Captain America as a Rhetorical Superhero Essay

Half of the person we become is an impression of the ones we admire. Growing up in the United States every child has someone they look up to. This most likely is an individual that represents success and the values we are taught to respect. Superheroes have always served as something good in our lives because they make us want to help the world and feel like we can do anything. Superheroes represent qualities that we should all attempt to embody. What Captain America truly represents can be interpreted in many ways, but there are messages being conveyed. The authors of â€Å"Captain America: The First Avengers† use rhetoric to express the social ideology that being a hero is not exactly how strong you are, but what values and morals you live your life by. Captain America was created through a technological experiment on the capabilities of the human body. Dr. Erskine developed a serum that improves everything in the human body to help the Allied forces against the Nazis. He was looking for the perfect candidate to create the flawless warrior; a man that exhibited opportune physical qualities, mental aspects and personality traits. They chose Steve Rodgers, the complete opposite of a physical specimen, but the optimum mental applicant. He was courageous, honorable, kind, compassionate and a patriot. He was only a man trying to fight for his country in its time of need. These were the main traits Erskine was looking for. The serum would take care of everything physical, but would only improve upon his personality traits. Any of the recruits could have been chosen and became superhuman but they were not the best fit. While the serum does make anyone have super human abilities, it also amplifies every trait of a person even the negatives. This was the result for the first trial on Johann whose greed aggression and selfishness were amplified. Dr. Erskine explains it well in the movie: The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great. Bad becomes worse. This is why you were chosen. Because a strong man, who has known power all his life, will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength. And knows compassion. He is saying that a powerful man that becomes more powerful would be dangerous in this situation. Steve was given the treatment and because of whom he was became the superhero Captain America and not another villain. Captain America can be seen as one of the most American super heroes there is. A weak man, looking completely emaciated, becomes the perfect image of a man. He grows in stature, size, and strength. He becomes the ideal heterosexual superhero. Steve comes from nothing, a small guy from Brooklyn, and becomes perfection. He gains superhuman power, speed and abilities, but still represents the honorable morals we are supposed to embody as a country. This is why he was chosen, and this is also why he is so powerful. Steve represents the handsome, courageous, powerful and self-sacrificing American hero that many grew up admiring. It can be argued that Captain America represents the American mindset that values, morals, courage, perseverance and intelligence are more valuable than pure strength. I believe this is the imbedded goal of the film. The writer does well to illustrate this message. Along with other recent superhero action movies the objective is to entertain an audience, and obviously to profit. The film could be improved in a few ways but is definitely pretty entertaining. Inlaid with these purposes a message from the writers to the viewers can be seen. The creators try to encourage the viewer to look past the physical driven society that we live in, and embrace our personal strengths. That becoming a hero is not exclusively based on strength and physicality, but our personality, intelligence, morals and values. For part of this central idea to be conveyed emotion is used. The writer’s use of pathos goes a long way to contribute to the central idea. For this to be successful, Steve had to be belittled and then empathized by the audience before he could become great. The author does well to show him as courageous, but helpless. In the opening scene he defends the honor of the armed forces in the movie theater. This gets him into a fight and a beating from a much larger man. He does not back down from the man but is overcome until his friend jumps in. Right after this Steve is shown in his scrawny form trying to enlist where the folder displays how many flaws he has. In boot camp he is again shown as subpar in stature and strength. It enables the viewers to relate to feeling insignificant and unworthy, or just ordinary. Once he is broken down it gives the chance for him to overcome everything. This aspect encourages the spectators that anyone can become a hero. Pathos is used to elaborate on the values that Captain America represents. He represents courage and sacrifice in the scene where he dives on top of the dead grenade to save the squad and also when he haphazardly invades to rescue the POW. The best example of this is the last scene of the movie where Steve flies the plane into the ice in order to save the city. He wanted more than anything to continue his relationship with Peggy but gives that up for a better chance at saving everyone. Everyone can relate to him when they say goodbye over the radio. This makes the viewers relate to him and feel like they could be in the same position. All of this emotional appeal also serves another purpose. It points to the fact the Steve is still human after the experiment. The creator made sure to maintain this human connection to compassion. His love affair with Peggy helps establish this throughout the movie. He never loses touch with his crush and his feeling of responsibility towards the rescue of his best friend is an example of this. The human aspect keeps the audience relating to Captain America so they feel they might be able to become a superhero based on their mental strengths. The writer maintains this human connection so the viewer does not feel alienated from the social ideology. The cast of Captain America contributes to the credibility of the movie. With stars such as Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson the film is viewed with more legitimacy. Another specific instance where ethos is used is the implication of Stark Industries from the Iron Man series. Tony Stark’s father is brought in to play a small role. This can be seen as reaffirming the social issue at hand. By presenting another â€Å"superhero†, (or reference to that of) that used his intelligence to develop superpowers rather than natural born strength, it supports this idea. Alluding to all the Marvel movies establishes more standing, which is a trend in many of these movies. The writer’s use of logos helps create a more believable atmosphere for this normally unbelievable story. The story is set in World War II Nazi Germany. The viewer can find this recognizable and become more wrapped up in the story. They know the situation in Europe and begin to connect the dots. Anyone that knows a little about World War II can connect the fact that Hitler was probably the biggest supporter of technological advances during the war. All of the outlandish properties of the movie become a little more reasonable when related to Hitler in this time period. The logos help establish a familiar setting making the story subliminally more believable thus making the social message more believable. Like most superheroes Captain America is the epitome of the heterosexual stereotype after the experiment. The chamber opens to show his now chiseled body all oiled up. He resembles a competition bodybuilder on stage covered in Vaseline to show even more muscle tone. While the central idea behind the movie was how physical strength is not as important, the producers still portray him as a sexual figure. He stands for America’s hegemonic muscularity. Then generally women become attracted to him and most men want to be him. Captain America is full of symbols that contribute to what he represents in this movie. The fact that his uniform is red, white, and blue makes him represent the good of the country. Steve embodies all the attributes that are seen as favorable among our society as he represents the country. The shield may be seen as different things, but I feel as if it represents Steve’s courage for one, and also his â€Å"average joe† appeal. A normal soldier might be able to have some of the same success equipped with and assault rifle and every resource made available by the army but Captain America doesn’t need that. All he needs is himself, a pistol and a shield. Captain America serves as a message to people that anyone can be a hero and that the physical aspect is not as important as values and personality traits. Superhero stories operate to empower and encourage the readers to better themselves and to do the best with what they are given. Rhetoric in this instance is used to convey these important messages. Superheroes act as a great role model and example for us all.

To what extent is Chapter 1 of Sense and Sensibility a fitting introduction for the novel to come?

In this novel, Austen is setting out rules of conduct for women in a time when England was moving from a period a long stability to sudden and total change. Unless people knew how to behave, she thought, chaos would ensue. England was entering the Industrial Revolution, having just seen the French Revolution and the American War of Independence. A new literary style was sweeping the nation, one to which Austen was much opposed: Romanticism. A dichotomy had arisen from the popularity of Romanticism within the literary groups of the time. It is possible to label these two groups as ‘Sense' and ‘Sensibility'. (The Gothic style also came about at this time, championed by those who had suddenly discovered freedom [both literary and, in some cases, physical] with the fall of oppressive governments surrounding England – Austen also wrote anti-Gothic novels, like Northanger Abbey. ) Austen was definitely in support of ‘Sense', which this novel shows so clearly. Austen argues her case for sense over sensibility by polarising the main protagonists on the subject. Marianne represents sensibility in all its dramatic, baroque and over-the-top glory, whilst Elinor represents sense (not cold, emotionless logic, but a tactful reason about situations). Although Austen shows the reader the downsides of both poles, sensibility is harshly and heavily punished and in the end sense wins out when Elinor gets to marry the man she wants and Marianne gives up sensibility and accepts an unconvincing happy ending with a socially respectable result. Austen, then, is writing not a novel, but a book of behaviour for women in this tumultuous time, much in keeping with little girls' conduct books of the time. The first chapter so brilliantly allows for these developments later in the book by not mentioning them at all, or at least not until the closing paragraphs in which the reader is introduced to Elinor and Marianne. This first chapter is primarily concerned in setting up Austen's character in the book, that of satirical social commentator and moral guide. And this character is set up within the opening paragraph. Austen's behaviour as author in this chapter almost contradicts Elinor later on. The way the aristocratic Dashwood family interact with each other on human terms is mocked and pulled apart by Austen's scathing irony; these first paragraphs could almost be in defence of sensibility! Relationships are described in contractual terms: no longer is your son family, he is clientele; no longer do you love, you esteem. Family isn't about affection, its about affectation. Appearance and finance are all that matter on the Norland estate, respectability and wealth. People are spoken of in terms of utility and actions are taken for the sole purpose of acquiring wealth. Any affection shown with that is an added bonus, purely accidental and by no means essential to the relationship. There is one sentence at the end of the first paragraph in which are contained almost all of the social morays with which Austen holds qualm, and she makes her qualms clear with her irony and diction: â€Å"The constant attention of Mr. And Mrs. Henry Dashwood to his wishes, which proceeded, not merely from interest, but from goodness of heart, gave him every degree of solid comfort his heart could receive†. â€Å"The constant attention†, not constant affection, or even constant love, no, â€Å"constant attention†. They waited on him, served him as best they could to ensure a large chunk of inheritance, but not to worry, they did not do this â€Å"merely from interest, but from goodness of heart†. This sentence does not redeem their greed, but rather reinforces it, that â€Å"merely† adds dimensions to this sentence which implies that even if they were good of heart, they were still selfish and out for all the could get. Finally, the comfort they offer the old man is only â€Å"solid†, no more than materialistic. They do not enrich him spiritually or intellectually, only materially. Austen has now set out the rules for the following novel, without even bringing her protagonists to light. Austen is by far the most important character in the book, and her characterisation, therefore, is the most important. It is essential for the reader to know Austen before the reader knows Elinor or Marianne, or else the aim of this book to teach people how to behave would be lost. The fact that Austen seems to be pulling apart the social order whilst Elinor is in whole-hearted support for retaining the social order may seem perplexing, but I think a solution comes if one understands Austen as a person of moderation. She punishes Elinor also (though less harshly than Marianne) for being too restrained. In so many passages in the book there is an awful feeling of imprisonment on the part of Elinor as she is unable to do anything socially unacceptable. Therefore, there is contradiction between Austen and Elinor, but that is because Elinor is not Austen, she is not perfect or correct or a paragon of what Austen believes correct behaviour for a woman. Sense is supported, but room for emotion must be allowed or one is not human, says Austen, but cold and dead.

Future earth-climate of earth (around the equator) 250 million years later

The story about the climate at the equator 250 million years ago is both interesting and frightening. Interesting, because it puts all the things we concern ourselves with right now in perspective, and they seem very insignificant, and frightening, because of what it suggests is in store for us. It is believed that 250 million years from now, by a process of ‘subduction’, a giant continent called ‘Pangea Ultima’ will be formed, which will consist of North America and Africa married to one another with South America rounding off the bottom of the supercontinent. A miniscule ocean basin will remain at the bottom of the two continents.This marriage and other changes will cause a big effect on temperature. The huge landmass will mean that winds reaching the land will be denuded of their moisture. Much of what is now southern North America will fall on the Equator. Because it will be robbed of any moisture bearing winds, it will probably become barren, and may ev en form into a desert. The beaches of Miami will probably be replaced by an Arizona like landscape. In addition to the geosphere, the water bodies (the hydrosphere) will also make a big impact on the temperature and climate around the equator.What is today the Indian Ocean will be trapped, creating a giant lake like body the size of modern Australia. Being trapped like a lake, the Indian Ocean will not be able to circulate air currents and therefore affect temperature. Parts of the Indian subcontinent that will then (and even today to) fall on the equator will likely not benefit from the South Western and North Eastern monsoons that bring rain and influence temperature. The atmosphere will not be left behind in this giant drama. The atmosphere acts a conduit in the transfer of heat and water from the oceans and seas to the land.The formation of a new giant ocean and a supercontinent will make the transmission of this heat energy from the sea to the land and water vapour (which is de posited on land as rain) more difficult. Instead of carrying moisture laden winds, large parts of the giant landmasses, particularly around the equator will be affected by hot, dry winds, which will increase temperature on the surface as well. In the same vein, the atmosphere may serve to radiate hot air outwards from the centre of these giant continents to the peripheries, which could increase the temperature in other regions, and also affect the surface temperature.As a consequence, the temperature overall might rise, exacerbating the effect of climate change induced by human factors. The outlook is not all grim however. Higher temperatures, coupled with a giant lake like Indian Ocean (providing an abundant supply of water) could result in the proliferation of plant life in much of equatorial Africa, South America and Asia. The proliferation of plant life would bring down temperatures and reduce levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, countering the effects of global warming.T he contortion of the landmass of Eurasia will bring the eastern parts of Russia, such as the port city of Vladivostok along the equator. The climate pattern in Russia in particular will therefore completely change, becoming much less severe and a lot more temperate and even equatorial. Finally, California and large parts of then equatorial North America will have very heavy, even torrential rainfall. Them being the first landmasses after several thousand miles of ocean, huge amounts of water will be deposited as rain in these parts. This could have a cooling effect on the temperature there.

Critical evaluation of lean strategy (strength and weaknesses) Essay - 1

Critical evaluation of lean strategy (strength and weaknesses) - Essay Example Critical success factors that improve the execution procedure are distinguished through human asset reviews, administration style, hierarchical vision of organizations, cultural aspects of the organization and external forces. Lean strategy directs the company to reduce or remove waste along with whole value creation channels. This makes operations that require less human exertion, less space, fewer assets and capital, and less time to manufacture items and deliver services. This process undertakes fewer expenses and with much fewer discards and operational errors as compared to traditional business frameworks. The main objective of the lean strategy is to give perfect and ideal worth to the customer through a sound value formation process that supports no waste. Further, the paper also outlines the difficulties that organizations experience when they change their plan of action towards executing another strategy and innovative system to the organization framework that is lean strategy. For superior understanding of the lean strategy, the paper proposes definitions from the developers of the system recognized in the field. As the world is turning into a global village, internationalization and globalization have taken up the majority space in the corporate world. Now business processes have developed into more efficient and effective processes. This has made the businesses more complicated and has created the vigorous competition in every industry. In such case, strategy lends a helpful thought to corporate to efficiently adjust their business operations while remain aligned with corporate mission and vision, in order to run their successfully and gain competitive edge over others. Pace, effectiveness, and client worth are basic concerns in driving productive outcomes in company. Lean strategy is also one of the strategies that seek to manage and incorporate the operations of the different

A person or a show that had an influence on the mass media Essay

A person or a show that had an influence on the mass media - Essay Example Other types of print media include magazines, journals and books. Through evolution, a wide range of newspapers is available for people to choose from in the market. Traditionally, different kinds of newspapers include the tabloids and the broadsheets, each covering different kinds of news. The broadsheet however is the most intellectual of and most informative of the two, as it focuses of the real issues. Contrary to this, the tabloid majors on gossips, entertainment and celebrity as well as sports news. Even as people enjoy their daily reading from their favourite newspapers, may it be news, politics or advertisements, they are little knowledgeable of the evolutionary process that the newspapers have gone through. Some think that they just appeared, while others remain clueless. However, newspapers have an interesting history of their origin and evolution. In this paper, I trace the origin of the brilliant brain behind one of the worlds’ leading forms of mass media communica tion, Johannes Gutenberg. Historical arguments point out that the earliest form of a printed book known as the â€Å"Diamond Sutra† was printed in China in 868 CE. Some historians however argue that this book was printed earlier than this. The truth is not verifiable. However, the man behind this great invention was Johannes Gutenberg, a goldsmith and a businessman from the mining town of Mainz in southern Germany. Research reveals that Johannes Gutenberg  borrowed money, which he invested in his invention. Luckily, his success drastically changed the world of printing. His earliest form of printing machine, the printing press, was made of replaceable or movable letters that were either wooden or metallic. According to Childress (2008), after a long struggle of trial and error, Gutenberg  completed the machine in 1440. There is an amusing story about how the idea occurred to Johannes. One day, as Johannes sat by the window reading a book chained to the reading table, he c ould not help from smiling at the wonderful ideas that the book contained. Outside, rain was pouring heavily, banging on the window. Suddenly, he felt angered by the precious nature of books then. Disgustingly, he shook his head, and vowed to look for a way that would reduce the value of books and enable people handle them in a different way. This incidence was the beginning of a research that led to the birth of the printing press, subsequently marking the start of mass reproduction of books. However, what benefited the most from this invention was the mass production of newspapers as a form of mass communication. Hundreds of years ago, the only means in which people could write books was by way of handwriting. There was no form of printing or publishing presses available for interested parties to exploit. Due to the rareness of the books, it prompted their chaining to the reading tables as a measure to prevent people from taking them away. Estimated cost of a book then was the cos t of a town house (Childress, 2008). Johannes was born in the year 1398 in Mainz Germany, but later moved to Strasbourg in 1428, escaping the rivalry that existed between the rich and the townspeople. He came from a very rich and powerful family as his father was a jeweller and a goldsmith working at the Mainz Mint. Starting his life as a goldsmith himself, Johannes learnt tips that would latter help him in his invention. Although he fell in love and went ahead to propose to Ennelin zu der Iserin Thure, he changed his mind along the way and broke

Country Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Country Report - Research Paper Example India’s agricultural industry makes up 18% of the country’s GDP and around 66% of the national population relies on this industry for a source of living (Hanko Hackberry Group n.d.). An excellent information technology industry leads the services sector in India. India’s trade shortfall reached $16.86 billion in November 2014, which is the highest since early 2013 (Sedghi 2013). This shortfall is below November 2013’s record of $10.6 billion, as well as the market’s projected deficit of $15.6 billion. Imports increased 26.79% annually and exports rose 7.27% (Pawar and Veer 57). This made India’s balance of trade average at $1.932 billion in 2014 from 1957 with record tops and lows in 1977 and 2012 of $258.9 million and $-20.211 billion respectively (Hanko Hackberry Group n.d.). This trade shortfall reached a seven-month maximum of $131.5 billion in September 2014. An outstanding decline in exports drove the rise in India’s trade shortfall. Foreign sales tapered by 5% yearly in October 2014, which compared to the 2.7% growth of September. At the same time, imports slowed down significantly from a 26% increase in September to a poor 3.6% growth in October 2014 (Sedghi 2013). This notable decline in imports ec hoed a restraint in gold demand and a decline in oil imports. India’s Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act has been regulating imports and exports since 1992. This act gave the government vast regulation powers over the country’s trade operations. The country’s overall commodity trade rose more than three times from 2006’s $252 billion to 2012’s $794 billion (Hanko Hackberry Group n.d.). A majority of India’s exports have been moving to Asia and Africa with Asia’s share growing to 51.6% between 2011 and 2012 from 2001 and 2002’s 40.2% (Sedghi 2013). Europe, as a destination of India’s exports, saw a deceleration from 24.7% in 2001 and 2002 to 19% in 2011 and 2012. India’s main export commodities were

Technology makes communication easier in today's world. Many people Essay

Technology makes communication easier in today's world. Many people choose to work at home in front of a computer screen. What d - Essay Example However, there are number of adverse effects of this trend, though only visible in the long term. Less communication leading to isolation One would easily assume that working from home using computer helps reduce wastage of time on travel to and fro. However, it also means that people no longer interact with others in the community. In other words, when someone works from home using computer, he shrinks into his own private world and does not get any chance to interact with other people, even the people next door. In simple words, it leads to alienation of individuals in the society. As Kraut, Patterson, Lundmark et al (1998) state man is a social animal that requires constant socialization, the absence of which will lead to many physical and mental illnesses which are seem to be increasing in the present world. For example, the increasing levels of stress related problems are attributed directly to the modern working culture, and thus to the use of computer that restricts social int eraction (Kraut et al). This, in turn, will lead to problems like high blood pressure. These issues are accompanied by all those problems which are associated with sedentary jobs in general starting from obesity. In addition, computer can be termed an asocial means of communication. The normal way of communication people have is to spend more time with ones friends and family and less time with strangers. However, computer altered this concept totally. Now, people prefer to spend more time with strangers whom they meet on the net and less time their near and dear ones. In other words, the entertainment offered by computer is totally asocial in nature. Impact of telecommuting on family Family, as the basic unit of society, requires proper attention and is the sphere where telecommuting has the greatest impact. To begin with, it is a common concept that when one works from home, he would get more time to interact with his family, thus leading to an improvement in familial relations. A ccording to many, it also provides time flexibility. However, in practice, what is seen is quite contradictory in nature. People often tend to spend more time on work than their usual working hours thus reducing the time spent on social interactions. In addition, there is more possibility of their work spillover affecting their family relations and family situations can affect the quality of their work. In addition, working from home takes away the usual concepts of weekend holidays and other free times and thus, instead of helping the people have more freedom, it only adds to their tension as many a time, working independently involves more care and responsibility than working under supervision. Effect on the quality of work It is often found that telecommuting seriously affects the quality of work done by employees. There are various reasons behind this fall. First of all, the raw recruits are denied the chance to interact with the more experienced ones who might be happy sharing their work-related experiences over a cup of coffee. In the office culture, a junior may get a ridiculously simple solution for a jargon nagging him for many days from a senior who had such experiences in the past. In addition, for bosses, it provides a chance to give a warning to an employee who errs very often. In fact, work-related knowledge grows only