...metaphorically, and Gloucester who is physically blinded. Both characters undergo radical changes and their once sightless decisions become regrettable actions. They are unable to see people for who they truly are; thus their tragedy is the journey they must endure to regain sight. It is clear that although, Lear can physically see, he is blind, and lacks understanding, insight and pure intentions. It seems that the characters who had and kept their “healthy eyes” throughout the entire novel, could see both the evil and distorted world with which they live in. Ironically, while characters such as Gloucester, whose eyes were physically seized from him, and metaphorically Lear, both can now recognize their true selves. Blindness is not only a physical impairment for Gloucester and a forced lesson for King Lear ,but also a mental defect that some of the characters possess. They both share the inability to see the other characters true-selves ,and can only “see” the surface of things. Shakespeare uses Lear’s inability to see with his heart and Gloucester’s vulnerability to portray one of his themes, blindness. In the beginning of the play, Lear is seen to be a vain, conceited old man. He sees age as an opportunity to shirk his responsibilities, “ Know that we have divided In three our kingdom, and 'tis our fast intent, To shake all cares and business from our age, Conferring them on younger strengths while we, Unburdened crawl toward death” (1.i.35-39) He has a need to be dependent...
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...Importance of Conscience a) Key Terms Conscience- an inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior. Conscience as Capacity- Our capacity to do good, avoid evil, and know right from wrong. Also our fundamental sense of value and personal responsibility. Conscience as Process- Knowing how to perceive accurately and think correctly, where moral disagreements and error, blindness and insight occur. Conscience as Judgment- The concrete judgment and and decision of what to do in a situation based on personal perception and values. b) Summarize Timothy O’Connell identifies three related senses of the word “conscience.” The first sense is Conscience as a Capacity. This capacity refers to your basic orientation towards the good, and defines the essential identity of the human. The second sense is Conscience as a Process. This sense refers to your ability to perceive accurately and think correctly. The conscience must be formed and examined. This is where moral disagreements and error, blindness, and insight occur. The third and final sense is Conscience as a Judgment. This sense refers to the concrete judgment of what you must do in the situation based on personal perception and grasp of values. The decision is not simply about this or that object of choice, but also about being this or that sort of person. Reflection Question: Q: How is it that we experience affirmation or guilt when we act? What is this voice of conscience...
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...story. According to Clugston, 2014, “The narrator, a self-absorbed person, admits his own “blindness” (lack of insight) about blind people. He doesn’t like the fact that Robert and his wife are close friends” (p.145). I believe the main theme here is insecurity, ignorance and irony. A theme is “an idea, or message, that lies behind a literary work” (Clugston, 2014, p. 117). The narrator is insecure about the relationship between his wife and Robert. In the essay, “Cathedral” by Bill Delaney, he writes about how the narrator is jealous of Robert because of his former relationship with his wife and how he is insecure knowing that his wife has probably told Robert about his faults (Delaney, 2004). I believe that the narrator shows his ignorance by mocking Robert with comments such as, “Maybe I could take him bowling” (Clugston, 2014, p.145). The irony in this story is that despite the narrator’s insecurity and ignorance, he is able to see from Robert at the end of the story. The main character in this story is the narrator, which is the main basis of the theme. “Characters carry out the action of the plot and in doing so they come alive as individuals” (Clugston, 2014, p.64). Throughout the story the narrator presents himself as a close-minded and insecure man. He shows his jealously of not only Robert but hints of jealously of all men in his wife’s life. He mocks of Robert’s blindness by making...
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...The two most prominent themes included in Sophocles’ play, Oedipus The King, that are also major themes throughout Greek tragedies are fate and sight. Fate, described as unescapable, and sight, described as blindness vs. knowledge, both are incorporated into Sophocles’ play. The main character, Oedipus, is the king of Thebes and viewed as their savior against the sphinx. Oedipus the king, is one of the best known Greek plays, in my opinion, mainly because of Oedipus’ blindness to how his actions were making his fate come true. This particular play gives insight on the Greek concepts of fate and sight with the different prophecies told by an insightful yet blind prophet, Tiresias. Through many examples in this play, fate and sight are intertwined...
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...King Lear In Shakespeare’s Tragedy King Lear understanding the themes and motifs is as important as interpreting the dialogue. The emotional effect is highlighted in King Lear with Shakespeare’s use of themes which mirrors the father-child relationships, the different definitions of blindness and the degrees of complete madness. Blindness can normally be defined as the inability of the eye to see, but according to Shakespeare, blindness is not a physical trait, but a mental imperfection some people possess. Because of Lear’s high position in society, he was supposed to be able to distinguish the good from the bad however his lack of sight prevented him from doing it. King Lear’s first act of blindness came at the beginning of the play. First, his two eldest daughters easily deceived him by their lies then he could not see the reality of Cordelia’s true love for him, and as a result, banished her from his kingdom with the following words:“for we have no such daughter, nor shall ever see that face of her again. Therefore be gone without our grace, our love, our benison.” (Act I, Scene I, Ln 265-267) Lear’s blindness also lead him into getting rid of one of his most loyal men. Kent was able to see Cordelia’s true love for her father, and tried to protect her from her blind father’s irrationality. After Kent was banished, he disguised himself and was eventually hired by Lear as a servant. Lear’s inability to determine his servant’s true identity proved once again how blind...
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...In Raymond Carver’s story Cathedral, our narrator recounts his first meeting with a blind man using a first-person point of view, “the main character is telling the story from their point of view and of course using the 'I' form. This viewing of events largely through a character's eyes is called an internal point of view. We may not experience everything they do but events are mostly seen through their eyes, with an insight into their thoughts and feelings and often with comments on the situation,” (Sanger, 1998, pg 13). Robert is no ordinary blind man though, he and the narrator’s wife are friends and Robert has come for an overnight stay. “This blind man, an old friend of my wife’s, he was on his way to spend the night,” (cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.3, para 2). The narrator initially sets the theme of the story with his stereotype of blindness, “My idea of blindness came from movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed. Sometimes they were led by seeing eye dogs. A blind man in my house was not something I looked forward to,” (cited in Clugston, 2010, sec. 8.3, para 2). The narrator’s stereotypical thoughts continue throughout the story, “I remember having read somewhere that the blind didn’t smoke because, as speculation had it, they couldn’t see the smoke they exhaled. I thought I knew that much and that much only about blind people. But this blind man smoked his cigarette down to the nubbin and then lit another one,” (cited in Clugston,...
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...A Review of How to Prevent Organizational Dry Rot A Review of How to Prevent Organizational Dry Rot Change has come a way life for most large organizations. As John Gardner described it, “Like people and plants, organizations have a life cycle. They have a green and supple youth, a time of flourishing strength, and a gnarled old age . . . An organization can go from you to old age in two or three decades, or it it may last centuries (Garnder, 1965).” Nevertheless, organizations differ from people and plants because their cycle can never be predicted and they can renew themselves continuously. In this article, Mr. Gardner went on to explain the rules for organizational renewal: 1. The organization must have an effective program for the recruitment and development of talent. People are the ultimate source of renewal. 2. The organization must be a hospitable environment for the individual. Indivduals who feel like cogs in a machine will not produce ideas for change and will resist the ideas produced by others. 3. The organization must have a built-in provisions for self-criticism. It must have an atmosphere in which ALL questions can be asked. “For those in power, the danger of self-deception is very great, the danger of failing to see the problems or refusing to see them is ever present (Garnder, 1965).” 4. The organization must have fluidity of internal structure. Organizations cannot exist without structure arrangements of divisions, branches...
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...enlightenment of himself and others. The interaction is similar to a religious experience for both characters, leaving both with new perceptions on life. The metaphors of blindness in the story transform the characters and how they perceive different realities (355-68). Blindness is a key element in Carver’s short story. The husband is blind is his marriage, he does not see his wife or feel her pain like her friend does. Even though they are wed, he cannot understand his wife simply because he never looked deeply enough or listened to her poems. The irony in this short story is prevalent, the blind man being able to see the other’s wife better than the husband who has his eyesight. Short article expert, Christof Decker, says “The husband sees the man with pity when it should be himself that he looks down at” (Decker.). Another vital topic in Carver’s “Cathedral,” is the different versions of reality. All three of the main characters are experiencing life vastly different from each other. The blind man is clearly the most different out of the three, but he perceives more through his heightened senses and his emotional awareness. The reason the blind man is so perceptive into the other people’s thoughts and feelings is his lack of vision. The husband, however, has his eyesight but lacks the blind man’s insight. Dissatisfaction in Carver’s story alludes to greater things. Both the husband and wife seem to be dissatisfied in their marriage, jobs, and relationship. Carver illustrates...
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...Leo Boerstoel Mr. Leonardi English 12 Humanities Honors 9/30/13 Irony in Sight Throughout Sophacles’ play Oedipus Rex, he uses sight and blindness to demonstrate irony and the hubris of Oedipus. This is marked by Oedipus’ unwillingness or inability to understand that which is clear to the audience. His hubris (extreme pride) is his tragic flaw, truly blinding him from the truth. Oedipus eventually blinds himself, and it is then that he can finally “see”. From the very beginning, Oedipus was blinded by pride. Throughout the play, it is the one greatest irony that those with physical sight are blind, yet those who cannot actually see can see the truth. With the city of Thebes dying, Creon, having been sent to do so by Oedipus, comes from Delphi and the Oracle to deliver the message that the "the pollution of this land" (Sophocles 232), the murderer, be killed to bring an end to their strife.. Oedipus shows hubris when he demands Creon talk with him publicly, so convinced is he that he can solve any problem. Oedipus Has already solved the riddle of the Sphinx, that which had thwarted so many before him; "Oedipus knew the famous riddles. He was a mighty king, he was the envy of everyone who say how lucky he'd been. Now he's struck a wave of terrible ruin" (276) The chorus wishes for Oedipus to appeal to the gods to find the killer, Oedipus asserts that "to force the gods to act against their will- no man has the power."(320) Here, at least, he seems to humble himself before...
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...Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Justice King Lear is a brutal play, filled with human cruelty and awful, seemingly meaningless disasters. The play’s succession of terrible events raises an obvious question for the characters—namely, whether there is any possibility of justice in the world, or whether the world is fundamentally indifferent or even hostile to humankind. Various characters offer their opinions: “As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; / They kill us for their sport,” Gloucester muses, realizing it foolish for humankind to assume that the natural world works in parallel with socially or morally convenient notions of justice (4.1.37–38). Edgar, on the other hand, insists that “the gods are just,” believing that individuals get what they deserve (5.3.169). But, in the end, we are left with only a terrifying uncertainty—although the wicked die, the good die along with them, culminating in the awful image of Lear cradling Cordelia’s body in his arms. There is goodness in the world of the play, but there is also madness and death, and it is difficult to tell which triumphs in the end. Authority versus Chaos King Lear is about political authority as much as it is about family dynamics. Lear is not only a father but also a king, and when he gives away his authority to the unworthy and evil Goneril and Regan, he delivers not only himself and his family but all of Britain into chaos and cruelty. As...
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...A conversion disorder is an uncommon mental disorder where a person has physical symptoms that cannot be explained with a physical exam. The person is often thought to be "faking." Many times symptoms do not appear to be under the person's control and they can cause noteworthy distress, it is a mental disorder. Some of the symptoms noted can be loss of blindness, loss of muscle control, unconsciousness, seizures and sometimes even unexplained deafness. "Conversion" comes from the thought that psychological distress is often being converted into a physical form. The real cause is not known. One long-standing theory has been that a person with conversion disorder has blocked out the cause of the so called “destress”, it can be a conflict or traumatic event but the patient thinks it is unacceptable for the person to remain aware of it. This is where the somatoform disorder comes into play. There is no one test or...
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...development. In order for this argument to be valid, one must examine Victor’s purpose on creating the creature. Most of the factors have already been addressed. To reiterate, Victor’s initial intentions were to “banish disease from the human frame” (Shelley 26). However, his interest shifts more towards the concept of life. It is Victor’s curiosity and desire for knowledge that has awakened the creature; this is the complete reasoning that Victor sacrificed his time and energy- for his passionate desire to discover the mystery of life. Here, Shelley implies the theme of blindness; Victor is being blinded by his enthusiasm and passion. Professor Thomas C. Foster has stated the following in his book How to Read Literature like a Professor (from now referred as HTRLLAP): “When literal blindness, sight, darkness, and light are introduced into a story, it is nearly always the case that figurative seeing and blindness are at work” (212). This can also be supported by the statement of Victor makes before his creature begins to come alive: “it was … one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally… my candle was… burnt out” (Shelley 43). In the play Hamlet, character Hamlet quotes that the night is the time when “the Churchyards yawn / and hell itself breathe out / Contagion to this world” (Shakespeare, III, ii, 384-387). Hamlet is describing that all the mysterious and supernatural events occur during the night - which is exactly what happens in the novel Frankenstein: Victor is creating...
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...collective, and use abstract jargon and ideology in his speeches. Although he professes to be in favor of racial equality, when the Brotherhood shifts its aims, Brother Jack willingly sacrifices the Harlem community without thinking twice. His literal blindness is a metaphor for the flawed nature of his vision. Ellison uses Brother Jack to point out the failure of abstract ideologies to address the real plight of African Americans and other victims of oppression. At first, Jack seems kind, compassionate, intelligent, and helpful, a real boon to the struggling narrator, to whom he gives money, a job, and seemingly a way to help his people fight against prejudice. But as the story progresses, it becomes clear that the narrator is just as invisible to Jack as he is to everyone else. Jack sees him not as a person but as a tool for the advancement of the Brotherhood’s goals. It eventually becomes clear to the narrator that Jack shares the same racial prejudices as the rest of white American society. After the Brotherhood’s focus changes, Jack abandons the black community without remorse. The narrator’s discovery that Jack has a glass eye occurs as Jack enters into a fierce tirade on the aims of the Brotherhood. His literal blindness thus symbolizes how his unwavering commitment to the...
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...interaction with structural γS-crystallin variations, which established a connection between cataract formation and the absence of the αB-crystallin. Molecular discoveries regarding αB-crystallin and γS-crystallin structures have also introduced the possibility of developing protein-specific drugs and corrective treatment for cataracts, as well as providing more widely available options for lower-income global populations. Introduction Cataracts are becoming increasingly prevalent in the aging world population. A study published in 2010 by the World Health Organization quoted the occurrence of visual impairment worldwide at 285 million; of these, 33% of avoidable visual impairment cases and 51% of avoidable blindness cases are caused solely by cataracts (Visual Impairment and Blindness 2010, S.P. Mariotti et al.). As defined by the American Optometric Association, cataracts are “…a cloudy or opaque area in the normally clear lens of the eye” that can cause deteriorating eyesight due to the obstruction of light passage to the retina (“Cataracts”, American Optometric Association). The lens is composed of different proteins known as α-, β-, and γ-crystallins. The figure below illustrates the various types of crystallins (Crystallins,...
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...Introduction The Everest simulation provided several situations where multiple management theories, discussed in the lectures, were applicable. Being divided into teams to complete the task helped align this simulation’s findings with a real life business setting. Contrasting roles and goals of each individual team member further enhanced the similarity to an everyday business. To conquer Everest, whether it is in reality or as part of this ‘simulation’, requires significant amounts of planning and well thought out management decisions which allow for continued success for the team as a whole. Upon review of the simulation two management concepts were more prevalent than others; ethical and social responsibility with specific focus on the utilitarianism approach and the concept of strategic planning and goal setting, within that scenario planning and crises management. The concepts applicability to both the individual and group components of the simulation will be the main focus of this report. Clarity gained from scholarly articles will also be discussed in detail. Concept 1 – Strategic Planning/Goal Setting and Scenario Planning and Crises Management Good planning is the foundation of any successful individual, team or company venture, conquering Everest is no different. The planning process is often divided into three levels. The first, strategic, focuses on long range goals and focuses on the goals of the organisation as a whole. (Steiner, 2010) Second is tactical planning...
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