The Cock and the Fox Essay Example for Free

The Cock and the Fox Essay The Cock and the Fox is one of the fables of Aesop, a learned slave in the mid-6th century BC in ancient Greece. The various collections that go under the title Aesops Fables have been enjoyed for centuries for their clever portrayal of animals in various situations speaking as humans, and for the moral lessons implicit in those tales. In the 17th century, the most famous French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine put many of Aesop’s stories to verse in his collection of Fables. This story of Chantecler and the Fox celebrates the astuteness of the cock, which gets the better of the fox in a game of wits. Its lesson seems most appropriate for our times, with its mania for ecumenism and achieving a utopist world peace. Ecumenism and the new world order plan are also traps to lure naà ¯ve Catholics from their secure traditional position and â€Å"be eaten† by the shrewd foxes – Progressivism and Freemasonry. Here is his story: A cock, perched among the branches of a lofty tree, crowed loudly. The shrillness of his voice echoed through the woods, and the well-known sound brought a fox, who was prowling in quest of prey, to the spot. The fox tries to lure Chantecler to the ground with talk of universal brotherhood| Seeing the cock at a great height in the tree above him, the fox set his wits to work to find some way of bringing him down. He greeted the bird in his gentlest voice and said, â€Å"Have you not heard, dear cousin, of the proclamation of universal peace and harmony among all the different beasts and birds? We are no longer to prey upon and devour one another, but love and friendship are to be the order of the day. Do come down, and we will talk over this great news at our leisure.† The cock, who suspected that the fox was only up to his old tricks, pretended to be watching something in the distance. The fox asked him what it was he looked at so earnestly. â€Å"Why,† said the cock, â€Å"I think I see a pack of hounds yonder.† â€Å"Oh, then,† said the fox, â€Å"I must be gone.† â€Å"Why, dear cousin,† said the cock, â€Å"pray do not go. I am just coming down. You are surely not afraid of dogs in these peaceable times.† â€Å"No, no,† said the fox. â€Å"But they may not have heard of the proclamation yet!† And off he ran in fright, frustrated. Now the English add a moral to their version: Beware sudden offers of friendship. But the incomparable La Fontaine ends his verse with this: And our cock laughed to himself at the fox’s fear, Because the pleasure is doubled when the cheater is cheated!†

The Internet’s Impact on Stock Trading Essay -- Cause Effect Essays

"The Internet’s Impact on Stock Trading" Before the internet, stock trading was done exclusively through brokers. Now that computers and technology have apparent strongholds in the realm of stock trading, more people have access to the market. This essay shares some experiences that online stock trading services and day traders have had due to the radical movement of online trading. The essay commences with a fictional anecdote that describes one man’s unfortunate experience through online trading. It then moves to some non-fictional examples. One company was forced to leave the prospect of trading behind and had to close its services. Another has found refuge in expanding its holdings by moving its primary focus away from online trading services after gaining its initial capital exclusively through this form of business. Individual investors have also gained and lost through internet stock trading. In one example, a retired nurse moves her retirement fund into the stock market in order to make money. And in another, a man invests in technological stock but realizes that they are not as strong as he once thought two years prior. Each of these entities has been affected by the decline in the stock market, and not all were winners. Using research gathered from other publications, this essay’s goal is to focus on the importance of online stock trading and to demonstrate, through analysis, the claim that the industry is vulnerable to an extended decline in the stock market. It was going to be a sure fire way to make some quick money. In the late 1990’s, high technology and internet stocks were experiencing tremendous gains and a new way of trading stock was being developed. Online trading was in its ... ...sh. â€Å"Gains Allure; Fed up with Advice to Stay Put, Some Investors are Looking to Make a Quicker Buck.† 13 Aug 2002. LexisNexis Database. 29 Oct 2002. <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document/>. Glassman, James K. â€Å"Tech-Bashers Miss the Point.† 24 Feb. 2002. LexisNexis Database. 29 Oct. 2002. < http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document/>. Kanaley, Reid. â€Å"Herd has Veered Away from Online Investing.† 15 Oct. 2002. LexisNexis Database. 29 Oct. 2002. <http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document/>. Tunick, Britt. â€Å"The Financial Supermarket.† 17 June 2002. LexisNexis Database. 29 Oct. 2002. < http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document/>. Wong, A.Y.L. â€Å"Ceasing of the Company’s Online Share Trading.† 12 July 2002. LexisNexis Database. 29 Oct. 2002. < http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document/>.

Demian

Demian In every piece of literature there is always a sense of imagination. Now, that imagination can cause a variety of different scenarios. Some may say that the main character could look one way, but then another set of people can say that the main character looks entirely different. That’s also true with the â€Å"meaning† in some parts of the text. The only person who really knows the truth is the author, because the author obviously wrote the book. So it is up to our own imagination to determine what is, and what is not.This thought can also be applied to Demian by Hermann Hesse. Some say that Max Demian isn’t a physical reality, but only a figment of Emil Sinclair’s imagination, while others are stating that Max Demian is a physical reality. On the Oprah Winfrey Show, O, Oprah did a documentary with a girl named Jani. Jani has a horrible case of Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia by definition is a mental disorder characterized by a breakdown of thought p rocesses and by poor emotional responsiveness.Common symptoms include auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by a significant social or occupational dysfunction (â€Å"Schizophrenia†). Basically Jani was seeing various hallucinations since she was 5 (she is now 10). She would have nice hallucinations where they would be friendly, or bad hallucinations where they would want her to hurt her family members or even herself. At first Jani didn’t understand what was happening to her mentally, and she thought she was normal and that everyone could see her hallucinations, like â€Å"11 o’clock† who was a friendly cat.This is very relatable to Sinclair’s life because Demian was a hallucination to Sinclair, Sinclair just didn’t realize it. First off, Sinclair said, â€Å"For years I have been unable to distinguish between what I experienced in these dreams and in real life. â €  (Hesse 28*) That quote speaks for itself. Sinclair was unable to acknowledge what happened in either his dreams or in real life. So there is a possibility that this whole novel could have been just a dream to Sinclair.However since that is most likely not the case, Sinclair still could have dreamt up Demian, and just combined his dreams with his reality in confusion. In addition, Sinclair later stated, â€Å"Side by side with this I lived in a world of dreams, drives, and desires of a chthonic nature, across which my conscious self desperately built its fragile bridges, for the childhood world within me was falling apart. † (Hesse 41*) Again Sinclair is living a life entirely of dreams, which are confusing him so much to the point that he cannot distinguish the difference between reality and dream.Later on, Sinclair describes Demian’s face with these words, â€Å"I saw Demian’s face and I not only noticed that was not a boy’s face but a man’ s; I also felt or saw that it was not entirely the face of a man either, but had something feminine about it, too. † (Hesse 43*) This is a perfect example of Carl Jung’s explanation on people’s psyche. He said that people’s psyche is not necessarily gender locked. Imagine a line, on the left side are the male gender roles, and on the right, female gender roles.Now in the middle is a perfect blend of the two, which can never happen according to Jung, however in the description of Demian’s face, it seems as though Demian is a perfect blend of the two gender roles, which isn’t supposed to happen. Technically Demian should not exist, because he is a perfect blend of the two gender roles, which also adds to the fact that Demian’s face could only be so perfect if he was an imagination or a hallucination to Sinclair. Similarly, Sinclair commented, â€Å"I could hardly grasp it that no one besides me noticed him!Everyone should have looked at him, everyone should have trembled! But no one heeded him. He sat there like a statue, and, I thought, proud as an idol! A fly lighted on his forehead and scurried across his nose and lips – not a muscle twitched. † (Hesse 67**) Okay, I have a serious question to ask. How could one not move a muscle when a fly lands on their forehead and scurries across their nose and lips? That is most likely impossible for anyone to do, because most flies are very sensitive to everything, so if they see even the slightest of twitches they will fly away.And I know for a fact that anyone would twitch at the sight of a fly landing on their forehead. So if Demian was only a hallucination to Sinclair it is entirely possible for Demian to remain motionless whilst a fly is scurrying across his face. Furthermore, in David Fincher’s 1999 release of Fight Club Edward Norton’s character is found to have been hallucinating Tyler Durden played by Brad Pitt. Now in the beginning Nort on did not realize that Tyler was a hallucination, but after Tyler manipulated Norton’s life, Norton began to realize that Tyler was really just a hallucination.Tyler was about to blow up an entire city until he finally realized that Tyler was a part of himself. To stop Tyler from manipulating him, Norton’s character shot himself in the face, and he watched as Tyler disappeared. Technically since Tyler is not a real physical being, and only a hallucination Tyler cannot die, however Norton believed that Tyler had died, so he saw Tyler die. This also applies to Sinclair and Demian. On the last page of the novel, Demian and Sinclair explained, â€Å"â€Å"Little Sinclair, listen: I will have to go away.Perhaps you’ll need me again sometime, against Kromer or something. If you call me then I won’t come crudely, on horseback or by train. You’ll have to listen within yourself then you will notice that I am within you. Do you understand? And something e lse. Frau Eva said that if ever you were in a bad way I was to give you a kiss from her that she sends by me. . . . Close your eyes, Sinclair! † I closed my eyes in obedience. I felt a light kiss on my lips where there was always a little fresh blood which never would go away. And then I fell asleep.Next morning someone woke me: I had to have my wounds dressed. When I was finally wide awake I turned quickly to the mattress next to mine. On it lay a stranger I’d never seen before. † (Hesse 171**) This quote has the same effect as when Norton’s character shot himself to kill Tyler, however this has not violence. Sinclair’s subconscious mind knew that Sinclair was ready enough to not need Demian anymore. So after the kiss bestowed onto Sinclair from Demian, Sinclair no longer needed to hallucinate Demian and that is why he disappeared the next morning.Demian was never a physical being; he was only a part of Sinclair’s subconscious mind, trying to help Sinclair. In conclusion, Demian is only a physical being to Sinclair, and to no one else. Sinclair needed Demian because there was something that his subconscious mind wanted â€Å"Demian† to help Sinclair get through his tough times. Demian did in fact help Sinclair a lot and Sinclair got through his tough times with some bumps in the road but that is to be expected. Without the help of Demian, Sinclair could have gone mentally insane.That is why Emil Sinclair’s subconscious conjured up Demian, so Sinclair could have an easier time transitioning from a child to an adult. Citations Hesse, Hermann. Demian. New York, NY: Harper & Row Publishers, 1989. 0-171. Print. Schofield, Jani. Personal Interview. 2009. â€Å"Schizophrenia. † . Fincher, David, dir. Fight Club. 1999. Film. 3 Jan 2013. . (*) 2nd published copy of Demian by Hermann Hesse (**) 1st published copy of Demian by Hermann Hesse

Tess of the dUrbervilles Review

Originally serialized in the newspaper The Graphic, Thomas Hardys Tess of the dUrbervilles was first published as a book in 1891. This work was Hardys second-to-the-last novel, Jude the Obscure being his final one, and both are considered among the best works of the 19th century. Set in rural England, the novel tells the story of a poor girl, Tess Durbeyfield, who is sent by her parents to a supposedly noble family in the hope of finding a fortune and a gentleman for a husband. The young girl is instead seduced and meets her doom. Story Structure The novel is divided into seven sections, titled as phases. While it may seem usual to many readers, critics have discussed the significance of this term in relation to the progress of the plot and its moral implications. Various phases of the novel have been named according to various life phases of Hardys heroine: The Maiden, Maiden No More, and so on to the final phase, Fulfillment. Tess of the dUrberville is essentially a third-person narrative, but most of the events (all significant events, in fact) are seen through the eyes of Tess. The order of these events follows a simple chronological sequence, a quality that augments the ambiance of a simple rural life. Where we see Hardys real mastery is the difference in the language of people from the social classes (e.g. the Clares in contrast with the farm workers). Hardy also sometimes speaks directly to the readers to accentuating the effect of select events. Tess is helpless against and mostly submissive to, those around her. But, she suffers not only because of the seducer who destroys her but also because her beloved does not save her. Despite her suffering and weakness in the face of her suffering, she demonstrates long-suffering patience and endurance. Tess takes pleasure in toiling on the dairy farms, and she seems almost invincible to the trials of life. Given her enduring strength through all of her troubles, in some sense, the only appropriate ending was her death on the gallows. Her story became the ultimate tragedy. The Victorians In Tess of the dUrberville, Thomas Hardy targets the Victorian values of nobility right from the title of his novel. In contrast to the safe and innocent Tess Durbeyfield, Tess dUrbervilles is never at peace, even though she has been sent to become a dUrbervilles in the hopes of finding a fortune. The seeds of tragedy are sown when Tesss father, Jack, is told by a parson that he is the descendant of a family of knights. Hardy comments upon the hypocritical standards in masculine concepts of purity. Angel Clares forsakes his wife, Tess, in a classic instance of the rift between belief and practice. Given Angels religious background and his allegedly humanistic views, his indifference to Tess produces a striking contrast of character with Tess who persists in her love — against all odds. In Tess of the dUrbervilles, Thomas Hardy has directly satirized nature. In the third chapter of Phase the First, for example, he targets both nature and its exaltation by poets and philosophers: whence the poet whose philosophy is in these days deemed as profound and trustworthy... gets his authority for speaking of Natures holy plan. In the fifth chapter of the same phase, Hardy ironically comments on Natures role in guiding humans. Nature does not often say See! to her poor creature at a time when seeing could lead to happy doing; or reply Here to a bodys cry of Where? till the hide-and-seek has become an irksome, outworn game. Themes and Issues Tess of the dUrbervilles is rich in its involvement with several themes and issues, and there are many quotes from the book that synthesize these themes. Like most other Hardy novels, rural life is a prominent issue in the story. The hardships and drudgery of rustic lifestyle are explored fully through the travel and work experiences of Tess. Religious orthodoxy and social values are questioned in the novel. The issue of fate versus freedom of action is another important aspect of Tess of the dUrbervilles. While the main storyline may sound fatalistic, Hardy does not miss the opportunity to point out that the darkest of tragedies could be prevented by human action and consideration: Humanity.