The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay Example for Free

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is not just the story of a brilliant but flawed man who succumbs to temptation, it is also the story of a man who is a victim of his own society and culture. In The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde it seems that an upstanding gentleman is pressured by his society and own endeavours into ultimately separating the apparent bodies of good and evil. However the cause of the eventual, tragic demise of Dr Jekyll is rather complex and it is not enough to excuse his actions by placing the blame solely upon the restrictive society of late Victorian London. There seem to be other significant factors that can explain Jekylls actions and depict his character more clearly therefore providing a wider spectrum for determining as to what extent he is a victim or not. As one is given a description of what life in London was like for a man of such high status a sense of sympathy is developed towards Jekylls plight and also upon reading his Full Statement of The Case the reader is given a mostly honest insight into Jekylls mind; this again, brings forth some sympathy because he explains the pressures of society and the repression of his pleasures which condemn him to a profound duplicity of life. Also despite the understandable reasoning behind Jekylls actions the reader is confronted with the facts that he brutally murdered Sir Danvers Carew and he had intended to commit such crimes in order to satisfy his pleasures. The contrasting feelings tend not to give a clear view of whether or not Jekyll was indeed a victim of his society but the novel does show that he was flawed in his wish for undignified pleasures. There is a notion that Jekyll is solely to blame for his actions disregarding the circumstances, for it seems that the duality in himself was not normal and quite extreme; therefore he turned towards science and calculated his methods of achieving utmost respectability and satisfying his pleasures which were known to him as undignified and at one point monstrous, but yet he becomes unable to withstand the temptation of what is perceived to be the perfect solution despite its immorality. The society and culture in late Victorian England is conveyed as one that is wholly unsympathetic to anything shameful that is conducted within anyones own private life. For example if a man of such status, like Jekyll, was to be found frequenting brothels and indulging in public drinking a scandal would have certainly been made out of the situation and his reputation would have been ultimately destroyed. The society entirely disregards privacy and so, many upstanding gentlemen satisfy their urges for pleasure very discretely and make certain that no one comes to hear of their ventures. Then when we come to hear of Dr Jekyll having a very prestigious position in society and dignified reputation it seems as though he is held captive by such fortune. For very many years he has repressed his urges and subdued his taste for pleasure and so this portrays an extremely grave life and one of little joy. Jekylls only form of liberation was to have two bodies; one in which to satisfy his pleasures and one in which he could hide from them as the respectable doctor whose reputation would never tarnish. Taking only this into account it does seem as though he is a man imprisoned within his reputation and forced to take this course of action. Society is to blame up to an extent. Upon realising that Jekyll had carried out the senseless, brutal murder of Sir Danvers Carew in which the victim was trampled and bludgeoned to death until the bones were audibly crushed, it is rational to immediately condemn his actions. Society may have driven him to conceal his pleasures within a separate body but by no means does the social restriction excuse Jekylls need for such evil a crime. In Jekylls Full Statement of the Case he also admits that what were his undignified pleasures now turned towards the monstrous; he was now loosing control of his sense of morality. The statement Jekyll is a victim of his own society and culture, I feel, is too strong. There are many reasons for his wish and eventual accomplishment of separating what he believes to be good and evil bodies and therefore one cannot wholly excuse or condemn him. In Dr Jekylls full statement of the case he seems to explain his actions and motives and feelings but also takes a sorrowful tone as if asking for forgiveness and is quite apologetic. As he describes the pressures within his society and how he has repressed his pleasures a degree of sympathy is aroused within the reader. London, for a respectable gentleman, is portrayed as a strict society in which scandals can be easily procured for very little and as a result reputations are destroyed. Jekylls main flaw is that he consistently treats Hyde and himself as two entirely separate beings whereas, in fact, they are coupled within Henry Jekyll. Despite Jekylls honesty in his full statement of the case he remains ignorant to the fact that the two bodies of, quite simply, good and evil are actually one and whereas Hyde is pure evil Jekyll is both good and evil but he still sees Jekyll as his body of good and Hyde as the embodiment of evil. It is proved, I believe, that Jekyll is both good and evil for he himself states that as he drank the tincture his virtue slumbered and if he had approached his discovery in a more noble spirit, he would have come forth an angel instead of a fiend; Jekylls own evil produced Hyde. Henry Jekyll aimed to create a separate body free of social pressure and accomplished this; ironically the thing that was to liberate him led to his own imprisonment and ultimately his death. It is tragic that the society and its pressures led him to his fatal discovery, however many of those pressures were Jekylls own need for utmost respectability and subdued wish for undignified pleasures. The duality within himself forced the suppression of the evil but when it became unbearable his pleasures verged towards more than just the undignified but the monstrous; for example the brutal murder of Sir Danvers Carew which one cannot help but feel disgusted and contempt for Hyde, who it is revealed, is Jekyll. Jekylls subconscious evil intent meant that he procured evil and despite the circumstances I believe that Jekyll was a victim of his own need for two lives both of which were extreme in nature and the society which restricted him was not responsible for the eminently evil that he brought forward.

Foreign Etiquette :: essays research papers

Etiquette for Greetings and Business Cards As we do business in other countries and as we receive businesspeople from other countries in our American offices, it is important to know how to greet people and how to present our business cards. The greeting is the beginning of the business interaction; if it goes well, we create a positive impression that will serve as a foundation for our business discussions. Business Cards   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ultimate passport in today’s global economy is the business card. It identifies your company and makes it easier for international people to understand your name. Rank and profession in other countries are taken much more seriously then they are in the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For every country in which you travel, have your business card information in English on one side and in the language of the particular country on the other side. Include your name, position title, your company name and address, and your fax and telephone numbers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In European and North American countries, the business card may be presented with either hand. In Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, never present the card with your left hand; the left hand is considered unclean. Greetings   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Your first chance to make an impression is when you greet someone and exchange names. In America, we tend to be formal but that does not mean we should be careless. Professional, social, and family statuses are very important in many cultures. If you say or do something, which is incorrect, you can offend others and embarrass yourself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Always use a formal greeting when you meet people from other cultures. Never address them by their first names unless they ask you to do so. In European and North American countries, greet the person with a firm handshake, good eye contact, and the pronunciation of the last name with the courtesy title—Mrs. Moschler.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Latin American countries, greet a person with a light handshake and maybe an embrace. Remember that most peoples’ names are a combination of their father’s and mother’s names. Only a mother’s name is use in conversation. So, Carlos Mendoza-Zamora would be addressed as Senor Mendoza.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The French also greet one another with a light handshake; the firm U.S.-type handshake is thought to be impolite. Generally, women do not shake hands. Young people and close friends will frequently exchange kissed on both cheeks in addition to the handshake. And the French often shake hands in departing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Orient, the Chinese system presents the surname first and the given name last; for example, Wang Xiansheng would be addressed as Mr.

We should embrace nihilism for growth

NIHILISTIC PERSPECTIVEâ€Å"Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence. A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy† (http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/nihilism.htm). In a nihilist perspective, there are no beliefs in dogma, religion and other socially constructed norms and standards. Nihilists question the set of universally made way of thinking and that there is nothing real in this world.SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONâ€Å"Social constructs are institutionalized entity or artifacts in a social system, invented or constructed by participants in a particular culture or society that exist because people agree to behave as if it exist, or agree to follow certain conventional rules, or behave as if such agreement or rules existed† (wikipedia.org). Social constructs are c reated entities in which people or groups of people perceived them to be true. Social constructs are perceived realities that are put into a convention to be turned into social beliefs. Some examples of social constructs are religion, morality, sexuality, class and many more.These social constructs play a major role in people’s daily lives. Social constructs became an integral part of people’s daily lives. These became inevitable realities of their existence. Basically, how people act are based on social constructions. Social constructions dictate the everyday lives of people. Social constructs determine how people will act and what their pattern of actions is. These social constructs are the perceived rightness of actions in a particular given situation. Therefore, people’s lives are controlled and move by social constructs.Social constructs evolve and changes as time pass by. It depends on the richness of thought of human beings. The minds of human beings are very rich and full of possibilities. People have the capability of evolving one system of thought into another. A particular social construct is not permanent and will not last forever because it only depends on the people who were the ones who constructed them. Social constructs are dynamic because the minds of people are also dynamic. What most people are experiencing now may just become a history of tomorrow.THE WORLD AS A REALM OF MEANING AND CAN BE DISCLOSED BY NIHILISMFor Heidegger, he viewed the world as a realm of meanings and possibilities. These possibilities are for Da-sein to discover and the meanings are for Da-sein to assimilate. This world for Heidegger is where the Da-sein is situated and part of the facticities given to the Da-sein. This world is for the Da-sein to discover and understand. The world gives meaning to the existence of man and man is to exhaust these meanings or possibilities. Hence, the world is where the Da-sein interacts and for him to assimilate.Th is word â€Å"aletheia† describes the world for Heidegger. â€Å"Aletheia† means revelation and concealment which constitutes the world’s disclosedness to man. The world is the realm of meanings for man that man is always in constant assimilation. Even if it reveals itself to man, it also conceals something to man and that the task of man to assimilate and understand is a never-ending task and that Heidegger called man as â€Å"always already understanding the world†.The word â€Å"always† signifies the infinity of understanding that man is task to reveal the world, the never-ending task of correlation and understanding. Man as Da-sein is the very nature and function of man as a being who is thrown into this world. â€Å"Da† means there and â€Å"sein† means being. Da-sein is openness to the world and the readiness of man to exhaust and assimilate. Da-sein is the there of being of man, the very thrown ness of man into a particular con text. To understand more of man as Da-sein, we will tackle on the succeeding parts the functions of being a Da-sein.According to the great Heidegger, attunement is man’s mood or state of mind in which affects his perception of reality. He viewed man as always in the mood and is always ready to understand reality. Man as being thrown into this world, attunement is already embedded in his being. This attunement as already embedded in the being of man girds man to understand. Given the facticity of Da-sein as being-in-a-world, he is always in the mood to seize reality or to be conscious of reality and thus constituting man’s openness to the world. Da-sein as the there of being is always situated in the world thus, a temporal being.This situated ness of man gives him ample opportunity to correlate with the world and to fulfill his very nature as an understanding being who is already attuned to do so. Man becomes conscious by virtue of interaction, which is the very process of understanding for Heidegger. To correlate with the world is to exhaust its possibilities, to assimilate its meaning. Through interaction, man becomes conscious of reality, becomes conscious of meaning. Reality is already in the realm of meanings, which constitutes the world, and it is only for man that he can be conscious of and that is by virtue of correlating with the world.To question dogma and religion and other social constructs can be a tool for better understanding of reality. As discussed, Heidegger emphasized that man can slowly reveal the reality of beings by correlating with the world which is the world of meaning and possibilities. The world has its own meaning. The nihilistic view in its proper use, such as not totally for destruction but of finding the truth behind the world, it can open man’s eye to the real meaning of this world. Man as Da-sein in being a nihilist can be able to arrive at a better truth regarding the world. The world still has a lot to giv e in man’s understanding of it that is why dogmas and principles of today must be questioned because it is still not in its absolute state.NIHILISM AS A TOOL TO A BETTER UNDERSTANING OF REALITYMan’s life is full of socially constructed norms and beliefs that are the ones dictating what he ought to do and act. There is religion that dictates morality and there is government that dictates who are enemies and not such as who are terrorists and not terrorists. A society is comprised of many ideas and perspectives that battles to gain monopoly. Man is put in the center of contrasting views.With the birth of nihilism, there came an opportunity to arrive in a truth wherein wrong dogma and beliefs can be erased and replaced with better ones. Nihilism can give good effects if not put in its extreme nature of destruction. Questioning beliefs and dogma is a healthy process to undertake. Through questioning, man can slowly reveal to himself the true essence of his existence. Quest ioning must also not be intertwined with destruction because it can be a truly great means for development and better understanding.â€Å"I hope to bring some balance and clarity to a number of realities that seem to attract a great deal of misunderstanding: [1] the very serious issues of violence in Islam [including recent Muslim violence]; [2] the abhorrence that many Muslims have of violence; [stereotypes of Islam and Muslims as inherently violent]; and [4] the larger context of violence in our world [not just the Muslim world], much of which is woven into the fabric of our society in such a way that we may not even regard it as our own violence† (Hussain, 2006). The misunderstandings such as looking as a Muslim to be violent can be corrected by the nihilist perspective. People can arrive to a certain truth that not all Muslims are violent and stereotyping can be erased.NIHILISM AS A TOOL TO END CHAOS AND VIOLENCE IN THIS WORLDThe chaotic world is brought about by the diff erences in beliefs and norms and even in the practices of different religions. These are products of social constructions. With different beliefs and principles and with the devotion to such beliefs and principles, it brings chaos and even to violence. People seem to impose their own beliefs to other people which also have their own set of beliefs. By imposing one’s beliefs, it creates an atmosphere of competition that gives tensions and chaos to this world.Nihilism can be a tool to end all chaos and find peace in this world. People, in there different perspectives, can look at the common ground of their different beliefs. To question their own beliefs is a healthy process and even comparing their own beliefs to others is also a healthy process. This is an act of nihilism. People will not destroy their principles and beliefs but rather, developing it to be better set of beliefs and principles.One example can be seen in the realm of religion where we can see differences but lo oking at the greater reality of it, there are much more similarities that can be used in arriving to a better belief, a belief that can be bannered by all people from different contexts. Even the difference of science and religion, if nihilistic perspective can be used in a proper way of dialectics and questioning, people may arrive at a certain truth that science and religion has its common ground and that one will not be an opposition of the other.CONCLUSIONThe world is a realm of meaning and possibilities and is plague with socially constructed beliefs and principles. With the birth of nihilism, which is a perspective that most of a time attributed to destruction, the world may find better understanding in its hand. By the method of questioning which is a healthy process, people can arrive to better understanding of reality and the very principles and beliefs that they believe. Therefore, we should embrace nihilism.BIBLIOGRAPHYBogossian, Paul. What is Social Construction. 03 Mar. 2007Heidegger, Martin. The Question of Being. New Haven (Conn): College and University  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Press 1958.Hussain, Amir. Oil and Water: Two Faiths: One God. Pilgrim Pr, 2006.Nishitani, Keiji. Religion and Nothingness. University of California press, 1983.http://www.iep.utm.edu/n/nihilism.htm#H5

The Price Mechanism Of International Trade - 2039 Words

Introduction Adam Smith outlined that the price mechanism in international trade is like an ‘invisible hand’ that coordinates the consumption and production decisions in a well-functioning market economy (Kerr and Gaisford 2007). However, there is need for the government to intervene in free market economies in order to implement trade regulations and avoid market failure that is associated with negative externalities. International trade is affected by government’s interventions that include direct participation in supply and purchase of essential goods and services, through regulation, taxation and other indirect participation influences. The free markets enhance market efficiency through ensuring that prices are determined by the†¦show more content†¦The trade flows (both exports and imports) decline thus leading to higher prices and reduction of customer marginal benefit. The profit-seeking firms choose to produce where the price is equivalent to the marginal cost of the last produced unit and when government measures affect their decision to produce. The interventions that lower the marginal costs of production such as subsidies will lead to increase in production (Kerr and Gaisford 2007). Governments intervene in international trade through use of tariffs that are levied on both imports and exports. The government may either impose fixed tariffs that are calculated per unit of the import commodity or the ad valorem tariff that is calculated as a fixed percentage of the monetary value of the imported commodity. The government imposes high import tariffs in order to control the rate of imports by making the imports more expensive in comparison to the domestically produced substitutes. The tariffs increase the prices of goods and services thus reducing the quantity demanded (Misra and Yadav 2009). The use of tariffs is detrimental to international trade since it lowers competition and results in high prices of commodities in th e markets. The tariffs discourage imports and domestic producers benefit from the higher prices and reduction in competition. The EU uses variable