Brain Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brain Research - Essay Example Such factors made me realize that I want to know more about the brain and its functions, how tumors and cancers are developed in it and answer many more questions about the amazing organ. This, in part, may have been for the want of understanding and probably preventing my family from developing brain tumor because as they say, such sickness is hereditary. Although such fear may be unnecessary, I understand that knowing more about the illness will not only enable me to help myself and my family but I can assist other people as well. The growing number of cases of brain tumor and cancer suggests that there is a need for more professionals who are well-equipped and able to help patients and I want to be a part of such medical team. In joining the program, I foresee myself developing strong research skills. I know that I will be working alongside qualified and efficient trainers so it is expected that I will be learning a lot about the processes of medical research. Moreover, since research is not simply gathering information but assimilating them as well, I will be able to improve my scientific and critical thinking. Besides, scientific and critical thinking have always been important considerations not only in the medical field but other professions as well. I also want to gain experience with cutting-edge research techniques which I believe the program provides under the able hands of the select professors and trainers. Consequently, I know that I will benefit from attentive mentoring. In addition, research is becoming a must in almost all fields of study so I want to prepare myself for such tasks in my pursuit for further studies. I want to become comfortable in a research environment because I know I will be doing it not only in the university but also in the profession I am tracking. In fact, I see research as an essential part in the

Segment Analysis of The Dark Knight Rises Essay

Segment Analysis of The Dark Knight Rises - Essay Example The chief of the police Gordon is a man of conscience and determined to fight against the crime and is willing to take lessons from its past mistakes. The character of Batman was in shadows and did not appear till the rate of crimes in the city again starting to swell. The Cat woman tries to get rid of her criminal career with the help of mercenary named Bane, who asks her to hand over Batman in return. Wayne Enterprises had been into loses since Bruce had withdrawn the fusion reactor for it could be used for weaponisation. Batman was captured by Bane with the help of Kyle the Cat woman and was imprisoned. While Bane take the whole city under siege by converting the fusion from reactor into an atomic bomb, and let his gang member to loot the city. Batman after months of training successfully escaped from the jail and asked Klye Fox (the man who runs Wayne Enterprises), Blake (an able young detective), Gordon and Lady Tate (member of Wayne Enterprises executive board) for their help i n order to take the bomb back from Bane. Police force start to take over the city from Bane’s gang, while Batman tried to neutralize the weapon, it is here when Tate stabs him with a knife her true identity Talia al-Ghul, Ra’s al-Ghul’s child who was helped to escape from the prison in order to complete her father’s mission to destroy the Gotham city. While Tate was looking for the bomb, Bane was killed by Kyle. Batman rushed to get the bomb out of the hands of Tate, who before dying destroys the reactor so Batman could not stabilize the bomb by placing it again in the reactor. Batman took the bomb to bay where it detonates, in the end the city mourned over the tragic death of its superhero, but Fox finds that Bruce had fixed the auto pilot and Gordon too finds the bat signal, later Alfred (fatherly figure for Batman), finds Batman with Kyle in Florence. The young Officer Blake resigns from the police force and take control of the Bat-cave (Anthony, 2012) . Segmentation Analysis: 1) Rate of crime in Gotham City: Since the last eight years the rate of crime had been controlled by the police chief and eradicated various elements of crime nurtured by the old chief. James Gordon a good and hones officers feels himself responsible for covering up the crimes of the old chief this segment of the movie takes place as: Uzbek military militia moving toward the airfield with Dr. Pavel a nuclear scientist in a van carrying three hooded prisoners, some special ops commandos and a CIA agent were bought by the scientist. The CIA agent killed two of the prisoners while interrogating for Bane, the mercenary and when he comes to the third prisoner it was revealed that it is Bane, a C-130 emerges and his militia man takes over the commuter jet and killed everyone except for the doctor and detonates the plane. 2) Hervey Dent’s Farewell: Goth city police department gathers to mourn over the death of their ex police chief, while Gordon plans to rev eal the crimes of the last chief for which batman was held accountable, but did not as his deputy praises his effort to reduce the crime, the mayor of the city plans to remove him in the spring. The event was hosted by Bruce (Batman) who was not there and Lady Tate wants to meet him for the reasons unknown to John Daggett (a businessman). 3) Revelation of true identity of Salina Kyle: Salina Kyle the cat woman disguised as a maid in the Wayne Manor, successfully open the uncrackable safe of Bruce and took out his mother’s necklace and out of curiosity start looking at Bruce’s pictures. At the same time Bruce arrives and tries to get her but she ran away by taking a lift in the congressman’

High Stakes Test In Trinidad And Tobago

High Stakes Test In Trinidad And Tobago High stakes tests are defined as those tests that carry serious consequences for students or educators. The consequences from standardized achievement tests range from grade retention for school children to rewards or punitive measures for schools and school districts. The nature of standardized achievement tests used in these situations poses validity problems for the decisions. Numerous unintended negative consequences for students, teachers, curriculum, and schools have been identified. (Ohio Journal of Science) High-stakes are not a characteristic of the test itself, but rather of the consequences placed on the outcome. For instance, no matter what test is used whether it is a written multiple choice, oral examination, performance test a student wanting a medical license must pass the medical licensing test to practice medicine. The acuity of the stakes may vary. For instance, college students who wish to omit an introductory-level course are often given exams to see whether they have already mastered the material and move to the next level. By passing the exam they can attain credits that can reduce tuition expenses and time spent at  university. A student who is anxious to have these benefits may consider the test to be a high-stakes exam. Another student, who places no importance on the outcome, so long as he is placed in a class that is appropriate to his skill level, may consider the same exam to be a low-stakes test. To further concretize the idea what high stakes testing really is one can examine the phrase high stakes. High stakes is derived directly from a  gambling  term. In gambling, a  stake  is referred to the quantity of money or goods that is risked on the outcome of some specific event. A high-stakes game is one in which, in the players individual opinion, a large quantity of money is being risked. The term is meant to imply that executing such a system introduces indecision and potential losses for test takers, who must pass the exam to win, instead of being able to obtain the goal through other means. High Stakes Test in Trinidad and Tobago In Trinidad and Tobago, in the early 1960s the high stakes test of Common Entrance Examination was introduced and served to replace the College Exhibition. It was intended that it would be the only tool of qualification for secondary education in this country. It was not intended to be a pass or fail examination and the number of awards depended on the number of secondary school places available at the time. This examination, for all intent and purposes, was a multiple-choice examination. The multiple choice tests were in English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science with the exception of the Composition aspect of the examination. Students were then placed into secondary schools on the basis of their order of merit and their parents choice of school. The Common Entrance Examination system had its drawbacks. Many critics stated that anxiety, depression, pains, fever, delirious behaviour and severe panic attacks were some of the effects the Common Entrance Examination had on students. These and many other reasons led to the failure of this system and it was because of this failure that a Task Force chaired by Mr. Clive Pantin, and which included Dr. Anna Mahase, Dr. Janet Stanely-Marcano, Mr. Anthony Garcia among others, was set up to look at the removal of this Examination. The Task Force in its findings found that anxiety and stress remained an attribute of the Common Entrance Examination and those immediately concerned with it. It also highlighted the sense of unworthiness and disappointment which became a characteristic of not only those who failed to gain a place, but also of those who were successful but failed to gain admission to the school of their choice. It further stated that due to the importance of the examination and due to a lack of acceptable alternatives to public secondary education the examination began to exert an inordinate influence on the primary school, the curriculum and teaching practices. Teachers were often very restricted to that subject which would be tested at the examination. It was found that students, even those who performed well in the examination, entered secondary school without the necessary basic preparation for secondary school work. It found that nearly fifty percent (50%) of the students who wrote the Common Entrance Examination appeared to be semi literate and innumerate. The Task Force recommended, among other things, that there was need to develop a Secondary Entrance Examination which would test the students level of competence in the key areas of English, Mathematics and Written Composition. It stated that this needed be done in a manner which would indicate readiness of the secondary education programme. Additionally, it stated that Science and Social Studies should be omitted because of the unwarranted influence they had on the final result in the Common Entrance Examination placement of students and because they were unsatisfactorily tested. It also recommended that a Continuous Assessment Programme (CAP) should become an integral part of the School System. The Continuous Assessment Programme was to be used to determine the students readiness for promotion. The Secondary Entrance Assessment, a system of education which prepared the child for entry into a secondary school and included mechanisms to determine when the child was ready and where he or she would be placed, was the major aims of that new system of education. According the Universal Secondary Education Project Implementation Unit December 28th 1999, the implementation of the Secondary Entrance Assessment would provide a link between separate elements of the Universal Secondary Education in Trinidad and Tobago. Secondary Entrance Examination would assess students readiness for secondary schools by testing their skills in Language, Mathematics and Problem-solving and covers the national curriculum for Primary-level education with a focus on Standards three-five. Students who are in Standard five and have not yet attained the age of 15 are eligible to write the SEA. It alluded to the fact that there would be no multiple-choice questions, a feature of the Common Entrance Examinati on. Furthermore, it stated that placement in the secondary schools would be based on marks scored on the exam; the available of places in their school of choice, availability of secondary places in their education division and taking into account the 20 percent (20%) provision granted to denominational school under the Concordat. Interviews and results Interview Schedule for High Stakes Test Research Paper Two week schedule Tasks Activity Time Frame Duration 1. Sensitization of teacher, parent and students 1. Meeting to set the purpose for forthcoming interview March 2nd 2010 One hour 2. Development of questionnaires 1. Questionnaires will be formulated by interview personnel March 3rd and 4th 2010 Two days 3. Set up appointments for interviews 1. Interview personnel set up appointment with stakeholders for interviews. March 5th 2010 One day 4. Interview with teacher 1. Interview personnel interviews teacher on a one on one basis using questionnaire March 8th 2010 One hour 5. Interview with parent 1. Interview personnel has a one on one interview with parent March 9th 2010 One hour 6. Interview with three students 1. Interview personnel has a one on one interview with students at different times. March 10th 2010 Three hours 7. Analyze and synthesize data 1. Interview personnel analyzes and synthesizes data collected March 11th and 12th 2010 Two daysTeachers Perception of the High Stake Test. The teacher I interviewed has been teaching the Standard Five class for the past fifteen years. Upon receiving his new class he does a standard diagnostic test to measure the level of readiness of his students. He is faced with many challenges namely lack of resources, varying abilities of students, improper infrastructure, limited parental support, overcrowding and most importantly the high demand of workload to completed before the SEA examination. He uses his initiative to alleviate some of these challenges for instance creating his own resources, schedule parent conferences, plan and execute lessons using various teaching strategies to meet the needs of his students. To complete his program of work before the examination he sacrifices personal time during the vacation and on Saturdays and sometimes on afternoons after school to conduct classes for slower learners. In his opinion a multiple choice test which was the main form of testing in the Common Entrance examination does not truly reflect the abilities of students. He feels that children need to express themselves and think critically when dealing with problems. Hence the SEA examination is the better choice for the high stake testing in Trinidad and Tobago. Examination in its many forms poses some level of anxiety among students, teachers and parents and the fact remains that the coping mechanism for this is all the individuals responsibility. He is of the opinion that the SEA examination is an appropriate assessment tool to measure students performance in our rapidly changing society. There are many advantages and disadvantages to high stakes testing and more so the SEA examination. This teacher believes that this form of assessment will assist all students to learn more by demanding higher student proficiency and providing effective methods to help students achieve high standards; provide parents, schools, and communities with an unprecedented opportunity to debate and reach agreement on what students should know and be able to do; focus the education system on understandable, objective, measurable, and well-defined goals to enable schools to work smarter and more productively; reinforce the best teaching and educational practices already found in classrooms and make them the norm; and provide real accountability by focusing squarely on results and helping the public and local and state educators evaluate which programs work best. He also believes that there are many shortcomings with respect to high stakes testing. These include the careless implementation of programmes of work that may not meet the varying abilities of students which may result in negative consequences. Sacrifice, diligence, determination are the key for the successful completion of any examination was the closing comments by this standard teacher. Parents Perception There is a high level of anxiety for this parent by having a child in the Standard five class. She feels that this examination is heavily weighted and causes a lot of stress related incidents at home and school for parents and children as well. Being a housewife, she has sufficient time to assist her child with his preparation for the test. She feels that the child has to do this examination whether it is fair or not because this is the norm in this country. This parent is of the opinion that SEA is less demanding than the common entrance examination because the emphasis is on mathematics and language arts areas and there is no longer the science and social studies component. She believes that SEA is the best means of measuring her childs performance. Time management and lack of knowledge of content are some of the challenges that this parent encounters when trying to assist her child. She seeks assistance from other parents and the teacher when uncertainty arises in assisting her child. Motivation is a key factor in the success of her child. She believes that if the child is motivated he will do well. She tries to emulate her parents as she was also motivated to do her best. She is quite confident that her child will succeed in the SEA examination because of the teachers competences, her support and most importantly the childs effort. As a parent she feels that she did her best in preparing her child for this high stakes test. Childrens Perception The three students aspire to successfully acquire their first choice in the high stakes test and plan to work diligently towards achieving this goal. They believe that the SEA examination is one of the most important one that they will have to write. They feel they do not have enough time to prepare and it is a lot of sacrifice and hard work. They all believe that their teacher is the best and they will definitely succeed. They have been doing many past papers and attending extra classes. With the exception of one child, they feel that their parents provide ample support for them. All three students have the confidence that they are prepared for the SEA examination and they will secure their first choice. Common themes All stakeholders believe that the SEA examination is an appropriate assessment tool to measure students performance Sacrifice, hard work, dedication and commitment are crucial for successful attainment in the SEA examination. Stress and anxiety affects everyone in any examination. Support from all stakeholders are essential components in the preparation for high stakes test. Teacher competency is a key factor in the success of any student. Conclusion High stakes in its entirety is relevant in Trinidad and Tobago. It serves as the medium from the primary level to the secondary level. Much emphasis is placed on this test and it is the stepping stone for advance studies and is crucial to attainment of certificates and diplomas that will secure a good job. While there may be shortcomings in the implementation of programmes of work which may not meet the varying abilities of students can result in negative consequences. However, in preparing for high stakes test students will develop critical thinking and problem solving skills. It allows students to achieve higher standards. With respect to schools, it promotes well define goals which will lead to more productivity and provide real accountability. The Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) in Trinidad and Tobago is the high stake test that assesses students readiness for secondary schools by testing their skills in Language, Mathematics and Problem-solving. Appendix 1 Teacher Questionnaire How long have been teaching a standard five class? On receiving a new class of students, how do you diagnose the level of your students readiness? What are some challenges you face in teaching a standard five class? What are some strategies you used to overcome these challenges? What is your opinion of the removal of the common entrance examination and the implementation of the SEA examination? Do you think the level of anxiety of students is the same with to the shift from the common entrance examination to the SEA examination? Is the SEA examination an appropriate assessment tool to measure students performance? What do you think is the advantages of this assessment tool? What are the disadvantages of this assessment instrument? What recommendation can you give to alleviate the pressures of this exam? Appendix 2 Parent Questionnaire How do you feel as a parent having a child in an SEA class? Do you spend sufficient time assisting your child in his school work? Do you think it is fair to your child for this examination to be the determining factor of his placement in a secondary school? What is your opinion the removal of the Common entrance examination and the implementation of the SEA examination? Do you think it is an appropriate assessment tool to measure your childs abilities? What are some challenges you face as a parent with a child in a SEA class? How do you cope with the challenges faced? Do you think motivation is necessary to alleviate some of the stress that your child faces? Why? Do you think your child is capable of successfully completing the SEA examination? Why? Do you feel that you have fulfilled your duty as a parent in preparing your child for the examination? Appendix 3 Student Questionnaire What are your aspirations upon entering in SEA class? What are your opinions with respect to the upcoming SEA examination? What are some of the challenges you are facing in preparing for the exam? Do you think your teacher is competent in preparing you for this examination? What have you been doing to prepare for the examination? How are your parents supporting you in the preparation for the examination? Do you feel you are ready for the examination? What do you think the outcome of the exam will be?

We Must Stop Legislation to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Cell phones began with only a select few could afford a cell phone. Today with most Americans owning cell phones we must look at the benefits and downfalls of cellular technology. The issue of driving while dialing brings up the most controversy. The legislation in place to govern the use of cellular phones in certain cities is justified, but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. The cell phone has been around since the fifties when they first had the idea from using CB radio frequencies. AT&T was the first to bring about the technology back in the late forties and early fifties. The FCC regulated all radio frequencies broadcast and limited AT&T to twenty-three phone calls simultaneously in the same service area. In the seventies the FCC later allowed more use of the radio waves. In the late seventies the first trials were made in Chicago with 2000 initial customers (Bellis 1). In the 1987 cellular customers hit one million. Today one half of the people living in the United States own a cell phone. It is true that drivers can be clearly distracted from the road from cellular phones. Drivers will have them in a purse in the backseat or in an inaccessible pocket that they will be startled to get to when someone calls. Drivers will struggle to get to the phone in a timely manner and that becomes their priority instead of the road in front of them. Drivers may swerve or cut off another driver in while trying to answer a cell phone or trying dialing a ten digit telephone number. An Ohio insurance company took a poll of eight hundred drivers. The results of the poll are as follows: 43% said they had accelerated on at least one occasion while using their mobile phone; 23% said they had tailgated; 18% said they had cut someone off; 10% ran a red light; and 41% said they had accelerated to get away from someone else in another vehicle on a mobile phone (Ropeik 16). It is obvious that cell phones are a distraction but are the distractions caused by cell phones outweighed by the security and added convenience of a cell phone? There are hundreds of benefits from cellular phones. The convenience more than anything is what appeals to most users. Cell phones can be used for work or for personal use. Businessmen and women will use them to call clients and parents will use them to check on the babysitter.

Theatre of the Absurd

THE THEATRE OF THE ABSURD The dictionary meaning of the word ‘Absurd’ is unreasonable, ridiculous or funny. But it is used in a somewhat different sense when we speak of the ‘Theatre of the Absurd’, or more commonly known now-a-days as ‘Absurd Drama’. The phrase ‘The Theatre of the Absurd’ was coined by the critic Martin Esslin, who made it the title of his book on the same subject, published in 1961. Esslin points out in this book that there is no such thing as a regular â€Å"movement† of Absurd Dramatists. The term was useful as ‘a device to make certain common fundamental traits that were present in the works of a number of dramatists’. Esslin saw in the works of these playwrights as artistic co-relation to Albert Camus’ philosophy that life is inherently without meaning as is described in his work ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’. In this essay Camus has described the situation of the human beings as one out of harmony with its surroundings. The Theatre of the Absurd, today, can be considered as a designation for particular plays written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and also, along with that, to the style and form of theatre which has evolved from their work. A short but true story narrated in the beginning of Martin Esslin’s book The Theatre of the Absurd provides the best commentary on the significance of the Absurd, and also helps in understanding the human values of Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot, which is famous as an Absurd Drama par excellence. This is the story as told by Mr. Esslin – â€Å"On 19th November 1957, a group of worried actors were preparing to face their audience. The actors were members of the company of the San Francisco Actor’s workshop. The audience consisted of fourteen hundred convicts at the San Quentin penitentiary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. The curtain parted. The play began. And what had bewildered the sophisticated audiences of Paris, London, and New York, was immediately grasped by an audience of convicts†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The trio of muscle men, biceps overflowing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. parked all 642 lbs on the aisle and waited for the girls and funny stuff. When this didn’t appear they audibly fumed and audibly decided to wait until the house lights dimmed before escaping. They made one error. They listened and looked two minutes too-long-and stayed. Left at the end. All shook. A reporter from the San Francisco Chronicle who was present noted that the convicts did not find it difficult to understand the play. One prisoner told him ‘Godot is Society’. Said another ‘He’s the outside’. A teacher at the prison was quoted as saying: They know what is meant by waiting†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. and they know if Godot finally came he would only be a disappointment. † This story is helpful in understanding the genre of the Absurd. Playwrights commonly associated with the Theatre of the Absurd include Samuel Beckett from Ireland, Eugene Ionesco from Rumania, Jean Genet from France and Harold Pinter of Great Britain. The Absurd in their plays takes the form of man’s reaction to a world apparently without meaning, or man as a puppet that is controlled or threatened by an invisible outside force. Though the term is applied to a wide range of plays, some characteristics coincide in many of the plays. For instance broad comedy is mixed with tragic images where the characters are caught in hopeless situations and are forced to do repetitive or meaningless action. Even the dialogues are full of specialized jargons, and wordplays and cliches and even nonsense. Even the plots are mostly cyclical or absurdly expansive. Regarding the story, it is either a parody or a dismissal of realism. The Theatre of the Absurd is commonly associated with Existentialism, and Existentialism was an influential philosophy in Paris during the rise of the Absurd Theatre. However, it is not exactly correct. Historically Existentialism grew with the nineteenth century writings of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. On reading Nietzsche’s Zarathustra published in 1883, the readers come across a startling phrase that God is dead! According to Esslin, since then for many more people, God has died. He says; â€Å"And so after two terrible wars, there are still many who are trying to come to terms with the implication of Zarathustra’s message searching for a way in which they can with dignity, confront a universe, deprived of what was once its centre and its living purpose, a world deprived of a generally accepted integrating principle, which has become disappointed and purposeless. The Theatre of the Absurd is one of the expressions of this search; it seeks to re-establish an awareness of man’s situation when confronted with the ultimate reality of his condition. For the people, in between the two World Wars, the world seemed to be falling apart. Disintegration of the society, the menace of the unknown and utter loneliness of man, all this and many more made human beings look upon life as useless and futile. The world had become a place where man continues to waste, and pine and, and degenerate. In Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, the situation of man in this universe is summarized by Pozzo’s outburst in the second act of the play: â€Å"One day we were born, one day we shall die, the same day, the same second, is that not enough. They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more. † A most poignant image of death comes out in these lines. Esslin feels that in Beckett’s plays physical nature follows its own cycle, birth – growth – degeneration – decay and death. Seasons follow each other but there is hardly any escape The origin of the Theatre of the Absurd is rooted in the new pioneering experiments in the art of the 1920s and 1930s. The aim of these experiments was to do away with art as a mere imitation of appearances. It was after the First World War that German Expressionism attempted to project the inner realities and also tried to objectify thoughts and feelings. At the same time, the Theatre of the Absurd was also strongly influenced by the traumatic experience of the horrors of the Second World War, which showed the total impermanence of any values and shook the validity of long time held conventions. It also highlighted the precariousness of human life and also its fundamental meaninglessness and unpredictability. The trauma of living from 1945, under the threat of nuclear annihilation also seems to have been an important factor in the rise of this new theatre. At the same time, the Theatre of the Absurd also seems to have been the reaction to the disappearance of the religious dimensions from contemporary life. Absurd Theatre hopes to achieve this by shocking man out of an existence that has become overused, mechanical and self satisfying. It aims to startle the viewer, shake him out of this comfortable conventional life of everyday concerns. The Theatre of the Absurd highlights man’s fundamental bewilderment and confusion originating from the fact that man has no answers to the basic existential questions like why we are alive, why we have to die, why there is injustice and suffering. Playwrights share the view that man is inhabiting a universe with which he is out of key. Its meaning is indecipherable and his place within it is without purpose. He is bewildered, troubled and maybe even obscurely threatened. Man’s tragedy is that he is not aware of his problem. Man is always trying to seek some purpose in life by getting involved in trivialities and superficial pursuits. This is one reason why tragedy and farce are closely interlinked in the Theatre oh the Absurd. Even at the moment of the tragic climax in Waiting for Godot, farce enters the moment. Estragon’s trousers fall in attempting suicide and the chord breaks, when thy try its strength, making Estragon and Vladimir almost fall. The comedy here illustrates their life’s hopelessness and the futility of all their efforts to end them. The perfect statement of the philosophy of the Theatre of the Absurd as defined by Martin Esslin, is in which the world is seen as a hall of reflecting mirrors, and Reality merges gradually into fantasy. If God is dead, then surely the Theatre of the Absurd is looking for an alternative spiritual goal, i. e. making man aware of his lost moorings and trying to make him feel what he has to regain. Plays within this group are absurd in that they focus not on logical acts or realistic occurrences or even traditional character development. They instead focus on human beings trapped in an incomprehensible world facing incidents which are illogical. Mainly the theme of incomprehensibility is coupled with the inadequacy of language. Basically there is no story, no dramatic conflict and nothing really ever happens. Mostly there is repetitive action and circular arrangement of events. Devaluation of language is also an important trait of the Absurd Drama. Esslin says that Absurdism is the inevitable devaluation of ideals, purity and purpose. Absurdist drama asks its viewers to draw his own conclusions and make his own errors. Though Theatre of the Absurd may be seen as nonsense, they have something to say and can be understood. Even regarding plots, traditional plot structures are rarely considered as good plots in the Theatre of the Absurd. Plots usually consist of Absurd repetition of action as in Waiting for Godot or The Bald Soprano. Often there is an outside force that remains a mystery like in The Birthday Party or A Delicate Balance. Absence, emptiness, nothingness and unresolved mysteries are central features in many Absurdist plots, for example, in The Chairs an old couple welcomes a large number of guests to their home, but these guests are invisible so all we see is empty chairs, representing their absence. Another example is where the action of Waiting for Godot is centered on the absence of a man named Godot, for whom the two characters keep waiting till the end of the play. Plots are also cyclical like in Endgame, it begins where the play ended in the beginning. One of the important aspects of Absurd Drama was its distrust of language as a means of communication. During those times language had become ‘a vehicle for conventionalized, stereotyped meaningless exchanges’. Words usually failed to express the fundamental nature of human experience because it was not able to penetrate beyond its surface. So the playwrights of the Absurd Theatre constituted first and foremost an onslaught on language, showing it as a very unreliable and insufficient tool of communication. During those times language had become ‘a vehicle for conventionalized, stereotyped meaningless exchanges’. Words usually failed to express the fundamental nature of human experience because it was not able to penetrate beyond its surface. So the playwrights of the Absurd Theatre constituted first and foremost an onslaught on language, showing it as a very unreliable and insufficient tool of communication. Absurd Drama uses conventionalized speeches, cliches, slogans and technical jargons, which it distorts and breaks down. It is by ridiculing the ‘conventionalized and stereotyped’ speech, that Absurd Theatre tries to make people aware of the possibility of going beyond everyday speeches and communicating more authentically. The theme of the Absurd play is the purposelessness of human life. Albert Camus in his essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ has described the situation of human beings as one out of harmony with its surroundings. The Theatre of the Absurd is one of the ways of facing the life that has lost its meaning and purpose. As such, it fulfils a double role. Its first and more obvious role is satirical where it criticizes a society that is petty, superficial and dishonest. Its second and more positive aspect is that it highlights the basic absurdity of the human situation. It showcases the condition of human beings in a world in which man has lost all his faith. Here he is presented in his basic situation where he is left with no choice and desperately searches some refuge or heaven. Such a play produces the effects of alienation. We find it very difficult to identify ourselves with the characters in the Absurd Drama. Even though their situation is very painful and violent, they are presented to us in such a way that we tend to laugh at them and their condition and behavior. Esslin feels that this kind of drama speaks mostly to the deeper level of the audience’s mind. In a way it challenges the audience to make sense of the nonsense. It urges them to face the situation consciously and along with that, to laugh at this fundamental absurdity of such situations. So, the dominating theme of the absurd playwrights is man’s loneliness, despair, and desperation when he finds that his faith in God is declining. In all the writers of the Absurd Drama, the common traits are usually the devaluation of language, absence of characterization and motivation and search for meaning in a basically absurd situation. But each of them has his own style of presenting these traits. For example Ionesco presents absurdism through hilarious and outrageous farce. In Beckett’s works, absurdism is presented by depicting a world which is devoid of God, where life is full of anguish and despair. In the plays of Harold Pinter menace and terror surrounds people. His plays, famous as comedy of menace, are basically funny up to a point. The most surprising thing about plays of this group is that in spite of their breaking of the rules, they are very successful. In his book, The Theatre of the Absurd, Esslin says, â€Å"If a good play must have a clearly constructed story, these have no story to speak of; if a good play is judged by subtlety of characterization and motivation, these are often without recognizable characters and present the audience with almost mechanical puppets; if a good play has to have a fully explained theme, which is neatly exposed and finally solved, these often have neither a beginning nor an end; if a good play is to hold the mirror up to nature and portray the manners and mannerism of the age in finely observed sketches, these seem often to be reflections of dreams and nightmares; if a good play relies on witty repartee and pointed dialogue, these often consist of incoherent babblings. † To conclude, the Theatre of the Absurd presents anxiety, despair and a sense of loss at the disappearance of solutions and the illusions of life. Now facing all this means that we are facing reality itself. Thus, is can be s aid that Absurd Drama becomes a kind of a modern mystical experience. It aims to shock its audience out of complacency, to bring it face to face with the harsh facts of the human situations as the writers see it. It becomes a kind of a challenge to accept the human condition as it is, with all its mystery and absurdity, and to bear it with dignity, because there are no solutions to the mysteries of existence. That is because ultimately man is alone in this meaningless world. To accept all this freely and without fear may be painful, but doing so brings a sense of freedom and relief. And that is why we say that the Theatre of the Absurd does not provoke tears of despair but the ‘laughter of liberation’. Bibliography PRIMARY SOURCES 1. Martin Esslin, The Theatre of the Absurd SECONDARY SOURCES 1. Martin Esslin, Introductin to The Theatre of the Absurd 2. Arnold P. Hinchliffe, The Absurd 3. Ronald Gaskell, Drama and Reality 4. Eva Metman, Reflections on Beckett’s Plays

College exam Essay

There has always been an arousing debate on whether all students are required to take college entrance exams in order to be accepted into a desired university. The standardized tests are currently used all over the United States in order to enroll or decline certain students based on a minimum score according to the college. The most common tests taken by high school students is the ACT and the SAT, both covering basic curriculum involving all major subjects studied throughout grade school, in order to test overall knowledge. Because of the benefits that oppose strictly relying on grade point averages as opposed to having the college entrance exams used in order to accept students, they are a good idea and should continue being used because they are much more routine and fair. Although the tests have proven successful, some might say that the tests don’t accurately score students ability to be successful in college universities. The people that refer to the exams as an insufficient way of accepting and declining hopeful students into college have many reasons to believe so. The first issue with these tests is that some people would argue that they don’t cover certain material that students may possibly excel in, or further a career in. Fields such as the arts, music, sciences, and other specialty subjects are all not included on these entrance exams. Not including these areas takes away from students being recognized for their true talents that could be of further use to the university, but the college registers could never get the chance to see those talents. Another reason why one would argue that the tests are a negative thing would be that not all the tests are equal in difficulty, being a reason why some students could score significantly better than another. Since the exams are not the same in content, it isn’t fair for one person to be accepted into a college, and another not be accepted. The final reason why people prefer for them to not be mandatory is because of the discrimination for people who score badly on the test, but have very good grades throughout high school. Some people aren’t good test takers, and their good GPA reflects their skills more accurately. These views against students being required to take college entrance exams all are very valid points, but the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to this. There are many reasons why colleges currently require students to take college entrance exams. The positives definitely contribute to the success in this method of accepting students into college based on their scores. One reason why the tests are a good idea is because of how fair standard the process is when the determining who’s admitted into college. There isn’t an issue between accepting certain students because their scores on the ACT or SAT are self explanatory. Another reason the test scores are necessary is because grades cannot be a main decider. This is because a lot of students in high school are not honorable when it comes to work ethic and doing their own hard work, in other words cheating is an issue. If a college is looking to admit a student based on GPA this could be a mistake, the good grades won’t reflect work ethic and test taking skills that are essential to success in college. The final reason that ties to why the college exams are a good method is because these tests cover all important subjects that will be studied in college. The core subjects are really important to be tested over because it shows pure intelligence in a students learning throughout grade school. When choosing students to admit, they will obviously choose the person that scored the highest on an exam that covers basic studies. There are debating topics on whether college entrance exams are a good idea or not. When deciding students to admit into further schooling, there has to be a standard and fair way to determine. Exams like the ACT and SAT all cover core classes and knowledge that was studied all through grade school. This way, the deciding is based on the required minimum scores of students so the elimination process has moral reasoning and fairness. Although there are negative views on the limited material being tested, the fact that not all the tests are equal in difficulty and that people who do poorly on the test are automatically discriminated and declined. These may be real issues, but the reasons why it’s a good idea definitely shine through. The fairness and standardization makes it easy to analyze the students, grades are not a good reference for intelligence and potential success in college, and finally the tests show a prediction of how knowledgeable students are with core subjects and test taking skills that are used every day in college. Standardized college entrance exams should continue being used to decide whether or not one should be admitted into a certain college.