Hamlet - Appearence Vs Reality Essay -- essays research papers

Appearence vs Reality Possibly the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet, is a classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Brutus falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by getting cut with a poison tipped sword. The theme that remains constant throughout the play is appearance versus reality. Things within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality are polluted with evil. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of dishonesty. Four of the main characters that hid behind this mask are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Polonius, and the king Claudius. From behind this mask they give the impression of a person who is sincere and true, in reality they are overwhelmed with lies and evil. Hamlet is spied on many times in the play. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of Hamlets childhood friends who when asked by the king, try to find out what is troubling the young prince. Both help to add to the theme by showing their appearance of being Hamlets friends. The pair goes to Hamlet pretending to be his friends when in truth they are only there because the king asked them to find the truth. Hamlet quickly reveals the truth and says, "Were you not sent for/ And there is a kind of confession in your looks, which your modesties have not craft in color." (Shakespeare 2:2:278) From these words he is demanding an answer from his school...

Five Myths about Immigration Essay

Author David Cole explains in â€Å"Five Myths about Immigration† that people are misinformed about immigrants in America and blame them for all the problems in the American society. Cole comments that the â€Å"Native Americans†, which have nothing to do with what we call Native Americans today, were labeled as â€Å"Know-Nothings† because they simply did not know anything about immigrants and prejudged immigrants who came into the country. The author quotes one â€Å"Know-Nothing† for saying that â€Å"more than half the prisons and almshouses, more than half the police and the cost of administering criminal justice are for foreigners.† In the 1860s, immigrants arrived from Ireland and Germany causing â€Å"anti-alien and anti-Catholic sentiments† to appear in states such as Massachusetts and New York. Cole takes this topic to heart because his ancestors were among the â€Å"dirt-poor Irish-Catholics† who moved to America in the 1960s but were fortunate because after fifteen years the prejudice faded away. Now, 140 years later, the author points out that a similar prejudice has returned with the exception that the focus has changed from â€Å"Irish Catholics and Germans† to â€Å"Latin Americans (most recently, Cubans), Haitians, and Arab-Americans.† Cole explains how five commonly held beliefs regarding immigrants to the United States, are in reality â€Å"myths.† Cole’s first misunderstanding â€Å"myth† is that â€Å"America is being overrun with immigrants.† America is a â€Å"nation of immigrants†, which has been true since Christopher Columbus landed in this country. Although most Americans believe that foreign-born people make up a large population of the United States, Cole notes that only eight percent of immigrants fall in this category. In fact, â€Å"between seventy and eighty percent† of those who immigrate each year are â€Å"refugees and immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.† In addition, immigrants living in the United States only make up one percent of the country’s population. â€Å"Most aliens do not cross the border illegally,† emphasizes Cole, â€Å"but enter legally and remain after their student of visitor visa expires.† Cole’s second â€Å"myth† is a misjudgment that â€Å"Immigrants take jobs from U.S. citizens.† This is a common misunderstanding Americans have about immigrants. It is easier for a person to point out that jobs are being taken away from U.S. citizens, Cole argues, than to admit that immigrants have  indeed started successful business employing both citizens and immigrants alike. As documented by a 1994 A.C.L.U Immigrants’ Rights Project report, various studies prove that immigrants â€Å"create more jobs than they fill.† Cole mentions a study that found 78,000 new jobs were created in the Los Angeles County between 1970 and 1980 because of Mexican immigration. Cole comments how Governor Mario Cuomo of New York announced immigrants have provided thousands of jobs from 40,000 immigrant owned companies which provided â€Å"$3.5 billion to the state’s economy every year.† Cole’s third â€Å"myth† includes the belief that â€Å"Immigrants are a drain on society’s resources.† Cole mentions that Americans feel immigrants should not receive government benefits, but according to a 1994 Urban Institute report, â€Å"immigrants generate significantly more in taxes paid than they cost in services received.† Studies demonstrate that taxes go to the federal government, states Cole, but when the â€Å"state and federal money† is distributed, the figures show no evidence about the cost of immigrants. The United States loses money on immigrants who recently moved to the county because they have not yet â€Å"made it.† For this reason, the author affirms that immigrants are a big advantage to the economy . Social programs are unavailable to undocumented immigrants, expresses Cole, but are granted rights to benefits of medical and nutritional care and education for children. Eliminating health care would â€Å"cost u s more in the long run,† explains Cole. Cole’s fourth â€Å"myth† involves he misconception that â€Å"Aliens refuse to assimilate, and are depriving us of our cultural and political unity.† Throughout history, immigrants have developed and created the â€Å"American culture† into what it is today, comments Cole. He quotes Supreme Court Justice Stephen Field for writing in 1984 that the Chinese â€Å"have remained among us a separate people, retaining their original peculiarities of dress, manners, habits, and modes of living, which are as marked as their complexion and language.† After five years, Field supported his remarks towards Chinese immigrants. Our society pressures immigrants to adapt to American culture, exerts Cole. For this reason, Cole raises the question is it ethical to â€Å"limit immigrants in a society† that is built upon the culture  of past immigrants? Cole’s final â€Å"myth† is â€Å"Noncitizen immigrants are not entitled to constitutional rights.† The Bill of Rights protects all people, Cole contends, only reserving for citizens the right to vote and run for a federal office position. In contrast, immigrants are still treated less than a U.S. citizen because they are foreigners. Cole points out that in 1893, the executive branch required Chinese laborers to prove their residency in the United States by the testimony of â€Å"at least one credible white witness† simply because â€Å"nonwhites could not be trusted.† Cole is handling a pending case in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that has the Clinton Administration arguing that legal immigrants living in the country should have no more First Amendment Rights than first-time immigrants coming into the United States â€Å"-that is, none.† Cole explains in an example that a non-citizen can be deported for expressing themselves th e same way as a citizen is allowed to. In conclusion, Cole acknowledges a quote that he was taught: â€Å"we will be judged by how we treat others.† By this standard, Cole goes on to explain that if we keep treating immigrants the way that we do right now, â€Å"we are not in very good shape.†

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I am always really impressed and excited by the girlstudents wearing Ao Dai coming out of schools every where in the city at the end of class time. That image is indeed beautiful and so rich in the Vietnamese culture! However, we may be forgetting such a lovely image because of the current tendency for cultural intergration . The white Ao Dai has been gradually replaced by the self-designed skirts matched with shirts as usually seen in the Korean or Japanese movies . Seeing this reality, we, highschool students support the concept of maintaining the Ao Dai as the official uniform for highschool girlstudents. Introduce members of group) So why do we should keep using Ao Dai as school girls’ uniform? 1. First of all, the Ao Dai is a kind of dress that represents most deeply the nationality of the Vietnamese people. People never take the Vietnamese Ao Dai for the Japanese Kimono, for the Korean Hanbok or the Chinese Xam gown. With a long history related to that of the development of the Vietnamese people, the Ao Dai has become a typical tradition, rich in national cultural essence. In other words, the Ao Dai is the national costume for the Vietnamese women.That is why female delegates, leaders’ Ladies dress themselves in Ao Dai at the national or international conferences in order to affirm the sense of national superiority. The contestants for the global beauty contests always wear Ao Dai to promote the Vietnamese image. Right in our country, every day, every hour do we see the Vietnamese women in the national Ao Dai at hotels, restaurants, banks, post offices, schools and offices as well. The Ao Dai bears in itself the image of a country, Vietnam with an abundant cultural core. . The Ao Dai not only symbolizes the national tradition, but also glorifies the beauty of the Vietnamese women, especially the white Ao Dai has been connected with the softness and purity of the Vietnamese girlstudents for long time. With the simple but fine features, the pu rely white Ao Dai brings about the sense of nobility for highschool girlstudents. No one can forget the image of the girlstudents of Dong Khanh Highschool on their way back home. That image has been the endless inspirations for writers and poets since then.Young girlstudents may like the youngness and the modernity of the new fashionable uniforms, but the Ao Dai is always the best choice for the dress that represents the dynamic and modern aspects of present-time girlstudents, but still keeps the non-mistakable of the Vietnamese women. 3. Finally, the Ao Dai honors not only the external beauty but also the internal beauty of the Vietnamese girls’soul more than any other costumes. To some extents, the dress we wear influences our behavior. In this sense, the Ao Dai has educational value.In the white, charming Ao Dai, the girls’ conducts, speech, attitudes and manner are even more valued. That is the thought of holding a representative,and national image ,the preservatio n and the development of the cultural values for the nation. The educational aspect of the Ao Dai not only spreads over the grirlstudents but also over the community . Every day, at any time we can happen to see the Ao Dai on any streets in the city: that is not just a beautiful image , but it is a symbol that reminds people of the typical, traditional, cultural beauty and profound, national sense of superiority.Consequently, for its national, educational and aesthetic values, represented in the girlstudents’ Ao Dai, we strongly recommend the Ao Dai to be the official uniform for highschool girlstudents. Vietnam being in its process of renovation and intergration; we may easily leave the traditional beauties behind. For this reason, we should not allow the imported foreign fashions or styles to bring the Ao Dai into decadence. Beautify ourselves and our city with your white alluring Ao Dai! Toi v? n luon ? n tu? ng va xuc d? ng khi m? i gi? tan tru? ng, nh? ng ta ao dai tr? n g c? a cac b? n n? sinh ua ra kh? cac n? o du? ng thanh ph?. Hinh ? nh ? y th? t d? p va d? m ch? t Vi? t Nam bi? t bao. Th? nhung, v? i xu hu? ng van hoa h? i nh? p hi? n nay, chung ta dang d? n m? t di m? t hinh ? nh d? p nhu th?. Chi? c ao dai tr? ng dang d? n b? thay th? b? i nh? ng b? d? ng ph? c t? thi? t k? , di? n hinh nhu cac ki? u vay k? t h? p v? i ao so mi ma ta v? n thu? ng th? y trong cac b? phim Han Qu? c hay Nh? t B? n. Tru? c th? c tr? ng nay, nhom h? c sinh chung toi mu? n th? hi? n quan di? m v? vi? c chung ta nen duy tri vi? c s? d? ng ao dai nhu d? ng ph? c c? a h? c sinh trung h? c. (Gi? i thi? u nhom)V? y t? i sao chung ta ph? i duy tri vi? c s? d? ng ao dai nhu d? ng ph? c c? a cac n? sinh? 1. Tru? c h? t, ao dai la trang ph? c th? hi? n tinh dan t? c sau s? c c? a ngu? i Vi? t Nam. Ngu? i ta khong th? nh? m l? n ao dai c? a ngu? i Vi? t v? i kimono c? a ngu? i Nh? t, hanbok c? a ngu? i Han hay su? n xam c? a ngu? i Trung Hoa. V? i l? ch s? lau d? i g? n li? n v? i l? ch s? phat tri? n c? a dan t? c VN, ao dai da tr? thanh m? t net truy? n th? ng d? c trung, d? m da b? n s? c van hoa dan t? c. Noi cach khac, ao dai chinh la qu? c ph? c c? a ngu? i VN. Do la ly do vi sao ? cac h? i ngh? qu? gia hay qu? c te, cac n? d? i bi? u hay phu nhan cac nha lanh d? o v? n m? c ao dai d? kh? ng d? nh s? t? ton dan t? c. Cac d? i di? n tham gia cac cu? c thi s? c depk toan c? u luon mang tren minh chi? c ao dai VN d? qu? ng ba hinh ? nh Vi? t. Ngay ? d? t nu? c chung ta, hang ngay, hang gi? chung ta d? u co th? nhin th? y hinh ? nh ph? n? Vi? t trong chi? c ao dai dan t? c ? cac khach s? n, ngan hang, buu di? n, tru? ng trung h? c va cac co quan khac. Nhu v? y, co th? noi r? ng ao dai da mang tren no hinh ? nh c? a c? m? t d? t nu? c Vi? t Nam d? m da b? n s? c van hoa. 2. Ao dai khong ch? ang d? m tinh dan t? c ma ao dai con ton vinh v? d? p c? a ngu? i ph? n? Vi? t Nam va ao dai tr? ng da g? n li? n v? i s? d? u dang, net trong sang c? a ngu? i n? sinh Vi? t t? r? t lau r? i. V? i s? don gi? n nhung tinh t? , chi? c ao dai tr? ng tinh khoi mang d? n c? m giac thanh thoat cho cac n? sinh trung h? c. Khong ai co th? quen du? c hinh ? nh n? sinh D? ng Khanh ngay xua m? i khi tan tru? ng v?. Hinh ? nh ? y cung la ngu? n c? m h? ng cho r? t nhi? u cac thi si tru? c day cho t? i t? n bay gi?. Co th? net hi? n d? i va tr? trung c? a nh? ng ki? u d? ng ph? c m? i khi? n cac b? n n? inh yeu thich, nhung d? v? n v? a th? hi? n tinh nang d? ng, hi? n d? i c? a n? sinh th? i nay ma v? n gi? du? c net d? p khong th? nh? m l? n c? a ngu? i ph? n? Vi? t, ao dai v? n luon la s? l? a ch? n t? i uu nh? t. 3. Cu? i cung, hon b? t c? m? t lo? i trang ph? c nao, ao dai khong ch? ton vinh v? d? p ben ngoai ma con nang cao cai d? p tam h? n ben trong c? a ngu? i con gai Vi? t. B? ng cach nay hay cach khac, trang ph? c ta m? c luon co ? nh hu? ng t? i hanh vi c? a ta. Ao dai co tinh giao d? c theo cach nay. Trong nh? ng ta ao dai tr? ng d? p nh? nha ng, y th? c v? c? ch? , thai d? cach di d? ng va l? i noi c? a cac b? n n? sinh cung du? c nang cao. Do chinh la y th? c v? vi? c gi? gin m? t hinh ? nh d? i di? n c? a m? t dan t? c, la b? o t? n va phat huy nh? ng gia tr? van hoa c? a d? t nu? c. Tinh giao d? c c? a ao dai con co tinh ch? t lan t? a b? i khong ch? rieng cac n? sinh ma toan th? xa h? i d? u du? c giao d? c y th? c. B? i l? , hang ngay, c? m? i gi? d? n tru? ng hay tan h? c, ngu? i ta d? u co th? b? t g? p m? t ta ao dai tr? ng nao do tren b? t ki m? t n? o du? ng nao trong thanh ph?. Do khong ch? la m? t hinh ? nh d? p ma con la bi? u tu? ng nh? c nh? m? ngu? i v? cai d? p van hoa truy? n th? ng d? c trung va long t? ton dan t? c sau s? c. Nhu v? y, b? i tinh dan t? c, tinh th? m m? , va tinh giao d? c th? hi? n ro qua chi? c ao dai n? sinh, chung toi d? cao vi? c duy tri s? d? ng ao dai nhu d? ng ph? c h? c sinh ? tru? ng THPT. D? t nu? c cang d? i m? i va h? i nh? p, chung ta cang d? dang m? t di nh? ng net d? p truy? n th? ng. V? y nen d? ng d? nh? ng thi? t k? th? i trang ngo? i nh? p lam ao dai n? sinh c? a chung ta b? lang quen. Hay t? lam d? p chinh chung ta va lam d? p c? thanh ph? nay v? i nh? ng chi? c ao dai tr? ng c? a cac b? n!