The Middle East, Byzantium, and East Asia Essay Example for Free

The Middle East, Byzantium, and East Asia Essay There were many similarities and differences between Byzantium and the Middle East and East Asia. Both regions were based on religions that were founded by prophets, but Byzantium and the Middle East had religions that were monotheistic, and East Asia did not. They also differed in the fact that the Middle East and Byzantium focused on academic development, and East Asia focused on military development, but were similar because both developed new ways to use projectile weapons. Both East Asia and the Middle East and Byzantium were similar in their use and development of projectile weapons. The Byzantine Empire developed a very powerful, projectile weapon called Greek fire. It was mainly used in naval warfare, and essentially could burn while floating on water for very extensive periods of time. This weapon was exclusive to the Byzantine people and has been lost with them. Gunpowder was also first developed in China. Gunpowder could be used to fuel the first guns, which while simple at the time, were deadly to the rest of the world. This idea spread through trade to the Islamic people, and later the rest of the world, transforming warfare for the rest of time. There were also differences in intellectual development between Byzantium and Mesopotamia and East Asia. For one, Byzantium was more academically advanced, while East Asia was more militarily advanced. The Byzantine Empire focused much attention on architecture. The people there build enormous, beautiful buildings. One of the most famous was the Hagia Sophia. Rome also had many writers who wrote great works of history and poems. East Asia on the other hand was more focused out military advancements. China created gun powder, which was a huge help in stopping nomadic invasions because of the distance cannons could blow. Also steel and iron weapons were made which were very strong. East Asia was also responsible for the creation of the printing press, which made it possible to produce text very quickly and in large amounts, helping communication immensely. There were similarities between the religions of Middle East, Byzantium, and East Asia. The religions in the Middle East, Byzantium, and East Asia, Islam, Orthodox Christianity, and Buddhism, respectively, were all religions that were started by prophets; Islam by Mohammed, Christianity by Jesus Christ, and Buddhism by Siddhartha Gautama. Islam spread very rapidly throughout the Middle East. Islam was the fastest spreading religion during this period. Similarly, Buddhism spread rapidly from its birthplace of India to East Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea. In the Middle East and Byzantium, the religions being practiced were strictly monotheistic. In East Asia, they were not. The dominant religion in the Middle East was Islam, a monotheistic faith revealed through the prophet Muhammad. In Byzantium, Christianity, another monotheistic religion, dominated the region. However, in East Asia, there was no monotheistic religion. Instead, the people in this area practiced Confucian traditions and Buddhist customs.

Against the Death Penalty Essay -- Papers Argumentative Capital Punish

Against the Death Penalty The death penalty is one of the most controversial issues in our time. There are many issues that show and prove the death penalty is wrong and reasons why it should be ceased. Many issues have objections towards the death penalty shows that the death penalty is unfair, irreversible and expensive. The Death penalty is an unfair system used as punishment to criminals that performed wrong and unmoral crimes. The death penalty is unfair in the way that is discriminatory towards color, and race. For example, in the trials of many court cases, a person who kills a white person is treated much more severely then one who kills a black person. Of the 313 criminals that have been executed between 1997 and 1995, 36 of those killed has been convicted of killing a black person while 249 of those killed has been convicted of killing a white person. From the 178 white people who have been executed, only 3 where convicted of murdering a person of color. This proves that our judicial system executes people regardless of their race who kill white people. These are not the only ones who are discriminated against, gender also determines who receives the death penalty. Between the 80's and early 90's, 1% of all those on death row were women even though women commit 15% of all criminal homicides. The death penalty is also discriminates against the poor. Even though all cases require the defendants to have a lawyer, 90 % of all those executed could not afford to hire a lawyer when they were tried. These stats show how unfair the death penalty really is towards the minorities, genders and of those of poor social class. A big down side to the death penalty would be the irreversibility of situation. Once the life ... ...why not just keep them in prison right? Well, if the congress could only se that and the judicial system would see that it is less economical maybe they too may agree that the death penalty is not the best choice for punishment. Many people are for the death penalty because they feel that they should suffer what they did to the victim. When in fact that the US system was not meant as a way of revenge towards the criminal. A better alternative would be to let the criminal be locked in jail with no parole, which would be less controversial than going forward with the execution. With all of these issues stated, it can be clearly seen that the death penalty is judgmental, unfair and expensive. There have been cases when innocent people have been executed or in other words murdered because some one made a mistake or there was not enough info to prove him innocent.

The Theme of Secrecy in Twelfth Night

Secrecy is an important element in any plot. It creates irony and sometimes situational comedy. The way in which a character keeps or reveals a secret affects the plot and adds to the main theme of the work. Viola, a character in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, must keep the secret of her true identity. The play uses secrecy as an important element of the plot by creating irony, situational comedy, and tension, as well as affecting the plot and contributing to the overall meaning of the play. The plot of Twelfth Night is affect by the secret that Viola keeps and reveals. Viola is a lady of Messaline who has been shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria. Believing her brother Sebastian is dead, she wants to start a new life in Illyria, but the court of Lady Olivia is not accepting any new members because Lady Olivia is in mourning after her father and brother have died. In order to join the court of Duke Orsino, Viola must disguise herself as a boy named Cesario. Orsino accepts â€Å"Cesario† into his court and from that point on, secrecy is embedded within the plot. Secrecy is necessary because she cannot be revealed as a woman for several reasons. Viola becomes close with Orsino, which causes her to fall in love with him, but since she has become so close to him, Orsino trusts â€Å"her† and sends â€Å"Cesario† to Lady Olivia’s house to try to convince her to accept his love. Even though Olivia has sworn off love, as soon as she meets Cesario she falls for him because he knows all the charming things to say to her. Since Cesario is actually Viola, the swooning words she says to Olivia is what Viola would want to hear if a man were confessing his love to her. Cesario says to Olivia, â€Å"Make me a willow cabin at your gate/ And call upon my soul within the house,/ Write loyal cantons of contemned love,/ And sing them loud even in the dead of night// Hallow your name to the reverberate hills/ And make the babbling gossip of the air/ Cry out ‘Olivia! ’ O, you should not rest/ Between the elements of air and earth/ But you should pity me† (43). This speech is what Viola would want to hear if she was being pursued by a man, which is why Olivia falls for Cesario. This complicates the plot because now Olivia is in love with Cesario who is actually Viola which creates a sense of situational comedy and irony. This secret not only affects the plot, but it contributes to the overall theme of the play, love or the lack of. Olivia is not actually in love with Cesario and neither is Orsino with Olivia, they are both in love with the idea or concept of love. On the other hand, Viola is truly in love with Orsino, which is revealed to the audience when Cesario is discussing love with Orsino; Cesario says, â€Å"Sooth, but you must. / Say that some lady, as perhaps there is,/ Hath for your love as great a pang of heart/ As you have for Olivia. You cannot lover her:/ You tell her so. Must she not them be answered† (73)? Viola, disguised as Cesario, is speaking about herself which creates tension and irony for the audience. Viola’s secret keeps her from openly loving Orsino and causes Olivia to be in love with Cesario. Viola’s brother, Sebastian, who is in fact not dead, represents two motifs in the play: mistaken identity and things are not what they appear to be. Sebastian is saved by Antonio, a man whose tenderness towards Sebastian turns into love. Sebastian travels to Illyria, not knowing that Viola is alive and living there. Viola and Sebastian look very much alike, and now that Viola is impersonating a boy, they look identical. Sebastian is mistaken for Cesario by Olivia, which gives him two identities. Olivia begs â€Å"Cesario† to marry her and Sebastian seeing that Olivia was pretty and wealthy, accepts her proposal. Sebastian says to himself, â€Å"Yet doth this accident and flood of fortune/ So far exceed all instance, all discourse,/ That I am ready to distrust mine eyes/ And wrangle with my reason that persuades me/ To any other trust but that I am mad-/ Or else the lady’s mad† (155). Sebastian’s situation represents mistaken identity and that things do not appear to be what they seem. Viola’s secret further complicates the plot; now Olivia believes she is married to Cesario who is actually Sebastian. Also this news infuriates Orsino who is in â€Å"love† with Olivia and causes major problems between Orsino and Cesario; Orsino says to Cesario, â€Å"O thou dissembling cub! What wilt thou be/ When time hath sowed a grizzle on thy case? / Or will not else thy craft so quickly grow/ That thine own trip shall be tine overthrow? / Farwell, and take her, but direct thy feet/ Where thou and I henceforth may never meet† (173). Viola is heartbroken by Orsino’s speech because she is genuinely in love with him and she is not the one who married Olivia. Olivia mistaking Sebastian for Cesario, proves that she does not really love Cesario, she is in love with idea of love which is the overriding theme of the play. Identities and disguises are created by secrecy in the play. Viola’s and Sebastian’s true identities are revealed when she finds herself face to face with her brother Sebastian. Malvolio, another character in the play whose identity is lost due to secrecy, regains his identity by the end of of the play. Viola’s necessity for secrecy leads to her choice of keeping the secret for most the play. Her secret complicates the plot, and develops irony and situational comedy throughout the play. Her secret did allow her to achieve her goal of joining Orsino’s court and starting a new life, but her revealing the secret allowed her and Orsino to be together. Viola’s secret contributed to the meaning of the play, that love is not always what it appears to be, sometimes love has two identities. Love can be just falling in love with the idea of the emotion or the real thing.

Should Teens Undergo Plastic Surgery - 1565 Words

Should teens undergo cosmetic surgery? In todays society the picture of beauty is a rail thin super model with the body of a goddess posted on billboards all around the world. Children are brought up playing with Barbie dolls with the body measurements of would be 39, 18, 38. Because of these pictures and other figures of beauties projected all over, today teenagers are convinced to believe that to be beautiful and happy they must look like these images. According to a survey by Bliss Magazine, Four in ten teenage girls have considered plastic surgery and two thirds of the 2,000 girls quizzed, average age 14, said the pressure came from celebrities with perfect bodies and boys. (BBC news) Society today has brain washed not only†¦show more content†¦The last factor that teens need to take into account is that with cosmetic surgery, there are no guarantees of satisfaction. There are no guarantees that the results will come out the way they want them to be, no guarantees that their lives will change after the surgeries and no guarantees that they will be satisfied. One of the good examples is a 19-year-old student at Baylor University in Texas, Kacey Long. She wanted implants because she wanted to look like Julia Roberts playing Erin Brockovich in the hit movie. But after she got it done, she was not satisfied with the result. She felt that her D-cup implants were too big that it made her look like a porn star. Her parents then had to take out a $6,400 loan to pay for removal surgery. (USA today) As for some teens whose self-esteem is so low that they view themselves through a filter of self-rejection (Im ugly, or Im fat) and hope that cosmetic surgery will chan ge their lives, they will never be satisfied no matter how good the results are. All the surgery in the world is not going to make a difference, if they dont change the filter through which they look when they see themselves in the mirror. It is all about perception. (Dr. Phil) Many Teenagers believe that to be happy in life and be beautiful to all that see them, they must have the beautiful bodies of runway super models or the muscles of Mr. America. With the advertisement of products today and the idolization of actors and actresses also comeShow MoreRelatedAmerican Teen Cosmetic And Plastic Surgery1432 Words   |  6 Pages American Teen Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery Plastic and cosmetic surgeries have become a persisting issue in The United States, with the steady advancement of social media and technology being exposed to teens, many are falling victims to the country’s perception of standard beauty and resorting towards surgical procedures features that are not considered to be attractive among the general public. 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The article states, Because teens bodies are stillRead MoreEffects Of Plastic Surgery Among Teenagers1467 Words   |  6 Pages Plastic Surgery amongst Teenagers is on the rise In the year 2015, where here in the United States following the lastest celebrities has become an influence on many teens across the Unites States, what I mean by influence is plastic surgery. You see it everywhere it s on TV, on billboards, on the radio and all over the magazines. It seems as if everything a well known celebrity does teens want to do also. And what celebrity has gotten done to enhance herself teens oftenRead MoreEssay about American Teenagers and Plastic Surgery1189 Words   |  5 PagesAmerican Teenagers and Plastic Surgery Plastic surgery is not a new field of medicine. Traditionally, plastic surgery dealt with fixing abnormalities of the body, but recently people are enjoying the luxury of plastic surgery simply because they are not happy with their appearance. 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In a 2013 study, 1,668,420 Americans underwent cosmetic surgery in order to alter their body to fit the body image theyRead MoreDid you know that in a 2013 study, 1,668,420 Americans underwent cosmetic surgery in order to alter700 Words   |  3 PagesDid you know that in a 2013 study, 1,668,420 Americans underwent cosmetic surgery in order to alter their body to fit the body image they view as the norm in society. More and more Americans are complying to undergo cosmetic procedures without understand the possible fatal risks. As medical advancements and improved procedures are being introduced, the risks seem to increase. Since society has placed significant pressure on the physical attributes of adolescents and adults, cosmetic treatments areRead MoreTeenagers and Cosmetic Surgery1573 Words   |  6 Pagesare more likely to have cosmetic surgery to blend in, to avoid peer harassments, and to stop further inner torments. Keep in mind that plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery are different even though both surgeries are used to fix someoneâ⠂¬â„¢s physical body. Plastic surgery are used to mend looks that are ruined due to terrible accidents, and is pay by insurance, while cosmetic surgery are used to enhance someone’s look which insurance does not cover. Cosmetic surgery has helped many patients fit in withRead MoreCosmetic Surgery: A Quick Fix? Essay1252 Words   |  6 Pages What was once a surgery performed primarily to restore, is now used to enhance a person’s face and body. Cosmetic surgery, which is said to have been â€Å"used more than 4,000 years ago to treat facial injuries† (Fresh Faces) is now considered a common activity among any kind of person. This surgery first gained popularity in the 1910’s after World War I, among soldiers with shattered war faces in need of repair. Later, it became a popular trend among women, who were mostly from high-class