Materialism in The Great Gatsby Essay -- Great Gatsby Essays

Materialism may be defined as attention to or emphasis on material objects, needs or considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual values. The acquisition of material wealth is often equated with happiness in this country. This is true today, and it was true during the 1920's, the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. That the majority of Americans believe that wealth and happiness are the same is a result of our market economy that encourages consumption and conditions us to think that we need material possessions to be happy. According to Andrew Bard Schmookler, "Wealth and human fulfillment have become equated in the predominant ideology of liberal society, even though the great spiritual teachers of humanity have all taught otherwise." (17)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What happened to Gatsby's generation? The 20's were an age of a consumption ethic that was needed to provide markets for the new commodities that streamed from the production lines (Cowley, 53). The same problem exists today ... our materialistic attitudes are a result of the free market economy in this country. Consumers are taught that they need to have all these things that the businesses are trying to sell.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It's true that this desire for things is what drives our economy. The free market has given us great blessings, but it has in some ways also put us on the wrong path -- the path to a selfish, unhappy society. Michael Lerner, who worked as a psychotherapist to middle-income Americans notes that    "The problem is that the deprivation of meaning is a social problem, rooted in part in the dynamics of the competitive marketplace, in part in the materialism and selfishness that receive social sanction.... ...sterlin, Richard A. "Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot?". Nations and Households in Economic Growth:   Essays in Honor of Moses Abramovitz. Eds. Paul A. David and Melvin W. Reder. New York: Academic Press, Inc. 1974 (89-125) Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. Kasser, Tim, and Richard M. Ryan. "A Dark Side of the American Dream: Correlates of Financial Success as a Central Life Aspiration. " Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65.2 (1993): 410-13. Lerner, Michael. "Gurus of Cynicism vs. the Politics of Meaning." Houston Chronicle 24 June 1993, 2 star ed.: B11. Montagu, Ashley. Touching.   2nd ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1978. Schmookler, Andrew Bard. "The Insatiable Society: Materialistic Values and Human Needs." The Futurist July 1991: 17-23. J:ofsengclarklcarolyns.doc   

On the Existence of God: On John Haught’s What is God

John Haught’s What is God aims to provide â€Å"a simple ‘mystagogy’†¦ an ‘introduction to mystery’ (116). The importance of mystery to Haught’s work may be traced to his main assumption that the existence of God is evident in the existence of â€Å"a cognitive ‘feeling’ of inexhaustibility† that an individual experiences in relation to the experience of depth, future, freedom, beauty, and truth (115). He states, â€Å"The notion of mystery is indispensable to our discourse about the divine†¦To say that God is ultimately mystery is the final word in any proper thinking about the divine†¦in order to accentuate the utter inadequacy of any thoughts we may formulate about God† (Haught 115). Haught argues that within a world controlled by technological advancements, man continuously opts to contain the mysterious aspects of life (117). In order to prevent the continuous repression of the mysterious aspects of life, Haught argues that it is necessary to consider certain experiences which when examined can only be understood within the context of the assumption that God exists. These experiences are those of depth, future, beauty, and truth. In line with this, what follows is an analysis of John Haught’s argument regarding the existence of God as it is presented in his book What is God. Initially, it is interesting to note that the book addresses the question â€Å"What is God? as opposed to â€Å"Who is God? †. By addressing the aspect of deity in a manner that cannot be represented by personal imagery, the succeeding chapters of the book discusses the main problem of God’s absence. This problem however is addressed in a similar manner within each chapter as Haught specifies the implications of this absence to the religious life of this period. The different implications of the absence of God i n the various aspects of human life are further discussed within the text through five themes for thinking about God. These themes refer to depth, future, freedom, beauty, and truth which function in the imagination as the ‘persuasion’ or ‘lure’ for the acceptance of the existence of a mysterious and divine being; that being God. Within each theme, Haught places emphasis that these themes and concepts imply a pattern of letting go in order to be able to freely step into the terrain where an individual is truly addressed by the Other. Within the context of the theme of depth, for example, Haught adheres to Paul Tillich’s discussion regarding the ‘the depth of existence’. Within the aforementioned work, Tillich argues that there are various depths to human existence. For Tillich, although the aspects of human existence differ by the degree to which an individual is subsumed within a particular experience, the manner in which one experiences and seeks the experience of the different aspects of experience in different depths ensures that there exists a fundamental aspect of existence which each individual opts for due to its ability to provide meaning to an individual’s life. Haught quotes Tillich, who states, The name of this infinite and inexhaustible depth†¦is God. The depth is what the word God means†¦For you cannot think or say: Life has no depth! Life itself is shallow. Being itself is surface only. If you could say this in complete seriousness, you would not be an atheist; but otherwise you are not. He who knows depth knows about God. (14-15) Tillich, within this context, argues that to assume that existence has various meanings and to assume that existence has no meaning both involves the assumption of the depth of existence since even if an individual merely affirms that ‘being’ is surface only, that individual also assumes that there is an aspect of existence which involves the lack of being and this lack of being in itself may be considered as an aspect of the depth of existence. In line with this, Haught argues that the experience of depth ensures the existence of God since God refers to the aspect of existence which all individual’s experience. He states, â€Å"‘God’ is a name for the dimension of depth that all of us experience to one degree or another, even if only in the mode of flight from it† (Haught 15). Haught further argues that depth is an example of one of the experiences in â€Å"the horizon of our experiences† that one recognizes the existence of God (Haught 15). Haught’s emphasis on the metaphor of the ‘horizon’ in which one experiences God repeats itself in his discussion of the other experiences which ensures the existence of God such as the future, freedom, and beauty. Haught argues that in the same manner that to live in depth involves the acceptance of the experience of the different degrees of understanding one’s life, to live in future also requires living with the instability and messiness of historical existence and with the changing images of God which these historical events imply (Haught 28). In the same manner, to live in freedom involves living courageously in the face of non-being wherein non-being refers to the face which absolute freedom presents upon the individual as it invites us to embrace it (Haught 49). To live in beauty, on the other hand, involves the ability to endure the breakdown of one’s own restrictive narrative in favour of the wider novelty and contrast of the divine narrative presented through the various images relayed by nature (Haught 71). Finally, to live in truth also involves moving beyond the security of the limited approval of others as one trusts in the unconditional acceptance which alone makes truthful living possible (Haught 111). It is important to note at this point that as Haught’s explanation for the existence of God places emphasis on the identifiable and universal aspects of human experience which may imply the existence of God, Haught’s method follows a deductive method which involves the assuming that since certain aspects of human experience remain universally mysterious to man, these experiences may be attributed to the existence of a divine being. This is in accordance to his conception of God which is not based on a gender-specific image since it allows his conception of God to explore both the theistic and non-theistic arguments for God’s existence. In the final part of the book, Haught concludes that the aforementioned experiences affirm the existence of God as a ‘mystery’ since if God is experiences as an ultimate mystery human experience of God is ensured in the different depths of reality. This however does not necessarily imply that to speak of God as a mystery involves speaking of God as an entity which is not possible for the human mind to recognize or have knowledge of. According to Haught, this merely implies that God exists as an entity which allows the human experience of boundlessness. He states, It is our fundamental openness to mystery that sets us apart from the animal and grounds the self-transcendent nature of our lives. It is our openness to mystery that constitutes the foundation of our freedom and liberates us from the slavery of mere morality. It is because of our capacity for mystery that we experience the uneasiness and anxiety that provoke us to move beyond the status quo and seek more intense beauty and more depth of truth. In short, mystery is what makes a truly human life possible in the first place. (Haught 124) For Haught, the importance of the recognition of the existence of God to human life lies in its ability to allow the individual to transcend the ordinary barriers of life. The function of religion within this context is to enable the individual to recognize the manner in which he may delve into the mystery of God in order to transcend the barriers set to the individual within social reality [i. . the barriers of sex and social status]. In line with this, it is important to note that Haught’s discussion does not place emphasis on the role of God within one particular religion. On the other hand, his discussion is veered towards the justification of the necessity of God’s existence within any form of religion. For Haught, within all these religions, the similarity between them lies in their conception of the experience of God as an experience of mystery. To equate God with mystery enables the function of God within these religious institutions to free the concept ‘God’ from the narrow ideas of ultimacy. In summary, John Haught’s What is God equates God to the experience of mystery since the experience of mystery as can be seen in the experience of depth, the future, freedom, beauty, and truth, allows the continuous evolution of humanity’s experience of God and hence in the process does not lead to the limitation of God as an anthropomorphic figure. One may note that such a view is in accordance to John Haught’s evolutionary theology as it places emphasis on the role of the evolution of human consciousness in the discovery of God. Since the mysterious events are always in accordance to what is known and what is not known by man, the development or evolutions of man’s consciousness and man himself may be equated with man’s drive towards the discovery of God. By equating God with the experience of mysterious events, events which go beyond an individual’s understanding, Haught was able to allow the synthesis of the view that man stands as an entity that is continually evolving and the view that man’s evolution is in line with the discovery of mystery however God continues to stand as a bigger entity as opposed to man as his existence is continuously affirmed by the experience of mysterious or unknown events as is the case with the experience of depth, future freedom, beauty, and truth stated in John Haught’s What is God.

Discuss Dicken’s portrayal Essay

Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations in 1860. He wrote it about attitudes in Victorian England, towards children especially. Children were highly disciplined, and the main character in Great Expectations, Pip, was a typical example of a child of this time. Society in England at this time was built into two main classes- upper and lower. The middle class society, that is most common today, was just beginning to break through. Pip and his family, consisting of his sister, Mrs Joe Gargery, and her husband, Mr Joe Gargery, were a typical lower class family. They had a very normal lifestyle, with little or no education, a small house, with very little money, and a simple life. Great Expectations was set in Southern England, in the ‘marsh country, within, as the river wound, twenty miles from the sea. ‘ From this sentence, you can begin to build up a picture of Pip’s surroundings. Dickens uses harsh adjectives, such as ‘bleak, dismal, dark and savage’ to describe Pip’s world. By doing this, we get a real picture of how Pip lives. In a way, Dickens uses the environment around Pip, and compares it to Pip’s life. This brings me onto my next point. Pip must have had a very lonely childhood. His mother, father, and five brothers all died, and his sister, Mrs Joe, has unwillingly bought him up. She makes it blatantly obvious she doesn’t want him throughout his life, by making certain comments. â€Å"I may truly say I’ve never had this apron of mine off me, since born you were. It’s bas enough to be a blacksmith’s wife (and him being a Gargery) without being your mother. † Pip’s only friend is Biddy, and he also has a strong bond with Mr. Joe. Both him and Mr Joe are ‘fellow sufferers’ of Mrs. Joe’s strict ways, and this brings them closer together. They can confide in each other, and Joe is like Pip’s mentor. â€Å"Ever the best of friends, a’nt us, Pip? † Despite Mrs. Joe’s image of being harsh, a very, very independent, it is obvious she could not live without Mr. Joe, because, as with all households at this time, he is the ‘breadwinner’ and as she does not work, she could not survive without him. Pip is a very innocent, nai ve young boy. He does not understand things that happen in his life, he simply accepts them. Why Mrs Joe uses the ‘tickler’ on him, he does not know. When the reader gets to the part about the convict and the ‘hulks’, he doesn’t know why people are locked up, and cannot see the bad side of people. He fears Mrs.Joe, but he knows without her he would be dead, and she makes a point of telling him this. â€Å"If it warn’t for me you’d have been to the churchyard long ago, and stayed there. † When Pip meets the convict, he is understandably terrified. He immediately intimidates Pip, but although Pip is scared, he still treats him with respect, and calls him ‘sir. ‘ The convict threatens Pip, but still Pip is polite. † If you would kindly please to let me keep upright, sir, perhaps I shouldn’t be sick, and perhaps I could attend more. † This gives the reader the impression that Pip is very polite, and respectful to everyone, and he hides his feelings. For example, on Christmas day, when Mr Wopsle and uncle Pumblechook are saying how ungrateful he is, he does not retaliate and simply bites his tongue, because he does not want to be disrespectful to his elders. I think that this is the way Dickens wanted to portray Pip, so we would believe what Pip is saying, and see him as being innocent, and not really capable of lying to us. Pip and the convict can be seen as fairly similar, in a strange way. Once the convict learns of Pip’s background he begins to feel sorry for him, and I think that Pip feels sorry for the convict, because of his situation. It is also obvious that the convict trusts Pip, because he sends him for food, even when he knows Pip could easily tell on him, and he could get recaptured and sent back to the prison ship. Pip doesn’t tell on him, however, and returns with food. When the convict is finally recaptured, he makes up a story about breaking into the forge, and stealing the food, and he does not say Pip stole the food for him. Although the meetings between the two were short, they developed an understanding, and trusted each other. The way Dickens portrays the convict and Pip’s ‘friendship’ gives us an idea as to how trusting Pip is, and his kind nature and personality. â€Å"Something clicked in his throat, , as if he had works in him like a clock, and was going to strike. Then he smeared his ragged rough sleeve over his eyes. † â€Å"The something that I had noticed before, clicked in the man’s throat again, and he turned his back. † I think this ‘click’ Pip refers is the convict having a lump in his throat, and showing emotion, and the click is him swallowing this lump. This shows that although the convict could be dangerous, he has emotions, and Pip can tap into this emotion. As the novel develops, Miss Haversham and Estella are introduced. Mrs. Joe is very pleased when Pip is given the chance to go to Miss Haversham’s house and play. She believes it will give him the chance to become a ‘gentleman’ and make something of his life. â€Å"If this boy an’t grateful this night, he never will be! † Pip goes off to Miss Haversham’s, and although the house in which she lives in decrepit, and in a very bad state, he is very impressed because it is so large, and unlike what he is used to. He is continually polite, even when Estella is rude to him. † ‘He calls the knaves, Jacks, this boy! Said Estella with disdain, before our first game was out. ‘And what coarse hands he has! And what thick boots! † She patronises him, and it dents Pip’s confidence, and he begins to feel he is not good enough for anything. This makes him insecure, and he wants to go home. Dickens makes the reader see his insecurity by saying â€Å"Her contempt was so strong, that it became infectious, and I caught it. † This makes the reader see that before the meeting, Pip is fairly content with himself, and his life, be it a lonely one, but after Estella’s comments he realises he is not as good as her, and he probably will never make anything of his life. When he realises this, you can gradually see his ambitions growing, and whereas before he was perfectly happy to become Joe’s apprentice, he knows he won’t be happy, and wants to become someone who is respected. To sum all of this up, Pip is disciplined, and fearful of certain things. He can be intimated easily, but is still respectful. He has ambitions, and plans to make something of his life, but he is also insecure about his background, and whether he has the strength of character to pull himself out of the lower class society. He is very innocent, and gets bewildered easily. Dickens shows all of this by making Pip seem a lonely young boy, with no real family or friends, and he uses imagery to portray this. We watch Pip grow up, and learn about life, and try to make sense of things that are happening around him. Dickens makes the reader feel sorry for Pip, and lets us see we can trust Pip, because he himself trusts everyone and does not doubt anyone. We can read this book and see life through a nai ve young boys eyes, and feel we are being told the absolute truth. This is the power of Dickens’ writing- we believe the protagonist, and feel it would wrong not to believe him.

Buildings of Worship in Ancient Art Cultures essays

Buildings of Worship in Ancient Art Cultures essays Ancient art covers a variety of different cultures, religions, and artworks. Most of what we know about the people of this time period comes from the studies of the archaeological remains, artifacts, and literature. From these studies we can gather that religion played a very important role in the societies of this time. The buildings of worship in Ancient Egypt and Greece vary in many ways while representing their cultures way of life. In the Egyptian culture religion embodied every aspect of their life. The Egyptian faith was based on an unorganized collection of ancient myths, nature, and numerous divine beings. Our text refers to their religious practices as magical. The most important belief the Egyptians practiced was mummification. The need to preserve the body for life after death was very important to them. Egyptian art demonstrates a keen observance of nature. Animals along with many other images of nature appear in all remains of this culture. Animals usually were symbols associated with life after death, the characteristics of the gods, and the power of the king. The temples of the Egyptian culture are an amazing architecture feat. They were made of stone, so that they would last forever. The basic temple was built to look impressive because the Egyptians believed they were the dwellings of their god. Every city built a temple for their god. These temples were a place for man to communicat e with the gods; however, only Pharaoh and the high priests were allowed inside of the temple. To enter inside the temple one must be proven worthy and ready to acquire the higher knowledge and insights. Upon entering a temple, after passing through the statues of sphinxes and pylon, is the courtyard. There are many rooms beyond the courtyard each more scared than the one before. After walking through another pylon, you enter the hypostyle hall. This hall is made to resemble a papyrus plant and the only...

25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert

25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert 25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert 25 Idioms About Bread and Dessert By Mark Nichol Wheat the staff of life and the baked products derived from it invite many idiomatic associations. Here are references to bread and other flour-based products in phrases and expressions. 1. â€Å"Bread and butter† refers to the basics in life. 2. â€Å"Bread and water† refers to the bare minimum of food and drink, based on the traditional punitive prison diet. 3. â€Å"The greatest thing since sliced bread† is something considered revolutionary and indispensable. 4. â€Å"Half a loaf is better than none† means that one shouldn’t complain about not having everything, because it is better to have something than nothing. 5. â€Å"Half baked† means â€Å"incomplete† or â€Å"not thoroughly planned or conceived.† 6. To know â€Å"which side (one’s) bread is buttered on† is to recognize what is advantageous. 7. To â€Å"sell (something) like hotcakes† is to be very successful at selling something. 8. To â€Å"separate the wheat from the chaff† is to distinguish what is useful or valuable from what is not. 9. Something that is â€Å"as flat as a pancake† is extremely flat. 10. Something â€Å"as warm as toast† is very warm and comforting. 11. To â€Å"have your cake and eat it, too† is to have or accomplish something more than one way; the phrase often refers to an unrealistic expectation. 12. Something â€Å"as easy as (apple) pie† is very simple to do or understand. 13–14. To â€Å"have (one’s) finger in the pie† is to be involved, but to â€Å"have (one’s) fingers in too many pies† is to be committed in too many endeavors, thus reducing one’s effectiveness. 15. â€Å"Icing on the cake† is an additional benefit. 16. An activity that is â€Å"like taking candy from a baby† is very easy. 17. Something that is â€Å"pie in the sky† is unrealistic. 18. Something that is â€Å"a piece of cake† is extraordinarily easy. 19. To get â€Å"a piece of the pie† is to be among those who earn an advantage or reward. 20. To â€Å"sugarcoat† something is to put it into a deceptively or inaccurately positive light. 21. Something that â€Å"takes the cake† is significantly better or worse than other comparable things; the phrase often refers to an action or comment that is audaciously irritating. 22. â€Å"That’s the way the cookie crumbles† means that what is referred to is an expected or typical outcome. 23. Someone or something â€Å"as nutty as a fruitcake† is crazy or ridiculous. 24. Something â€Å"as slow as molasses (in January)† is very slow. 25. Something â€Å"as sweet as honey† is very appealing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?Ten Yiddish Expressions You Should KnowPunctuation Is Powerful

Company Director Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Company Director - Essay Example Normally, the directors of a company are not required to own any of its shares. Economists have analysed the problems, which may arise when the people managing a business do not own all of it. Managers in this position are believed to manage the business less efficiently than if they did own it.1 In broad terms the duties can be distilled into three propositions: Firstly, directors are under a duty to act bona fide in the interests of the company. Secondly, to exercise their powers under company's constitution for the proper purpose. Finally, to avoid conflict of interests and to profit from their position. For the first time, however, all the duties owed by directors to their company have been set out in statute, in Part 10 (ss.170-177) of the CA 2006. Section 171 of Companies Act 2006 states that duty to act within powers. A director of a company must (a) act in accordance with the company's constitution, and (b) only exercise powers for the purposes for which they are conferred. The constitution of the company is one or more documents setting out the rules by which the company is to be operated. While the constitution is subject to the Act, it sets out what powers directors have and how they are to exercise them. Directors must abide by these rules. If this power is given for one purpose, they cannot exercise it for a different proper purpose, even if they think that to do so would be in the best interests of the company.2 In Re Smith & Fawcett Ltd Lord Greene MR went to add that Directors must not exercise their powers for any "collateral purpose". This is called the proper purpose doctrine. The facts of Extrasure Travel Insurances Ltd v Cohen3, afford a clear illustration of a power being exercised for an improper purpose. More generally, however, the issue of whether Directors have used a power for a proper purpose arises in relation to their authority to issue shares. If shares are allotted in exchange for cash where the company is in need of additional capital the duty will not be broken. But where Directors issue shares in order to dilute the voting rights of an existing majority shareholder because he or she is blocking a resolution supporting, for example a takeover bid, then the duty will be breached. The Privy Council in Howard Smith Ltd v Ampol Petroleum Ltd4 subjected the content of the duty to through scrutiny. The Directors allotted shares to a company, which had made a takeover bid. The effect of the shares was to reduce the majority holding of two other shareholders who had made a rival bid from 55 to 36 percent. The two shareholders sought declaration that the share allotment was invalid as being an improper exercise of power. The court held that it must be unconstitutional for Directors to use their fiduciary powers over the shares in the company purely for the purpose of destroying an existing majority, or creating a new majority, which did not previously exist. Section 172 of Companies Act 2006 introduces significant change in common law. This Act states that duty to promote the success of the company. Section 172(1) a director of a company must act

What is branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What is branding - Essay Example More than this, some consumers often do not understand that certain branding is specifically targeted towards them. In these instances, poor branding can negatively impact a companys reputation due to the fact that a brand is wrongly perceived. In taking all of this into consideration, the definition of branding that makes most sense to me is the following: the representation of a company that offers value and benefit to the ideal customer. Successful branding attracts new customers (and maintains old customers) by offering a product or service that is perceived to be to the advantage of the consumer. Branding would not be beneficial to entrepreneurial business due to the fact that there are likely to be limited funds available. Entrepreneurs can sometimes get carried away with branding instead of focusing on building a company up from the ground. Branding will become important as a business grows and expands, but the initial focus should be to try to ensure the survival of the company beyond the first 12 months. If there is a lack of capital, then entrepreneurs should not spend unnecessary money trying to make their new business look flash. If an entrepreneur has to use credit for branding purposes, then this will only place unnecessary pressure later on when it comes time to repay the debt. Branding is designed to enhance a company, not to saddle it with mountains of debt. Besides budding entrepreneurs, branding is also a waste of time for companies that have not accurately defined their target market. Without focusing on a select group of consumers, branding is going to go way over the top of most peoples heads and will not bring the desired results. Before branding can be effective, there must be short and long-term strategic objectives in place; otherwise branding efforts are sure to