The Wonderful World of Disney Essay Example for Free

The Wonderful World of Disney Essay There are many great places to go on vacation, but Disneyworld is one of the greatest places and vacation spots there will ever be. At first, vacationers fly into Orlando. Orlando is one of the busiest tourist locations in Florida, perhaps even busier than the infamous Miami beaches. This is because Orlando hosts many locations that cater to all kinds of people, whether they are children, men, women, adults, senior citizens, or tourists. Orlando has many theme parks, but Disneyworld has four parks in it. It has Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. And this is the reason why Disneyworld is the best place for vacation. Although, many people tend to think that Disneyworld is a place for children, this cannot be further from the truth. Even though Disneyworld is designed for children and families, many adults can have a fun time in there. Disneyworld is one of the largest and most frequently visited amusement parks in the world. The Disneyworld in Orlando is a Magical Kingdom, and this is the perfect name for the place. Once tourists enter Disneyworld, they enter into a magic kingdom. It is of no surprise that many people have found Disneyworld to be extremely entertaining. The Magic Kingdom is divided into many areas, and one of the most prominent, the area where visitors enter as soon as they arrive is the Main Street, USA at Magic Kingdom. This street is made up of various architectural styles. The buildings on Main Street are built in such a way that they seem to be bigger than they actually are; the second story is smaller than the first, and the third smaller than the second is, giving the buildings a larger-than-life image. At the end of the Main Street is Cinderellas Castle, which is the trademark of the Magic Kingdom. The castles main tiles are made of real gold, and there is over one million pieces of glass in over 500 colors. Tourists really have to see it to appreciate its magical realm. The rest of the area is divided into various lands, such as the Adventure Land, and Frontier Land. Adventure Land is a paradise for children and a treat for the adults. A make-belief Caribbean town square has also been built into this area to give a tropical feel to the area. This area hosts rides such as the Pirates of the Caribbean, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, and the Jungle Cruise. Frontierland has been built in reminiscent of the Wild West and the Rivers of America. This place has the looks of Rocky Mountains and railroads as it hosts rides such as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, and Tom Sawyer Island. These are only a few of the wonders of the Magic Kingdom. Then there is the Epcot theme park at Disneyworld. In this part of Disneyworld there are restaurants that represent the culture and cuisine of eleven countries. They have Soarin’, and Test Track which are some of the best rides at Epcot. The one big thing that makes the Epcot center so amazing is the Spaceship Earth, looking like a giant golf ball rising high above the horizon. It welcomes tourists as they walk through the Parks main entrance. The Spaceship Earth ride focuses on the future world and takes vacationers from the dawn of time up to the 21st century cyber age. Once you are done at Spaceship Earth, then tourists can go ride Soarin†. The Soarin’ ride is a virtual ride that takes vacationers on a scenic trip across California. Vacationers sit in a row of chairs that simulate hang gliding. It starts out by fling over the Golden Gate Bridge, LA, Malibu and many more places. Then there is the Test Track roller coaster. This roller coaster simulates the process of a real car being built and the process of it being tested. First, the car is tested for turning and braking, and it takes very sharp turns. Then it goes to the weather test to see if the car can withstand heat and cold. The ride goes through a tunnel which is cold, then goes through a tunnel of high temperature. The last part is when the car goes out on track to do a lap at 60 mph. Finally, there is the World Showcase part of the park where tour ists can see many different cultures in one place. There are many different tents where they have samples of foods, shops and live performers. As tourists walk around the lake the will pass 11 tents and pavilions in which tourists smell food from all over the world. Also each at each place tourists can get replica souvenirs for each country. The atmosphere of the area makes vacationers feel like they are really there, from Canada all the way to China In this park; it is where ideas become reality. The Animal Kingdom is split up in to seven different parts of the park. All these parts of the park have to do with different animals and where the animal’s live. One of the best rides at the Animal Kingdom is the Kilimanjaro Safari Expedition. It is where they have over twenty different animals in their natural habitat. They have animals from antelopes to flamingos to zebras. There is a big open bus that travels around the area that allows people to get a closer look at the animals. Sometimes people get lucky, and the animals will c ome up to the bus. Another great ride in the park is Expedition Everest. It is a roller coaster that goes through the track forwards. Then a yeti pops, out and the roller coaster does the whole track again but backwards to get away from the yeti. It is a lot of fun but is also scary at the same time. Another part of the Animal kingdom is the tree of life. It is a massive 150 feet tall and fifty feet wide. On this tree they have carved over 325 animals. Which is really cool is they hid a carving of Mickey Mouse somewhere on the tree. The inner part of the tree is where they have the Bugs life show. This park helps lead the way for animal care, education and research. Not everything at Disneyworld is fun and games. The next park at Disneyworld is Hollywood studios. This park offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of Hollywood-style action with live shows, thrilling attractions, backstage tours and special events that only happen in this Disney Park dedicated to entertainment. There are many rides and great attractions at this park. One of the two most popular rides is the Rock â€Å"n† Roller coaster. The ride is synced up with a song by Aerosmith made specifically for this ride. Also the â€Å"limo† vacationers ride in has over 100 speakers and twenty subwoofers in it to create the atmosphere of being at one of their shows. The start of the ride goes from 0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds and takes tourists on a ride through LA to get to a show. The other great ride at Hollywood studios is Toy Story Mania. It is a midway-style game that is virtual reality. The participant’s starts out by throwing darts at balloons. Then it goes to ring toss around the little green aliens from Toy Story. After that the participants start throwing eggs at targets, and finally they end up with throwing baseballs at plates. While doing all these fun things, some of the characters will meet up with the participants and help throughout the game. Another fun ride at H ollywood studios is the Tower of Terror. The ride is based on the 1939 disappearance of five people at the Hollywood Hotel while they were riding the elevator. In this ride, the elevator up and down as a drop ride, as if the elevator was malfunctioning. The lights start to flash and make weird noises to make it sound like the riders crossed over into the twilight zone. Riders will never know if when they will cross over into the Twilight Zone. Out of all the great places to go on vacation, these are 4 reasons why Disneyworld is the best place to go. At the Magic Kingdom they have rides for every one of all ages. In Epcot, the park focuses on more technological aspects of Disneyworld. On the other hand, the Animal Kingdom Park teaches people about the wilderness and the environment. Finally, Hollywood Studios park shows tourists a behind the scenes of how Disney movies are made. Now tourists know all about Disneyworld, and why they should go there.

The Role of the Bank of England

The Role of the Bank of England The United Kingdom’s central bank is the Bank of England. It is also known as the â€Å"Old Lady† of Threadneedle Street. The Bank of England was established in 1694 amid a founding contract that stated its principle was to â€Å"promote the public good and benefit of our people†. (About the Bank, 2015) Today, The Bank of England’s purpose is the sign of that vision or agenda first articulated by its founders. Their mission as stated in their official website is â€Å"to promote the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.† The bank was originally founded as a privately-owned organization. After the Second World War, the Bank of England was nationalised, but kept hold of its broad though largely informal unrestricted or public service mission. (About the Bank, 2015) This focus somewhat changed during 1997, when Parliament voted to provide the Bank functioning independence with a comprehensible remit to practise price stability, which was the most important challenge the macroeconomic policy makers were facing for the last two decades. This financial crisis revealed the necessity for a new move towards to financial parameter in the United Kingdom. This change has resulted in a foremost expansion in the Bank’s duties and responsibilities, which came into action since April 2013. In some way, this represented a come back to the broader task that the Bank practiced in the past. However, though the Bank’s pledge to providing the public good is recognisable by its seventeenth century organizers but its responsibilities are currently defined by the Parliament. Financial Policy Committee: The Financial Services Act of 2012 founded an autonomous Financial Policy Committee (FPC) as a subsidiary of the Bank which will work as a new prudential regulator. This created new duties for the management of fiscal market infrastructure providers. This particular committee is responsible for taking steps to reduce or remove general risks with an analysis to protect and enhance the flexibility of the country’s financial system. The FPC also has a secondary purpose to maintain the economic course of action of the Government. Prudential Regulation Authority: The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has the responsibility to supervise the banks, credit unions and building societies, insurers and key investment firms. This regulation authority controls almost 1,700 financial firms. Its role can be defined in two legal objectives. They are- (1) To promote the safety and security of the firms, (2) to ensure the insurers contribute in securing the proper degree of security to the policyholders. While promoting the safety of the firms, the Prudential Regulation Authority focuses mainly on the problem that the firms can create to the steadiness of the country’s financial system. A steady financial system means it is one in which firms can keep on providing significant monetary services to the economy which is a prerequisite for a strong and successful economy. (About the Bank, 2015) Monetary Policy Committee: Having monetary stability means constant prices and confidence in the money or currency. Stable prices can be defined by the Governments inflation objective which is what the Bank aims to meet by the assessments done by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). In the United Kingdom the monetary policy generally operates through the interest rate meaning the price at which money is lent. Since March 2009, this committee also started to input money directly into the economy in addition with setting Bank Rate. It injects money by buying financial assets which are often known as â€Å"quantitative easing†. Quantitative easing (QE) is an unusual type of monetary policy where a Central Bank makes new money by electronic means to purchase monetary assets, like government bonds. The aim of this process is to directly enhance the spending of the private sector in the economy and return the inflation to the intended target. (Monetary Policy, 2015) In August 2013, the Monetary Policy Committee gave some clear guidance regarding the future performance of monetary policy. The committee plans to at least maintain highly stimulative monetary policy until economic laggings have been reduced substantially given this will not put any material risks to price constancy or financial stability. (Monetary Policy, 2015) Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee: The London Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee (FX JSC) was founded in 1973 under the support of the Bank of England. It was established mainly as a medium for banks and brokers to talk about broad market topics. The aim of the Committees regular work is concerned with issues of frequent concern to the diverse members in the foreign exchange market. The Chairman and Secretary of this committee is provided by The Bank of England and its senior staffs are from many of the key banks functioning in the foreign exchange market in London, as well as from voice- and electronic-brokers, corporate users of the foreign exchange market, as well as delegates from the British Bankers Association, the Wholesale Market Brokers Association, and the Association of Corporate Treasurers. One of the main duties of the Committee is to keep up the Non-Investment Products Code. This code is a type of voluntary code of good market functionality that covers wholesale deposits as well as the Foreign Exchange market. Bank’s function in the foreign exchange market: The Bank functions in the foreign exchange market mainly for two reasons: Managing the UKs foreign currency and gold reserves on behalf of the government’s economic and finance ministry (HM Treasury). Organizing the Monetary Policy Committees (MPC) comparatively smaller band of foreign currency reserves. In addition to these main objectives, the Bank of England also controls general foreign currency transactions for the many departments of the government and also a small quantity of its customers. In the past year, quite a few members of a subgroup of the London Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee which is known as the Chief Dealers Subgroup, have either been suspended by their employers or dismissed because of having association with the global inquiry into probable manipulation of the currency market. (Albanese, 2014) The $5à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ °trillion-a-day worldwide foreign exchange market is used by governments and multinational companies to buy and sell notes, as well as hedge against the danger of currency instability. The Bank of England plays an important role as both the participant and regulator of the market as it maintains the UK government’s currency transactions. In the market they use a benchmark which is known as the 4pm â€Å"fix†. If this benchmark is by any way manipulated by traders then it can cost UK firms millions of pounds and affect everything operating in the market from business accounts to the worth of investments. (Quinn John, 2 014) The London 4pm fix which is now a joint venture was initiated in 1994. It notes down the exchange rate among foreign currencies at the 4pm closing value and then these rates are then used for transaction in the foreign exchange deals all over the world. This benchmark aster its initiation was rapidly followed by many clients looking for a universal reference point. However, the currency traders who have the knowledge of currency rates and their client orders can have a major advantage. According to Chris Towner, a foreign exchange dealer, â€Å"Currency dealers will start buying before the client and then complete the client’s order at the higher 4pm rate.† (Quinn John, 2014) Thus, the central bank plays a vital role in keeping the foreign market in balance. If the price rates of currencies are shared beforehand then market imbalance is certain. Recently the bank is going through speculation on its benchmark policy as one trader who was suspended by his employer has provided the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom a handwritten note from a private meeting which was help on April, 2012 at the bank. The note proves that the central-bank officers were given the instruction that the practice of sharing and collecting client orders was common. (Albanese, 2014) The recent allegations over the manipulation of currency markets in UK came into focus after the Libor scandal. The Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is an average interest rate which is calculated by submissions of interest rates by key banks in London. Libor scandal pointed out the possible manipulation of other financial markets such as gold and silver because they were mostly loosely monitored before the financial crisis. Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England has been facing hearings on the court regarding probably manipulation in the foreign exchange market. The manipulation of foreign exchange markets is estimated to become a criminal offence. (Treanor, 2014) The central bank plays an important role in terms of maintaining the inflation and exchange rate of a country. Since, they have the responsibility to monitor the entire market and control the private banks; any manipulation by the central bank can cause serious damages in the national financial market as well as the foreign market. The recent financial crisis has put the Central Bank of England come under serious scrutiny.

Aging:The Original Human Condition Essay -- Geriatrics Health Papers

Aging:The Original Human Condition Aging is a phenomena we are all familiar with, a trait characteristic of all humankind, in fact, of all living organisms. What are the effects of aging, especially those which go beyond the biological aspects and effect the social aspects of changing roles, seniority, and treatment of the aged? What was the original human condition before high-tech medical interventions redefined death and dying, before the industrial age changed the nature of the nuclear and extended family? Going back still farther, what can the behavior of chimpanzees tell us about the origins of our responses to the aging of those around us? Having worked in the field of geriatrics, in a nursing home setting, I have had the opportunity to be involved in the direct care of the elderly. Over a period of time, I have come to accept living one's last years in a nursing home as an eventual "normal" response to the aging process. As a result of this study, I anticipate having an enlarged perspective and an enhanced sensitivity to the psychosocial aspects of aging. Aging Defined The Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology (1996) was a helpful source to gain a definition on aging which includes the concepts of life course, seniority, and treatment of the aged. Aging can be measured by common biological content: proportion of the maximum fife span one has lived, performance on a series of physiological tests which index biological age, and patterns of the age­specific risk of mortality. Despite this universal biological content, it is notable that aging takes on a variety of forms, many which show regular associations with aspects of culture. Rather than focusing on age, it may be more appropriate to review the life cy... ...k, NY: Harper Collins College Publishers Collier's Encyclopedia. 1983. New York, NY: Macmillan Educational Company Goodall, Jane. 1990. Through a Window: My 30 Years with Chimpanzees of Gombe. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company Handbook of North American Indians. 1984. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Semour­Smith, Charlotte. 1986. Dictionary of Anthropology. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall and Company Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology. 1996. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company Marshall, Loma. 1976. The !Kung of Nyae Nyae. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Dentan, Robert Knox. 1968. The Semai: A Nonviolent People of Malaya. Orlando, FL: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. Maxwell, Robert J. and Phillip Silverman. 1989. "Geronticide". In The Content of Culture: Studies in Honor of John M. Roberts. New Haven, CN.: HRAF Press

Differential Literature :: Reading Literature Writing Authors Essays

Differential Literature The health and well-being of literature in America is something that many Americans spend a lot of time thinking, worrying, and theorizing about, a fact that can be told by the new reading promotional campaigns that roll out at seemingly regular intervals (Read!, Reading is Fundamental, Read and Rise, etc.) It is (at least partially) because of the passions aroused by this topic that when the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) released a report entitled Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America (RAR), many people voiced their opinions on the quality of the research methods used to gather the data, the accuracy of the data, and the soundness of the conclusions which were drawn from them. From nearly the day of its release up to today, people are speaking (and writing) their mind about the report’s worth. The report, which used the data from the literature portion of the census beaureau’s 2002, Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, came to many conclusions, all of which revolved around one of their determinations: Americans are reading what it calls literature less than they used to. The data that they used also suggested that the rate of this decrease is accelerating. RAR also finds this decline in the literature readership to be true for all racial, gender, and age groups, although it is slightly more pronounced in some than others – most notably men are reading less than women, reading with minorities is decreasing faster than with Caucasian, and the young faster than the middle aged. Really, though, their main worry comes from a link that has been drawn from the data collected in other studies. This conclusion is that readers of literature are more socially active, engaged, and assumedly productive. There are many conceivable reactions to the NEA’s report. To some people, reading can fairly accurately be described as their religion (Early Modern European Studies Major, 2004) and they may want to add additional information to the report. Many people want to point out the possible flaws and inaccuracies of the text and, of course, there are others who just always need to add their two cents into the pile. Whatever their reasons for their responses, the commentaries that have been written give a surprisingly diverse number of arguments for and against the validity of the report.

Old Man and the Sea Concludes with Santiagos Death Essay examples -- e

Old Man and the Sea Essay It is believable that Santiago is dead at the end of The Old Man and the Sea. This conclusion can be deduced from the various hints Hemingway used throughout the novel. The foreshadowing of Santiago’s death, his comparison to Christ, and his bad luck helps one decipher that the death of the old man took place at the end of the book. First, something that leads the reader to believe that Santiago is dead at the end of the book is foreshadowing. One event that foreshadowed Santiago’s death was the death of the marlin. The fish and the old man displayed similar qualities of strength, bravery and determination. For instance, the old man surpassed his natural limits by staying far out at sea, while the fish exceeded its own boundaries by leading Santiago out for eighty-seven days. Besides these similar characteristics, Santiago felt that the marlin and he had a close relationship, as shown in the following quote: â€Å"Then he was sorry for the great fish †¦It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers (75)†. Santiago’s similarity to the fish a...

Gender Roles Seen in Toys

Gender Roles and Toys By Shawna Robb English 101 Professor Solomon One room has pretty pink wallpaper with a princess border; the other is blue with monster trucks on one-wall and sports pictures on another. It is not hard to tell which room is female and which room is male. Male and female are used in this instance to define genders. Gender, unlike sex, is a universal guideline upon which individuals are placed. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behavior, and activities that a particular society considers appropriate for men and women. When the pressure of gender stereotypes is open to debate some say there are prenatal influences that are gender based. What is obvious is that gender plays a significant role when it comes to the toys people select for their children and the way that toy companies market them. â€Å"Toys-R-Us† is a United States based toy company who has been taken to task for marketing designs that reflect or promote gender specific toys. It is wrong that toy stores, like â€Å"Toy’s-R-Us†, clearly divides the toys by gender in stores and in toy advertisements because it teaches children how they are supposed to be in order to be accepted by society, promotes aggressive behavior for males and a passive attitude for females. Stereotypical boy toys are things like action figures and toy cars. These are both active and aggressive, which is â€Å"masculine† representing how men are supposed to be in society. Girl’s toys are often dolls, dress up, and toys that mimic household duties. That is stereotypical because its saying girls are passive, not active. It is setting standards that girls belong in the home for their future while boys get doctor kits or chemistry sets that give them higher goals. Introducing children to these gender role ideas this early is shaping them for the rest of their lives. The world’s leading fast food franchise has an interest in the gender of its young customers. At McDonalds a very popular child’s meal is the happy meal. When a Happy Meal is ordered the worker always asks if the child is a boy or a girl. This lets the worker know what type of toy to put in with the meal. The McDonalds worker could ask if the customer wants a hot wheels or a mini Barbie but instead they learn the gender of the customer and stereotypically provide the toy. Toy stores separate their store by toys for girls and toys for boys. The girl isle has stereotypical girl colors like pink, purple, and yellow. All of these colors are light when the boy’s section has colors like red, blue’s, black, brown and green. All of the boy’s colors are darker and less â€Å"pretty†. Just from that quick look down the isle one can notice which is for girls versus boys. The dark colors are less southing and action oriented. The girl colors, are lighter making them much more calm and subdued. This same pattern can be seen in advertisements on television. Female directed commercials are light colors, with softer music usually having lyrics that explain the toy and giving passive examples for what can be done with the toy. Boy’s commercials however have the message that they are going to go out and do something active with the toy. The music for masculine toys is generally uplifting and motivating, which makes a boy excited to play with the toy. Commercials cannot be avoided and they reach almost all boys and girls on a day-to-day basis. One interesting area in looking at the influences of toys and gender is the advertising of toys relative to levels of aggression. The television airwaves are filled with toy advertising. Is there a relationship between this advertising and levels of violence, does this relationship show a gender bias? For example a parent might wonder if the purchase of â€Å"boy oriented† toys for their child might increase the child’s risk for becoming violent. The parent might also wonder if merely watching the advertisements themselves increase children’s risk for becoming violent. In 2001 Kilinger, Hamilton and Cantrell offered the observation that the use of commercials to sell children’s toy products could have a socialization impact on children similar to that of television programming. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory says, â€Å"human behavior is transmitted, whether deliberately or inadvertently, largely through exposure to social models†(Bandura 1). When a child thinks that a behavior will be punished versus rewarded but instead is not even acknowledged they will perceive it as a reward. Children usually continue rewarded behavior to receive more praise. Television is seen as a â€Å"super tutor† to Bandura, the child will model what they see on television, not knowing if it is good or bad. For those children whose parents are not good role models, the television becomes the behavioral role model. If violence and aggression is viewed on the television, it is more likely that children will engage in violent and aggressive behavior. While television can model appropriate behavior, there is a well-documented tendency for violence and aggression. Advertisements are difficult to avoid since they are interwoven in shows and they tend to emphasize violent and aggressive behavior (Kilinger 13). In the study by Kilinger, Hamilton and Cantrell they observed â€Å"children’s perceptions of aggressive content, stereotypic sex-role behavior, and appropriateness of television toy commercials†(Kilinger, 11). The results of the study support the notion that there is a gender bias in terms of aggressive content and consequently aggression potential. The results did show that toys and the advertisements for them aimed toward boys were more aggressive than that of the toys that are gender neutral or aimed toward girls. The commercials shown were clearly sex role stereotyped. This is consistent with other research that has supported the idea that boys are more socialized toward aggression. Boys may be more desensitized to aggression as a result of gender stereotyped toy commercials as well as their toy selections in the past. Again, this is a reason for concern since commercials are unavoidable while watching television. While the promotion of aggression is certainly an adequate reason to exercise great care when it comes to toy and gender, it is not the only reason. Parents do support gender bias toys from the time the child is born. More often than not, a boy will receive toys that are focused towards boys and girls will receive stereotypical girl toys. The children do not go out and buy this themselves; their parents will pick out their toys until the child is already taught what they should like. Parent’s will find out they are having a boy or a girl then base everything around that detail, like the room color example, children and baby clothes are also gender biased as well as their toys. When the girl is playing with girl toys she will be rewarded for the â€Å"right† interests, as would a boy playing with a boy toy. They will then continue this behavior to get their parent’s approval. If a father see’s their son playing with a Barbie doll or asking to be a princess, their father might redirect them saying those are girl things urging them to play with a male biased toy. One thing Social Learning Theory has assumed is that reinforcement and punishment is the means by which parents socialize children. The study named â€Å"Parental Socialization of Young Children’s Play†, done by Eisenberg, Wolchik, Hernandez and Pasternack, observed the parent’s involvement with enforcing gender stereotypes. This study found that parents do reward their children for same-sex toy play. It is not only the toy companies that enforce gender roles in toys; the people raising the child are also responsible for teaching stereotypical thinking. The idea that cross-sexed interests are wrong does come from society and children start learning this from the time they are born. (Eisenberg, Wolchik, Hernandez and Pasternack 1506). A thirteen-year-old Swedish boy, Hannes Psajd, spoke out about the gender focused toys in â€Å"Toys-R-Us†. Hannes said that the 2008 â€Å"Toys-R-Us† Christmas Catalog showed boys playing with different toys than girls do. The boy said that he and his sister always play with the same toys and there is nothing wrong with that. Psajd said that it sends the wrong message to girls, since they are playing with only passive toys. Hannes stated â€Å"boys want to be princesses sometimes†(Landes 1), demonstrating that this store does not only discriminate against girls. When the claim was looked into by a regulatory committee they stated that, â€Å"Toys-R-Us discriminates based on gender and counteracts positive social behavior, lifestyles, and attitudes†(1). This shows that children do recognize this problem if it is brought to their attention. The problem of toys defining gender roles does not completely rest  rest with â€Å"Toys-R-Us† but is a societal problem. Society has created the gender roles we now have and these roles are often strict. While it will take time to make fundamental changes in gender bias a starting point could be the creation of more gender-neutral toys. These toys would have to find their way into homes and that could be a function of the advertising that is currently part of the problem. Parents need to be educated to nurture more flexible gender roles and allow children to explore their interests, even if this interest violates stereotypical norms. Boys and girls should have equal opportunity to play with a doll or a monster truck. Children are taught gender roles from the time they are born, toys are one way that this is taught to them. In a toy store like â€Å"Toys-R-Us†, it is clear to see which isle is for boys and which one is for girls. The colors and stereotypical gender bias toys show the clear division in the store between feminine versus masculine toys. Television advertisements depict females as being passive while they promote aggressive behavior for males, this can lead to boys acting violently in the future. Parents sometimes scold children who play with cross-sex toys, which will teach the child not to repeat this behavior. Gender roles teach a child what they are supposed to be, feminine or masculine, and toys to play a part in enforcing these gender stereotypes. Works Cited Bandura, Albert. â€Å"Psychological Modeling: Conflicting Theories†. Chicago: Aldine Atherton, 1971. Print. Eisenberg, Nancy, Walchik, Sharlene A. Hernandez, Robert, Pasternack, Jeannette F. â€Å"Parental Socialization of Young Children's Play: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study. † Child Development 56. 6 (1985): 1506-13. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 5 Apr. 2011. Klinger, Lori J. , James A. Hamilton, Cantrell, Peggy J. â€Å"Children's Perceptions of Aggressive and Gender-Specific Content in Toy Commercials. † Social Behavior and Personality 29. 1 (2001): 11-20. PsycINFO. EBSCO. Web. 5 Apr. 2011. Landes, David. â€Å"Toys‘R’Us Scolded for Gender Discrimination. † The Local: Sweden’s News in English. 6 October 2009. Print.

Bennett Explores the Fine Line Between Wisdom and Foolishness in ‘the History Boys’. Discuss with Reference to This Comedic Drama.

Bennett explores the fine line between wisdom and foolishness in ‘The History Boys’. Discuss with reference to this comedic drama. The fine line between wisdom and foolery has often been explored and blurred in dramatic comedies throughout the ages. Often, in Shakespeare’s plays especially, the fool figure turns out to be the wisest figure out of all of the other characters, and is used as a way to make a comment on the social context of the time.This theme is present in ‘The History Boys’, as Bennett mostly uses characters as a way of exploring the fine line. He also uses scenes and themes during the play to explore the fine line between wisdom and foolishness, but he tends to focus on using the characters to explore the line instead. The Headmaster is a character with whom, when first introduced to, the audience would appoint the title of ‘foolish’, as Bennett shows him to be a very foolish character.However, this would differ from Shak espeare’s fool; in his plays the fools were often the wisest of characters, but in this circumstance, with this character, the Headmaster acts foolish without becoming ‘the fool’ from Shakespeare, as the Headmaster doesn’t have the hidden wisdom and knowledge Shakespeare’s fools had. For instance, when discussing competing schools in the league tables with Mrs Lintott, he says ‘†¦Leighton Park. Or is than an open prison?No matter†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This quote shows the reader what a foolish man Bennett has created; a headmaster not knowing the difference between a competing school in the league tables and a prison is absurd. However, it helps Bennett to show the fine line between wisdom and foolery, as some members of the audience may think that the Headmaster is wise in some of the decisions he makes, as he does know methods to get the students to achieve academic levels that allow entry into Oxbridge.Another moment where Bennett explores th e fine line is when he says, upon discussing Oxbridge with the supply teacher Irwin, ‘I thought of going to, but this was the fifties. Change was in the air†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The first impression given of him from this line of speech is that the characters around him must be able to see through his lies and see the fool that he ultimately is; in the fifties, life was the same as in the forties; it was the sixties where ‘change was in the air’ and the characters around the Headmaster would know that he was ying to cover the fact that he wasn’t academically smart enough to attend Oxbridge. This does show him to hold some wisdom, however, as he was smart enough to cover up the fact that he didn’t attend Oxbridge, even if the lie wasn’t successful, and that he is wise as he does want the best for the boys, but again, this is outweighed by the foolish decision that is to get the boys to Oxbridge to raise the school in the league tables to ‘†¦enhance its reputation and thereby his own career†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ showing he is mostly trying to get the boys do to well for his benefit.Bennett also uses the character of the Headmaster to make a social comment of the schooling at the time he wrote the play, hinting that headmasters of schools often tried to get the better grades for the students only to pull their school up in the league tables, and thereby improve their own reputations of headmasters. A second character Bennett uses to explore the fine line between wisdom and foolishness is Hector, one of the boy’s teachers.One of the first impressions we get of Hector is that he is a character who Bennett presents to be very wise; he has taught the boys so well they can quote literature at any time of the day in the correct context ‘†¦Posner (Edgar) ‘Look up, My Lord. ’ Timms (Kent) ‘Vex not his ghost†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This is quite a feat to achieve, and it also shows that he too knows and und erstands when and where to quote literature, again showing his wisdom.However, this is a point where Bennett does show how fine the line between wisdom and foolishness actually is, as some people may view this skill as useless, as it probably won’t be able to help them in their university or working life, unless they pursue a career where literature and the need to quote it is needed, so this act may be viewed as quite foolish; spending time teaching the boys something they probably won’t need in their future lives, despite the fact that they and Hector may be considered wise for having this skill.Bennett does show Hector to be a character who does act very foolish sometimes; ‘No Headmaster, (He covers his ears. )†¦Non. Absolument non. Non. Non. Non†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. The stage directions used here make Hector act like a naughty child who is refusing to stop what they’re doing; a grown man, who is a teacher nonetheless, acting this way does appear to be a fool to people around him, even if they know he is only pretending. However, this is one of the moments where you can explicitly tell that Bennett is exploring the fine line etween wisdom and foolishness and is showing indeed how very fine it is; some people may see past Hector acting like a fool and see him to be very wise; he knows that if he carries on refusing to do what the Headmaster askes of him, the Headmaster may well just give up and drop the subject. This could be down to the fact that Hector doesn’t view the Headmaster as a wise man; more of a fool who you can walk over and expect to carry on doing things the way you want to, even if the Headmaster is against it. ‘A hand on a boy’s genitals at fifty miles an hour, and you call it nothing? This is a very important quote in showing how Bennett explores the fine line. Hector is a very wise man; he has a deep understanding and knowledge of literature, he has helped get the boys A-Levels up to the standa rds of Oxbridge and is, academically, quite smart. However, the quote shows that, in terms of his judgements, he is quite a fool; the acts he performed were frowned upon by society at the time, and show to many people that he has crossed the line between wisdom and foolishness with ease without really realising it. †¦transmission of knowledge†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This also shows how his judgements are foolish, and how he can be seen to be a fool by many people; when he is confronted about his actions, he uses quotes from poetry to try to get out of the confrontation. By the end of the play, many people would probably see Hector as a very wise man, but a man who has the tendency to cross the fine line between wisdom and foolishness, whilst others would see him as only being a fool, despite his knowledge in literature.Overall, Hector is probably Bennett’s main way to explore the fine line between wisdom and foolishness, as Hector crosses the line countless times without realisin g it himself. Another way Bennett explores the fine line between wisdom and foolishness is by using scenes, such as the French Scene. This scene takes place towards the start of the play, and is where Hector and the boys practise speaking fluent French by acting out a scene of their choice in French. Mais une maison de passe ou tous les clients utilisent le subjonctif ou le conditionnel, oui? ’ (But a brothel where all clients use the subjunctive or conditional, yes? ) This quote is taken from the scene and helps to show the wise and the foolish sides of Hector; he and the students are acting out a scene in fluent French (which in itself is a very academic skill for the students to have learnt) and Hector is quite wise in getting them to practise using their French in everyday scenes, thus improving their fluency.However, the foolish part is the fact that the scene they are all acting out is a brothel, which is a very foolish thing to do considering where they are (in a schoo l), but the fact that Hector keeps on going on about their grammar whilst speaking French does show some wisdom, with the fact that he knows exactly how to get the boys to improve their fluency and grammatical skill in French, but in a very foolish circumstance. A third way the fine line between wisdom and foolishness is through themes; specifically the themes of sexuality and sex.For sexuality; ‘†¦Don’t touch him†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This quote is quite important in showing the fine line between wisdom and foolishness, as it is said when Hector and Irwin are discussing Hector’s early retirement, teaching and Dakin. Bennett shows here that Hector’s foolish decisions have turned him into a wiser man, who is advising Irwin on how not to make the same foolish mistake he did. The foolishness here makes the scene quite tragic rather than comic. For the theme of sex, the fine line is explored when Dakin and Scripps have a conversation together about Fiona (the He admaster’s secretary). †¦like particularly her tits, which only fell after a prolonged campaign some three weeks ago†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ The wordplay in this conversation is very foolish indeed, which Scripps finds funny albeit embarrassing, but the wisdom in Dakin is evident by the way Dakin applies military logistics to a new context with ease, using the semantic field of war. Overall, these are the main ways Bennett uses to explore the fine line between wisdom and foolishness in ‘The History Boys’, mainly using the characters of the Headmaster and Hector.