Rewards In Society :: essays research papers

Micro Theme Assignment #1, Position #2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our present society is composed of a ranking structure based on the premise that unequal distribution of rewards such as status, resources, and power is natural, right and good; and for this type of structure to stand, there must be many on the bottom, and a few at the top. Persons in the structure must either resign themselves to their status, compete to win a higher position, and/or defend the position they have. In order for some to move up this structural hierarchy, others must move down if the structure is to remain stable. Although this process may be necessary for our existing society to function properly, it can also prove to be detrimental to society. The competition, fear, greed, resentment and revenge inherent in these types of social systems continue to be formidable barriers blocking the way to social equality in our current society. Karl Marx believed that production is dependant on the workers material conditions present at the time. Unequal distribution of rewards may cause those people who do not experience promotion or personal gain to feel insignificant to society, resulting in a low self-esteem and a reduced level of production. I enlisted into the United States Army for three years following my high school graduation. A good example of unequal distribution of awards is the military, where the whole income structure is based on a person’s rank, and only one individual at the top of your chain of command can grant a request for an increase in rank. If that individual does not like you, he or she has the power to deny any and all requests for promotion. For the soldiers that were denied a promotion, they were looked down upon by many of their peers and leaders. These soldiers soon began to act as if they did not deserve to be promoted. Marx said, “how workers are related to each other can affect their family relations, leisure activities, child-rearing practices, and self-esteem';(Kerbo 94). I observed some of these characteristics, such as low self-esteems, thoughts of quitting the Army before the expiration of enlistment, thoughts of committing violent crimes, and even suicide. The unequal distribution of rewards can also lead to what Max Weber called “status groups';, groups of people who obtain similar levels of promotion, prestige or personal gain in their workplace or community. These groups of people tend to cut themselves off from those not in their group.

Merchant of Venice – Shylock

Shylock is â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† In William Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Merchant of Venice,† there are many themes, symbols and words alike which take on a complex and dual nature. Not only can lines in the play be interpreted by the audience in multiple ways, they are meant to have multiple meanings. This duality can be seen in the characters as well. Shylock is portrayed as both a victim and a villain and our sense of him evolves as his character is revealed to us as â€Å"The Merchant of Venice. We are first introduced to Shylock in Act I Scene III when we learn about his job as a moneylender. During this period of time, Jewish people were very limited in the jobs they could obtain; they were looked down upon by, and on the fringe of, society. While the Christians could lend money, it was immoral and against church rule for them to charge any type of interest, it was usurious. However, there was nothing to forbid Jewish lenders from making a living by cha rging interest. They did so to survive and were despised for such an â€Å"immoral and disgraceful† practice. Bassanio goes to Shylock for a loan to be given in Antonio's name. Upon Antonio’s entering, Shylock displays his disdain for Antonio in an aside, â€Å"How like a fawning publican he looks! / I hate him for he is Christian, / but more for that in low simplicity / he lends out money gratis†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1. 1. 41-45). His hatred is dual in nature; Antonio lends money without interest threatening the existence of his job as a moneylender. Also, Antonio is prejudiced against the Jews and has humiliated and insulted Shylock publicly for both his lending practices and his religion. This is revealed when Shylock asks Antonio why he should lend money to someone who has, â€Å"†¦rated me / About my moneys and my usuances†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1. 3. 117-118) â€Å"You call me misbeliever, cutthroat dog / And spet upon my Jewish Gaberdine†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1. 3. 121-122). Shylock could not retaliate the prejudice, and had to tolerate the abuse, â€Å"Still have I borne it with a patient shrug / for sufferance is the badge of all our tribe† (1. 3. 119-120). This portrays Shylock as a person who is victimized and helpless against the prejudice and racism present in that society. Antonio asks that Shylock see the loan not as a lending of money to a friend, but â€Å"rather to thine enemy, / Who, if he break, thou mayst with better face / Exact the penalty† (1. 3. 145-146). Shylock is now given power over the fate of the loan, Bassanio’s desired pursuit of Portia and the choice of bond for the loan. It is a chance for Shylock’s to seek retribution not only from Antonio personally, but on a larger scale Christian society as a whole. To further advance his position, he speaks to Antonio as a friend, â€Å"I would be friends with you, and have your love, / Forget the shames that you have stained me with† (1. . 149-150). Shylock’s cynically toned change of heart toward Antonio makes it clear his feigned friendship may, quite probably, be motivated by ulterior interests. At this point, there is a substantial shift in the character of Shylock from being that of a victim to that of a villain. Shylock is not interested in receiving m ere interest on the money he lends, he wants a redemption and revenge for himself and his people which no amount of money will satisfy for him. The selfish, greedy, usurous Jew many want to make Shylock out to be is no longer being guided by a monetary beacon. He is now seemingly overtaken by a cruel morbid desire for revenge. He has become passionately cunning, malicious and vengeful, â€Å"†¦let the forfeit / Be nominated for an equal pound / Of your fair flesh, [possibly as opposed to his slightly darker Jewish flesh] to be cut off and taken / In what part of your body pleaseth me† (1. 3. 160-163). He reveals the depths of his discontent and his desire for vengeance when he says, â€Å"I will have the heart of him if he forfeit† (3. 2. 125-126). It is not long before Shylock receives news from Tubal that some of Antonio’s fleet has come upon misfortune and he has no choice but to break his bond. Shylock declares, â€Å"I am very glad of it. I'll plague him, I'll / torture him, I am glad of it† (3. 1. 115-116). The arrest of Antonio for failure to timely pay his bond solidifies what is lawfully owed to and bought and paid for by Shylock. There is no doubt that Shylock has every intention of collecting this bloody bond, his obsessive hatred for Antonio becomes apparent, â€Å"I’ll have my bond. Speak not against my bond. I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (3. 3. 5-6). Shylock has transformed from discriminated repressed Jew to despised money lender to murderous vengeful sinner. During the trial scene, Shylock clearly enjoys the forthcoming bond which is due to him, he whets his knife on his shoe in the courtroom so that he can, â€Å"cut the forfeiture from [Antonio]† (4. 1 . 124). Shylock is unyielding in his desire. The pound of flesh is worth more to him than ten times the amount of ducats owed. More so, he rejects any appeal to the divine sanction of ercy, and believes to have his bond is lawfully and morally â€Å"right. † Shylock asks the Duke, â€Å"What judgment shall I dread, doing no wrong? † (4. 1. 90) and states, â€Å"I crave the law† (4. 1. 213). Even though he is legally entitled, Portia tries to appeal to his moral obligation to show mercy. He is not moved by this, and readies to collect his bond. At this point, the law is turned on Shylock. Portia tells Shylock he may have his bond, but that, â€Å"This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood†¦if thou dost shed / One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods / Are by the laws of Venice confiscate† (4. . 319-324). Shylock, realizing his desired pound of flesh will not be his bond, agrees to accept the payment of the ducats. To this, Portia replies, à ¢â‚¬Å"The Jew shall have all justice. Soft, no haste! / He shall have nothing but the penalty. † Further, Portia declares, â€Å"It is enacted in the laws of Venice, / If it be proved against an alien / That by direct or indirect attempts / He seeks the life of any citizen†¦the offender’s life lies in the mercy of the Duke. † Shylock is forced to his knees to beg the Duke for Mercy. He is again, the â€Å"Jew dog. † His life as it is a physical existence was spared. Shylock, would choose death over the mercy shown to him by the Duke and Antonio, he asks the court to, â€Å"Take my life and all† (4. 1. 389). In granting him to keep half of his goods, Antonio takes his identity, his religion, his heart and soul. Antonio seeks that Shylock, â€Å"presently become a Christian; / The other, that he do record a gift, / Here in the court, of all he dies possessed / Unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter† (4. . 403-406). Life and Christianity have defeated Shylock, they have taken his daughter and given him a Christian son to which he is bound to leave everything he owns. Shylock has been stripped of any power he may have once, if fleetingly, had. He has been broken down and stripped of his â€Å"merciless† religion. He is no longer villainous, he is piteous. Shylock evolved and transformed as a character, before us as an audience just as our feelings, perceptions and sympathies for him.

Act III, Scene I the Pivotal Scene in Romeo and Juliet Essay

Since life is too complex to be classified into a single category, then why should a play imitating life be confined to a single genre? In the classic tale of two star crossd lovers, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare dabbles with both the comic and tragic genres (Prologue, Line 6). The play starts in the traditional comic form but undergoes a transformation in Act III, Scene I. In this scene, the death of Mercutio, and consequential death of Tybalt, transform the play into a tragedy. With each death comes a change that alters the course of the rest of the play. Mercutios death results in an inversion of the plays genre. Traditional comic elements are lifted only to be replaced by tragedy. The death of Tybalt constitutes another radical†¦show more content†¦He is neither a Montague nor a Capulet; he is the cousin of Prince Escalus. Considering his relation to the Prince, a figure of authority, Mercutios death can be regarded as the symbolic death of social order. The failure to u phold order is a failure to uphold comedy since the maintenance of social order is regarded as fundamental in comedy. Not only is Mercutios death the symbolic death of social order but also of communication. As previously discussed, Mercutios comedy thrives on his ability to manipulate speech. His profound mastery of language is what makes Mercutio the distinct character that he is. His death, therefore, is also the symbolic death of language, which is a form of communication. The loss of Mercutio, and consequently communication, is what dooms Romeo and Juliet and denies them a future together. Friar John is detained at a quarantined house so Romeo is not informed of Juliet and Friar Lawrences plan. This lack of communication leads to Romeos suicide and ultimately Juliets. Thus, Mercutios death marks the end of communication and in the process, seals Romeo and Juliets fate. On a broader level and more generally speaking, Mercutios murder also represents the death of a genre. As the prominent comical figure in the play, Mercutios death signals the end of the comic genre. In a conventional comedy, Mercutio would not have died because Tybalt would have been stopped by some sort of interference. However, there is no interventionShow MoreRelatedEssay on Dramatic Effects in Romeo and Juliet III.12285 Words   |  10 PagesRomeo and Juliet is a sixteenth-century play written by William Shakespeare. Amongst the most renowned of Shakespeares plays, Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that focuses on the fated relationship of two star-crossed lovers. The play focuses on themes of love and hate, mostly concerning the feud between the two opposing families, the Montagues and the Capulets. This play came at a time when such social events like courting were not just accepted, but expected. Witchcraft and fate were also stronglyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Jul iet1374 Words   |  6 Pagesto Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet explores the quote â€Å"unbridled passion is to blame for the deaths of the young lovers† throughout the play/The quote â€Å"unbridled passion is to blame for the deaths of the young lovers† is lengthily explored throughout William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The composer achieves this through the themes of individual versus society, youth and naivety, and love and hate. The theme of love and hate plays a pivotal role in the playRead MoreAnalysis Of The Structure Hamlet 1233 Words   |  5 Pagesin a piece of literature is pivotal to the success of the work. If an author can t decide where to start and finish his ideas, what order to put them in, or what form to put his work in then he lacks structure. One great example of an author who does this is william shakespeare. Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and commonly regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He has written quite the handful of plays including Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. In his work ofRead MoreWilliam Shakespeares Hamlet Essay3604 Words   |  15 Pages Hamlet was written around the year 1600 in the final years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who had been the monarch of England for more than forty years and was then in her late sixties. The prospect of Elizabeth’s death and the question of who would succeed her was a subject of grave anxiety at the time, since Elizabeth had noRead MoreEssay about William Shakespeares Relevance Today2257 Words   |  10 Pagesoperation of the orbs From whom we do exist and cease to be; Here I disclaim all my paternal care, Propinquity and property of blood, And as a stranger to my heart and me Hold thee, from this, for ever. (King Lear, Act 1, Scene 1, lines 111-116) The opening to the play sets the beginnings of the tragic trap which lays ahead, for both the audience and the characters. Lear in his pivotal central role sits in judgment of the love of his own daughters, much