Human Resources Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human Resources Report - Essay Example Moreover, concentrating on evaluation of a training process it can be stated that it is referred as collection of data in a systematic manner, which helps the trainers to conclude the effectiveness of training program. The main objective of the trainers is to evaluate whether the training contributes towards reaching the overall organizational goal, implementing policies and enhancing the organizational learning (Mavin, Lee, and Robson, 2010). The various methods of evaluating the effectiveness of learning, training and development and the limitations of the methods are also depicted in the report. In an organization, managers have different perspective of the management of people. The two approaches towards management are the unitarist and the pluralist approach. Therefore, the two methods are employed for understanding the different perspectives of management. The effect of the approaches on the physiological contract is also studied in the report. Physiological contract is defined as the unwritten expectation of the employer from the employees. Recruitment is the process of attracting quality candidates to apply for the vacant positions, whereas, selection is the way of determining who is best suited for the job among those who have applied for the available positions. Thus recruitment and selection is the process of searching and hiring the most suitable person for the job (Doornenbal, Stitselaar and Jansen, 2012). The process of recruitment includes giving advertisement for the vacant positions, attending career fairs, connecting directly with people and many other ways. Selection process involves conducting written test to evaluate the aptitude of the candidates; taking their interviews and seeking information about them by contacting the references (Doornenbal, Stitselaar, and Jansen, 2012) At first, a job analysis is conducted in order to determine the

Of Morality and Spirituality Essay Example for Free

Of Morality and Spirituality Essay The moral sacred Philippines started from a dream, and now that it continues to progress it can be one good evidence that as long as someone believes in an idea, it can be possible. As long as its aim is for the goodness of the citizens, it can be a reality. This concept does not want to create a world of perfection but rather a world of morality and spirituality. That world is where we can clearly distinguish the right ones from the bad. It is where we can not only think about ourselves but also the community, the government, and the nation. This dream can all be possible if we just go and believe that the land where we stand can be a better habitat of mankind. From Genesis 1:27, God created mankind in His own image. This verse proves that each of us is spiritual at heart. We just have to go and find the path through our hearts. We are created in His likeness which gives us the realization that all living things have something good in the inside. If we believe, make something to make this work, the moral sacred Philippines will make sense. A. WRITING AS A SOCIAL ACT The event connects with how writing can be a social act. In the said event, one does not only think about himself but also for the people around him. As for writing, a writer does not only write for him or for him to understand but also for his readers and audience. You write alone, but you always write for others. Readers matter. Once a writer sets his or her thoughts to any medium, whether paper, blog, status update, there is the potential for audience interaction. Ideas and creativity are created outside ourselves. Writers can never be more creative without the experiences and thoughts the people have. They continue to interact with people. Writing is a social act. Writers choose to see the beauty and brilliance of the world around them. Writing is nothing without the world and mind that surrounds them. B. WRITING AS A MORAL ACT Morality and spirituality is what the event focuses on. As for writing, writers do not only write everything that flows from their thinking, he must be careful. Something that anyone who writes words of any kind would do well to remember. Words have their moral consequences. The responsibility is particularly great for writers who deal with spiritual issues. Every word they write leaves its mark upon their soul and upon the souls of those who read their work. Their words may become sacraments, visible signs of an invisible grace, or they may turn to poison and ashes. It may signify the abyss or nothing at all. Writers must strive against mediocrity in one’s work, aiming always higher for lucidity of thought and beauty of expression with still being careful with the words they use. Every piece they make has an effect in this world. They are part of our moral conversation as a society. They weigh in. The creation of literature worthy not only its high artistic calling but of his stature as a creature created in the image and likeness of God.

A Critical Analysis Of The Constructivism Method Politics Essay

A Critical Analysis Of The Constructivism Method Politics Essay This essay attempts to provide an overview of constructivism in international relations theory; traces back its origins through writings of some scholars ,particularly Alexander Wendt . It sheds light on prominence of constructivism as a challenger to the mainstream international relations. It first lays out the basic tenets of constructivism and examines their implications on opening new substantive areas to inquiry, such as the roles of gender and ethnicity, which have been largely absent from international relations approaches. Having defined some of the core features of constructivism as an approach, the article examines constructivism as theory . This will be conducted through applying theory functions on constructivism. In addition , the essay shows some of the critiques of constructivism from realist and post-positivist point views. Finally . It concludes with the fact that constructivism is not independent and full-fledged theory but a theoretically informed approach to the study of global politics. Key words: constructivism, ideas, identity, norms, culture, beliefs, social construction anarchy. Constructivism provides a good method, but a poor theory. Discuss. Until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the debate between Neo-realism and Neo-liberalism has dominated the discipline of International Relations; materialism was the building blocks of mainstream international theory. For neo-realists, the principal determinant of state behaviour is the distribution of military capabilities among states, consequently anarchy and the distribution of relative power drive most of what goes on in world politics. (Copeland 2000:187) .Neo-liberals also saw state interests as essentially material, even if they did posit the importance of international institutions as intervening variables.( Rues-Smit 2001:224). Thus, societal analysis in international relations scholarship has been marginalised. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the writings of Alexender Wendt (1987, 1992), Friedrich Kratochwil (1989) and Nicholas Onuf (1989) established constructivist ideas, a genuinely radical alternative to conventional IR. Although a relatively new approach to IR, constructivism has returned international scholars to the foundational questions, including the nature of the state and the concepts of sovereignty and citizenship. In addition, constructivism has opened new substantive areas to inquiry, such as the roles of gender and ethnicity, which have been largely absent from international relations approaches. (Mingst 20004:74) By reimagining the social as a constitutive realm of values and practices, and by situating individual identities within such a field, constructivists have placed sociological inquiry back at the centre of the discipline. Aided by the momentous changes that attended the end of the Cold War, and also by the ongoing process of globalization, the constructivists interest in the particularities of culture, identity, interest and experience created space for renaissance in the study of history and world politics. .( Rues-Smit 2001:226) Constructivism as an approach Constructivism is about human consciousness and its role in international life (Ruggie 1998). Constructivists focus on the role of ideas, norms, knowledge, culture, and argument in politics, stressing in particular the role of collectively held or intersubjective ideas and understandings on social life. Specifically, constructivism is an approach to social analysis that asserts the following: (1) human interaction is shaped primarily by ideational factors, not simply material ones; (2) the most important ideational factors are widely shared or intersubjective beliefs, which are not reducible to individuals; and (3) these shared beliefs construct the interests and identities of purposive actors (Adler 1997, Price Reus-Smit 1998, Ruggie 1998, Wendt 1999). The core observation in constructivism is the social construction of reality. This has a number of related elements. One is to emphasize the socially constructed nature of actors and their identities and interests. Instead of assuming that actors are born outside of and prior to society, the claim is that individuals are produced and created by their cultural environment. Nurture not nature. (Branett 2001 : 259). In an of-repeated phrase, Alexander Wendt captured the methodological core of IR constructivism: anarchy is what states make of it. There is no objective international world apart from the practices and institutions that states arrange among themselves. In making that statement , Wendt argues that a self-help anarchy is not some kind of external given which dictates a logic of analysis based on realism: self-help and power politics are institutions ,not essential features of anarchy'(Wendt 1992:395) ,(Jackson Sorensen 1999:239) Alexander Wendt argues that political structure, whether one of anarchy or particular distribution of material capabilities, explain nothing. It tells us little about state behaviour : It does not predict whether two states will be friend or foes, will recognize each others sovereignty ,will have dynastic ties, will have revisionist or status quo powers, and so on. (Wendt 1992:395) . What we need to know is identity, and identities change as a result of cooperative behaviour and learning. Whether the system is anarchic depends on the distribution of identities, not the distribution of military capabilities, as the realist would have us believe. If a state identifies with itself, then the system may be anarchic. If a state identifies with other states, then there is no anarchy (.(Mingst 20004:75) A security dilemma , for example , is not merely made up of the fact that two sovereign states possess nuclear weapons. It also depends on how those states view each other; that view is based on shared knowledge. ,(Jackson Sorensen1999:238) In a constructivist analysis, agents and structures are mutually constituted; structures not only constrain actors, they also shape the identities and the interests of them. Thus structures are also defined by ideas, norms, and rules; in other words, structures contain normative and material elements. The challenge, therefore, is to recognize that the normative structure can create agents and that agents can create and possibly transform those structures. (Branett 2001 : 255). According to Alder , constructivisms importance and its added value for the study of international relations lie mainly in its emphasis on the ontological reality of intersubjective knowledge and on the epistemological and methodological implications of this realty. ( Alder1997:322) . Additionally , power can be understood not only as the ability of one actor to do what they would not to do otherwise , but also as the production of identities and interests that limit the ability to control their life. In sum , the meanings that actors bring to their activities are shaped by the underlying culture, and meanings are not always fixed but are a central feature of politics. Constructivism as a theory However, despite of the intellectual vigour that constructivism has fostered, this approach has been criticized. John Mersheimer complains that constructivists put too much emphasis on subjective ideas knowledge: realists believe that the state behaviour is largely shaped by the material structure of the international system. The distribution of material capabilities among states is the key factor for understanding world politics. This means that everything is not uncertain or in flux, says Mersheimer, because the material structure is an objective reality and is not merely intersubjective. (Mearsheimer 1995a:91-92). Although constructivism is deeply concerned with radically changing state behaviour, it says little about how change comes about. It does not tell us why particular discourses become dominant, and others fall by the wayside. And when constructivism trys to point out particular factors that lead to changes in discourse, often argues that material changes drive changes in discourse. So discourse is not determinative , but a reflective of developments in objective world..( Mearsheimer 1995b :42 ). In addition, neo-realists are sceptical about the importance that constructivists attach to norms, in particular international norms. Such norms surely exist, but they are routinely disregarded if that is in the interest of powerful states.( Jackson 2006 ). Moreover, there is no international consensus concerning norms of behaviour in the international system, primary of which is justice and human rights. At the same time, neo-realists are not ready to accept that states can easily become friends due to their social interaction. Such a goal may be desirable in principle, but not realizable in practice, because the structure of the international system forces states to behave as egoists. Anarchy, offensive capabilities, and uncertain intentions combine to leave states with little choice but to compete aggressively with each other. For realists, trying to infuse states with communitarian norms is a hopeless cause (Mearsheimer 1995b: 367). From the post-positivist side, Steve Smith argues that the constructivist view of how ideas and shared knowledge shape the way the actors see themselves in world politics is not sufficiently profound. Furthermore, the constructivist agenda is a rather traditional one, focusing on the interaction of states .There is no place for structure such as capitalism or patriarchy. (Smith 1997:186) Finally, if, as constructivists claim, there is no objective reality . if the world is in the eye of the beholder , then there can be no right or wrong answers , only individual perspectives. With no authoritative texts, all texts are equally valid both the musings of the elite and the practices of everyday men and women. (Mingst 20004:76) Is it a theory? A theory is a based upon a hypothesis and backed by evidence; it presents a concept or idea that is testable. In science, a theory is not merely a guess. A theory is a fact-based framework for describing a phenomenon. In social sciences, theories are used to provide a model for understanding human thoughts, emotions, and behaviours. A social theory has two key components: (1) it must describe behaviour and (2) make predictions about future behaviours. To evaluate a theory, we must verify many conditions: 1- Generalizability: applicability to many times, places, and issues. 2-Empirical validity: accuracy of predictions. 3-Progression: whether it expands to new predictions or degenerates by excessive modification. If we apply these conditions to constructivism, we will find that constructivism is neither specific enough to be testable, nor parsimonious. And it is unclear what factors are cause nor which are effect. It does not prize deductive methods of theory-construction and does not seek to uncover causalities. ( Ruggie, 1998, 52) Constructivism is a different kind of theory from realism, liberalism, or Marxism and operates at a different level of abstraction. Constructivism is not a substantive theory of politics. It is a social theory that makes claims about the nature of social life and social change; consequently it does not, by itself, produce specific predictions about political outcomes that one could test in social science research. (Finnemore Sikkink 2001:393) As such, it is much more and much less than meets the eye. It is much less because it is not properly a theory that can be viewed as a rival to already existing theories. It offers no predictions about enduring regularities or tendencies in world politics. Instead, it suggests how to investigate them. Consequently, it is much more than meets the eye because if offers alternative ways of thinking about a range of issues. (Branett 2001 : 268) However, the debate about basic theory is of course relevant for the constructivist ambition of demonstrating that ideas matter. How exactly is it that ideas matter? Do changes in ideas always come before changes in material conditions? Do ideas guide policy or are they justifications for policy? Should ideas be seen as causes of behaviour in IR or should they rather be seen as constitutive elements that define what IR is all about? Further clarification in these areas is of vital importance for the constructivist research programme. (Jackson 2006). Drawing on what mentioned above, there is scepticism about constructivism .whether it is properly to be seen as a theory of IR theory or as a philosophical category, a meta-theory or a method for empirical research, or whether it is indeed an approach relevant at several levels. ( Zehfuss 2002:9) . In conclusion, constructivism is not independent and full-fledged theory but a theoretically informed approach to the study of global politics. Conclusion Constructivism challenged the disciplines mainstream on its own terms and on issues that were at the heart of its research agenda. (Branett 2001: 268) However, the rise of Constructivism has had several important impacts on the development of international relations theory and analysis; the social, historical, and normative have returned to the centre stage of debate, especially the American core of the discipline. . ( Rues-Smit 2001:225) Constructivisms core assumptions have shaped its empirical research program in several important ways. They have shaped the kinds of questions constructivists tend to ask by opening up for inquiry issues that other approaches had failed to engage. Understanding the constitution of things is essential in explaining how they behave and what causes political outcomes. Just as understanding how the double-helix DNA molecule is constituted materially enables understandings of genetics and disease, so, too, an understanding of how sovereignty, human rights, laws of war, or bureaucracies are constituted socially allows us to hypothesize about their effects in world politics. (Finnemore Sikkink 2001:394). Their claim deserves attention in a world where inflamed passions lead to bloodshed in the name of neither conquest nor class, but instead simply because of who the enemy is: a Muslim, a Serb, a Tutsi, a Hutu, a Catholic, a Protestant, an Arab, or a Jew. Realism and liberalism are not incapable of explaining hatred, but they struggle to account for such widespread violence that serves neither Mammon nor the national interest. (Kowert,Paul 2001). Finally , Constructivism has become a phenomenon in IR not merely because many scholars adopted it , but because a lot of scholars debated and are still debating it .

Othello - Compared To Twelfth Night :: essays research papers

"She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd, and I loved her that she did pity them" (Othello, I.iii 166-167). William Shakespeare’s tragedy "Othello," is pervaded by a dominant theme, one of love. Othello, the Moor of Venice falls madly in love with a woman named Desdemona. They marry and are very happy together. Othello and Desdemona face many trials during the course of their nine-month marriage. The most notable one occurs when Barbanzio, Desdemona’s father accuses Othello of getting his daughter with witchcraft. During a court hearing, Desdemona confesses her love for Othello and Barbanzio is forced to let her go. "I am hitherto your daughter: but here's my husband, and so much duty as my mother show'd to you, preferring you before her father, so much I challenge that I may profess due to the Moor my lord" (Othello, I.iii 184-188) As the course of events shift, Othello and Desdemona end up in Cyprus together. Iago, ensign to Othello, in his lust for power, tricks Othello into believing that Desdemona has had an affair. Othello is overcome by jealousy, the "green eyed monster." "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on†¦" (Othello, III.iii 169-171) In his rage, Othello charges Iago with the killing of Cassio, his lieutenant who supposedly slept with his wife. Othello then plans to kill Desdemona. Even during the course of the killing, Othello maintains his love for Desdemona (although this might seem a contradiction.) He refuses to defile her body in any way. "Yet I'll not shed her blood; nor scar that whiter skin of hers than snow, and smooth as monumental alabaster." (Othello, V.ii 3-5)He then proceeds to choke or smother her to death. The theme of love in Othello changed from puppy love, the lighter side of love, to jealousy, the darkest side of love. In stark contrast to the dark and tragic "Othello," is one of Shakespeare’s lightest and funniest comedies, "Twelfth Night." The theme of love is presented in a highly comical manner. Shakespeare, however, once again proves himself a master by interweaving serious elements into humorous situations. "Twelfth Night" consists of many love triangles, however many of the characters who are tangled up in the web of love are blind to see that their emotions and feelings toward other characters are untrue. They are being deceived by themselves and/or the others around them.

Tim O’Brien “How to Tell a True War Story”

The words, which describe the character: Rat Kiley; sharp gray eyes; tight little strokes of the wrist; he wanted me to believe; big gentle killer eyes; little crazy; they were kids – they just didn’t know; Rat almost bawls writing it; they were like soul mates. The words, which do not describe the character: crazy in a good way; real daredevil; nineteen years old and it is too much for him. The guy’s real name was Bob Kiley, but everyone was calling him Rat (O’Brien 174).He had lost his friend Curt Lemon in Vietnam, but this loss happened beyond any military actions, when they were playing with grenades (they were real kids); Rat had actually lost his soul mate. Reading the story, Rat’s character created an impression of being flat. However, coming to the story’s end, it is evident that huge sufferings are hidden behind the childish behavior. This childish behavior has indirectly become the cause of tragedy, and suffering through this loss, Rat reveals his round dynamic character.He tries to forget his pain, but the fact that he feels it is the sign of his deep soul, which was changed in the cruelties of the Vietnam War. Curt Lemon is the character around which Rat’s actions and thoughts are concentrated. They spent most of their time together and what they felt towards each other was real kinship. The unexpected loss was so difficult for Rat that he didn’t hesitate to mail a letter to Lemon’s sister. This letter has become the expression of his feelings, his sorrow, and his best memories about that person. Re-writing the story from Rat’s perspectiveThe day didn’t predict anything tragic. We crossed the river – the mountains were in the west, and we had to direct our efforts there. We have already spent three days marching, and it already seemed monotonous†¦so well†¦we were trying to entertain ourselves, and in a second Curt Lemon was dead. He simply stepped on a boob y-trapped 105 round. One second – and the man was gone forever. We were playing, we were laughing, and then, out of sudden, he was dead. I didn’t notice that the whole hour had passed before we cut off the thick grass for the emergency helicopter to land.Surprisingly, the day didn’t change; the weather was the same, and we kept marching. The only thing was that Curt was not with us anymore. Higher in the mountains I’ve noticed a baby VC water buffalo. I had no idea how I could come across it so high in the mountains, and it was probably unexpected for me, that at that moment I could think of anything else besides Curt. I managed to get a rope around the baby buffalo and to lead it with us to the village, where we had to stay for the night. I stroked the baby buffalo’s nose, I tried to offer it come pork or beans, but it didn’t seem interested. I shrugged but I felt, how enraged I was.At that time I didn’t understand, what caused those feelings inside me, but now I know that Curt’s death had made me angry; angry for being incapable to change anything and to return him to life. I shot the buffalo through the front knee. I was shocked at the animal not showing any sign of stress; it didn’t cry. It was silent, though it fell hard onto the ground but then got up again, and at that moment I shot off its ear; I kept shooting and I could see it hurt, but for some reason I could not kill it. I would never make it suffer, but something inside me was preventing me from shooting right.I had no idea what others were thinking, but they were definitely watching each move and each shot I made. I was the only one to know, what it meant to me – Lemon was dead and he had been the best friend in the world. I am not sure whether it was a question of pain, and what pain one may mean here. I didn’t know whether physical pain could be measured or even compared to the moral pain I felt. I could not understand what I was doing, it was all smoke and I hardly remember whether I had shot the buffalo’s tail; it was as if I were dreaming. I shot it into the throat.I didn’t want it to experience those physical tortures anymore. I can still remember its eyes – enormous, shiny, and dumb. I can remember myself crying. I wanted to say how sorry I was for both the buffalo and for Lemon, but tears didn’t let any word come out. I understood I needed some freedom, some silence and some time to think, to try to recover and to ultimately feel better. I left the baby, may be it was still alive, but I didn’t know it. I just knew that it was fighting for its life, the chance which Lemon didn’t have. It will remain my sin forever, but my pain was enormous to hide it inside.I don’t still understand for whom I feel worse – for the baby buffalo I’ve killed or for Lemon who didn’t have a single chance to survive. What I know for sure is that Lemon didn’t go through the pain, which baby buffalo felt before it died. I also understand that this death could become neither physical, nor moral compensation for Lemon’s death. This is what I think now†¦ At that time I was not thinking anything. The baby buffalo’s death remains my biggest weakness – the inability to keep emotions inside. Later that week I wrote a letter to Lemon’s sister to tell her what a great guy her brother had been.I have written several funny stories from our life – I think that the letter turned to be very personal, even touching. I was almost bawling, because I could not accept the fact of his death. He had been the man able to turn the war into fun. He was right for war, and his attitudes towards war were also right. I clearly understood and I really felt that I would never receive any reply from that young girl, but I needed that writing to release my emotions and express what I was feeling about Lemon. Ev en when I pretended being angry at her, and called her â€Å"dumb cooze†, it was nothing but a mask – I didn’t want anyone know that I could feel†¦Justification I decided to focus on Rat Kiley’s character. The author emphasizes his negligent attitude towards life. â€Å"Listen to Rat: â€Å"Jesus Christ, man, I write this beautiful fucking letter, I slave over it, and what happens? The dumb cooze never writes back† (O’Brien 175). What I think is that Rat didn’t even expect to receive any reply from Lemon’s sister; he needed this letter to express what he had inside, and simultaneously he had to support his image of a guy â€Å"nineteenth years old – and it’s too much for him† (O’Brien 175).I was interested in viewing the story through his perspective, because I initially felt Rat could have been depicted differently, less crazy and more humane. As a result, the events in the narrative would loo k different through Rat’s perspective. After Lemon was dead, Rat could not find himself. He did not know how he could neutralize the moral pain he had inside. Again, the author could lead the narration in a different direction. Rat was shooting the baby buffalo – â€Å"it wasn’t to kill; it was just to hurt† (O’Brien 179).Has anyone thought that Rat might have not clearly understood what he was doing? The fact that he was crying was the best proof that his actions had been absolutely uncontrolled. Moreover, his negligence has proved to be only surface – he was deeply suffering through the loss of his friend; at his nineteen years he could consider himself happy for having experienced the kinship he felt towards Lemon. My goal was to portray Rat through different features, not the features which the author used in the narration. I suppose that the author has not looked too deep into Rat’s soul.O’Brien has created an image of Rat ’s cruelty towards the animal, and the readers perceive him as â€Å"a little crazy†. Simultaneously, he has not emphasized many features which make Rat a real human. Even the scene of animal killing could have been depicted differently, through the prism of Rat’s moral sufferings. â€Å"Rat Kiley was crying† (O’Brien 180), and that cry was the difficult acknowledgement of the fact that Lemon would never come back. Works cited O’Brien, Tim. â€Å"How to Tell a True War Story†. Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology. P. Geyh ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1992, 174-183.

Dr. Mengele essays

Dr. Mengele essays ...When we stepped off the trains, we could hear soldiers yelling, Men on one side, women on the other side. Some German SS guards were also shouting, We want twins-bring us twins! Dr. Josef Mengele was making the selections. He stood there, tall nice-looking, and he was dressed very well, as if he wanted to make a good impression.... (Lagnado and Dekel 31) It has been proven to say that around eleven million total were killed during the Holocaust, six million killed were Jewish (Dunnigan and Nofi 48), 1.25 million people were executed at Auschwitz (Wigoder, The Holocaust: Family 176), and 2,840 twins were put to their death beds by Dr. Josef Mengele (Lagnado and Dekel cover). Today we can see the Holocaust only as a nightmare, bot for those actually there, they lived that nightmare. In Auschwitz alone, 1.25 million people were executed bu either the crematorium, the gas chambers, or they were used as human guinea pigs by none other than the famous Angel of Death himself, Dr. Josef Mengele (Lagnado and Dekel 32). The man was pure evil with an instinctive intention to kill. Dr. Josef Mengele was one of the most feared medical doctors of World War II. It was not until 1934, the Dr. Mengele actually became interested in Hitlers speeches and ideas. The center piece of Hitlers speeches was call for racial purity, which was an idea the became the driving force of Dr. Mengeles existence, and with this time at the University of Munich, Dr. Mengele displayed more ambition then ever before, burning with the need to develop this study for racial purity even more. Early on in his studies at Munich, Dr. Mengele was introduced to the work of the social Darwinism. The social Darwinists believed that all social and personal problems were inherited, and they also set up a program to ensure that only the best people survived. The ...

The Lady from Shanghai Film Noir Essay Example

The Lady from Shanghai Film Noir Essay Example The Lady from Shanghai Film Noir Paper The Lady from Shanghai Film Noir Paper Essay Topic: Chinatown In classical Greek mythology, the sirens were creatures, which would sing so beautifully that sailors would wreck their ships and drown. Another creature in classical Greek mythology was Circe, a beautiful witch who would destroy the men who came to her island by turning them into animals. How does Orson Welles update these classical Greek elements and put them into his film? Why does he make use of these figures from classical mythology in order to tell a story set in the modern world? The lady From Shanghai movie is a film noir. The movie is a commercial Hollywood film and at the same time an â€Å"art film†. One of the aspects of the â€Å"art film† is symbolism. Welles forced us into it is symbolic subtext in order to understand it is logic. He updated classical Greek elements and put them into his film. I think the reason why Welles is using mythology to tell a story set in modern world is because mythology gives meaning to human experience. Myths are ancient, but timeless stories that stretch the bounds of daily understanding. Elsa symbolized the Sirens. She is a beautiful woman who lured Michael to fulfill her selfish desire. She wanted her husband dead. Elsa is also compared to Circe (the daughter of Helios). Just before Michael passed out from the effects of the pills, he denounced her as a blonde Circe. He sticks the gun into her ribs. He told Elsa that she killed Grisby and she is the killer. Elsa, as Circe created unsubstantial image of beasts in men. 2. A story within a story: How does the Chinese play in the film reflect the events themes of the movie itself? Michael runs into the Chinatown where he ducks inside the Mandarin Theatre, during the performance of a costumed, stylized oriental play. The Chinese theatre scene is central to the meaning of The Lady From Shanghai. The meaning of this scene is â€Å"the alienation effect†. The play on stage revealed Elsa’s true intentions. This scene comes in a moment, when audience needed some answers. I think Welles gave us a little exposition to clear things up before he takes us to the House of Mirrors. 3. Discuss the scene in the House of Mirrors towards the end of the film. What is the symbolic importance of mirror images appearing and then being broken or shattered? Elsa’s servants kidnapped Michael to a deserted amusement park, closed for the season. I the hall of mirrors Elsa and Bannister murder one another in the fragmented shards of glass. The symbolic importance of mirror images appearing and then being broken it is that not only their bodies are being terminated, but their self-images, self-esteem, and personal legacies being shattered as well. When the mirrors are destroyed than we can see whom Elsa really is. Before Michael descended into the hall of mirrors, he twice passes signs that say: â€Å"STAND UP OR GIVE UP†. When Michael enters the hall of mirrors, the distorted images of him suggested potential lost of selfhood. . Give a detailed example of a montage from this film. For this question, you may use any example except the siren scene, the Chinese play scene, and the mirror scene, as these have been discussed above. Montage in The Lady From Shanghai is used in flashback to explain the past, ongoing actions and illustration of character’s thoughts. The scene in aquarium, when Michael met with Elsa it i s an example of a montage. There are an octopus and shark in the big tanks. Octopus is a symbol of conspiracy; shark is a symbol of power, unpredictable, dangerous. When Elsa and Michael kissed in the aquarium, the sharks made sinister passes in the tanks behind them. Michael does not know it that he is on his way to be eaten by his lover. This means the fragility of existence, the absurdity of reality, and the lie in love. When Michael O’Hara delivered a speech about the cannibal sharks; the metaphor perfectly describes the group of people with whom he traveled. 5. Explain how The Lady From Shanghai is both commercial Hollywood film and at the same time an â€Å"art film†? Give specific examples from the film’s plot, characters, and setting. The Lady From Shanghai is a commercial Hollywood film and at the same time an â€Å"art film†. The film has an art film aspects like: symbolism, social realism style, focus on thoughts and dreams of character, use of montage, closes supporting art film are: symbolism – the Sirens, Circa, the courtroom scene, Bannister named their yacht â€Å"The Circe†. When Elsa springs a trap of seduction and deception on Michael, she first leads him down back alleys until they reach a spot where a large pig is wallowing in the street (Circe) etc. Use of montage – jury’s chairs arrange as a chessboard, Judges playing chess, scene in aquarium. The film has also commercial film aspects like: making money, targeting general audience, linear plot, overlapping dialogues, violence, music aspects, soft focus, deliberately stylized glamor, commercial. Examples supporting commercial film are: use of overlapping dialogues – Chinese theater. Soft focus – glamorous soft-focus extreme close- ups of Elsa’s face. Violence – triple murder. Commercial – scene on the yacht interrupted by Glosso Lusto – hair care product commercial.