The Shawshank Redemption, Personal Power Essay Example

The Shawshank Redemption, Personal Power Essay Advanced English Mary Gordon-Thomson 1) Explain how The Shawshank Redemption represents the personal power 2) Compare The Shawshank Redemption with another text in relation to the power of one 3) Do you agree with how The Shawshank Redemption represents organisational power 4) Compose your own text representing personal power 1. The Shawshank Redemption representing personal power The entire plot of this film relies on how personal power is striped from the prisoners and the effect that this has on them. With out this aspect the film would have very little or no effect in displaying Andy’s escape. Personal power is represented through out the film in a multiple of ways including scenes such as â€Å"institutionalised† and the music scene where Andy finds the record and plays it over the P. A system. Personal power is taken by a number of ways through out the film but mostly it is by isolation and imprisonment (both metaphorical and literal). The prisoners are living in a world of multiple layers of isolations. Starting from the large enclosed recreation yard to the smaller work crews down to the cellblock, cells, and leading to solitary confinement. Each of these layers are represented both physically and visually as well as through out the spoken thoughts of Red and significant lines by Andy. Imprisonment both mentally and physically also takes the personal power of choice away from the inmates. It seems at stages the only kind of power Andy or any of the other inmates hold is the freedom of thought and hope. Andy is shown to have much more hope then the other prisoners which is displayed by his â€Å"inner light† as Red calls it. â€Å"All I know for sure is that Andy Dufresne wasn’t much like me or anyone else I ever knew. .  . . It was a kind of inner light he carried around with him. This was spoken by Red after Andy traded tax advice with Bryon Hadley for beer for his workmates. It is Andys sense of self-worth that gives him the confidence and ability to make decisions such as these. The idea of institutionalisation is mentioned frequently by Red through out the film. This is the concept of how the prison takes away a persons ability to think independently and places them in a position of dependence on the routines and regulations of the prison. Red has the personal power to over come this feeling of institutionalisation by not following the path of Brookes after making parole. We will write a custom essay sample on The Shawshank Redemption, Personal Power specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Shawshank Redemption, Personal Power specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Shawshank Redemption, Personal Power specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Personal power is also represented in the music scene, possibly the most couragous (or perhaps just stupid) act Andy does in his time in the prison. By deliberatly disobaying orders from the Warden and continueing the music (a personal choice Andy makes) he puts himself at risk but gives the prisoners a few moments of freedom inside their regulated lives. Of course he pays the price for this but he is able to hold the music in his mind and uses that personal power to over come the pain he faces whilst in solitary confinement for two months. These are only displays of personal power that are written in the script. Cinematic techniques such as colour, camera angles, contrast, juxtoposition and repetition are all used to highlight and represent different aspects of personal power. The Shawshank Redemption represents personal power extremely well through out the film in these ways and more. This all in collaboration displays this aspect of power in a clear and obvious way that is able to be understood with out in depth analays like what we have done. 2. The Shawshank Redemption in comparision with Do you have power? By Julius Babarinsa regarding the power of one. The power of one means the power that one individual has over another person, place or thing. In The Shawshank Redemption it is obvious how Andy has the individual power to not only change his circumstances but also to vastly improve the lives of the other prisoners in Shawshank prison. Andy is able to (with the power of persistence) create an entire library that allows the inmates to read and learn when they previously could not. Andy is also able to bring hope back into the lives of many of his friends in the prison such as Red. â€Å"I hope Andy is down there. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. † In Julius Babarinsa’s poem Do you have power? He creates a long list of people and what they have power over and concludes the poem with: â€Å"We should realize that we are all citizens of this world we owe it to our children to use our powers positively to help make this world a better and friendly place So that we can create a just and compassionate society† By doing this he not only signifies the power of one but also enforces the question of how can you, the responder; use this power to benefit the world. Both The Shawshank Redemption and this poem have clear and precise ideals on what is able to be achieved as an individual and the expectations that this puts on each person to be the best that they can be. Whether that be breaking out of prison with a rock hammer or electing the right representative in a vote. 3. Organisational power in The Shawshank Redemption The Shawshank Redemption is extremely effective in its representation of organisational power. It uses a lot of different cinematic techniques such as repetition, contrasts and costume to clearly display different organisational power through out the film. There are two main forces of organisational power in The Shawshank Redemption. The guards are one group of organised power and the other organised power is the routine. The guards and the routine are both forces made by the prison but they use their power in completely different ways. The guards are brutal, they use force to scare the prisoners to do as they are told and completely rely on threats and intimidation to keep their position. The power that they hold may be very strong at their peak but when power relies on abuse and dishonesty is can not last forever. The routine is a very different kind of organisational power. It is present in every single shot inside the prison, from things as simple as their clothing to what time they eat, sleep and use the bathroom. It is unescapable and yet seems to be irrelevant in comparison to the obvious power of the guards. The reality is, it is not physical and mental abuse of the prisoners that wears them down, is it the constant and ever strong drone of this routine that break them. If given enough time it strips away everything individual the prisoners could previously have, even up to something as personal as a name. The guards’ power is obvious; it is shown in their uniforms, specifically angled shots to display height and status and the constant reminder of weaponry they have at their disposal, whether that be a fist, a gun or a baton. The routines power however is much more subtle and therefore can go unnoticed. It is shown effectively in the repetition of significant events (such as how Reds parole was being rejected and Red and Brookes leaving from the prison being exactly the same), Consistent and never changing features in lighting and colours with in the prison and also how time and age are shown. These two very different displays of organisational power are contrasting and yet both so effective through out the film. The direct choice of having more then one type of organisational power clearly displays exactly how powerful each organisation is and this adds greatly to our understanding and appreciation of the film. To answer whether or not I agree with how this type of power is displayed I hope it is clear to see I defiantly agree and I think they did a marvellous job of displaying and explaining organisational power through out the film. 4. Own text representing personal power My new home was the epitome of dank. The roof leaked, the walls thin and windows non-existent. It was there that I met Cooper. Cooper was my saviour. My brother. My best friend. He understood me in a way that I had never dreamt possible. Together, we found a light within the darkness. Every day, a new adventure beckoned. A game to be played; a secret smile to be shared. He made the slow years pass just a little bit faster, until finally, we decided to leave our murky prison and face the open air. Together, we would make it. That much was certain. The world outside the orphanages gates was harsher than either of us had anticipated, and it wasn’t long before we were making money the only way that we knew how. He would steal, and I would sell myself. We aspired to save enough money to rent a little place. To create that of which neither of us ever had, a home. However, that dream always seemed to be just that, a dream. Unachievable and unreachable. It was then, when our happiness seemed so shattered, that Cooper devised a plan. We would combine our talents. It was simple really; I would lure men into an ally, where he would beat them and steal their money. The first time this happened, I was unaware of the plan. The blood on his fists made my stomach turn and I screamed at him to cease. For the first, but not the last time, he scared me. Soon he became more ambitious. The plan changed. After seducing a stranger, instead of a dark street, I would allow him to lead me into his home. Cooper following quietly from behind, and while I distracted the man of the house, he would rob him of his every possession. In this way, the money that we needed to rebuild our lives was quickly collected. I told him that I would get a job in the market place to help; that I wanted to do this right. He disagreed and insisted that we continue, just one more job. And then another. And another. Cooper would not see sense. He began to muffle my complaints with his fists. I was scared but I knew nothing else. He was my everything. Without him, I could not exist. Eventually, the inevitable occurred. His anger overpowered his rational thought and a man lost his life beneath Coopers thrashing fists. How could I love a murderer? My brother. My best friend. Where did that boy go? The light that he once sparked within me had disappeared, and I knew that I must leave him. The following night I fled beneath a cloak of darkness. Miserable and lonely, I searched the streets for a familiar face; instead I found a familiar place. A whorehouse. My training had served me well, and I was accepted into one of the most highly respected brothels in town, the bell and whistle. This particular bordello served a higher class of customers then those with whom I had previously associated myself. We entertained society’s elite, royals, noblemen, high ranked officials, and, as you are aware, members of the church.

Annual and Anniversary

Annual and Anniversary Annual and Anniversary Annual and Anniversary By Maeve Maddox A non-native English speaker wonders about this use of the word anniversary in a business communication: The prices and products below are based on a 36-month contract, free unit and free installation. Tracker experiences an across-the-board anniversary increase (inflation based) every October. The reader comments, I cannot remember ever seeing â€Å"anniversary† used in this context. I would have expected a word such as â€Å"annual.† The usage sounds odd to a native speaker as well. Both words, annual and anniversary, derive from the Latin annus, â€Å"returning yearly.† Anniversary entered the language as a noun in the early 13th century with the meaning â€Å"day of a person’s death.† In church use, anniversary came to be used attributively in the phrase â€Å"anniversary days,† dates on which saints or martyrs were celebrated. Annual came along as an adjective about 150 years later in the context of paying an â€Å"annual wage.† Although both words can function as either noun or adjective, in modern usage, anniversary is used primarily as a noun and annual as an adjective: The Queen to celebrate the 70th anniversary of VE Day at a Westminster Abbey service with veterans   Penguin Celebrates 80th Anniversary Annual price increases are common in B2B [business-to-business] subscriptions. The  Annual Picnic  is usually a purely social event, and everyone is encouraged to attend. Although both words refer to a yearly event, anniversary carries connotations of celebration and remembrance, whereas annual is a workaday word meaning â€Å"occurring once a year.† In observing an anniversary, one might speak of â€Å"an anniversary celebration† or â€Å"an anniversary dinner,† but in a business context, it’s more idiomatic to speak of â€Å"annual meetings† and â€Å"annual price increases.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictCapitalization Rules for the Names of GamesHow to Punctuate Introductory Phrases

Great Works of Western Philosophy pre-final paper 2 Essay

Great Works of Western Philosophy pre-final paper 2 - Essay Example While Anselm’s ontological argument achieved a good amount of support, Aquinas’ cosmological outlook was the result of his strong criticism of the views of the former. However, what seems to be evidently noticeable is that Aquinas’ argument is another improvement of the ontological view of Anselm. Saint Anselm proposes his ontological view on the existence of God in Proslogion, one of the most discussed philosophical discourses of all time. As Anselm argues, he makes certain key points in favor of the existence of God: So the ontological argument states that God is the greatest possible entity to be conceived, and God exists in both reality as well as in our understanding. Whatever we can assume in the mind, it can also be conceived of as existing in reality too. Therefore, God is the greatest being existing in both reality and in the mind. However, Anselm’s ontological theory has been criticized and strongly rejected by a number of Catholic theologians as well as non-Christians, and particularly by Thomas Aquinas, another Italian theologian. Aquinas’ most acclaimed work is Summa Theologiae or ‘Summary of Theology’, where he discusses his outlook on the existence of God. Criticizing the ontological argumentation of Anselm, Aquinas elaborates his cosmological view on the existence of God in terms of five arguments or proofs. The first proof is argued from the point of view of motion that everything on earth undergoes change with regard to something existing in reality. That means there must be a first mover from which it starts. This mover is constant and known as God. The second proof argues that every effect must have a cause. The first and efficient cause of everything is known as God. The third proof states that God is the main cause for the necessary existence of everything. The fourth pr oof argues that God is the most perfect thing to possibly conceive of. The fifth proof argues that God is the master planner of everything

Article analysis Negotiation Without a Net Essay

Article analysis Negotiation Without a Net - Essay Example 4) as well as special communication skill such as empathic listening and active listening (p. 5). The strategic considerations of the negotiation process described in the article bear much similarity to business negotiations. For instance, police negotiations are goal-directed (p. 4). The negotiator has to remember the goal in order to modify tactics and strategies. Secondly, as suggested in the case of suicide negotiations (p. 7), it is essential that both sides feel that not negotiating is the worst option. This reflects the importance of a win-win approach to negotiation. An interesting insight provided into the structure of the negotiation process is that negotiation can be conducted as â€Å"a series of small agreements (p. 4).† This helps to set milestones to what might be a tedious process. It also helps to build trust and commitment to build the relationship. Another important strategic insight into the techniques of negotiation is that by engaging with one another, the negotiators can extract useful information about one another and use it to their strategic adva ntage. This has been referred to as mirroring (p. 5). Finally, the importance of teamwork is highlighted in the article as a vital means of ensuring the success of the negotiation. Negotiating can be a tiring and stressful process; hence, the presence of a team with specialized roles can help to make the process efficient (p. 6). Personal characteristics and behaviours of the negotiators are also analyzed in this article. For instance, it is suggested that the negotiator should have maximum control over emotions while not ignoring their existence (p. 6). This holds similarity with the theory of emotional intelligence where self-awareness and control are emphasized for successful communication. Secondly, it is important for the negotiators to detach their personal self from the situation. This helps them to avoid taking

Charity Giving Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Charity Giving - Essay Example Any person with high values and cultural values will provide high donation as per his or her financial status. Some may do charity for the help of the society by giving blood and donating the body organs in order to help others. This is done by the people due to their own moral values. The regularity of charity whether financial or in other forms depends largely on the person and his or her values in life. None of the charitable organisations can influence them as they are guided by their own ideas and views. A few people refer charitable giving as a personal value which is incorporated in the individual from the beginning of his/her life by the parents. The importance of finance and the gesture to help others in need are the values, which influence the charitable actions of the people. These values are incorporated among the people from the childhood (Duncan, 1999). No charitable institutions, advertisements and marketing strategies can influence the people. Charity depends on the p eople and it depends on the personal freedom and rights of the people to whether they want to do charity or not. Charity can be in money and also in kind. Personal values influence to a considerable extent the charitable action of the people. However, not only the values but also the demographic factors, such as the age of the person, wealth, gender and education contribute towards charitable behaviour. Strong personal values along with moral values have a high degree of influence charitable giving.

Online Media Has Become A Very Useful Tool Media Essay

Online Media Has Become A Very Useful Tool Media Essay The online media or the New Media has also been a consequence of dynamic communications technology developments and the need of a universal platform that emerges traditional media with the interactive power of computers and the participative aspect of the Internet. I strongly believe that online media has indeed become a very useful tool for citizens to play their role in political and social participation. The reasons are various: Internet is very popular and user-friendly, it give people the opportunity of engaging in civic discussion and there is a common lack of time, interest and proximity issues hinder their willingness in participating, As Margaret Scammell also pointed out in her paper The Internet and Civic Engagement: the Age of the Citizen-Consumer, (anul) the Internet, we hear constantly, will change everything. Thus far, however, the evidence for politics is rather small. We see vastly expanded information sources for citizens, new delivery systems for political institutions, greater opportunities for politics at the margins. But mostly we see the same old electoral and institutional politics with no evidence of huge new communities of participating citizens. What is actually emphasized here is the fact that we expect a greater involvement of citizens in political and social aspects on online media platforms, whereas new media online only endows us with brand new instruments of citizenship performance. Internet, as one of the 20th centurys most important developments, facilitates old and new functions of media, by orientating traditional media, like newspapers and television towards more participation, interactivity, flexibility, real time interaction, experiences and information sharing at a low cost. Politics and political participation of citizens is one of the topics of discussion over the Internet. The basic function of media informing people, is clearly seen in the huge World Wide Web community. Politicians have recently started to be aware of the impact that the Internet has, especially on young generations and therefore have moved online, where they have their own blogs, participate in online political forums, and get in direct contact with their electors. A very good example in this sense is Barack Obamas famous online campaign which helped him engage more with his voters and actually gave them the opportunity of integrating and even creating a political campaign. I think it helped us to access a lot of people by giving them to tools to organize, to create events, to connect with each others and giving them everything that they needed, so that when they had talking points to pass onto their families, videos, events in their area that were happening, community outreach pro grams in their state. Everything that we did was to connect people, because it was a movement that was fundamentally about people. (http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/12/04/felesky-rahaf.html Rahaf Harfoush interview) Moreover, even in 2000 American elections, American Online reported that seven of the all-time top ten live online chats were political, suggesting an increase in interest and involvement in the political process (Marlin 1999: 12 in CAROLINE J. TOLBERT AND RAMONA S. MCNEAL, KENT STATE UNIVERSITY). Another essential aspect of online citizenship is the civic engagement. One might argue that civic engagement online is one of the pioneer activities promoted online and which had a tremendous success among both nongovernmental organizations and participants to different online campaigns, petitions, manifestations. Its mobilizing character has had a very good outcome in community volunteer work, environmental causes and protest behavior, as it has engaged people in various discussions on social media platforms or in sharing experiences and thoughts about problems of common interest on YouTube, Blogs, MySpace, Facebook and websites. A very good example of a civic engagement campaign that has attracted many participants is the Greenpeace campaign. Promoting their activities in environmental causes and simultaneously asking for peoples direct involvement online has ensured the success of their campaign. Online medias main advantage that of offering great opportunities of sharing information and experiences to its users can sometimes turn into a disadvantage, because normal people are becoming journalists. This facilitates subjectivism and might sometimes lead to misinforming the other users. Moreover, many organizations, politicians or public figures have sensed the potential impact and success of online campaigns and therefore tend to control certain information flows for their own interest and even manipulate the content of forums, blogging, etc. The Web community facilitates the achievement of different types of citizenship, whether they are political, cultural, social or national. Citizens have often declared themselves dissatisfied with traditional media coverage; due to media concentration, the information and knowledge they get seems most of the times to be influenced by particular view that media moguls try to impose indirectly. Therefore the online media give them the opportunity of expressing themselves without restrictions and engage actively in different knowledge sharing activities and even direct participation to political decisions. Taken all this arguments into consideration, I believe that the new media indeed contribute to a better citizenship by means of more interaction, delivering own experiences and thoughts towards different political topics, being informed and having access to a greater range of knowledge sources. Online media, creates opportunities for all the Internet users to contribute to the main attribute of democracy and that is, being able to take part at political and social decision making process.

Our Day Out by Willy Russell :: English Literature

OUR DAY OUT!!!! THE EFFECTS OF CHARACTER IN ACTION THE USE OF DRAMATIC DEVICES and THE LAYERS OF MEANING IN LANGUAGE, IDEAS AND THEMES Writers are influenced by the historical times in which they live. Everyday of their lives, what they say and the way they act is influenced by the time in which they live. The 70s influenced Willy Russell in his writing. There are many examples of this in Our Day Out such as the style of the fair and the shop, the way the characters speak and the things that are going on, for example the description of the economic slump at the time. One of the reasons for Britain's industry being in decline was, that it was unable to be competitive on price against other countries who had new technology. The technology increased productivity and reduced costs through the use of less labour. As a result, some of the main industries in Britain had great financial difficulty and had to close down or reduce the work force causing a loss in jobs and high unemployment. This caused poverty and meant that people could not afford decent property and had to move into council homes. Class differences occurred, dividing people who had money and decent homes from people with little money and poor homes or no home at all. Willy Russell's writing was inspired by experiences when he was a teacher at a comprehensive school. Whilst he was a teacher at the school, he accompanied a teacher of a remedial department on a trip to Conwy castle and a zoo. At the last minute a deputy head of disciplinarian behaviour also joined the party creating a potential recipe for disaster. During the course of the day the deputy head relaxed and enjoyed himself, only to revert to his usual self at the end of the day. In doing so, he destroyed all the positive achievements of the day. This play is about a progress class, which go on a trip for the first time. Mrs Kay cares for the children a great deal and just wants them to have fun as long as they don't hurt anyone or themselves. The deputy head who joins the trip unexpectedly changes this and believes they should be quiet and not have as much fun in order to learn. As the day goes on the children get up to all sorts of mischief including stealing. Eventually the deputy head finds out about this and his attitude towards the kids deteriorated even further. Mr Briggs just wants to get them back to school as soon as possible. When put in a situation however, with one of the children threatening