Childhood Obesity Essay - 892 Words

Childhood Obesity Amye Cook ENG122: English Composition II Instructor: Jenna Fussell December 17, 2012 What is Childhood Obesity? Childhood obesity is very important in today’s society. Childhood Obesity is when a child have excessive amount of body weight for their age. A child may become over weight because of the amount of food that they may consume into their body. Overweight can be caused because the body may not have enough energy to release the calories. When a child is obesity I think that it’s more of the parents fault. A child can only do and eat what their parent buy and allow them to eat. If you bring junk foods in your home then you are engaging to what the child eats. If you taking him/her to eat out fast food then†¦show more content†¦The report also indicated that obesity in children 7 to 12 years of age increased more than 50 percent between 1991 and 1998. One of the reasons American children and adolescents gain weight over the generations is that children expend significantly less energy on a daily basis than their parents and grandparents did at their age. Todays yout h spend many hours participating in sedentary activities. Additionally, we eat more fast food and vending machine food than we have in the past. Health, physical educators, wellness specialists, and parents can play vital roles in reducing obesity rates in children and adolescents. The researchers propose some effective strategies and solutions for schools and parents to use when implementing obesity programs†¦..according to Green(2012). I feel that child obesity is very important because child obesity is consisting of a child’s health. Fighting childhood obesity starts at home. Strauss stated that between 1986 and 1998, overweight increased by more than 120 percent among African Americans and Hispanics and by more than 50 percent among whites. The sharpest increases were seen among boys. Childhood obesity should be important to the parents. For one thing why would you want your child health to fail? Why would you allow your child to continue to eat unhealthy food? Eating health should not only be for the child but should be for the parentsShow MoreRelatedChildhood Obesity : A Obesity1247 Words   |  5 PagesChildhood Obesity: A Review to Prevent the Risk Factors of Childhood Obesity in Our Community. The rates of childhood obesity Worldwide are alarmingly high! Obesity is a global nutritional concern and leads to horrible consequences on our children and becomes a worldwide pandemic. Worldwide estimates of obesity are as high as 43 million, and rates continue to increase each year. In this study, people will find healthy tips to prevent childhood overweight or obesity to help children in our communitiesRead MoreThe Prevalence Of Childhood Obesity1678 Words   |  7 PagesThe prevalence of childhood obesity has remained a serious matter in the United States over the years despite its recent decline (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Children who are obese can experience the same devastating health effects as adults who are obese – cardiovascular issues, diabetes, breathing problems, and so forth. In addition, children who are obese are more than likely to become obese as adults, therefore the development of a health fair that would highlight increasedRead MoreThe Effects Of Obesity On Childhood Obesity Essay1953 Words   |  8 Pagesfind out what has caused or what the leading factors to obesity are. Researchers are currently still doing research to find out what causes or what may be the lead to obesity. Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition which considers a child to be obese if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is at or above the 95th percentile for children and teens of the same age and sex. (Rendall., Weden, Lau, Brownell, Nazarov Fernandes, 2014). Obesity is on a rise in the Unites States and all over the worldRead MoreChildhood Obesity : Obesity And Obesity Essay1671 Words   |  7 PagesFight to End Obesity Childhood obesity has increased drastically over the past years and has become a health risk to children. In fact, childhood obesity has doubled in numbers in the past thirty years (Childhood Obesity Facts). Obesity occurs when an individual becomes overweight and can be diagnosed by using the body mass index or BMI scale. Obesity causes many diseases in children which cannot be cured without a doctor, in result, childhood obesity drives high health care costs. The existenceRead MoreEssay on Childhood Obesity1599 Words   |  7 PagesChildhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. The problem is global and is steadily affecting many low- and middle-income families particularly in the United States. The socioeconomic status of these families contributes to the childhood obesity epidemic. Summary of Article 1 The article, â€Å"Beliefs about the Role of Parenting in Feeding and Childhood Obesity among Mothers of Lower Socioeconomic Status† is a study that was conducted by Alison KalinowskiRead MoreChildhood Obesity and Its Effect1260 Words   |  6 PagesChildhood obesity is considered to be a serious issue among our youth. Obesity can cause many types of physical problems, which most are aware of, but it can also cause some undesirable internal feelings within children and adolescents who suffer from it. Self-esteem, or self-worth, is important as it helps develop personality and is a major ingredient to our mental health status (Wang, F. and Veugelers, P. J., 2008). Some have said obesity may even have a negative effect on cognitive developmentRead MoreChildhood Obesity : The Adolescent Essay3626 Words   |  15 PagesChildhood Obesity: The Adolescent The Finale Paper Presented to: GEN499: General Education Capstone Instructor: Robert Bass Ashford University By: Ranita Wallace March 27, 2015 Childhood Obesity: The Adolescent Obesity is a growing health problem. Obesity is when individuals are overweight, it causes health problems and is a threat to their lives. Usually obesity is a result from over eating and lack of exercise. Obesity is the cause of many health problems such as diabetesRead MoreChildhood Obesity Essay976 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to a 2010 report by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past thirty years. As well as having an impact on health, studies have cited a relationship between obesity and poor school performance as well as a child’s readiness for learning and education. This can be correlated with studies finding â€Å"obese children have a greater risk of social and psychological problems, such as discrimination and poor self-esteem†Read MoreChildhood Obesity : Obesity And Obesity1505 Words   |  7 PagesChildhood Obesity Introduction Childhood Obesity has become more critical public health issue worldwide. However, obesity ratio varies from country to country. In addition, up to a quarter of Australian children are suffering from childhood obesity and obese children are at higher risk to become obese adult. For this reason, child’s weight always matters because it can impact on their health in future. There may be many reasons which affect childhood obesity including sedentary life style, lack ofRead MoreObesity : Childhood Obesity And Obesity955 Words   |  4 Pageswhere the life expectancy of today’s generation is being threatened. Prevention of overweight and obesity is imperative. Parents, especially mothers play a major role in preventing overweight and obesity among the children. Their knowledge of nutrition, food selection and family meal structure has major impact on their children’s food habit. The preschool age is crucial for the children to learn and develop their lifelong hab its. Education starts from home, where parents are the primary source

Night World Daughters of Darkness Chapter 5 Free Essays

Mark was still muttering as he rounded the backcorner of the house. What was he even doinghere? It wasn’t easy to get into the garden area fromoutside. He had to bushwhack through the overgrown rhododendron bushes and blackberry canesthat formedadense hedge all around it. We will write a custom essay sample on Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 5 or any similar topic only for you Order Now And evenwhen he emerged from a tunnel of leathery greenleaves, the scene in front of him didn’t immediatelyregister. His momentum kept him going for a fewsteps before his brain caught up. Hey, wait. There’sa girl here. A pretty girl. Anextremelypretty girl. He could seeher clearly by the back porch light. She had hiplength white-blond hair, the color that normally onlypreschoolers have, and it was as fine as a child’s hair,too, whipping around her like pale silk when shemoved. She was smallish. Little bones. Her hands and feet were delicate. She was wearing what looked like an oldfashioned nightshirt and dancing to what sounded like a rent-to-own commercial. There was a battereddock radio on the porch steps. There was also a black kitten that took one look at Mark and darted away into the shadows. â€Å"Baaad cred-it,nooo cred-it, dooon’t wor-ry,weee’ll take you†¦.† the radio warbled. The girl danced with her arms above her head-light as thistledown,Mark thought, staring in astonishment. Really, actu ally that light, and so what if it was a cliche As the commercial ended and a country western song began, she did a twirl and saw him. Shestopped, frozen, arms still above her head, wristscrossed. Her eyes got big and her mouth sagged open. She’s scared, Mark thought. Of me. The girl didn’t look graceful now; she was scrambling to seize the dock radio, fumbling with it, shaking it. Trying to find an Off switch, Mark realized. Her desperation was contagious. Before he thought, Mark dropped the pruning shears and swooped in to grab the radio from her. He twisted the top dial, cutting the song short. Then he stared at the girl, who stared backwith wide silvery-green eyes. They were both breath ing quickly, as if they’d just disarmed a bomb. â€Å"Hey, I hate country western, too,† Mark said aftera minute, shrugging. He’d never talked to a girl this way before. But then he’d never had a girl look scared of him before. And so scared-he imagined he could see her heartbeating in the pale blue veins beneath the translucent skin of her throat. Then, suddenly, she stopped looking terrified. Shebit her lip and chortled. Then, still grinning, she blinked and sniffed. â€Å"I forgot,† she said, dabbing at the corner of her eye. â€Å"You don’t have the same rules we do.† â€Å"Rules about country western music?† Mark hazarded. He liked her voice. It was ordinary, not celestial. It made her seem more human. â€Å"Rules about any music from outside,† she said. â€Å"And any TV, too.† Outside what? Mark thought. He said, â€Å"Uh, hi. I’m Mark Carter.† â€Å"I’m Jade Redfern.† â€Å"You’re one of Mrs. Burdock’s nieces.† â€Å"Yes. We just came last night. We’re going to livehere.† Mark snorted and muttered, â€Å"You have my condolences.† â€Å"Condolences? Why?† Jade cast a darting glance around the garden. â€Å"Because living in Briar Creek is just slightly moreexciting than living in a cemetery.† She gave him a long, fascinated look. â€Å"You’ve†¦ lived in a cemetery?† He gaveher along look. â€Å"Uh, actually, I just meant it’s boring here.† â€Å"Oh.† She thought, then smiled. â€Å"Well, it’s interesting to us,† she said. â€Å"It’s different from where we come from.† â€Å"And just wheredo you come from?† â€Å"An island. It’s sort of near †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She considered. â€Å"The state of Maine. â€Å"‘The state of Maine.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Does this island have a name?† She stared at him with wide green eyes. â€Å"Well, I can’t tell youthat.† â€Å"Uh-okay.† Was, she making fun of him? Butthere was nothing like mockery or sly teasing in her face. She looked mysterious †¦ and innocent. Maybe she had some kind of mental problem. The kids at Dewitt High School would have a field day with that. They weren’t very tolerant of differences. â€Å"Look,† he said abruptly. â€Å"If there’s ever anything I can do for you-you know, if you ever get in trouble or something-then just tell me. Okay?† She tilted her head sideways. Her eyelashes actually cast shadows in the porch light, but her expression wasn’t coy. It was straightforward and assessing,and she was looking him over carefully, as if she needed to figure him out. She took her time doingit. Then she smiled, making little dimples in her cheeks, and Mark’s heart jumped unexpectedly. â€Å"Okay,† she said softly. â€Å"Mark. You’re not silly, even though you’re a boy. You’re a good guy, aren’tyou?† â€Å"Well. . .†Mark had never been called upon to be a good guy, not in the TV sense. He wasn’t surehow he’d measure up if he were. â€Å"I, um, hope I 0am.† Jade was looking at him steadily. â€Å"You know, I just decided. I’m going to like it here.† She smiledagain, and Mark found it hard to breathe-and then her expression changed. Mark heard it, too. A wild crashing in the overgrown tangle of rhododendrons and blackberrybushes at the back of the garden. It was a weird,frenzied sound, but Jade’s reaction was out of all proportion. She had frozen, body tense andtrembling, eyes fixed on the underbrush. She looked terrified. â€Å"Hey.† Mark spoke gently, then touched hershoulder. â€Å"Hey. It’s all right. It’s probably one of the goats that got loose; goats can jump over any kind of fence.† She was shaking her head. â€Å"Or a deer. When they’re relaxed they sound just like people walking.† â€Å"It’s not a deer,† she hissed. â€Å"They come down and eat people’s gardens a. night. You probably don’t have deer roaming aroundwhere you come from-â€Å" â€Å"I can’tsmellanything,† she said in a kind of whispered wail. â€Å"It’s that stupid pen. Everything smells like goat. â€Å" She couldn’t smell †¦ ? Mark did the only thinghe could think of in response to a statement like that. He put his arms around the girl. â€Å"Everything’s okay,† he said softly. He couldn’thelp but notice that she was cool and warm at the same time, supple, wonderfully alive underneath the nightshirt. â€Å"Why don’t I take you inside now? You’ll be safe there.† â€Å"Leggo,† Jade said ungratefully, squirming. â€Å"I mayhave to fight.† She wriggled out of his arms and faced the bushes again. â€Å"Stay behind me.† Okay, so sheis crazy. I don’t care. I think I love her. He stood beside her. â€Å"Look, I’ll fight, too. What doyou think it is? Bear, coyote †¦ ?†Ã¢â‚¬ My brother.† â€Å"Your . . .† Dismay pooled in Mark. She’d just stepped over the line of acceptable craziness. â€Å"Oh.† Another thrashing sound from the bushes. It was definitely something big, not a goat. Mark was just wondering vaguely if a Roosevelt elk could have wandered down the hundred or so miles from Waldo Lake, when a scream ripped through the air. A human scream-or, worse,almost human. As it died, there was a wail that was definitely inhumanit started out faint, and then suddenly sounded shrilland dose. Mark was stunned. When the drawn-out wail finally stopped, there was a sobbing, moaning sound, then silence. Mark got his breath and swore. â€Å"What in thewhat wasthat?† â€Å"Shh. Keep still.† Jade was in a half-crouch, eyes on the bushes. â€Å"Jade-Jade, listen. We’ve got to get inside.† Desperate, he looped an arm around her waist, trying to pick her up. She was light, but she flowed like water out of his arms. Like a cat that doesn’t want to bepetted. â€Å"Jade, whatever that thing is, we need agun. â€Å"I don’t.† She seemed tobe speaking through herteeth-anyway there was something odd about her diction. She had her back to him and he couldn’t see her face, but her hands were clawed. â€Å"Jade,†Mark said urgently. He was scared enoughto run, but he couldn’t leave her. He couldn’t. No good guy would do that. Too late. The blackberry bushes to the south quivered. Parted. Something was coming through. Mark’s heart seemed to freeze solid, but then he found himself moving. Pushing Jade roughly aside. Standing in front of her to face whatever the thing in the dark was. Mary-Lynnette kicked her way through the blackberry canes. Her arms and legs were scratched, and she could feel ripe, bright-black berries squishing against her. She’d probably picked a bad place to get through the hedge, but she hadn’t been thinking about that. She’d been thinking about Mark, aboutfinding him as fast as possible and getting away from here. 0Just please let him be here, she thought. Let him be here and be okay and I’ll never ask for anything else. She struggled through the last of the canes into thebackyard-and then things happened very fast. The first thing she saw was Mark, and she felt a rush of relief. Then a flash of surprise. Mark was standing in front of a girl, his arms lifted like a basketball guard. As if to protect her from Mary-Lynnette. And then, so quickly that Mary-Lynnette could barely follow the motion, the girl was rushing at her. And Mary-Lynnette was throwing her arms up and Mark was shouting, â€Å"No, that’s my sister!† The girl stopped a foot away from Mary-Lynnette.It was the little silvery-haired one, of course. This dose Mary-Lynnette couldsee that she had green eyes and skin so translucent it almost looked like quartz crystal. â€Å"Jade, it’s my sister,†.Mark said again, as if anxiousto get this established. â€Å"Her name’s Mary-Lynnette.She won’t hurt you. Mare, tell her you won’t hurther.† Hurt her? Mary-Lynnette didn’t know what he wastalking about, and didn’t want to. This girl was as weirdly beautiful as the others, and something abouther eyes-hey weren’t ordinary green, but almost silvery-made Mary-Lynnette’s skin rise ingoose pimples. â€Å"Hello,† Jade said. â€Å"Hello. Okay, Mark, c’mon. We’ve got to go. Like right now.† She expected him to agree immediately. He wasthe one who hadn’t wanted to come, and now herehe was with his most dreaded phobia, a girl. But instead he said, â€Å"Did you hear that yelling? Could you tell where it came from?† â€Å"What yelling? I was inside. Come on.† MaryLynnette took Mark’s arm, but since he was as strongas she was, it didn’t do any good. â€Å"Maybe I heardsomething. I wasn’t paying attention.† She’d been looking desperately around the Victorian living room,babbling out lies about how her family knew where she’d gone tonight and expected her back soon. How her father and stepmother were such good friends of Mrs. Burdock’s and how they were just waiting at home to hear about Mrs. B.’s nieces. She still wasn’t sure if that was why they’d let her go. But for somereason, Rowan had finally stood up, given MaryLynnette a grave, sweet smile, and opened the front door. â€Å"You know, I bet it was a wolverine,† Mark was saying to Jade excitedly. â€Å"A wolverine that came down from Willamette Forest.† Jade was frowning. â€Å"A wolverine?† She considered. â€Å"Yeah, I guess that could have been it. I’ve never heard one before.† She looked at MaryLynnette. â€Å"Is that what you think it was?† â€Å"Oh, sure,† Mary-Lynnette said at random. â€Å"Definitely a wolverine.† I should ask where her aunt is, she thought suddenly. It’s the perfect opportunity to catch her in a lie. I’ll ask and then she’llsay something-anything, but not that her aunt’sgone up north for a little vacation on the coast. And then I’ll know. She didn’t do it. She simply didn’t have the courage. She didn’t want to catch anyone in a lie anymore; she just wanted to get out. â€Å"Mark, please †¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked at her and for the first time seemed tosee how upset she was. â€Å"Uh-okay,† he said. And to Jade: â€Å"Look, why don’t you go back inside now?You’ll be safe there. And maybe-maybe I could come over again sometime?† Mary-Lynnette was still tugging at him, and now, to her relief, he began to move. Mary-Lynnette headed for the blackberry bushes that she’d trampled coming in. â€Å"Why don’t you go through there? It’s like apath,† Jadesaid,pointing. Mark immediately swerved, taking Mary-Lynnette with him, and she saw a comfortable gap between two rhododendron bushes at the back of the garden. She would never have seen it unless she knew what to look for. As they reached the hedge, Mark turned to glance behind him. Mary-Lynnette turned, too. From here, Jade was just a dark silhouette againstthe porch light-but her hair, lit from behind, looked like a silver halo. It shimmered around her. MaryLynnette heard Mark draw in his breath. â€Å"You both come back sometime,† Jade said cordially. â€Å"Help us milk the goats like Aunt Opal said. She gave us very strict orders before she went on vacation.† Mary-Lynnette was dumbfounded. She turned back and reeled through the gap, her head spinning. When they got to the road she said, â€Å"Mark, what happened when you got into the garden?† Mark was looking preoccupied. â€Å"What do you mean what happened? Nothing happened.† â€Å"Did you look at the place that was dug up?† â€Å"No,† Mark said shortly. â€Å"Jade was in the gardenwhen I got there. I didn’t get a chance to look at anything.† â€Å"Mark †¦ was she there the whole time? Jade?Did she ever go in the house? Or did either of the other girls ever come out?† Mark grunted. â€Å"I don’t even know what the othergirls look like. The only one I saw was Jade, and she was there the whole time.† He looked at her darkly. â€Å"You’re not still on this Rear Windowthing, are you?† Mary-Lynnette didn’t answer. She was trying to gather her scattered thoughts. I don’t believe it. Butshe said it. Orders about the goats. Before her aunt went on vacation. But Rowan didn’t know about the goats before I told her. I’d swear she didn’t know. And I was so sure she was winging it with the vacation business†¦. Okay, maybe I was wrong. But that doesn’t mean Rowan was telling the truth. Maybe they didfigure the story out before tonight, and Rowan’s just a lousy actress. Or maybe †¦ 0 â€Å"Mark, this is going to sound crazy †¦ but Jade didn’t have, like, a cellular phone or anything, did she?† Mark stopped dead and gave Mary-Lynnette a long, slow look that said more dearly than wordswhat he thought of this. â€Å"Mary-Lynnette, what’swrongwith you?† â€Å"Rowan and Kestrel told me that Mrs. B. is on vacation. That she suddenly decidedto take a vacation just when they arrived in town.† â€Å"So? Jade said the same thing.† â€Å"Mark, Mrs. B. has lived there for ten years, and she’s nevertaken a vacation. Never. How could shetake one starting the same day her nieces come to live with her?† â€Å"Maybe because they can house-sit for her,† Mark said with devastating logic. It was exactly what Rowanhad said. MaryLynnette had a sudden feeling of paranoia, like someone who realizes that everyone around her is a pod person, all in on the conspiracy. She had been aboutto tell him about the goats, but now she didn’t want to. Oh, geta gripon yourself, girl. Even Mark is beinglogical The least you can do isthink about this rationally before you run to Sheriff Akers. The fact is, Mary-Lynnette told herself, brutally honest, that you panicked. You got afeelingaboutthose girls for some reason, and then you forgot logic completely. You didn’t get any kind of hard evidence. You ran away. She could hardly go to the sheriff and. say that shewas suspicious because Rowan had creepy feet. There’s no evidence at all. Nothing except †¦ She groaned inwardly. â€Å"It all comes down to what’s in the garden,† shesaid out loud. Mark, who had been walking beside her in frowning silence, now stopped. â€Å"What?† â€Å"It all comes back to that again,† Mary-Lynnettesaid, her eyes shut. â€Å"I should have just looked at thatdug-up place when I had the chance, even if Jadesaw me. It’s the only real evidence there is †¦so I’ve got to see what’s there.† Mark was shaking his head. â€Å"Now, look-â€Å" â€Å"I haveto go back. Not tonight. I’m dead tired. But tomorrow. Mark, I haveto check it out before I go to Sheriff Akers.† Mark exploded. â€Å"Before youwhat?†he shouted, loud enough to raise echoes. â€Å"What are you talking about, going to the sheriff?† Mary-Lynnette stared. She hadn’t realized how different Mark’s point of view was from hers. Why, she thought, why he’s †¦ -240 â€Å"You wanted to check out where Mrs. B. was-so we checked where Mrs. B. was,† Mark said. â€Å"They told us where. And yousawJade. I know she’s a little differentit’s like you said about Mrs. B.; she’s eccentric. But did she look like the kind of personwho could hurt somebody? Well, didshe?† Why, he’s in love with her, Mary-Lynnettethought. Or at least seriously in like. Mark likes a girl. Now she was reallyconfused. This could be so good for him-if only the girl weren’t crazy. Well, maybe even if the girl wascrazyif it wasn’t a homicidal craziness. Either way, Mary-Lynnette couldn’t call the police on Mark’s new girlfriend unless she had some evidence. I wonder if she likes him, too? she thought. They certainly seemed to be protecting each other when I walked in. â€Å"No, you’re right,† she said aloud, glad that she’d had practice lying tonight. â€Å"She doesn’t look like thekind of person who could hurt somebody. I’ll just let it drop.† With you. And tomorrow night when you thinkI’m starwatching, I’ll sneak over there. This time bringing my own shovel. And maybe a big stick to fend off wolverines. â€Å"Do you really think you heard a wolverine over there?† she asked, to change the subject. â€Å"Um †¦maybe.† Mark was slowly losing his scowl. â€Å"It was somethingweird. Something I’ve never heard before. So you’re going to forget all this crazy stuff about Mrs. B., right?† â€Å"Yeah, I am.† I’ll be safe, mary-Lynnette was thinking. This time I won’t panic, and I’ll make sure they don’t see me. Besides, if they were going to kill me, they would have done it tonight, wouldn’t they? â€Å"Maybe it was Sasquatch we heard yelling,† Marksaid. How to cite Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 5, Essay examples

Antisemitism In Merchant Of Venice Essay Example For Students

Antisemitism In Merchant Of Venice Essay The Merchant of Venice is a controversial play among experts of Shakespeare. This play has been argued by some to be a comedy. This is because there is a lot of comic relief and the story has a happy ending. Others consider the play to be a tragedy because of Shylocks character. He is very much like a character of a tragedy as in Phaedra. Still other experts use the term tragicomedy. Personally I think that the last definition is the best one to describe this play. There are several factors that contribute to the classification of a play as a tragedy or as a comedy. A tragedy has four main elements according to current definitions. The first element is the tragic hero. In The Merchant of Venice Shylock is the only character that can be argued to be such a person. He is involved in most of the action and is the source of the major conflict. If he was not present the play would have no conflict and would not make a very good story. Shylock can also be considered the tragic hero because he has a tragic flaw. This is his obsession that is very evident throughout the play. His material wealth consumes his thoughts day and night. He may be a Jewish man but I think that the god he worships the most is known as gold. One instance where it is apparent that he only cares about his possessions was when Jessica ran away. He was ranting, O, my ducats! O, my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O, my Christian ducats 2. 8. 15-16. He simply includ! ed his daughter in the middle as though she were one of his possessions. Another part of a tragedy is that the tragic hero must be humbled or humiliated. Shylock experienced both of these. He was humiliated when Portia, disguised as a man, used his own comments and contract against him. Any person that was at first praising someone for being smart and virtuous must feel really dumb when that person is not really on their side like they seemed to be at first. We have not done much in class with what a comedy is but I think that I have a decent general knowledge of what one is. The first element that I know of is the comic relief. In The Merchant of Venice there is an abundance of such comic relief. One example was when Portia and Nerissa got the rings from their husbands to be while they were in Venice. After they obtained them they teased the two with threats and stories involving a lot of sexual humor. A specific example of the sexual humor was when Gratiano said, Well, do you so. Let me not take him, then! For if I do, Ill mar the young clerks pen 5. 1. 236-237. The comic relief serves the purpose of relieving some of the immense tension that builds up in the play. Act five as a whole is a very good example because it is right after the climax of the play and has what seems to me to be the best comedy of the entire play. The second element of a comedy that I know of is that it must have a happy ending. This is most certainly what happens in our play. Once Antonio was cleared of his bond everyone got what they wanted. Antonio made Shylock become Christian and Jessica and Lorenzo got a deed to Shylocks possessions when he died. Most importantly Bassanio and Portia and Jessica and Gratiano resolved the ring issues with good spirits and mutual understanding. From what I have said in the previous paragraphs I have to classify this play as a tragicomedy. The Merchant of Venice has all of the elements of comedy that I have mentioned. Throughout the play there is a tremendous amount of humor. It consists of both high comedy and a little bit of low comedy too. One example of the low comedy would be at the beginning when Bassanio and Gratiano are in the pub with Antonio acting silly. They are only concerned with drinking beer and having fun. An example of the high comedy was when Portia was criticizing all of her suitors. She mocked each one of them with witty remarks. My favorite of these remarks was when she replied to Nerissa about liking the Duke of Saxonys nephew, Very vilely in the morning, when he is sober, and most vilely in the afternoon, when he is drunk 2. 1. 84-85. This gave us a little hint as to Portias wit and guile. This play is also consistent with my statement that a comedy must have a happy ending. There! was a good-natured air about the characters in the final scene. They all resolved any problems that were present so that we would be left with a complete sense of closure. I have told you why I think that the play is partly a comedy and now to tell you about the tragic element. A tragedy has a tragic hero which in this case is Shylock. I do not feel that with a character as tragic as him in the play that we can ignore him. He was wronged so much in the play that it is hard to remember all of those offenses. First of all he was always singled out and hated by everyone. Antonio spat on him and kicked him like a dog. Another example of his tragicness was when Jessica ran away from him. This upset him greatly because she ran away with a Christian. However, his main concern was all of the riches that she had stolen from him. He cared more about his possessions than he did about his daughter. A final way that Shylock was wronged was when Antonio was released from the bond. If Shylock was a good Christian man there would not have been a controversy. He probably would have been allowed to take the pound of flesh. The final reason why this play could be considered a tragedy is because Shylock was humiliated. This is a necessary part of a tragic heros character. For all of the reasons that I have stated in the above paragraphs this play must be considered a tragicomedy. It does not fit a single set of criteria. Instead it has many comic elements and a little of the tragic elements. If Shylocks character was not so involved in the story I would classify the play as a comedy. Since he does have such a major role I find it impossible to ignore his tragic qualities. 6 The Merchant of Venice is a great play and I enjoyed it very much. As we read through the play I started to notice something that was different about it. At first I was unable to put my finger on it. Then it started to become a little clearer. During our discussions I started to notice that other peoples interpretations of the play were different from mine. I listened to what the other people said and it made sense. Therefore I starte d to think that maybe I was at fault and had misinterpreted it. Then the next day it happened again. I began to wonder if I was doing something wrong. That was when I really started to think that there was something unique about this play. I did not say anything in class about my thoughts because they seemed a little weird, even to me. After all, I had never heard of a play having two different ways of reading it. My suspicions went on for a couple of weeks and that was when I became extremely happy. Dr. Lipkind came into our class and t! alked to us about the play. He was in his usual character, arms flailing and voice booming, when he told us that this play could be read two completely different ways. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It was really frustrating for me to doubt my own thoughts. For during the class discussions I was continually second guessing myself and I did not like this feeling. After Dr. Lipkind told us this fact he told us that many experts had different opinions about this. Some said that this double-sided story was pathetic and weak. They thought that this was simply a case of a writers indecision and lack of ability. Other experts thought that this double-sidedness was the plays greatest asset. They disagreed as to how intelligent Shakespeare was and if he intended to do this on purpose or if it was simply an accident. I am inclined to agree with the experts that think Shakespeare was a brilliant writer in his time. He would even be considered one of the very best writers in history. Shakespeare has written countless poems and plays. Not all of them are a representation of his very best work but that does not matter. To be a great writer, at least in my mind, a person only has to produce two pieces of literature that are of a high caliber. Shakespeare did this. One of those great plays was Julius Caesar. I read this play last year and enjoyed it very much. They way that he put the scenes together was awesome. Throughout the play he developed the plots and sub-plots while continuing to keep the play exciting and entertaining. He never let the audience get bored. There are several other plays that he wrote that were of a very high caliber. He also wrote poems. His Shakespearean sonnets are very interesting because they always used the same rhyme scheme. If this man had all this talent I do not think that any person would dispute his greatness and say that one of his plays was weak. Furthermore, I do not think that anyone could say that such a great wr! iter simply wrote a double-sided play on accident. Shakespeare did intentionally write this play so that it could be read two ways. As I mentioned earlier I had interpreted many parts of this play differently than many of my classmates. One example of this was when Bassanio and his friends met Antonio in the first scene of the play. Most of the others in the class did not think very highly of them. They thought that they were clowns and almost mocked them. However, I thought that they were just having a good time. I do not find anything wrong with a few guys getting drunk and having a good time, so long as they do not injure anybody in the process or drink while they are riding a horse or operating heavy machinery. Another example of how this play can be read two different ways involves Shylocks merry bond. During a class discussion with Dr. Lipkind I said that I thought Shylock was planning revenge from the very beginning. When presented with this point of view much of the class agreed with me. Dr. Lipkind told us to watch this situation develop and to see if I was right. Adventures Of Huck Finn And Conflicts EssayHe actually touched it and paid for the things that he bought by himself. Whereas in Belmont none of the characters had anything to do with money. It was never a concern to them. It was just magically there. They also never physically touched the money. The had it and were rich but they did not go and reach into their chest to grab a handful of gold. The debts were simply taken care of, by someone else. Another difference between the two cities was what the people were like. In describing the people of Venice one would discover that they are very much like us. They are not infallible, and have normal problems. Belmont is not so. They are god-like. I say this because there is not one thing that they can not do. Whatever they set out to do is accomplished with ease, no matter how big the task is. An example of this was when Portia and Nerissa disguised themselves as men and masqueraded as a lawyer and his clerk. I pose a question. Could two woman really go undetected as men? I think not. Another thing is that they accomplished what they had wanted to do with so much ease. They just showed up with some law that happened to save Antonio and doom Shylock. Why would the judge not know about this law? This is simply because Portia is like a god. She can seemingly pull a rabbit out of her hat whenever it is convenient. More evidence that Belmont is god-like is that in the en! d of the play the characters are talking about the Greek gods. This is just a little hint as to what Shakespeare intended. I think that this motif was very interesting. I did not notice it very much until we were asked about it. Then I saw the light. I saw what Shakespeare had done. This also made me understand why Portia was able to save the day. I had found it a little hard to believe that she was such a great lawyer with no training. I also wondered where that mysterious law had come from. #14 In The Merchant of Venice one is able to see many different motifs. These motifs are literary devices that Shakespeare used intentionally. They make the play deeper and provide a sort of continuity. This makes the play flow from one scene to another with little difficulty and one does not really notice the breaks between scenes. The motifs also recur throughout the play which gives the reader a sense of knowing what will happen. It could be argued that Shakespeare used the motifs in a way that can be considered as foreshadowing. This is possible because a reader knows what happened in the situation of one motif and therefore if that motif is seen again they will have a sense of the outcome. One motif in this play that is always present is the bond motif. There are many different kinds of bonds in this play. They may be different on the surface, but they are actually very similar. One Bond in this play is that between Shylock and Antonio. This money bond is the most visible bond in the entire play. Antonio was forced into this bond by his friendship. His friendship to Bassanio could be argued to be his flaw. After all, it is what got him in trouble in the first place and caused him to accept death at Shylocks hand. This bond was weird from the very first moment that Shylock and Antonio began to discuss it. At first Shylock was very angry at Antonio. He gave him a big lecture about how he had been mistreated and then started to think about how much interest he should get. After a little deliberation he decided that he would lend the money, not for interest, but rather for a pound of flesh. Antonio thought that this was a silly thing and signed the bond despite Bassanios objections. A little side note about this bond is that it appeared to be just a joke but in reality it turned out to be a potentially lethal situation. Another motif in the play that I alluded to in the previous paragraph is the motif of friendship. The friendship between Bassanio and Antonio was absolute. No one could break it. This absoluteness appeared many times throughout the play. It was the main motivating factor in Antonios decision to enter into the money bond with Shylock. Another time that it surfaced was when a messenger gave a letter to Bassanio from Antonio. In this letter Antonio said that he forgave Bassanio and erased all of his debts to him. Then it also came to light that Antonio did not care if he died, as long as Bassanio was there to see him pay his debt. A third bond motif in this play is the one of marriage. This is seen between Bassanio and Portia and Gratiano and Nerissa. Both sets of people are planning to get married but their plans are put on hold when Antonios letter calls the men away. Before they left though, their future wives gave them each a ring to keep with them forever. The rings were the only real bond between the two couples because they were not yet married when the men left for Antonios trial. These rings provided the kind of bond that their marriages would have given and gave Shakespeare a great opportunity to add some more comedy later on in the play. The final bond motif that I would like to discuss is the bond between Portia and her father and Jessica and Shylock. These are both father to daughter bonds, although Portias father is dead. In both of the bonds the daughters try to abide by what their fathers wanted them to do. Portia tried to abide by her fathers casket idea and Jessica tried to obey Shylocks wishes. However, in both of these bonds the daughters ended up betraying their fathers wishes. Jessica obviously did this when she ran away with a Christian, Lorenzo. In Portias case it was a little less obvious and could be interpreted many ways. I think that she did betray her father in the casket choosing business. One reason is because she would have put a bottle of wine on one of the caskets to make one of her suitors pick the wrong casket. The second reason is that I think she helped Bassanio pick the correct casket. When she had music played during his selection process it seemed to have a hidden mess! age. It told him that the caskets were not what they appeared to be and that he should not judge them by their external appearance. This was clearly an attempt to pick her own husband and I think that she tried to fool herself into thinking that she had fulfilled her fathers wishes. All of these bond motifs appear to be different. However, if you look deeper into the situations it is possible to see a common trend. In each case the bonds are broken in some sense. The rings were given away, the pound of flesh was not taken, and Antonio did not want Bassanios help in the court room. This fact was not visible to me until I had read the entire play but I am now glad that I have looked deeper into these bonds. #19 In The Merchant of Venice there are many speeches from which great quotes can be taken. Many of these quotes bear an uncanny resemblance to reality. It is amazing that the lines of a play that was written so long ago could be so profound and applicable to modern day life. The quote for my question is, All that glisters is not gold; often have you heard that told. . . In the final packet the word that was it. I found this error when I looked through the play and found the quote. Fortunately this did not take me a long time because I knew the approximate spot that it had been stated. This quote has central importance to the entire play. It most directly applies to the caskets but it also includes other things. This quote has central import ance to the play for many reasons. My first reason is because it is in the midst of one of the major conflicts in the play. The Prince of Morocco read this quote from the scroll inside the gold casket that he had chosen, which was incorrect. The caskets are really the cause of the whole play because they started the chain of events leading to the bond. If Bassanio had not needed the money to court Portia the bond would have never been made. The quote also holds great importance because it alludes to a theme in the play. This is that things are not necessarily what they appear to be. All that glisters is not gold tells the reader that gold is not the only thing that matters or that it is the most desirable. It may seem to be the best choice on the outside, but on the inside it contains a persons doom. The second part of the quote is, often have your heard that told holds deep meaning also. It can tell the audience that in their culture m! ost people did choose the thing that was desirable on the surface. This allows one to believe that the Prince would have chosen the wrong one and honestly thought that his reasoning was sound. This also applies to the Prince of Aragon that picked the silver casket thinking that he deserved Portia. Another part of the play that this quote applies to is in the reality versus appearance motif other than that of the caskets. One example is about the bond between Shylock and Antonio. The quote could be seen as meaning that money is not the only thing that matters, though often it seems that it is the only thing that matters. This could easily describe Shylock and make a reader interpret the story in a certain way. It would make one think that Shylock knows that money is not the only thing that matters and that he is willing to sacrifice it for revenge. Another example of how the quote applies to the reality versus appearance motif is in the case of Jessica and Shylock.