Shakespeare's Hamlet and Laertes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Shakespeare's Hamlet and Laertes - Essay Example Both are then in the same position- their fathers have been murdered by people in high positions and it becomes their duty to avenge their death. This parallel is however valid only up to a limited extent. The motives behind the two murders differ, as do the means adopted for taking revenge by these two characters. Though the idea of avenging his father's death continues to reside at the back of Hamlet's mind throughout the play, yet his path is beset with obstacles. In this context, Shakespeare's emphasis seems to be more on the intellectual obstacles then the merely physical ones. First and foremost he had to ascertain whether the Ghost that met him in the beginning of the play is what it claims to be, or a dissembling spirit from hell, which had come to work his damnation. This dilemma of Hamlet is best expressed in his soliloquy at the end of Act II: Besides it takes Hamlet a considerable amount of time to adjust the notion of private revenge with his already accepted view that a benevolent God rules the world and reserves the punishment to Himself. On the contrary, when Laertes comes to know of his father's death, he immediately resolves to avenge Polonius' death and exhibits no scruples or qualms about his impetuous decision, taken in haste. The world of Laertes is not of deliberation and contemplation, but is a world beset with action and anger. Unlike Hamlet, he is not prone to pangs of conscience, nor is he hesitant about committing grave mistakes by succumbing to his passions. Such an impulsive mindset of Laertes is deftly expressed in his speech in Act IV, Scene v: To hell, Allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! I dare damnation. To this point I stand, That both the worlds I give to negligence, Let come what comes; only I'll be reveng'd Most thoroughly for my father. Hamlet's very act of chiding Laertes during the burial of Ophelia is indicative of his personal growth and maturity, in contrast to Laertes' impetuosity. This attribute of Hamlet gets manifold magnified after his unambiguous confession of the intensity of his feelings for Ophelia. I love'd Ophelia; forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum. Laertes acts as a foil for Hamlet, which highlights the fact that Hamlet had succeeded in developing a deep sense of control and restraint over his passions and had successfully nurtured an ability to bear gracefully with his personal grief, a quality pathetically lacked by Laertes. The same sense of poise and restraint is exhibited by Hamlet, when he is provoked by Laertes' scathing words and actions. This utmost restraint of Hamlet in the face of Laertes' provocation becomes clear when he says: Thou pray'st not well. I prithee take thy fingers from my throat; For, though I am not splenitive and

Business Econimics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Econimics - Research Paper Example The elasticity of demand might affected too: Since trust is hard to earn and easy to lose, it is likely that once a company has violated ethical standards, consumers will be afraid of getting burnt again and will avoid the company at the first sign of trouble, making their offerings more elastic. Costs might raise: Contractors, suppliers and distributors might ask for a higher price for their service and goods, either because they feel that the company's bargaining position has declined, as insurance against potential malfeasance, or as compensation for the inevitable PR hit. Ethical issues are more likely to occur in deregulated markets (Palast, 2002; Palast, 2004). This is for a few reasons. First: The kind of behavior that occurs in a deregulated market tends to already be less constrained by conventional ethics, meaning that companies that thrive in that environment are already likely to have unorthodox and perhaps unscrupulous cultures and practices. Second: Regulation, both by NGOs and government, tends to make companies more sensitive to the impacts of what they are doing; it might be seen by someone. One of the major ways that Enron managed to get away with so much was the inaction of shareholders and the failure of accounting firms, auditors and regulators (Palast, 2002; Berenbeim, 2002). Consider a rise in demand for computer chips and potato chips. Potato chips are pure luxury items: They are highly elastic, because people can afford to go without potato chips. Computers and the chips that make them up, in contrast, are essential items for business, homes, political agencies and NGOs. The economy runs on telecommunication technology, credit card processing, etc. that is all done through computerized systems. A reduction in demand can't hurt computer makers much, despite the relatively high cost of producing computer chips to potato chips, because they are so essential. In the short run, a potato chip maker might harvest more potatoes, run lines faste r, or pack factories more tightly to increase production. A computer chip maker might do the same thing, but while the occasional green or stale potato chip is not a threat to the potato chip makers' reputation, a failing computer chip costs headaches in bad reviews, tech support headaches and so on. Buying new factories for potato chips is likely to be easy: Buying and properly fitting new factories and training new personnel for computer chips is much harder. In the long run, of course, the potato chip company has to bear in mind that a new health fad, a change in the taste buds and palates of customers, a marketing campaign, or something else might harm the demand for their product. They can't afford to get too much excess. Further, potato chips must be strictly identified according to USDA standards, meaning rebranding is more difficult than it might seem and companies are less flexible than an initial review would suggest (2009). However, computer chip makers know that, in the long run, their product cannot help but grow, as the Third World catches up and computerizes more and more and as more and more products need computer chips. Thus, it's clear that a product that is elastic might have some more flexibility in dealing with spikes, but tends to have difficulty maintaining those spikes and therefore taking advantage of them, whereas a less elastic product might take longer to get