Billy Budd By Herman Melville Essays (554 words) - Billy Budd

Billy Budd By Herman Melville Today's society as well as the majority of our schools can definitely improve on how it encourages creativity and individuality in today's youth. A lot of the time, it's hard to do this, but with smaller classrooms, more qualified and devoted teachers, and more cooperation from the students, everyone's needs could be met, and students would receive a better education. Many of today's schools have no tolerance for anything that may go against the ?norm.? Schools today can allow for individuality and differences in students, but they either choose not to or are not aware that anything is wrong with the way they do things. In Melville's, Billy Budd, there are examples of this stifling of individuality. The crew members on board the ?Avenger? are made to all conform and follow orders without question. Through Claggart, the men's individuality and rights as people are taken away through fear. No matter what anyone is trying to accomplish, satisfying everyone is almost always impossible. It is no different in today's school system, satisfying everyone is difficult. Students are not allowed to express themselves as freely as they should. This is not the case in all schools, but it is Especially since incidents like those at Columbine High School, schools now view acts of individuality and creativeness as those of malicious intent. There is a kind of intolerance for those who act differently from the majority. Ever since the two boys from Columbine murdered their classmates, everyone has been extremely cautious about everything from actual death threats, to mere heated discussion between classmates. It is almost to a point of overkill. How much regulation is too much regulation? In order for schools to be able to accommodate for everyone and their individual needs, they must first not punish students for being different from the majority. After there is an acknowledgment of the individuality of students, then you can start to help them learn better and on their own levels. If a student has no aspirations whatsoever to go to college, then after some persuasion for them to reconsider, they should not be expected to complete and be graded on the same set of requirements as other students. If a person is not as ?capable?, or rather does not choose to use their abilities to their fullest, then they should be graded on what they are able to do, not what other people are capable of and what they are expected to be capable of. I know that this would be difficult to do because some people might choose the easy way out and intentionally not work on the level that they are capable of. But in order for this to work, teachers must trust the students and if they say they are doing their best, then odds are, the students is actually trying their hardest. Schools could be a lot more effective, I think, if they would just comply with the needs of the individual students. There is definitely a way for students to be able to be treated as individuals, and still have the entire student body happy. This is a very difficult task to accomplish, but if all the groups work together, it can be accomplished and students can be treated as individuals, rather than the entire student body. English Essays

Sound effects in A Streetcar Named Desire Essay Example

Sound effects in A Streetcar Named Desire Essay Example Sound effects in A Streetcar Named Desire Paper Sound effects in A Streetcar Named Desire Paper Essay Topic: A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams uses many types of music and sound as a way to communicate emotions of characters that can’t be expressed in words. A few examples of these are the blue piano, the Varsouviana polka, Its Only A Paper Moon and the other sound effects that magnify the dramatic situations in the play. In the very beginning of scene one, Williams tells us that the blue piano expresses the spirit of the life that goes on in Elysian Fields. It is noticed when Stanley tells Blanche that Stella is pregnant towards the end of scene two. When he tells her, the blue piano becomes louder. When Stanley is shouting Stella’s name after the poker night disaster, the blue piano is played again, showing Stanley’s raw emotion as he called for her. The blue piano is mostly played during moments of loneliness, hope and passion. Some of these emotions are shown when Blanche talks about the loss of Belle Reve and her family. The hope is expressed candidly when she gets the idea of contacting Shep Huntleigh who she thinks can help her and Stella escape the ‘desperate situation’ they are in. Desire and passion is conveyed when Stanley and Stella come back to each other in scene three and when Stanley sexually abuses Blanche. The Varsouviana was the song that Blanche and her young husband, Allan Grey, were dancing to when she told him that he ‘disgusted’ her after seeing him cheat on her with a man. He then ran outside and shot himself. This polka song plays only in her head when the subject of Allan’s death is brought up or if she has a feeling of regret. For instance in scene one when Stanley asks about her being married once, the polka music rises up. It is also played when she has a hard time differentiating what’s real and what isn’t. Every time Blanche hears the polka music, she remembers that night and the guilt she feels for his suicide. The polka is played more often as we move forward with the play as if indicating that Blanche’s mental state is declining and getting worse as we go along. For example, when Mitch confronts Blanche about her past in scene nine. She suddenly talks about the Varsouviana, â€Å"The â€Å"Varsouviana†! The polka tune they were playing when when Allan- Wait! † In scene seven, Blanche is singing ‘It’s Only A Paper Moon’ while taking one of her hot baths. The song is about lovers and their imaginary world and that if they both believe in it, it’s not so imaginary anymore. Williams contrasted Stanley telling Stella about Blanche’s affairs in Laurel while Blanche was singing, â€Å"Say, it’s only a paper moon, Sailing over a cardboard sea – But it wouldn’t be make-believe If you believed in me! † It’s like Stanley is trying to convince Stella of one truth while Blanche is implicitly implying that anything can be real if you want it to be. This is partly the reason she feels that entwining her lies with the truth is harmless, and that as long as it sounds better than the truth, it wouldn’t hurt anybody. The trumpet and drums are heard in situations that are slightly theatrical. For example when Stella says, â€Å"It will happen! † And impulsively kisses Blanche about her and Mitch getting together. Another important moment it comes up is in scene ten, when Stanley sexually abuses Blanche: â€Å"The hot trumpet and drums from the Four Deuces sound loudly. † Plastic theatre is when the playwright uses props, sound and stage directions to show the experiences that the characters have gone through. In Blanche’s case, Williams uses the Varsouviana polka as a way for Blanche to vividly remember the night of Allan’s suicide. The polka tune also brings up feelings of regret that Blanche has about her actions of the time she stayed at the Flamingo Hotel. This is shown when Stanley gives her the bus ticket for her to go back to Laurel. An additional sound as plastic theatre are the ‘inhuman jungle voices’ that Blanche hears in scene ten and eleven. The voices convey her feeling in the situations the voices are heard. One of them is when Stanley is advancing towards her and she feels like an animal trapped in a corner. She feels like she is the prey and Stanley or the matron is the predator trying to catch her. The locomotives represent Stanley and his desire to bring down Blanche. Every time there is a discovery of Blanche’s embarrassing and shameful past through Stanley, the sound of a locomotive is present. When he overhears what Blanche really thinks about him, a locomotive is also present. Locomotives give out strong, dominating sounds, which mirror Stanley’s character. Therefore, without the blue piano, the Varsouviana or Williams’ use of plastic theatre and juxtaposes, the play wouldn’t seem so dramatic. The polka exaggerates Blanche’s declining mental state and makes the audiences emotions for her change from disrespecting her for her promiscuous past to sympathy because its not entirely her fault. In my opinion, I find Stanley’s dialogue juxtaposed with Blanche’s singing in scene seven the most intriguing use of music and dialogue compared to the others.

Unfolding the Secrets to Successful Management Assignment

Unfolding the Secrets to Successful Management - Assignment Example Big problems can result and the blame would obviously be laid on me in the end. So, I made it my responsibility almost from the starting period to create the right kind of environment at my store in order to manage a culturally diverse workforce. Creating the right kind of atmosphere means enabling the workers to understand and respect different cultures and consider all opinions in a manner free of cultural prejudices and biases. Things which might be acceptable in one culture might appear to be truly inappropriate for working coming from a different cultural background. So making the workers realize the subtle and sensitive differences between different cultures by providing them with increased means of intercommunication can help a manager immensely in handling a culturally diverse workforce. 2. What tools do you employ to handle the workplace conflicts which can be disastrous for the work environment? You might have noticed that many times conflicts originate due to every worker appearing to be involved in his/her own world, presenting ideas that antagonize ideas introduced by other workers, and refusing to genuinely collaborate with others. Therefore, for one thing, I try handling workplace conflicts by laying stress on the importance of teamwork and mutual collaboration which is all teamwork actually is about. Conflicts also arise between employers and employees when a low level of creativity is consistently maintained by employees. So I have taken it upon myself to encourage my workers to be innovative and creative in whatever job they do here. I happened to be quite authoritative in my initial days which led to a low level of creativity and less production which is why I changed my management style and became more involved to avoid conflicts. 3. What strategies do you follow to address the confusions and prejudices which result due to less communication between managers and employees? I understand that less communication between managers and employees i s a grave issue and raises serious concern for the organizations. As I mentioned before, many changes came in this store I work as a manager at during the authoritarian management days like workplace-related stress, conflicts due to cultural diversity handled in the wrong way, less communication, and myriad confusions. I could not realize these bad and harmful changes until I became involved with my workers and began to take interest in what issue they were facing and how they could be solved. When there is less communication, workers begin to feel confused about certain orders as they are not explained in a more enhanced way by the managers and certain jobs are left undone consequently.