The Power and Genius of Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades Essay

The Power and Genius of Alexander Pushkin’s The Queen of Spades In Alexander Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† many aspects of the short story have made for considerable debate among scholars.   Pushkin fills an integral role in Russian literary history, and there are abundant research sources to use in analyzing and interpreting his texts.   Pushkin is often referred to as the Father of Modern Russian Literature, but until just recently much of the criticism on Pushkin focused on Pushkin himself as the author, the innovative simplicity in his prose, or the political relationship between Pushkin and the Russian aristocracy.   Pushkin’s personal life was often the subject of public debate among his readers and the Russian aristocracy, forcing him into a some what reclusive state.  Ã‚   His prose was innovative, but, in the early research, very few bothered to interpret why the style was so effective.   What about the words made Pushkin different?   It did not seem to matter as long as the aristocracy was satisf ied. Finally, much of the early information available on Pushkin had nothing to do with his writing.   During Pushkin’s time, the domination of the Russian nobility over publications was so great, the ultimate beauty and depth to Pushkin’s writing was over looked in order to expose censorship and political manipulation.  Ã‚   These early attempts at criticism and investigation fall short of exposing the true power and genius in Pushkin’s writing. Another problem with much of the available literature on Pushkin and his texts is   inconsistency in interpretations.  Ã‚   Scholars do not research sufficiently and are often vague in communicating their ideas to the reader.   The purpose of the given work is often confusing enough to the aud... ...nleaf. Studies in Romanticism v 36 n 2 (Summer 1997): 292-299. Pushkin, Alexander.   â€Å"The Queen of Spades.† Alexander Pushkin: Complete Prose Fiction. Trans. Paul Debreczeny. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1983. 211- 233. Rosenshield, Gary. â€Å"Choosing the Right Card: Madness, Gambling, and the Imagination in Pushkin’s ‘The Queen of Spades.’† PMLA v 109 n 5 (October 1994): 995-1008. Rosenshield, Gary.   â€Å"Freud, Lacan, and Romantic Psychoanalysis: Three Psychoanalytic Approaches to Madness in Pushkin’s ‘The Queen of Spades.’† Slavic and East    European Journal v 40 n 1 (Spring 1996): 1-26. Shrayer, Maxim. Rev. of Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† by Neil Cornwell. The Modern Language Review   v 90 n 4 (October 1995): 1051-1053. Terras, Victor. Rev. of Pushkin’s â€Å"The Queen of Spades,† by Neil Cornwell. The Russian    Review v 54 n 3 (July 1995): 453-454.

Religious Beliefs in Aeschylus Oresteia, Homer’s Iliad, and Sophocles’

Religious Beliefs in Aeschylus' Oresteia, Homer’s Iliad, and Sophocles’ Electra The final and definitive defeat of the Persian army at the battle of Plataea represented the end of an age-long threat to Athens. But the victory was also a miracle, as all the odds were against the Athenians at the onset of the war. While Pericles took charge of Athens after the war and started the advance of democracy, religion also thrived. The rebuilding of the Acropolis and the construction of the Parthenon and its great statue of Athene under Pericles' rule signified the height of religious belief among Athenians. However, the shift in power from the aristocrats to the common men in the new democracy, and the Peloponnesian War and Great Plague that followed the shift, all contributed to a general decline in religious belief. Only a few decades after reaching its peak, it reached an all-time low. This change in attitude among Athenians can be observed by comparing the works of two tragedians, Aeschylus and Sophocles, whose plays were performed in each of these two periods. But e ven with this dramatic shift, it is clear that Athenians remained believers throughout these periods, because religion was, and always has been, a huge part of their culture. The religious view of Athenians before the Peloponnesian War can be best demonstrated by the portrayal of interaction between men and Gods in Aeschylus’ work, The Eumenides. From the first scene, when â€Å"The doors of the temple open and show Orestes surrounded by the sleeping Furies, Apollo and Hermes beside him† (Aeschylus, 137), one can see that in Aeschylus’ eyes, Gods and Goddesses are not something distant and unreachable, but instead, they are â€Å"real† figures who will at times stand by our s... ...ardless of how "good" or "bad" they were, and despite constant worship the Gods did not intervene. Having witnessed such horrors, it is understandable that people of those times, such as Sophocles, would have taken a step back and wondered if the Gods were actually there. Having gone through a period as such, it is only natural for even the most faithful to doubt a little, which was evident from the absence of interaction between Gods and men in Sophocles’ work, Electra. However, it is clear as had been previously pointed out, that while belief in the literal truth of the myths was suppressed, the Gods did live on in the hearts of the Athenians. Works Cited Aeschylus. â€Å"Aeschylus I / Oresteia†. The University of Chicago Press, 1983: 131 – 171. Homer. â€Å"The Iliad†. Penguin Books, 1998: 128 - 143 Sophocles. â€Å"Electra†. Oxford University Press, 2001: 50 – 111

Home Schooling and Public Schooling

Never before in the United States have parents been so disgruntled about their children†s education. The main reason behind this massive disruption seems to be that public schools are not living up to parent†s standards. Because of this, parents are taking their child†s education and future into their own hands. Many parents are turning to an â€Å"alternative† means of educating known as home schooling. Home schooling is simply education of school- aged children at home rather than at school. Parents are choosing home schooling over public schools because public schools are not meeting their child†s academic, individual, and/or disability needs. First, parents are choosing home schooling over public schooling because public schools are not meeting student†s academic needs. Parents expect their child will learn to read, write, and acquire basic math skills by the time they graduate. However, public schools throughout the United States are failing to teach these basic academic skills. Recent studies appear to show that many who graduate, as many as 25%, cannot read or write at an eighth grade level. This is a tragic statistic for a nation claiming to be so developed. There are more opportunities to gain an education in the United States than any other country in the world, yet evidence seems to shows that the United States rank at the bottom of industrial nations in reading, writing, and arithmetic. In addition, students are said to be ranking lower than ever on Academic Achievement Tests. Children who attend public schools rank in the â€Å"average zone† whereas, home schooled children typically score above average. To add to this common bit of knowledge the press has recently reported the startling news that children schooled at home seemed to be five or more years ahead, of their formally trained peers, in their ability to think. These statistics prove that home schooled children are doing better in all academic areas compared to children attending public schools. Secondly, parents are choosing home schooling over public schooling because public schools are no longer taking a student†s individual needs into consideration. Since students are taught lessons based on an academic calendar year, they are expected to be able to complete specific tasks by the end of that year. When students fail to meet these expectations they are required to repeat the same grade the following school year, or worse yet, passed on without ever gaining the needed skill. For example, at the end of a school year if a student is having difficulties reading but doing well in other subjects he or she will be required to repeat the same grade or will be passed on continually without ever learning how to read. If students were properly tutored in the areas they are having difficulties in they would not have to repeat the same grades or graduate without the tools necessary to be successful. Unfortunately public schools do not give special tutoring to students like they once did. Teachers in the public school systems are teaching students as though they are on an assembly line. They no longer have time to work one on one with them. Unlike public schooling, home schooling allows parents to teach in a style and at a pace that best fits their child†s needs. Home schooled children are not held back in the same grade if they are lagging behind in particular subjects. Their parents can move them to the next grade and tutor them in the subjects they are having trouble with. Children who are home schooled also get individual attention from their parents. They do not have to worry about waiting for their teacher to find time to help them. It is becoming apparent to many parents that home schooling meets the individual needs of their child better than public schooling. Finally, parents of children with physical and mental disabilities are finding that home schooling meets their child†s handicap needs better than public schooling. A major downfall of public schooling is that handicapped students are graded in the same style as the rest of the students. In public schools, children with handicaps are still expected to complete all of their assignments in the same given time as other students. Teachers are not taking these children†s handicaps into consideration. For example, children with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) have trouble staying focused and are easily distracted. As a result of constantly being distracted, they are not able to complete their assignments. This type of grading style has become a great concern for parents of disabled children. Because of situations like this one, parents are making decisions to teach their disabled children at home. By teaching their children at home they are in an environment that is equipped to aid in their development. For instance, children with ADD are in an environment where they will not be influenced by the action of other children and cannot be as easily distracted. In addition, they have special time to complete their assignments, as well as have all of their assignments tailored to fit their abilities and needs. By home schooling, children with learning disabilities are given equal chances of succeeding in their education which they otherwise would not get in public schooling. Public schools may have been the center for learning years ago. However, today they are not meeting children†s academic, individual, and disability needs. As a result, parents are choosing to educate their children through home schooling. Reports show that home schooled children are ahead of children who attend public schools by a noticeable degree. In addition, disabled children are having their needs met better at home than in public schools. They are being given an equal chance at succeeding in their academic endeavors. Parents are choosing home schooling because it currently offers the best solution to their problems facing the public school systems.

Newspaper as a Reliable Source of News and Information

NEWSPAPER AS A RELIABLE SOURCE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION: The newspapers most notable contribution as a mass communication medium has been as a purveyor of information. Many people doubted if newspapers could fight off the challenge posed by radio and television – both being immediate and more entertaining, but they have fought this challenge and have survived and are going strong due to the following reasons: 1. Newspapers offer detailed accounts which is not possible with radio and television. 2. The printed word carries a lot of credibility than the spoken words of radio and tv. . Also while one has to wait for news bulletins on radio and tv, one can read it anytime he wants. Here time is not a constraint. A newspaper's coverage of meetings and events, investigative journalism that uncovers important issues and strong opinion pieces that offer points of view and courses of action are often the starting point of discussion within a community. As recorders of activities large a nd small within the community, as the community's watchdog and often spokesperson, a newspaper plays a crucial role in day-to-day life in every city, town and community in the country.As a keeper of the stories of a community, the newspaper is there at the start, and the finish, and remains the only effective instrument for such record-keeping. As they begin their search for an important household item, consumers usually turn to the pages of the newspaper to study advertisements and promotions placed by local merchants. When planning trips, readers turn to the newspaper for information about possible destinations, accommodations and other travel information. When looking for a new home or attempting to sell their present house, people find the pages of the newspaper the best place to start.The classified section of any newspaper is the first source for people looking for employment. For some people, their first field trip in school is a visit to the newspaper, and for information fo r a school project on current events, their first stop is the newspaper or, now, the newspaper's site on the World Wide Web. Many people develop a lifelong love of reading by picking up a newspaper each day to find out about the important news, follow the progress of their favorite teams, check out the views of a top columnist or to read their favorite comics.The habit of reading the newspaper is an important step in building literacy skills, as well a keeping a person well-informed on the issues of the day. A good newspaper offers something for everyone, whether it is coverage of an election race, reports from council and school board meetings, display or classified advertising, and opinion writing that educates and excites the reader. Thus newspapers are your source of reliable information in a world overloaded with the unreliable.

Cybercrime Law

Cybercrime Law: Is Now the Right Time for It? Issues about a certain bill, which was passed by our President Aquino, have grown since before the its implementation. This became a mainstream issue on the cyberworld and other media. Some were happy about the law’s provisions, but others, mostly, disagreed with its rules. The law’s called the Cybercrime Prevention Law which was proposed by Senator Tito Sotto, who was accused of plagiarism in two of his recent speeches. This law has a bright side, but it’s not enough to cover its ugly side. We have a right to freely say what we want, but with limitations. Freedom is not absolute.We must still be conscious on what we’re saying, or even posting on our Facebook walls. In the cyberworld, freedom is welcomed– playing, watching, reading, commenting, liking, sharing and even buying, what we want. Internet has been a jar of our hidden personalities. An individual’s attitude is changing when entering the cyberworld. And because of that, many became abusive of that freedom and use it to harm other people. This led the government to pass a law concerning the said emerging cyberproblem. The cybercrime law has many obvious disadvantages for netizens– almost all Filipinos are netizens. This law envisions a safe internet world.In line with that, the law contains very heavy punishments for the â€Å"abusive† netizens. The problem with that is the way the law considers an internet action abusive. Even liking a libelous content is counted as an abusive action? That’s ridiculous! Many would say that it’s for the safety of the Filipino people, but didn’t they think that it’s a way of depriving a democratic country of its freedom to express thoughts. That’s totally ironic. I’m not saying that that the deprives Filipinos of the freedom of speech totally, but mostly. That’s because Filipinos usually became more brave to express their thoughts on the internet.The law is a threat to proper justice. The law says that you can be imprisoned for almost 12 years if you are caught red handed on doing something in the internet that is abusive, but if you raped an innocent person, you’ll just be jailed for 3 years! That’s not right. Another thing , the law will be using 50 million pesos a year to successfully implement it, but don’t they know that more hungry stomachs need that amount? Surely, this will be an issue on the proper allocation of our national budget. Lastly, the Philippines has more alarming problems that should be thought first than the cybercrime.Shortage of food and water, poor shelter programs, overpopulation, growing unemployment and underemployment rate, and global warming are just some them. Why don’t they focus on those things? Cybercrime is a very controversial issue with the government this time, but they haven’t solved yet non-cyber crimes in the Philippines which are more life damaging. It’s funny that the government is keeping on acting that they can handle complex and new issues, even though they can’t manage to solve the common ones. The government and our country need to grow more before we go to that â€Å"cyber† matter.

Analysis of Franchising Strategy

Analysis of Franchising Strategy FreshDirect is the leading online grocer, who serves more than 300 zip codes in Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Nassua County, Riverdale, Westchester, Staten Island, New Jersey, and some areas of Connecticut, and they are providing a new way to shop for food. They are based in a 300,000-square-foot production building in Long Island City and they are the largest employers in the city. Joseph Fedele and Jason Ackerman cofounded FreshDirect in July 2001. Before FreshDirect was established, most other online grocery businesses had failed. Even with the demise of online grocery businesses for the previous decade, cofounders strongly believed that they would succeed in their business as their efficient operating strategy was built to provide high quality at lower prices. At first, however, FreshDirect was blamed for the limited service area until it expanded its area slowly. The company started to become popular by providing high quality products, such as locally grown fresh products and or ganic food at lower prices to local residents and offices. Then a few years later, people could see many refrigerated trucks of FreshDirect all over the Manhattan streets. FreshDirect has proven their efficient operating strategies, and it led to success in the online grocery industry. Since FreshDirect made profits, there has been a movement toward this online grocery industry, and they are facing a few challenges. Today, FreshDirect is facing fierce competition from traditional retail grocery, local restaurants, and other online grocers with delivery services. People have consistently questioned how fresh the products delivered by FreshDirect are because they have a limitation for seeing and feeling the products as an online grocer. According to one article, FreshDirect spent $600,000 for parking tickets as part of their operating expenses (Moskin, 2005). In addition to that, in 2007, the New York City government required a congestion charge for FreshDirect because FreshDirect has contributed to traffic jam, and the increasing gas prices are adding to their delivery expenses. One major challenge for FreshDirect is environmental issues. People complain about their idling delivery trucks which are contributing to additional exhaust fumes and taking parking spaces. Another environmental issue is using too many cardboard boxes. Their choice of which neighborhoods to deliver to is related to accused discrimination, and they have faced union related problems for unfair wages. Analysis SWOT Analysis One analytical framework that can be used for the internal and external environment of FreshDirect is SWOT analysis. The analysis of the FreshDirect issues will be broken down into â€Å"strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats† (Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner & McNamara, 2012). Strengths Their wide choices of products with high-quality information on the foods that were sold Low operating expenses due to not renting expensive retail space. FreshDirect†™s efficient supply chain with no middleman. Low-cost marketing approach Cost-effective operating strategy of FreshDirect for their production facility. Extremely high standards for safety, health, and cleanliness in all areas. Strong partnerships with well-known chefs and restaurants in Manhattan Overall, FreshDirect has lots of strengths that are superior to competitors. They have provided various products to select with high quality at low cost on their well-designed website with high-quality information on the foods which are sold. With no retail location, they have lower operating expenses, resulting in more net revenues relative to traditional retail grocery businesses. Rather than having the middleman, they order all fresh products from individual suppliers and deliver directly to their customers. The less intermediaries between the distribution channel, the less the product costs. This allows FreshDirect to provide their high-quality goods at lower costs. They ha ve adopted a low-cost marketing approach by using a recommendation-based campaign from actual customers, which increases the credibility among new and existing customers. Their production facility is located close to their Manhattan customer base with 12 separate temperature zones and an SAP manufacturing software system, which have kept the best condition of their products at the optimal temperature. High standard for cleanliness leads to high quality products. Strong partnershisp have enhanced the quality and taste of the four-minute meal.

North American colonies and the United States political system changes Essay

North American colonies and the United States political system changes - Essay Example In a republican framework, such growth of groups signified corruption. The elections of 1800s showed a tendency towards party system. In 1799 the Congress introduced 19 amendments and successful introduced the tax law. Slavery became an important issue of politics with southerners and northerners having different opinions (southerners favored slavery while some Quaker groups thought it should be ended). Washington was agreed upon to be the most suitable candidate as the first Republican President and he took office in 1789. By this time two political parties prevailed – Republicans and Federalists. Meanwhile a handful of Americans thought that electoral system would be most suitable. In a monarchy any difference of opinions led to factional divisions. Meanwhile both Jefferson and Madison opposed Hamilton’s measures and criticized them to be biased towards the wealthy groups. Hamilton accused them of trying to harm the republic. Their differences went further unresolved and increased as the periodic aggression from France and Britain came up again. The French Revolution embedded a dream in the Americans to reform the republic. Above forty Democratic societies were developed between 1793 and 1800 and the members had the goals of liberalization in mind such as safeguarding people’s interests and supporting self served rulers.