The Reign of King Louis XIV Essay -- European History

The Reign of King Louis XIV Louis XIV had a passion for glory and used it to fight four wars because he was motivated by personal and dynastic considerations. King Louis XIV was born in 1638. He became king at age four, and received only a mediocre education. He was taught nothing beyond pious works and decorous behavior at religious observances. He came into full power of France in 1661. Louis married Maria Theresa of Spain in 1659. When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis decided he didn’t want a powerful advisor and then started to change history. Louis had the longest reign in European history of 73 years. King Louis XIV distrusted the Protestants and everything they stood for. Because of that, he revoked the Edict of Nantes and torn down the walls that surrounded Protestant towns. The walls were erected to help the Protestants feel safer. He spent a lot of tax money building Versailles. That angered most people, because Versailles was only for Louis and his rich noblemen and their wives. Louis also increased taxes to stave off financial disaster, which failed. The people rev...

Othello: a noble character who loses but ultimately regains our sympathy Essay

Othello is most definitely an imperial character who gets assassinated by his â€Å"trusting friend† Iago. We see his nobility from the beginning, Othello is being accused of all sorts of things, still he doesn’t hide and wants to clarify the situation and even lets his wife speak for herself; he continues to prove that he is a right and just character when he is put into the position of breaking the rules to help his friend or to do what is right, which means he had to fire his own friend. From here on Othello’s behaviour is utterly despicable. However I an abundance of sympathy for him, as we know Iago’s plan however Othello can’t help but lose his peace of mind and his personality completely changes. This leaves me with deep sympathy for his human nature of getting jealous so easily. He treats Desdemona appalling and rules over without giving her an opportunity to prove herself; Othellos behaviour is reprehensible and crashes to a new low when he strikes his wife, calls her a whore and goes to the extreme of killing her. Here I have a small amount of sympathy as he is being tortured by Iago. At the end he realises what he has done and tries to redeem himself by doing the noble thing and killing himself as well. However I have no sympathy for him at this point he should have never let it come this far, he had the ability to stop it. In the opening act we immediately see the racism towards Othello. Iago proclaims to Desdemona’s father Brabantio â€Å"even now, now, very now, an old black ram is tupping your white ewe†. Brabantio is outraged by this proclamation and doesn’t believe his daughter would be capable of such betrayal. Iago adds â€Å"You’ll have your daughter covered with a Barbary horse; you’ll have nephews neigh to you† and the final comment that pushes Brabantio to go in search of Othello â€Å"your daughter and the Moor are now making the beasts with two backs†. I have great compassion for Othello as in the first act without yet meeting him, we are led to believe that he is some animal that has put Desdemona under â€Å"spells and medicines bought of mountebanks† When Brabantio confronts Othello, his nobility shines through . Othello shows us that he is brave and calm. Othello doesn’t run away, he stands up for himself and refuses to fight without good reason â€Å"Keep up your bright swords, for the dew will rust them.† Othello is definitely respectful and could almost be called a feminist. Instead of  speaking on behalf of Desdemona he â€Å"send(s) for the lady to the Sagittary, and let her speak of me before her father† In Shakespearian times was an unheard of thing to do yet it was incredibly noble and respectful. Othello continues to be a model character when he chooses to do the right thing over choosing what is easy. Othello was faced with the decision to fire his close friend Cassio. He values his reputation and if he was to over look Cassio’s mistake, Othello’s professionalism would be questioned. â€Å"Cassio, I love thee; but never more be officer of mine.† I have deep sympathy for him at this point as we, the audience, know that this is all part of Iagos wretched plan to ruin Othellos life. Othello is clueless as to what â€Å"honest Iago† has in store for him. It is not until the temptation scene until Othello’s nobility immediately gives way. At this point, Iago has a heist on Othellos life. Othello has lost the ability to sleep; his peace of mind is ruined along with his nobility and his confidence in his own opinions and beliefs. As I mentioned already, Othello used to treat Desdemona with the upmost of respect and dignity, however Othellos kind and gentle personality have been drastically altered. Othello no longer gives Desdemona the opportunity to defend herself. In fact she is so clueless and confused, she doesn’t know why her loving husband has taken such a turn, she then blames his erratic behaviour on work stress saying â€Å"something sure of state†¦. hath puddled his clear spirit† Othello also calls Desdemona a â€Å"whore† when he asks â€Å"Are you not a strumpet?† I must admit I have a bit of sympathy for Othello here because he is not in his proper state of mind. However he strikes her in front of her friend and family â€Å"I (Desdemona) never gave him cause† She is in disbelief that her husband would be capable of such a thing. After this I have absolutely no sympathy for him; it is completely unacceptable to hit a woman, regardless of the circumstance. In the final scene Othello crashes to an all time low. Othello stands over his sleeping wife, preparing to kill her. Desdemona attempts to plead with Othello â€Å"And have you mercy too! I never did offend you in my life†. She asserts her innocence, but Othello smothers her. Again, I have no compassion for this act whatsoever. Desdemona did not deserve to die â€Å"a guiltless death†. After realisin the truth, Othello is crushed â€Å"Are there no stones in heaven but what serve for the thun  der? Precious villain!†. Othello then makes a speech about how he would like to be remembered, and begs for punishment, he pleads â€Å"Wash me in steep-down  gulfs of liquid fire!† He then does the somewhat noble thing and kills himself with a sword he had hidden â€Å"Killing myself to die upon a kiss.† It is clear to be seen that Othello is a noble character however Iago does everything he could possibly do to ruin Othello’s marriage, career and ultimately his life, which conclusively deteriorated his nobility as the play developed. I feel that he did not regain my sympathy as I feel that he took the easy way out by killing himself. Even though he was severely manipulated by Iago, the way he dealt with the situation was too harsh and if he kept a level head and addressed the issue differently, so many lives could have been saved.

Feminism And Women s Right For Equality - 823 Words

Feminism to me has always been about women’s right for equality in everything from the workplace, academics, health care and at home. My view that feminism and equality are closely intertwined comes from having a strong mother who was the foundation of our household and also from my four years at Berea College where I learned more about equality and that is should be for everyone. I reviewed two different feminism websites to learn more about feminism in general and to learn about some different viewpoints on feminism. The first website I reviewed was the Everyday Feminism website which is a US based organization with a staff of both female and male writers and who vision appears to more related to equality for the human race as a whole and not specific to only advancing women’s rights and equality (Everyday feminism, n.d.). The second website that I reviewed was the Feminist for Life website which is a self- proclaimed grass roots organization based on the movement started by Susan B. Anthony and appears to be more focused on the rights of mothers in particular with a very strong pro-life message (Feminist for life, n.d.). On the Everyday Feminism website next to the Fem101 tab there is a tab labeled â€Å"privilege†. While I have read some literature about White privilege in the last year or so, I did not know about some of the other privilege topics and how many there are. According to the Everyday Feminism website you may have unfair privileges if you are: white, straight,Show MoreRelatedRacial Equality, Women s Rights, And Feminism1392 Words   |  6 Pages In the past one hundred years, society s views have altered significantly on racial equality, women’s rights, and feminism. These are due to advances in education, enlightenment, scientific exploration, and constant ideological shifts. When examining the constant shift in thought on the subjects of racial equality, women’s rights, and feminism we must considered if the enlightened thinkers remain philosophical/ scientific in their approaches or do they derail from philosophy/ science into ideologyRead MoreFeminism, The Advocacy Of Women s Rights On The Ground Of The Equality1654 Words   |  7 PagesFeminism is a series of chronological movements and ideologies aimed at altering the patriarchal system to be equalitarian, so women can uphold the same opportunities and rights as men. Feminism, by definition, is ‘the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes’ (Oxforddictionaries.com, 2015). Therefore, feminism is still relevant within Western society because there is still significant evidence that shows women are still not yet equal with men. Thus, this essay will focusRead MoreFeminism, The Advocacy Of Women s Rights On The Basis Of Equality1141 Words   |  5 Pages Feminism Feminism is defined as the advocacy of women s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Throughout the hundreds of years women have been around there have always been those that fought for more. From fighting for the right to vote to marching down Capitol Hill women have been fighting for equality. Although the fight may have changed over the years these individuals have always fought for the better for people around the world. Now more than ever women are critiqued for contributionRead MoreFeminism : The Advocacy Of Women s Rights On The Basis Of Equality1934 Words   |  8 PagesFeminism: the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. Even with a topic this controversial you can discover many great works surrounding the feminist movement. 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In our world today, feminism has become a recent topic of interest, being discussed all over social media, as well as being represented by various celebrity advocates for the movement. There is such a negative connotation with feminism, and this negative connotation more often than not comes from those who have refused to â€Å"come closer† to feminism.1 Because if you take a closer look, it is not all about women who despise men, or the victimization of women. By definition, feminism isRead MoreFeminism : Women s Rights On The Grounds Of Political, Social, And Economic Equality1507 Words   |  7 PagesFeminism has been around as long as women have been. Feminism according to google is the advocacy of women s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. So it is basically women wanting to be treated equally. The history of feminism is pretty sketch considering how it was never called feminism until america got a hold of it. 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