Comparing Development of the King in Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV,

Shakespeare’s Development of the King  in  Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV, Henry V   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare's plays beginning with Richard II and concluding with Henry V presents an interesting look at the role of a king. England's search for "the mirror of all Christian kings" provided the opportunity to explore the many facets of kingship showing the strengths and weaknesses of both the position and the men who filled that position. Through careful examination, Shakespeare develops the "king" as a physical, emotional, and psychological being. By presenting the strengths and weaknesses of these characteristics, Shakespeare presents a unified look at the concept of "kingship" and demonstrates that failure to achieve proper balance in "the king versus the man" struggle, leads to the ongoing bloodshed examined in this tetralogy and the next.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Richard II demonstrates the extreme of the conceit of divine right. He abuses his power and position caring only for the regal image he projects. His desire is for the physical, majestic appearance accompanied by the power and wealth of royalty. Richard desires to "look" the part which he succeeds in doing. In Richard II III.iii, York says of Richard in line 68, "Yet looks he like a king!" Richard does not care if he truly is a king with regard to responsibility for his subjects. He has interpreted divine right to be an agreement from God to him with no obligations to the subjects over whom he has dominion. This is exemplified in his attitude toward his ailing uncle, John of Gaunt, when he says to his friends, "Come, gentlemen, let's all go visit him. Pray God we may make haste and come too late (RII I.iv.63-64)." Richard's only interest is in the estates Gaunt's ... ...: Yale UP, 1990. 6. Chapman, George. All Fools. [1605.] Ed. Frank Manley. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1968. 7. Council, Norman. When Honour's at Stake. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1973. 8. Craig, Horace S. Dueling Scenes and Terms in Shakespeare's Plays. Los Angeles: U of California P, 1940. 9. Edelman, Charles. Brawl Ridiculous: Swordfighting in Shakespeare's Plays. New York: Manchester UP, 1992. 10. Kiernan, V.G. The Duel in European History. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1988. 11. Marlowe, Christopher. The Jew of Malta. [1633.] Ed. James R. Siemon. New York: W W Norton, 1994. 12. Seldon, John. Table-Talk. [1689]. Ed. Edward Arber. London: Alex, Murray & Son, 1868. 13. Shakespeare, W. "The Tragedy of King Richard the Second." The Complete 14. Signet Classic Shakespeare. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Johanovich, Publishers, 1972   

“Celia behind Me” by Isabel Huggan Essay

â€Å"Celia behind Me† is a Canadian short story, which was written by Isabel Huggan and published in 1984. The setting of the short story is a typical neighborhood in Canada, where two girls, Celia and Elizabeth, are living. The short story is written from Elizabeth’s point of view. * The title ‘Celia behind me’ is exactly what it says; Celia is always behind the narrator, Elizabeth, whether it’s in school, on the way home or in their community. Celia is always a few steps behind. Ex. Celia is in the grade below Elizabeth, she always walks just a few steps behind Elizabeth on the way home, and Elizabeth is only a smidge better than Celia in her social circle. Celia is a diabetic and obese girl; she wears thick glasses and has a rare name, which always makes her classmates mock her. She is an easy victim for humiliation, because she is different from her classmates in both behavior and appearance. She really wants to be a part of the popular group and make friends, but it is almost impossible for her, as she is expelled from her classmates’ community. Celia is always alone, even though she very well could be a very nice, and sensible, girl. She only tries to get along, but unfortunately she seems to be so desperate, that her behaviour annoys her classmates. No matter what she does, she is always the selected scapegoat. The teasing only gets worse, after she falls behind in school and has to do the entire grade all over again. Elizabeth is a young girl and the story’s narrator. Elizabeth is very uncertain about herself, and she is afraid of being bullied, so she tries to be a part of the clique with her classmates, and being in the clique means, that Elizabeth has to be the bully. Her clique victimizes Celia. Elizabeth is aware of the reality; if it wasn’t for Celia, she would be the next in the line of being humiliated by her so called friends. She bullies Celia as a way to guard her reputation and place in the clique. Elizabeth knows what it feels like to be a victim of bullying, and she is scared. She sucked her thumb openly in kindergarten and got the nickname: â€Å"Sucky†, which everybody called her until Grade 3. She ignores Celia’s feelings, because she has a very low self-confidence and feels alone, so she won’t face the risk of standing up to her mean classmates. She doesn’t feel peace inside herself, which makes her very frustrated. (P. 3 ll. 60-66) â€Å"Little beasts we were, making our way along slippery streets. Celia, her glasses steamed up even worse than mine, would scuffle and trip a few yards behind us, and I walked along wishing that some time I’d look back and she wouldn’t be there. But she always was, and I was always conscious of the hatred that had built up during the winter, in conflict with other emotions that gave me no peace at all.† Elizabeth abhors Celia, because she knows deep down inside, that they have a lot in common. They both wear glasses, they are both a little chubby and they both have a rare, way too grown-up name. It is obvious, that Elizabeth’s worst fear is to be singled out with Celia, because she will not be able to deal with being a victim. The girls control Elizabeth’s behavior, because they can expel her from their clique, and treat her like they treat Celia. The girls really are very poor in solidarity, and they leave no place for differences. Elizabeth’s mother warns her about the way she treats Celia, telling her that she herself will get to feel that way in the future. One day Elizabeth falls behind on the way home from school, Celia is still following them around, and when Celia calls for Elizabeth to wait, the girls turn on Elizabeth. They start calling her ‘Sucky’ and doing what Elizabeth fears most; they bully her like they do Celia. Elizabeth snaps, and starts beating the living daylight out of Celia, yelling at her how much she hates her. When the other girls get her pulled of Celia, Elizabeth runs. (P.6 ll. 164) â€Å"She’d been half-carried; half-dragged home by the heroic others†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  I think it is kind of ironic, that the mean, bullying clique of girls carry Celia home, because a few minutes earlier, before Elizabeth attacked Celia, they had left Celia wandering around alone and scared in the pipe. That is a testimony of how fake girls can be. Celia being the way she is forgives Elizabeth very quickly, but even as Celia dies at seventeen, Elizabeth never really does forgive Celia. Because what Celia has done to Elizabeth is a lot worse than a physical beating, Celia is the one that showed Elizabeth, how ark and frightening she really is. * The short story’s main theme is bullying, which clearly reflect all trough the story. The more original thing in the story is that we experience the occurrences in Elizabeth’s perspective. Normally you would follow the story in the victim’s point of view, but is more interesting and provoking, to follow the mind of the â€Å"mean† character, like for example Elizabeth.

Education vs. Non-Education Essay

There are two important stories called, â€Å"Front Seat Brahman† and â€Å"Teachers of Import† that have a common conflict. That common conflict is education vs. non-education. The character in â€Å"Front Seat Brahman† is Sushil Rao. He is from Bombay, India. The characters in â€Å"The Teachers of Import† are Amarel Collymore and Elke Walcher. Amarel is from Bridgetown, Barbados and Elke is from Austria. They all moved to Queens, New York for a particular reason. Sushil did not mention whether or not he went to elementary or high school. However, from the story it sounds like he took school lightly compared to Amarel and Elke. Sushil states, â€Å"I went away to agriculture college to learn how to be a farmer, but they made me dissect frogs in a botany class so I quite. So I enrolled in a philosophy college. A year later, my father died and I was kind of out of control. I quite college and became a traveling hippie† (Lehrer/ Sloan, 32). This proves that he did try to go to college, but was not dedicated enough to finish college. He thought there were better opportunities and prospects out in the world than just going to college. That was not the case for Amarel and Elke. Amarel was a college graduate and taught high school English. She had decades of teaching experience and decided to come to New York. Elke was also a college graduate and taught science. Both teachers came to teach in New York because there was a shortage of teachers and the New York City Board of Education was looking to recruit teachers from different countries. Amarel was not used to the student’s behavior the first week of classes. She states, â€Å"In Barbados, if a student acts up, they get put out the door right away. When I first started teaching here I thought the kids were raging all the time. Then I figured out its just normal for them to curse and swear† (Lehrer/ Sloan, 55). This shows the differences between the way students act in Barbados vs. America. I think American students, depending on the school though; have very low respect for their teachers compared to certain countries. Elke had a different experience. She said, â€Å"It’s a prejudice Europeans have against blacks anyways. The movies give the impression that all blacks are criminals and they all live in the Bronx. I couldn’t believe the class was half black. Most of the guys are wearing gang jackets and bandanas† (Lehrer/ Sloan, 59). This proves that Elke was in for a big surprise and they were not like the Austrian students that she was used to. Sushil was more of a spiritual person rather than educational. For example Sushil says, â€Å"You can live without food for days at a time. But water you need almost every four hours. Water is like diamonds. Our life depends on it† (Lehrer/ Sloan, 36)! People know they cannot live without water, but I have never heard anyone phrase is quite like that. This shows that Sushil is such a deep and meaningful man. Sushil has such a great view of life and appreciates it so much more than the average American. The two teachers and Sushil make the education vs. non-education conflict have some similarities and differences. The two teachers take such great pride in their work as teachers. Just as Sushil takes pride in sharing his stories with people, cooking and his publishing company. He did not need college to succeed like Amarel and Elke, but the women definitely make education a big part of their lives. These are just two different views these people have. In a way, Sushil was teaching the people in the cabs about his country and his beliefs, just as the two teachers teacher their students. Sushil does not mention how education is portrayed in India, but according to Amarel and Elke teachers are very well respected and getting an education is very highly though of. The two teachers were not sure they wanted to stay in New York or go back home and teach. In the end, they did both want to stay. Amarel concludes with, â€Å"I’ve gotten accustomed to these kids. The Lord brought me here for something. I am not yet sure what it is. I know now if I hate to, I could teach anywhere. But I’d like to teach here again next year if I can† (Lehrer/ Sloan, 57). Elke concludes with, â€Å"Teaching is a calling. If you do it just for the money you won’t last. Especially in New York. Some of the teachers look at me like I’m nuts whenever I talk with great enthusiasm for teaching† (Lehrer/ Sloan, 61). This show that both teachers are now getting used to the idea that they can help these students and teach them to respect teachers more. They both succeeded in the end. Sushil also succeeded even though he did not go to college and education was not a part of his life. He was starting to make dinners for his friend and all his friends. Then Sushil and his friend started up a publishing company together. That proved he did not need a professional education. He was poetic and creative and that made him a success.