Jonathan Larsons Influence On Musical Theatre Theatre Essay

Jonathan Larsons Influence On Musical Theatre Theatre Essay To demonstrate how a practitioner influenced the development of Musical Theatre, there will be an in depth analysis of Jonathan Larsons works Rent and Tick, TickBoom, which will show how his style influenced other modern practitioners that got some of their ideas based on his works and how his works were influenced by other practitioners in the beginning. Jonathan Larson was indeed a remarkable writer and composer who had his own stories to tell. Although his death came too early, his success can still be seen in his greatest work, the musical Rent and it may be said that As an artist, Jonathan Larsons discovered his passion for music following Elton John and Billy Joel, but it was musical theatre that caught his eye while his parents introduced him to the musical Fiddler on the Roof. As he later on said by himself, he always wanted to write music that could incorporate all of these influences. The path lead him to a four year drama major, but it was the composing that was his main interest and soon enough he started writing music for school productions. During his college years Jonathan Larson got in contract with the composer Stephen Sondheim, who was also his strongest musical theatre influence and later on his mentor. Sondheim told him later that Never the less he didnt go on as an actor and took a step into the composing world,he was still a struggling artist who spend years living his life working as a waiter just to pay his bills, while writing numerous theatrical pieces with a poor success story. With the musical Tick, TickBoom, which was an autobiographical work of Larsons life and was reflecting his alter ego, he finally got recognized, but still not the way he wanted to. As Siegel describes the show in New York times The songs and stories were half-funny and half-bitter tales of bad readings and waiting tables. He addressed his disappointment with putting the sho w of in 1994. But there was still no reason for him to give up, especially when he got into collaboration with Billy Aronson, a playwrighter who played around with the idea of updating Puccinis opera La Boheme. The project didnt get started until 1991, when Larson felt the need to tell the story about his friends who were diagnosed with AIDS. Larson stated himself while he was still alive and that truly represent the path that Rent went since the beginning of the show till this day. Many links between the big success of the show and Larsons death have been made during the time, but it is not said for sure that his death is the cause for such a big success of the musical Rent. The only thing that can be said for sure is, that the show is popular as the numerous amounts of awards that the show won present. , said by Wilson Jermaine Heredi, an actor of the original cast from Rent, shows that Rent really was a new era in theatre. Never before was there a musical telling a story about HI V infected people, drugs and homosexuals. The reviews for the show were well received, as reported in New York times. But it was the audience who gave Jonathan Larson a chance and made Rent to what it is today, an award winning musicals. A musical that is different to others, because it represents Even though Rent is a parallel to Puccinis 1896 opera La Boheme, Jonathan Larson took the idea and collaborated with Billy Areson and transformed it into a contemporary story that was never told before. The audience can get the chance to watch two pieces back-to back in a one repertoire and see the show not only as a good composers work but as an artistic creation. Artistic creation which illuminates Jonathan Larsons brilliance, never the less Rent owes a lot to Stephen Sondheims work. Not that he was reproducing his ideas in his style, There are many similarities to Stephen Sondheims work Company, but they show the extreme contrast. The setting was changed from Upper West side to the Lowe r East side, as well as the characters which are presented as a poverty line of multicultural young people that are homosexual, drug addicts or over the top minded. It can be said that the shows are similar in the way how Stephen Sondheim and Jonathan Larson presented New York and their ideas. Not only did Sondheims influence reflect in Jonathan Larsons Rent in the comparison to Company, but also his musical Sunday in the Park with George. Theres a common theme in both shows which demonstrate a central character that has went away from finishing something that is important forbidden personal relationship. Both shows describe that Never the less, nothing can take Larsons accomplishment away. He was a great composer and writer who was able to take Sondheims ideas and recreate them with his own style. This indicates how big of an impact Stephen Sondheim made on Larson. In an interview for New York Times, Stephen Sondheim later spoke about Jonathan Larson and said that a great musical t heatre composer . Stephen Sondheim as his mentor encouraged him while he was still alive to get involved with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Jonathan Larson described it as , but he appreciated the experience later, because it gave him a chance to meet new composers and that gave him more confidence in his work. At the point when he has later written more material he said Rent is classified as a rock musical, because of its rock influence. Examples of such musicals are Hair and Spring Awakening, which are both linked to Rent. It can be said that Hair was a big influence on Rent, because of the impact it made in that era, when people werent talking about drugs and hippies. Hair made a big statement at that time as did Rent. Both musicals told a story of confusion in each generation. Both works may be seen as generational anthems. Not because of the protest, but of its finally, youthful enthusiasm, even when the youth in question is at risk. Hair can be seen as a mile stone for Rent, which later impacted on Spring Awakening. Although Spring Awakening was already written in 1891 as a play, it s shocking story of acknowledgement of adolescent sexuality broke ground aesthetically, going beyond naturalism to presage expressionism. Since times have changed and today society is more open minded to the ethnological, sexual, and all other controversial aspects of human life, the effects of Spring Awakening as well as Rent have changed. In Spring Awakening the characters are still experiencing their awakening spring of sexuality and a couple of scenes might still surprise the audience, but in general todays community is more used to that on stage now. As Rent made theatrical history with transporting Puccinis La Boheme to New York, Spring Awakening made its own kind of history by putting a modern spin on a controversial play. It can be said that Rent had its influences and went on passing that to other musicals. Although Jonathan Larson didnt get the chance to witness the success of his lifes work, he left behind two remarkable musicals, which are both in subject matter unmistakable. Similaritys in Tick, tickBoom, especially in the characters, for which may seem they are sometimes show that Jonathan Larsons work had a deeper meaning and a thought of memories of his lost friends. As a composer his answer to the acknowledgement that he has just lost people that he loves was to write something in response. He later on said,Despite the fact that he never got the chance to see how his words and music inspired people, the musical Rent still goes on filling theatres with his story and the affect that he left behind may be seen in new works appearing on the stage. Jonathan Larson wanted to give all a lesson about how to go on in the time of great loss and not anything for granted.

Terrorism and the Pursuit of God Essay example -- War Terror Essays

Terrorism and the Pursuit of God To set out on a suicide mission, to willingly kill thousands of civilians seems unfathomable for many Americans in the wake of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Why would anyone do something like that? The answer from many sources has been: religion. More specifically, many people are blaming the Islamic religion, the religion that the hijackers are suspected to adhere to, claiming that Islam reveres its martyrs and sanctions war. But the answer is much more complicated than this, and a look at religion and technology can help get a clearer picture of Islam and the events of September 11. Karen Armstrong, in her book The Battle for God, claims that nearly all religions have a sect of â€Å"fundamentalists,† or what some have called â€Å"extremists,† who feel it their duty to rebel against the recent global cultural shift toward secular humanist precepts. Christian fundamentalists have blown up abortion clinics in America; Muslim fundamentalists have committed acts of terrorism. It wasn’t always like this. In the premodern era, according to...

Assembly :: Essays Papers

Assembly When programming in assembly language, we have to specify operations in a much greater level of detail than we would have to do in a high level language. Furthermore, we get relatively little help from the assembler in finding errors. Assemblers can only check the syntax of each line, and check that every symbol or label used is defined somewhere. We are much less constrained by the structure of the assembly language than we are by the structure of a high level language. This lack of constraint makes the job much harder, not easier. It is much easier to write an incorrect program in assembly language that in C++ or Pascal. It is much more likely that mistakes, will not be found by the assembler, so that we get runtime errors, which are harder to find, rather than compile time errors which are easier to find. For these reasons, we need to be even more careful when programming in assembly language than we are when programming in a high level language. We need to apply all of t he skills we have learned in relation to high level language programming to assembly language programming. Planning our work carefully is equally important, building a design package, by following appropriate style conventions when writing the program, and by providing good documentation with appropriate commenting of the program text. After building the design, it is wise to write a high level language program, to help check out the program logic and to serve as a model for the assembly language program. The high level language program can then be translated little by little into assembly language, perhaps a procedure at a time, and can be used to document the logic of the assembly language program. Clearly, we should use a compiler to translate a high level language program into machine code if we have a compiler at hand. There are circumstances, however; when it is necessary to do the translation on our own. It is nevertheless wise to write out the high level language program, even if you cannot compile it for the machine in question. It is not necessary or desirable for the programming of embedded microprocessors to be done in assembly language. Indeed, assembly language should be regarded as a last resort, to be used when compilers are not available, or in very special circumstances. Assembly :: Essays Papers Assembly When programming in assembly language, we have to specify operations in a much greater level of detail than we would have to do in a high level language. Furthermore, we get relatively little help from the assembler in finding errors. Assemblers can only check the syntax of each line, and check that every symbol or label used is defined somewhere. We are much less constrained by the structure of the assembly language than we are by the structure of a high level language. This lack of constraint makes the job much harder, not easier. It is much easier to write an incorrect program in assembly language that in C++ or Pascal. It is much more likely that mistakes, will not be found by the assembler, so that we get runtime errors, which are harder to find, rather than compile time errors which are easier to find. For these reasons, we need to be even more careful when programming in assembly language than we are when programming in a high level language. We need to apply all of t he skills we have learned in relation to high level language programming to assembly language programming. Planning our work carefully is equally important, building a design package, by following appropriate style conventions when writing the program, and by providing good documentation with appropriate commenting of the program text. After building the design, it is wise to write a high level language program, to help check out the program logic and to serve as a model for the assembly language program. The high level language program can then be translated little by little into assembly language, perhaps a procedure at a time, and can be used to document the logic of the assembly language program. Clearly, we should use a compiler to translate a high level language program into machine code if we have a compiler at hand. There are circumstances, however; when it is necessary to do the translation on our own. It is nevertheless wise to write out the high level language program, even if you cannot compile it for the machine in question. It is not necessary or desirable for the programming of embedded microprocessors to be done in assembly language. Indeed, assembly language should be regarded as a last resort, to be used when compilers are not available, or in very special circumstances.

Property :: essays research papers

The Koran describes a prejudice attitude toward women. The women are regarded as chattel and reduced to the status of domestic animals. Women are treated like slaves owing servitude to their husbands. They are regarded as property and can be replaced on a whim. A man can choose to dismiss his wife if she does not please him. However, a woman does not have the same option. Once a woman has married, she has been ‘touched’ and will not be desired by another. Women do not have any rights and must conform to the marriage contract. The punishment women receive for committing crimes are harsher than that of their male counterparts. If a woman commits adultery, she will be confined to the house until she dies. If a man commits the same act, he must repent and will be forgiven by God. In Christianity, God teaches that adultery is an equal sin for both men and women. It does not matter whether a man or women commits adultery since they both can repent and will be forgiven. A man is also allowed to take several wives. The bible plainly states that practice constitutes adultery! Does this mean that he commits adultery with his other wives, yet he only has to repent to be forgiven? Having more than one   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   wife is a sin in itself. The Koran says the ultimate goal of a man is to live with one wife. But, it is optional for him to take as many as four. He must be able to keep and maintain equality among them. The Koran instructs the man to find a woman who is a believer when he chooses a wife. A man can take a slave-girl who is a believer if he cannot afford to marry a woman who is not a believer. A slave-girl’s punishment is only half the penalty inflicted on a free adulteress if she commits adultery. The woman being regarded as property makes her part of her husband’s estate. The husband can will her to his brother upon his death. This occurs so that his wife and children will have a support system. This is the only way the woman will be able survive. Since she is part of the estate, she has no authority regarding the dividing of the moneys. She will only receive one-fourth of his estate regardless of whether or not they have children. Property :: essays research papers The Koran describes a prejudice attitude toward women. The women are regarded as chattel and reduced to the status of domestic animals. Women are treated like slaves owing servitude to their husbands. They are regarded as property and can be replaced on a whim. A man can choose to dismiss his wife if she does not please him. However, a woman does not have the same option. Once a woman has married, she has been ‘touched’ and will not be desired by another. Women do not have any rights and must conform to the marriage contract. The punishment women receive for committing crimes are harsher than that of their male counterparts. If a woman commits adultery, she will be confined to the house until she dies. If a man commits the same act, he must repent and will be forgiven by God. In Christianity, God teaches that adultery is an equal sin for both men and women. It does not matter whether a man or women commits adultery since they both can repent and will be forgiven. A man is also allowed to take several wives. The bible plainly states that practice constitutes adultery! Does this mean that he commits adultery with his other wives, yet he only has to repent to be forgiven? Having more than one   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   wife is a sin in itself. The Koran says the ultimate goal of a man is to live with one wife. But, it is optional for him to take as many as four. He must be able to keep and maintain equality among them. The Koran instructs the man to find a woman who is a believer when he chooses a wife. A man can take a slave-girl who is a believer if he cannot afford to marry a woman who is not a believer. A slave-girl’s punishment is only half the penalty inflicted on a free adulteress if she commits adultery. The woman being regarded as property makes her part of her husband’s estate. The husband can will her to his brother upon his death. This occurs so that his wife and children will have a support system. This is the only way the woman will be able survive. Since she is part of the estate, she has no authority regarding the dividing of the moneys. She will only receive one-fourth of his estate regardless of whether or not they have children.

A doll house Essay

Henrik Ibsen play â€Å"A Doll House,† written in 1879, focuses on a story of a disparaging role of women in Victorian society through his doll motif, played out in Nora’s sudden distaste for her home. Throughout the play there are many examples of Nora’s husband Torvald treating Nora in an insulting manner because she’s a woman. Torvald calls her little pet names, and states that she’s frail. Nora does things according to what Torvald wants. Everything is done by his standards. He also doesn’t allow her to have much freedom. He doesn’t let decisions to be made by Nora. Torvald makes comments that suggest Nora could never understand anything, just because she is a woman. These examples show that feminism is a theme throughout the story. Torvald treats Nora almost like a child. He never actually talks to her like an adult. Almost as if Torvald thought that Nora wasn’t intelligent, or mature enough to have a conversation that had to deal with serious matters. He also has a lot of pet names for Nora. Whenever Torvald speaks to   Nora he usually calls her â€Å"my little squirrel†, and â€Å"little lark† as you would call a child. Torvald   also calls her a spendthrift whenever she asks for money. He never really calls her Nora, unless it is when he is serious, however any other time, he will call her by one of his pet names. Torvald also never speaks to Nora about anything important. He only talks to her about spending money, and about things of leisure, like the ball. Nora, in Ibsen’s â€Å"A Doll’s House†, is a modern woman limited by a traditional society which denies women power and autonomy. The central mystery and challenge of â€Å"A Doll’s House† is obviously the character of Nora. The story starts on Christmas Eve. Nora makes preparation for Christmas. While she eats macaroons, Dr. Rank and Mrs. Linde enters. Rank goes to speak with Torvald while Linde speaks with Nora. Linde explains that her husband has died and that she needs to find a job. Nora agrees to ask her husband to give Linde a job at the bank. Nora tells her about borrowing money to pay for the trip they took to Italy. She explains that Torvald doesn’t know that she paid for it. Rank leaves the study and begins to speak with Nora and Linde. He complains about the moral corruption in society. Krogstad arrives and goes to the study to talk to Torvald about keeping his job. A few minutes later, he leaves and Rank comments that Krogstad is one of the most morally corrupt people in the world. Rank and Linde leave, and Krogstad re-enters. He tells Nora to ask her husband to keep Krogstad at the bank, or else. If she doesn’t, he will reveal Nora’s crime of forgery to him. Krogstad leaves and when Torvald re-enters, Nora asks him not to fire Krogstad. Torvald says that he must fire him because of his dishonesty and because he gave Krogstad’s job to Linde. The nurse, Anne-Marie, enters and gives Nora her ball gown. Anne-Marie explains that she had to leave her children to take the job taking care of Nora. Linde returns and begins to help Nora with stitching up her dress. They talk for a while about Dr. Rank. Torvald enters and Linde leaves to the nursery. Nora asks Torvald again not to fire Krogstad and he refuses. He gives Krogstad’s pink slip to the maid to be mailed to Krogstad. Rank re-enters and tells Nora about his worsening illness. They talk and flirt for a while. Rank tells Nora that he loves her. Nora said that she never loved Rank and only had fun with him. Rank leaves to the study and Krogstad enters. He is angry about his dismissal and leaves a letter to Torvald explaining Nora’s entire crime in the letter box. Nora is frightened, and tells Linde about the matter and Linde assures her that she will talk to Krogstad and set things straight. Linde leaves after Krogstad and Rank and Torvald enters form the study. They help Nora practice the tarantella. After practice, Rank and Torvald exits and Linde enters and tells Nora that Krogstad left town, but she left a note for him. Nora tells her that she’s waiting for a miracle to happen. That night, during the dance, Linde talks to Krogstad in Helmer’s apartment. She explains to him that she left him for money, but that she still loves him. They get back together and Krogstad decides to forget about the matter of Nora borrowing money. However, Linde asks Krogstad not to ask for his letter back since she thinks Torvald needs to know of it. Both leave and Torvald and Nora enter from the dance. Torvald checks his letter box and finds some letters and two business cards form Dr. Rank with black crosses on them. Nora explains that they meant that Rank is announcing his death. After the bad news, Torvald enters his study and Nora prepares to leave. However, before she can get out the door, she is stopped by Torvald who read Krogstad’s letter. He is angry and disavows his love for Nora. The maid comes with a letter, Torvald reads the letter that is from Krogstad. It says that he forgives Nora of her crime and will not reveal it. Torvald burns the letter along with the IOU that came with it. He is happy and tells Nora that everything will return to normal. Nora changes and returns, she tells him that they don’t understand each other and she leaves him. Joan Templeton wrote a critical piece of â€Å"The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen.† Templeton states â€Å"Whatever propaganda feminists may have made of A Doll House, Ibsen, it is argued, never meant to write a play about the highly topical subject of women’s rights; Nora’s conflict represents something other than, or something more than, woman’s. In an article commemorating the half century of Ibsen’s death, R. M. Adams explains, â€Å"A Doll House represents a woman imbued with the idea of becoming a person, but it proposes nothing categorical about women becoming people; in fact, its real theme has nothing to do with the sexes† (416). Over twenty years later, after feminism had resurfaced as an international movement, Einar Haugen, the doyen of American Scandinavian studies, insisted that â€Å"Ibsen’s Nora is not just a woman arguing for female liberation; she is much more. She embodies the comedy as well as the tragedy of modern life.†Ã¢â‚¬  (28). Joan Templeton had cited â€Å"All female, or no woman at all, Nora loses either way. Frivolous, deceitful, or unwomanly, she qualifies neither as a heroine nor as a spokeswoman for feminism. Her famous exit embodies only â€Å"the latest and shallowest notion of emancipated womanhood, abandoning her family to go out into the world in search of ‘her true identity;† (Freedman 4)† (30). Nora Helmer makes the right decision to free herself form the social and traditional commitments and obligations of the Victorian Era and becomes an independent individual. She lived in a world of pre-determined social and societal constraints that made her deprived of her own freedom and happiness. The society in which she lived wanted people to live according to the rigidly set norms and standards of the Victorian Society. Subjugation and oppression was the theme of the Victorian Society. Men and women were supposed to play the role that was assigned to them. Nora found herself in such a world of suppression. She was supposed to live a quiet life in a world that was dominated by her husband Torvald and the alike. She was however, totally dissatisfied with the life of subjugation. She could no longer surrender to the constraints of the society. The made her brake from the captivity and enters a new world of freedom. Nora Makes the right decision to free herself from the social and traditional commitments and obligations and become an independent individual. Nora is indeed a classical hero during her time of Victorian Society. She was hiding her character and personality throughout the play under the pretense of the ideal 19th century wife who completely abides to her husband. The character of Nora is quite tough to interpret, as she is made out of a combination of different traits, childish, and even selfish. Even though she is found to be playful and silly, she appears different in other places being practical and astute. She is indeed a hero as she was successful in showing that she is a supporting wife, and mother. Nora was expected to be content with the life she had, though it wasn’t in any way fair or equal. When she expresses her hope that Torvald would have taken the blame for her crime upon himself, Torvald says that â€Å"there’s no one who give up honor for love.† (875) and Nora replies that â€Å"millions of women have done just that.†(875). When Nora shut the door behind her, she wasn’t just a woman leaving her family. She was a woman seeking independence from the strictures of society and the rule of men which was placed upon her because of gender. A Doll House Essay Reflective Statement In Ibsen’s A Doll House, the setting is a critical part of understanding the issues presented in the piece. If it had not been set in 19th century Norway, many of the references would not have been possible. The setting of each of the acts the house changes, showing an allusion of a perfect doll house in the first act that is slowly diminishing threw out the last two. As a external way of showing the cultural and emotional conflicts with in the house. Plus, the significance of the cultural statement, about the unfairness of women’s roles, would have been lost. From this, we can conclude that it was relatively easy to understand Ibsen’s view on the social and cultural issues regarding women- a blatant inequality between the genders, both at home and in society. Regarding Mrs.Linde who comes into the play as a woman who has seen the outside world and worked for her living, Ibsen at the end shows her beginning a relationship with Krogstad to sho w even when a woman trails away from the protection of a man they always come back to their original place. It is difficult to understand the solution to these cultural issues, unless all women are supposed to walk out of their lives. If that were the case that would create more and if not equal cultural struggles and issues. This is similar to today, in that we are still trying to work on the inequality in society through efforts like affirmative action, with questionable success. That is why Ibsen’s use of techniques like setting and characterization are so important; these techniques are what Ibsen uses to convey his message to the audience. To show the struggle of each individual relationship in this work whether it be between Nora and Torvald Helmer, Mrs.Linde and Krogstad, or Dr. Rank and his undying love for Nora. A Doll House Essay Marriage, as an institution, facilitates the union of man and woman enabling them to raise a family. The wellbeing and happiness of the family depends equally on the man and the woman. But this equality is imperceptible in married relations, even in the modern society. The woman always compromises for the sake of her family and abandons her freedom. The play â€Å"A Doll House† by Henrik Ibsen depicts the situation of a married woman, Nora Helmer who has to repress her desires and behave according to the wish of her husband, Torvald. But as the play progresses conflicts began to arise between Nora and Torvald, owing to the changing nature of Torvald’s love for Nora. Throughout the play, Nora aims to act and behave in a manner which pleases her husband but at the end of the play, Nora decides to leave Torvald and lead her life in accordance to her wishes. The end of the play depicts a fit resolution to the main conflict in the play. End of the Play Nora is a skilled and wise woman but her husband regards her to be an asinine and childish woman. When Torvald was ill, Nora was the one who saved his life with the aid of money borrowed from Krogstad. But she refrained from revealing about the borrowed money to her husband so that his pride is not hurt. She also worked secretly to repay the debt. But she presents herself before her husband in a manner which pleases him. Her husband thinks that Nora is a silly woman and Nora continues to act like a one before him. Nora lives in her house like a doll whose strings are in the hands of her husband. But in the final scene of the play, Nora goes on to become an independent woman from a doll whose actions were controlled by her husband. Owing to Krogstad’s letters which reveal the details of the bond that Nora has signed while borrowing money from Krogstad and the forging of her father’s signature by Nora on that bond, Torvald suspects Nora’s loyalty towards her family. Torvald even goes to the extent of saying that their marriage has ended. He also prohibits Nora from raising her own children. Ibsen (2002) writes, â€Å"But I shall not allow you to bring up the children; I dare not trust them to you. † (pg 135). But when Torvald receives another letter from Krogstad, consisting of the bond, he is thrilled to be liberated from the bond. Now he praises Nora for her dedication and love that she had for her family, and also mentions that he has forgiven her for her mistakes Nora realizes that Torvald’s love for her is so conditional that it is easily influenced by the situations around them. Torvald is so concerned about his honor that he never thinks about the feelings of Nora. He fails to live up to the role of a husband who is responsible for protecting his wife’s honor. Nora expresses her discontent at Torvald’s self-centered behavior and decides to leave the house. Instead of being just a wife and mother, Nora desires to become a sensible human being. Ibsen (2002) writes, â€Å"I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being. Just as you are—or, at all events, that I must try and become one. † (pg. 145). Torvald tries to convince Nora to stay with him but Nora refuses to listen to him. She leaves the house and goes in pursuit of an independent life where she can live according to her own desires and wishes. The end of the play serves as an appropriate resolution to Nora’s conflict with Torvald. Nora refuses to lead a doll-like life in order to save her marriage from breaking up. By leaving the house, Nora removes herself from the hold of her husband who treated her like a doll. An independent and determined Nora emerges in the final scene of the play. References Ibsen, H. (2001). A Doll’s House. Plain Label Books. 2002.

How Law Is Passed in Maldives Essay

How law is passed in Maldives. In Maldives laws are made in People’s MaJlis. It’s the supreme authority for law- making by the Article 70 of the constitution. Article 70. â€Å"(a) The legislative authority of the Maldives shall be vested in the People’s Mall’s. † In the Maldives there are 2 types of legislation considered by Parliament. These are: 1- Government Bills (Bills that are introduced by the Government) 2- Private Member Bills (Bills that are introduced by the Members whether individual or from a political party ) Government Bills Government Bills symbolize government policy and a Minister presents them. The bulk of Parliament’s stage is taken up with these types of bills. As the present government does not hold such a large parliamentary majority, it is almost uncertain that all Government Bills will be passed into law (though some may be passed along the way). Private Member Bills Individual Member of Parliaments (MPs) from any political party (or a peer) can introduce a Private Members Bill. These hardly have any chance of becoming law as too much of Parliament’s time is occupied up with Government bills. As a consequence of this, Parliament gets little chance to discuss Private Members Bills, et alone vote on them. Each legislative year, the Cabinet has to decide on what it needs to do regarding lawmaking that year. As such it has to arrange what it needs – though it has to be cautious of assurances made to the public at large. A lawmaking session does not last for one calendar year. With extended adjournments, Parliament actually sits for a lot less than twelve months. Lawmaking in Parliament is driven by what is said in the President Speech that usually opens Assembly in February. The government to introduce whatever form of legislation it needs, a possibly difficult process takes lace before the bill becomes law. The first process is one of origination. This is actually deciding what is going to be contained in that bill. Both ministers and civil servants are responsible for actually drafting the government bill. First the bills are sent to the parliament secretariat for getting scheduled to parliament agenda. The secretariat then will do a primary legal review regarding the text; purpose and the content are in accordance with the constitution and laid down parliament rules. After the preliminary review the secretariat will schedule the bill in the parliament agenda ith the approval of the Speaker. Then the bill will be introduced by the sponsored member and he shall explain the need and the contents of the bill. This stage is called â€Å"first reading† of the bill. Then members of the parliament discuss the bill and then vote on it. The First Reading is the first time that a bill goes before the MaJlis itself. The First Reading is, really nothing actually happens other than the fact a bill goes before Assembly. Then the bill goes for a Second Reading. By the time of the Reading that MPs have the chance for a wide-ranging discussion on a bill’s advantages or otherwise. Usually, though not exclusively, a parliamentary day is given over to a Second Reading, which usually corresponds to about three hours of discussion. Usually, a government minister opens a Second Reading. The debate in the MaJlis is controlled by either the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker. From the Second Reading, the bill moves onto to the Committee Stage. The Committee Stage is the most thorough scrutiny of the bill. This scrutiny is done by a Standing Committee that is made up of 12 to 25 MPs. The Committee evaluates and supports each clause ofa bill. It does not discuss the overall purpose of a bill. Each member of a Standing Committee is allowed to propose an amendment to clauses in the bill. The whole committee stage is meant to be a thorough examination of a bill and it is the longest part of the process. Once it has ended, the process moves on to the Report Stage. Report Stage can last from 30 minutes to several days. From here, the bill returns for its Third Reading. The Third Reading is the final part of the debate regarding the bill within the MaJlis. MPs discuss the overall content of the amended bill. After the third reading, the Speaker opens the floor to take vote for the bill. Then he MPs give their vote through electronic machines fixed infront of MPs Table. Then if MPs vote represents the majority of that session the bill will be passed and will be sent to the President for scrutinizing the Assent. And if it is doesnot get the majority it will be disqualified to become a law. Finally when the President receives the bill he has the discretion to give Assent in the first time. So, if he gives the Assent it will be published on the gazette and it will become a law. But, if he does not give Assent he shall sent the bill to MaJlis for review. Then again that bill is scheduled and MPs ebate on the reservations of the President, and if they still need to pass the law as it is, they shall pass that bill with big majority and sent to President for Assent. Then the President must give Assent and shall publish the new law in Gazzette. An act usually has a date or dates in its text as to when it will be implemented (or when parts of it will be implemented if it is a multi-layered act). Some acts have a Commencement Order in them to activate it, or parts of it. The implementation of that act means that it is part of the law of the land from that date. [ 1 ]. Constitution of Maldives 2008. page 48.

Monopoly and olygopoly Essay

A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity (this contrasts with amonopsony which relates to a single entity’s control of a market to purchase a good or service, and with oligopoly which consists of a few entities dominating an industry) Monopolies are thus characterized by a lack of economic competition to produce the good or service and a lack of viable substitute goods. The verb â€Å"monopolize† refers to the process by which a company gains the ability to raise prices or exclude competitors. In economics, a monopoly is a single seller. In law, a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power, to charge high prices. Although monopolies may be big businesses, size is not a characteristic of a monopoly. A small business may still have the power to raise prices in a small industry (or market). A monopoly is distinguished from a monopsony, in which there is only one buyer of a product or service ; a monopoly may also have monopsony control of a sector of a market. Likewise, a monopoly should be distinguished from a cartel (a form of oligopoly), in which several providers act together to coordinate services, prices or sale of goods. Monopolies, monopsonies and oligopolies are all situations such that one or a few of the entities have market power and therefore interact with their customers (monopoly), suppliers (monopsony) and the other companies (oligopoly) in ways that leave market interactions distorted. When not coerced legally to do otherwise, monopolies typically maximize their profit by producing fewer goods and selling them at higher prices than would be the case for perfect competition Monopolies can be established by a government, form naturally, or form by integration. In economics, the idea of monopoly is important for the study of market structures, which directly concerns normative aspects of economic competition, and provides the basis for topics such asindustrial organization and economics of regulation. There are four basic types of market structures by traditional economic analysis: perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly. A monopoly is a market structure in which a single supplier produces and sells a given product. If there is a single seller in a certain industry and there are not any close substitutes for the product, then the market structure is that of a â€Å"pure monopoly†. Sometimes, there are many sellers in an industry and/or there exist many close substitutes for the goods being produced, but nevertheless companies retain some market power. This is termed monopolistic competition, whereas by oligopoly the companies interact strategically. Characteristics †¢ Profit Maximizer: Maximizes profits. †¢ Price Maker: Decides the price of the good or product to be sold. †¢ High Barriers to Entry: Other sellers are unable to enter the market of the monopoly. †¢ Single seller: In a monopoly, there is one seller of the good that produces all the output. Therefore, the whole market is being served by a single company, and for practical purposes, the company is the same as the industry. †¢ Price Discrimination: A monopolist can change the price and quality of the product. He sells more quantities charging less price for the product in a very elastic market and sells less quantities charging high price in a less elastic market. Natural monopoly A natural monopoly is a company that experiences increasing returns to scale over the relevant range of output and relatively high fixed costs. A natural monopoly occurs where the average cost of production â€Å"declines throughout the relevant range of product demand†. The relevant range of product demand is where the average cost curve is below the demand curve. When this situation occurs, it is always cheaper for one large company to supply the market than multiple smaller companies; in fact, absent government intervention in such markets, will naturally evolve into a monopoly. An early market entrant that takes advantage of the cost structure and can expand rapidly can exclude smaller companies from entering and can drive or buy out other companies. A natural monopoly suffers from the same inefficiencies as any other monopoly. Left to its own devices, a profit-seeking natural monopoly will produce where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. Regulation of natural monopolies is problematic. Government-granted monopoly A government-granted monopoly (also called a â€Å"de jure monopoly†) is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or company to be the sole provider of a commodity; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of government enforcement OLIGOPOLY An oligopoly is a market structure in which a few firms dominate. When a market is shared between a few firms, it is said to be highly concentrated. Although only a few firms dominate, it is possible that many small firms may also operate in the market. For example, major airlines like British Airways (BA) and Air Franceoperate their routes with only a few close competitors, but there are also many small airlines catering for the holidaymaker or offering specialist services. Concentration ratios. Oligopolies may be identified using concentration ratios, which measure the proportion of total market share controlled by a given number of firms. When there is a high concentration ratio in an industry, economiststend to identify the industry as an oligopoly. Characteristics †¢ Profit maximization conditions: An oligopoly maximizes profits by producing where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. †¢ Ability to set price: Oligopolies are price setters rather than price takers. †¢ Entry and exit: Barriers to entry are high. [3] The most important barriers are economies of scale, patents, access to expensive and complex technology, and strategic actions by incumbent firms designed to discourage or destroy nascent firms. Additional sources of barriers to entry often result from government regulation favoring existing firms making it difficult for new firms to enter the market. †¢ Number of firms: â€Å"Few† – a â€Å"handful† of sellers. [3] There are so few firms that the actions of one firm can influence the actions of the other firms. [5] †¢ Long run profits: Oligopolies can retain long run abnormal profits. High barriers of entry prevent sideline firms from entering market to capture excess profits. †¢ Product differentiation: Product may be homogeneous (steel) or differentiated (automobiles). †¢ Perfect knowledge: Assumptions about perfect knowledge vary but the knowledge of various economic factors can be generally described as selective. Oligopolies have perfect knowledge of their own cost and demand functions but their inter-firm information may be incomplete. Buyers have only imperfect knowledge as to price, cost and product quality. †¢ Interdependence: The distinctive feature of an oligopoly is interdependence. Oligopolies are typically composed of a few large firms. Each firm is so large that its actions affect market conditions. Therefore the competing firms will be aware of a firm’s market actions and will respond appropriately. This means that in contemplating a market action, a firm must take into consideration the possible reactions of all competing firms and the firm’s countermoves. It is very much like a game of chess or pool in which a player must anticipate a whole sequence of moves and countermoves in determining how to achieve his or her objectives. For example, an oligopoly considering a price reduction may wish to estimate the likelihood that competing firms would also lower their prices and possibly trigger a ruinous price war. Or if the firm is considering a price increase, it may want to know whether other firms will also increase prices or hold existing prices constant. This high degree of interdependence and need to be aware of what other firms are doing or might do is to be contrasted with lack of interdependence in other market structures. In a perfectly competitive (PC) market there is zero interdependence because no firm is large enough to affect market price. All firms in a PC market are price takers, as current market selling price can be followed predictably to maximize short-term profits. In a monopoly, there are no competitors to be concerned about. In a monopolistically-competitive market, each firm’s effects on market conditions is so negligible as to be safely ignored by competitors. †¢ Non-Price Competition: Oligopolies tend to compete on terms other than price. Loyalty schemes, advertisement, and product differentiation are all examples of non-price competition. Advantages of Oligopoly Big Businesses Gain Massive Profits †¢ One of the greatest advantages that occurs from an oligopoly is for the few businesses which control the market for a product or service to build large profits due to reduced sales costs. If just a few companies are in control of the market, the companies have limited competition. It is able to reduce the costs of sales, advertising, promotion and public relations because there is very limited competition to pull the customers away. These reductions in cost can allow the companies in the oligopoly to build larger profits than they would have earned if there were more competitiors. Ability to Determine Prices. Instead of having to keep up with the market, the oligopolies essentially control the market. Unlike other markets where there are more competitiors, the companies in an oligopoly are less concerned about what other companies charge. They are able to establish prices for goods that people want and need based on what the companies in the oligopoly want to charge. Long Term Profits. These companies not only make massive profits, but they are able to retain them for the long haul. It takes a long time and a lot of money for a company to work its way into being a major supplier and part of the oligopoly. During this time, the existing oligopoly companies are able to maintain their profits. Disadvantages of Oligopoly Power in the Hands of a Few. If only a few companies control the availability of a specific product or service, these companies control everything about those products – what they look like, what they cost and how they are sold. Putting this power in the hand of a few companies takes away the normal influences of the market and the consumer. The market and the consumer are now totally relying on the companies to make the right decisions, even during periods of market unrest such as limited availability of a specific component, or escalating prices of raw materials. When the wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few companies, smaller businesses have a harder time being seen as a powerful player in the market. They would have to spend a lot of advertising and sales money to compete with the large powerful oligopoly companies. Creativity. When the knowledge and awareness of a product or service is concentrated in just a few companies, it can be difficult for new ideas to come into play. The existing companies may decide to minimize new products and new distribution methods since they are happy with their current processes and they don’t have any motivation to be competitive by lowering prices or introducing new products or processes. For the individual consumer this lack of creativity leads to out-of-date products and services. Setting Prices. These big businesses have the power to determine what the prices will be, without any concern for competition. This is a negative for the consumer and for other businesses. The whole idea of competitive pricing is thrown out the window when these businesses go about their pricing practices. As you can probably see, oligopolies appear to be beneficial for the companies involved in them, but not so great for the other businesses and consumers in the society. GLOBALISATION Globalization (or Globalisation) is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Globalization describes the interplay across cultures of macro-social forces. These forces include religion, politics, and economics. Globalization can erode and universalize the characteristics of a local group. Advances in transportation andtelecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities. Though several scholars place the origins of globalization in modern times, others trace its history long before the European age of discoveryand voyages to the New World. Some even trace the origins to the third millennium BCE. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the pace of globalization has proceeded at an rapid rate. Benefits of Globalisation †¢ By buying products from other nations customers are offered a much wider choice of goods and services. †¢ Creates competition for local firms and thus keeps costs down. †¢ Globalisation promotes specialisation. Countries can begin to specialise in those products they are best at making. †¢ Economic Interdependence among different nations can build improved political and social links. Drawbacks of Globalisation. †¢ Cheap imports from developing nations could lead to unemployment in developed countries where the cost of production is high. †¢ Choosing to specialise in certain products may lead to unemployment in other sectors which are not prioritised. †¢ Increased competition for infant industry. †¢ ‘Dumping’ of goods by certain countries at below cost price may harm industries in order countries. Economic globalization is the increasing economic interdependence of national economies across the world through a rapid increase in cross-bordermovement of goods, service, technology and capital. Whereas the globalization of business is centered around the diminution of international trade regulations as well as tariffs, taxes, and other impediments that suppresses global trade, economic globalization is the process of increasing economic integration between countries, leading to the emergence of a global marketplace or a single world market. Depending on the paradigm, economic globalization can be viewed as either a positive or a negative phenomenon. Economic globalization comprises the globalization of production, markets, competition, technology, and corporations and industries. Current globalization trends can be largely accounted for by developed economies integrating with less developed economies, by means of foreign direct investment, the reduction of trade barriers as well as other economic reforms and, in many cases, immigration. Support and criticism Reactions to processes contributing to globalization have varied widely with a history as long as extraterritorial contact and trade. Philosophical differences regarding the costs and benefits of such processes give rise to a broad-range of ideologies and social movements. Proponents of economic growth, expansion and development, in general, view globalizing processes as desirable or necessary to the well-being of human society[209] Antagonists view one or more globalizing processes as detrimental to social well-being on a global or local scale;[209] this includes those who question either the social or natural sustainability of long-term and continuous economic expansion, the social structural inequality caused by these processes, and the colonial, Imperialistic, orhegemonic ethnocentrism, cultural assimilation and cultural appropriation that underlie such processes. The basic function of economy system Every economic system provides solutions to four questions: what goods and services will be produced; how they will be produced; for whom they will be produced; and how they will be allocated between consumption (for present use) and investment (for future use). In a decentralized (usually private enterprise) economic system, these questions are resolved, and economic coordination is achieved, through the price mechanism. Allocation Competitive markets — not corporate-dominated oligopolies — can perform well here so long as side-effects, such as externalities, are incorporated into prices. Ecological economists recognize a legitimate role of the market in society based on the efficiency of allocation of resources. A major improvement in markets includes the side-effects, so markets tell the ecological and social truth. However, pollution provides a subsidy to firms who would otherwise have to clean up their mess. They are easy to hide, hard to calculate, so they persist. This is called a market failure. If markets fail, this means becomes a central point of contention. ESS thus should make a big deal over market failure, which then becomes an institutional failure. Externalities. An externality is a consequence, positive or negative, of an economic activity that affects other parties without this affect being incorporated into market prices. Thus, market price deviates from the â€Å"true† social cost, sending the wrong signal. Note also the subtle linguistic trivialization. Interestingly, the economics profession has long neglected to assess the size or significance of externalities or to calculate the damages perpetrated on its victims, who by definition had these harms inflicted upon them without their participation-despite the obvious dysfunctions of industrialization and urbanization. Indeed, the bias of public policy in the USA has been to protect the producers, not the public at large. Daly comments on the trivialization of externalities by neoclassical economics: When increasingly vital facts, including the very capacity of the earth to support life, have to be treated as â€Å"externalities,† then it is past time to change the basic framework of our thinking so that we can treat these critical issues internally and centrally. Global Fairness Read Sachs and grasp his message. This is authentic social ecology. Without a grand social contract, cooperation between the Global North and the Global South will fail. The results will be disastrous. Sachs realizes that copycat development, the replication of the economic development practices of the global rich, will surely lead to global ruin: more poverty within vast ecological catastrophe. Orthodox western economics can neither be extended to the majority of the earth’s human inhabitants nor can it be sustained indefinitely by the 20% or so who enjoy its cornucopia. Sachs reveals the parasitical political character of global capitalism masquerading as shared economic development. The USA enjoys the opportunity to provide leadership here, but this moral authority has been squandered. ESS requires such leadership, soon. A good place to start is Africa. Brown provides much insight here. Left to itself, a market society will produce large maldistributions in wealth and income. In practice, the market-driven returns to capital, as profits and capital gains, accrue to the wealthy few, the capitalist class, while the returns to labor, wages and salaries, go to a multitude, the working class. This dynamic produces a class-based inequality of both wealth and income, which translates into differential political power. In the past, the inequalities were mitigated by redistributive tax policies–anathema to neo-liberalism, as exhibited by the recent Bush tax cuts. In the era of economic globalization, inequality has grown sharply within nations, including the USA, and on the global scene. Yet, economists regard this normative concern as outside the ken of â€Å"scientific economics. † Therefore, when issues of social justice are openly discussed in the context of sustainable development, do not turn to economics for insight. The usual deflection of the fairness discussion,now in play in the USA since the 2006 election, is to promote economic growth. Grow the pie rather than quibble over the size of the slices. But if the ingredients for physical growth become scarce, growth slows down and the quibbles morph into arguments. This can easily spin out of control. Count on it. Innovation Growth remains the engine of economic globalization without which the system as constituted would crash–although with runaway material growth earth’s ecosystems will surely crash. Schumpeter put it this way: Capitalism, then, is by nature a form of economic change and not only never is but never can be stationary. Schumpeter derided the â€Å"textbook picture† that depicted economic progress as the result of market-based competition . Rather, he pointed to innovation in products, sources of supply, organization, and technology that created a new context â€Å"which strikes not at the margins of the profits and the outputs of the existing firms but at their foundations and their very lives† . Indeed, Schumpeter foresaw that capitalism itself would fall victim to the turbulent task environment of its own making: The capitalist process not only destroys its own institutional framework but it also creates the conditions for another. Destruction may not be the right word after all. Perhaps I should have spoken of transformation . The pivotal move of ESS is to open up a horizon for enormous technical and social progress while maintaining and even restoring harmony with nature. Thus, sustainability offers enormous opportunity. The language of hope must replace the language of despair. There is real opportunity here. ^ Perverse Subsidies A related topic, rarely brought into view, is the plethora of perverse, often hidden, subsidies, including externalities, enjoyed by corporations in such established industries as energy, agriculture, and transportation. Not only do these gifts typically promote older, dirtier, less efficient industries, but they also stymie the development of innovative, cleaner alternatives –depressing prospects for sustainability. For example, subsidies to cotton farmers in the USA disadvantage cotton cultivators in Africa and subsidies to nuclear power generators present an unfair advantage to start-up wind power producers. These often hidden subsidies undermine economic efficiency and promote environmental damage, but go largely neglected in the economic literature. A study released in 2001 by Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent estimates the global cost of perverse subsidies at two trillion dollars, about 5. 6% of the $35 trillion global economy. The subsidy-rich, environmentally poor Bush-Cheney energy policy was formulated behind closed doors with input from energy giants like Enron but with no public disclosure. Eliminating perverse subsidies must be a first step toward building a sustainable economy. Thus, grappling with perverse subsidies and tilting the market toward renewable resources must be high on an ESS agenda. There are multiple components to economic systems. Decision-making structures of an economy determine the use of economic inputs (the means of production), distribution of output, the level of centralization in decision-making, and who makes these decisions. Decisions might be carried out byindustrial councils, by a government agency, or by private owners. Some aspects of these structures include: †¢ Coordination mechanism: How information is obtained and used to coordinate economic activity. The two dominant forms of coordination includeplanning and the market; planning can be either centralized or de-centralized, and the two mechanisms are not mutually exclusive. †¢ Productive property rights: This refers to ownership (rights to the proceeds of output generated) and control over the use of the means of production. They may be owned privately, by the state, by those who use it, or held in common by society. †¢ Incentive system: A mechanism for inducing certain economic agents to engage in productive activity; it can be based on either material reward (compensation) or moral reward (social prestige).