder if anything tangible can really be achieved for, the high ups cannot be touched, and the lower formations need not be touched – so we remain where we were at the beginning of any case. The scams which have come to light in last one decade have amounted to multi – crores, they are being dealt with but, it is so shocking that no politician has yet been punished for siphoning off so much of wealth of a poor country, what can be expected in a country when its protectors themselves become criminals. When the senior can not be punished how can there be any cleaning at the bottom. It would not even be fair to punish the lower rungs of the ladder when the higher rungs continue to bask in the sunshine of their riches. The way in which these cases are being dealt with clearly indicate that no one will be hurt as, all those, yes all those who matter are involved in corruption. So, at present, the situation is of â€Å"who will bell the cat?† Everyone knows who the corrupt are but, the irony of our system is such that no one can be touched. If this situation remains any longer, it is a wonder if there could be any light at the end of the tunnel. India is reaping what it has sown, and the seed of corruption has grown up into a full size magnum tree which perhapse cannot be changed, replaced or cut. It appears thus that for the time being at least, we have to bear with it. Only God can do some magic. Irrespective of the status of the wrong doer everyone, big or small, high or low, must be dealt with an iron hand, and that also at a fast speed. What is the use of just a show of dealings against corruption, while in reality all cases are just quietly shelved banking on the fact that, public memory is very short. All these cases are just a farce into which now, the Indian public an not be very easily fooled. At present there is no remedy for this tragic situation we are in, except pray to God that, HE gives unto us a dictator who is capable enough to deal with this ogre of corruption with a strong hand or else it appears that we are doomed to drown in the deepest depths of corruption and that, we will soon find it impossible to come out of the labarynth knit around us by our own men – yes our own men. Corruption in India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Political corruption in India is a major concern.[1] A 2005 study done by Transparency International (TI) in India found that more than 50% of the people had firsthand experience of paying bribe or peddling influence to get a job done in a public office.[1] Taxes and bribes are common between state borders; Transparency International estimates that truckers pay annually US$5 billion in bribes.[2] For 2010, India was ranked 87th of 178th countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which was a huge setback from the preceding year. Criminalization of Indian politics is a problem.[3][4] In July 2008 The Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, â€Å"including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder†.

Racial Identity Of African American Adolescents - 821 Words

Along with that, racial identity is another big contributor to the degradation of African American’s youth mental health, as a weak racial identity results in poorly mishandled ways of coping with racism and stress. African American students as early as middle school engage in introspection of their racial identity, where they begin to discover who they are and the negative stereotypes surrounding their identity (Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, 2007, p.256). The results of a study of 297 African American adolescents by McCreary, Slavin, and Berry found that a strong pride in racial identity was important in handling stress in a positive manner and decreasing poor mental health (Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, 2007, p.256). Students were less likely to internalize negative racial stereotypes that devalue their worth and build resistance towards it. If not, students were more susceptible to succumbing to stereotype threat, racial bias, and a negative self-fulfilling prophecy that could alter their well-being and threaten their mental health. Chronic exposure to this can severely damage African Americans adolescents’ mental health, which is evident by their mental withdrawal in school and loss of interest or motivation to achieve academic success. Methods Eight college students attending the University of Louisville were interviewed. Within this group, half were females and the other half were males. Among the females, two were biracial and the other were African American. Of the individuals whoShow MoreRelatedGender And Ethnic Background On Adolescent Development997 Words   |  4 Pagesneighborhood in which the adolescent lives, their socioeconomic status, racial and ethnic background, play a role in their development. A spectrum that considers a multifaceted framework, provides a platform to enhance one’s understanding of the assessment outcomes. According to Hill, Bromell, Tyson Flint (2007), the stages of adolescent development from ages eight to sixteen, involve biological, social, and cognitive components. Adolescents move through phases of identity development which encapsulatesRead MoreRace, Religion, Social Class, And Ethnicity1274 Words   |  6 PagesHow you do in school, your social ability, and your awarenes s of others are all guided by how you identify. Identification in one’s gender, race, religion, social class, and ethnicity are all driving forces behind your future self. Identity is a crucial part of who you are, and in recent studies and experimentation researchers have been trying to identify new, untested factors that influence behavior in people. Although, in the past there hasn’t been a strong focus on the positive and negative effectsRead MoreImportance Of Race Ethnicity : An Exploration Of Asian, Black, Latino, And Multiracial Adolescent Identity Essay1047 Words   |  5 PagesHatice Kara September 12th, 2015 Dr. Wang Article Critique #1 Importance of race-ethnicity: An exploration of Asian, Black, Latino, and Multiracial adolescent identity Article source- Charmaraman, L., Grossman, J. M. (2010, April). Importance of race-ethnicity: An exploration of Asian, Black, Latino, and Multiracial adolescent identity. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(2), 144-151. doi: 10.1037/a0018668 (a) Contextual information about the purpose/intention of this study:Read MoreCalvins Problem as an African American1209 Words   |  5 Pagesthere is a deeper problem occurring between the teacher and Calvin. Successful African American students, like Calvin, do not receive much attention in school systems and research. The underachievement and low- level course enrollment of African American males is well documented and seems to be a construct in the educational system. Behaviors from students tend to be a tool of coping that clashes with the Euro-American worldview of culturally acceptable behavior. When it comes to Calvin’s historyRead MoreEffects Of Socialization1676 Words   |  7 Pagesgroups of people. Racial socialization is defined as â€Å"learning about one’s ethnic and racial identity in a given culture† (Rohall 153). This is done primarily through one of our agents of socialization, our families. Families teach their children about their cultural heritage through racial pride or history. Children use this information to maneuver their identities in society and prepare for racial biases. These messages and practices are used to promote positive racial ide ntity and prepare ethnicRead More Ethnic Identity and African Americans Essay871 Words   |  4 Pages Ethnic Identity and African Americans Ethnic Identity Ethnic identity is the sum total of group member feelings about those values, symbols, and common histories that identify them as a distinct group (Smith 1991). Development of ethnic identity is important because it helps one to come to terms with their ethnic membership as a prominent reference group and significant part of an individuals overall identity. Ethnic reference group refers to an individuals psychological relatedness to groupsRead MoreCommunication Between African American Mothers and Their Daughters1740 Words   |  7 PagesAfrican American Mothers and Their Daughters Introduction A girls communication and relationship with her mother are influential to her development and well-being. Communication between mother and daughter entails sending, receiving and comprehending each other intended message. According to Belgrave (2009), majority of girls report positive relationships with their mothers. Most girls learn from their mothers. This is because mothers teach and socialize with their daughters regarding any facetRead MoreWhy Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together?917 Words   |  4 Pagesin the African-American community in regards to educational opportunities. Race hinders educational opportunity of African-Americans through the expectations of others and self-identity conflicts. Beverly Tatum s Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?and Ann DuCille s Multicultural Barbie and the Merchandising of Difference demonstrate what it means to be an African American adolescent in today s time. One of the obstacles that African American adolescents face isRead MoreEffects of Violence on Adolescence1408 Words   |  6 Pagesviolence among adolescents that showed victimization in the home was associated with anxiety, depression, and aggression (Tummala-Narra, 9). A home that is filled with violence or poor living conditions may lead to aggressive behaviors. Among adolescents, boys have been reported to be more exposed to violence than girls. Video games, television shows, and sports are examples of why males are more exposed to violence. Exposure to violence has become more prevalent among African American and Latino AmericanRead MoreBlack American Youth And Racial Identity2929 Words   |  12 PagesBlack American Youth Racial Identity Oral Report Summary I decided to do my annotated bibliography on Black American youth and racial identity. Each one of the articles that I have chosen addresses one or more of the issues in regards to sociocultural and international contexts that influence individual differences in the cultural group, how individual differences influence beliefs, values, and interactions with others and vice versa, as predictions on how interaction among diverse people can