The Value of Source Study of Hamlet by Shakespeare

Introduction The content of this essay revolves around the Hamlet play staged and sensationalized by William Shakespeare. With substantial reference to varied sources, the prodigy hatched a theatrical drama piece of Hamlet, depicting a code of revenge, patricide, tragedy, and regicide (Sanchez 21).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Value of Source Study of Hamlet by Shakespeare specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper bears significant valuation for the sources that Shakespeare alluded to in the production of this play. Sanchez attests that he studied previous works and literature of preeminent playwrights persistently fixating on Francois Belleforest borrowing insightful chapters and verses (1). Belleforest’s work is a replication of Saxo Grammaticus’s Danish legend on Amleth, accompanied with a selection of changes (Sanchez 7). Shakespeare still made some alterations in his adaptations to emp ower his performance, regardless of character references and tributes. This essay seeks to delineate these alterations and, over and above that, explain their instrumental significance. This article starts by narrating Hamlet’s story then outlines Shakespeare’s modifications mainly by way of character analysis and the language borrowed. Body Background Facts: Shakespeare’s Literature of Hamlet Hamlet is a fiction plot with a premise that convenes tragedy and revenge within the Elsinore Castle, in the Kingdom of Denmark (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 3). The fortress summons Prince Hamlet, the protagonist, home from Germany to grace his father’s funeral with his presence. On arrival, the Prince gets wind of the marriage between his mother, Gertrude, and his uncle, Claudius, which agitates him. He fathoms foul play and attests his suspicions through an epiphany by his father’s ghost that appears to him recounting how Claudius murdered him in h is nap. The Ghost taxes Hamlet to compensate his death by killing his executioner, Claudius, to be at ease. However, Hamlet is somewhat unsure of the ghost’s credibility and decides to engage a troupe of players to stage a play called The Murder of Gonzago to affirm his notion.Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The tactic is so successful that it strikes Claudius’ conscience; he is remorseful and leaves to pray and ask for cleansing (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 4). The affirmation of the stage play rekindles the intense passion for vengeance and retribution within Hamlet for his father’s death (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 5). This vengeance, however, is all words but no action, and as the prince contemplates on how to achieve revenge, he instigates six ancillary deaths within the palace. According to Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (5 ), Hamlet first stabs Polonius, the king’s chief counselor, who was eavesdropping on a conversation between the Prince and the Queen behind the tapestry. The next victims are Hamlet’s schoolmates, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern, whose demise Hamlet himself arranges by instructing the King of England to hang the two (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 6). Ophelia, tormented by Polonius’ decease and Hamlet’s antic disposition, drowns while singing bawdy melodies, lamenting over her spurned lover (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 6). Next is Laertes, Ophelia’s sister, who declares to finish off Hamlet, as he is entirely responsible for both his father and sister’s demise. Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare assert that Laertes, in consultation with Claudius, concocts various strategies to kill the Prince, one of them being a ‘fencing match’ (7).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Value of Source Study of Hamlet by Shakespeare specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the course of the contest, Laertes uses a poisoned sword blade to maim the Prince but releases it after that. Hamlet sees an opening here to reciprocate the attack by Laertes and, therefore, collects the same blade; he uses it to impale his adversary. In a show of victory, the queen drinks from a contaminated glass of wine that Claudius had specially prepared and poisoned for Hamlet (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 8). The toxic substance kills her instantly. In an aggravated maneuver, Hamlet grabs the sword, using it to wound Claudius in concurrence with forcing the wine down his throat, in light of Gertrude’s demise. After that, he announces that Prince Fortinbras should rule over Denmark’s throne. He also advocates his friend, Horatio, to retell the preceding events, after which he relinquishes life (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 9). In reverence , Fortinbras secures Hamlet’s burial procession withal full military honors. What Changes Has Shakespeare Made to the Archetype Work of Amleth? I have researched that Shakespeare evidently altered some descriptions here and there to personalize Hamlet from looking through Nash’s book, Christ Tears Over Jerusalem. Sanchez clarifies that Shakespeare’s plays inferred from preexistent playwrights, tragedians, and dramatists who composed classic pieces of literature (4). These masterpieces were inclusive of mythologies, folktales, daily life, songs, and history emanating from varied localities such as Greek, Italian, Roman, Germany, and English.Advertising Looking for essay on british literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Shakespeare collected and remodeled these works, introducing new viewpoints and ideas to the existent compositions, affirms Sanchez (10). The reforms were all in a bid to create finer plot devices to advance the visual and speculative perceptions altogether. The Ghost Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (7) compare the spirits in the plays of Antonio’s Revenge and Hamlet to elucidate Shakespeare’s variations of King Hamlet’s apparition. By the exploitation of profound readings and assessment of the two works, Hamlet and Antonio’s Revenge implement the character of a ghost in their explanations (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 9). The plot in Antonio’s Revenge is fundamentally similar to that of Shakespeare’s Hamlet as it encompasses vindictiveness by a son, whose father’s ghost emerges and commands revenge. Nonetheless, there exist definite divergences in the specters’ properties. The Significance of The Ghost’s Ch aracter Alteration Andrugio’s ghost materializes before both Antonio- the protagonist- and his mother alike, such that the two can see the specter’s impression in the same way (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 10). Over and above that, this apparition even has a conversation with both Antonio and his mother, Maria. To Antonio, the ghost has come compelling him to take vengeance on his account, against his murderer, Piero (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 11). On the other hand, Andrugio’s ghost relates to Maria in a rather comical and somewhat haunting way, explain Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (11). The play depicts Andrugio’s ghost seating on the edge of Maria’s bed chastising her by way of rebuking her loose ways, seeing that she has already been intimate with the villain. He proceeds to explain to her that her gender is frail and subsequently soothes her fears. Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare analyze that the gap between the mortal human and the dead narrows down significantly and almost plummets them into one form (9). This plot device is in contradiction with that of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, as the ghoul does not show itself before Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare note that Shakespeare modified the ghost of King Hamlet to only converse with the prince and beseeched him to get the appropriate revenge for his demise (11). He also points out that the ghoul does not interact directly with the Queen and instead reaches out to her through Hamlet, additionally warning him to care for her as her sex is fragile. In this context, the gap between the supernatural worlds versus the earthly humans remains as vast as it should be. In regards to the intended significance, Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare report that Shakespeare designed the role of the ghost to appear to Hamlet relentlessly to enhance the melancholy motif of the play (12). The central theme envisaged re volves around revenge, and the protagonist aims to achieve his vengeance on the villain by faking madness. By slightly changing the scenario, Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (11) say that Shakespeare succeeded in consummating the original concept of ‘Hero-as-Fool.’ The leading role feigns a deranged character to avoid the rogue from suspecting his motives. By virtue of the ghost emerging incessantly before Hamlet, the rest of the observers, his mother included, believe without a doubt that Hamlet is not mentally right. The significance of the ghost in Shakespeare’s Hamlet holding conversation with the Prince only, also creates a mood of mystery and confusion (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 12). The fact that the apparition comes back from Purgatory gives rise to mockery because Protestants such as Hamlet doubt the entire doctrine of the underworld (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 13). This element of disbelief causes the prince to question the gho st’s reliability, thus attaining the aspect of delay in the outline. Ophelia Francois Belleforest sketched the individuality of Ophelia in Saxo Grammaticus’ Danish legend, in his very own rendition. Likewise, Shakespeare paints the same character of Ophelia that Polonius and Claudius use as a convenient tool to spy on Hamlet and examine if he was crazy (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 15). In as much as Shakespeare and Saxo portray Ophelia as the lead character’s mistress, some notable differences surface as expounded below. The Significance of Ophelia’s Character Alteration In the Danish legend, Saxo imaged Amleth- the exponent- and Ophelia as foster siblings who shared a very strong likeness to each other. Their closeness was visible when Feng, the antihero, send Ophelia to observe Amleth, and she declined to reveal any information about him whatsoever (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 16). After this point, Saxo does not comment on her again i n the play and thus, it is not coherent to the audience what befalls her after that. Secondly, mention is that when Amleth sailed to England, he married Herminthrud, who betrayed him later on. The duplicity and infidelity that Herminthrud inflicted on her husband drove him to detest women and utter profanities about them in general (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 16). Shakespeare tweaked Saxo’s thesis marginally in various ways, for example; he stated that Ophelia was Hamlet’s sweetheart and not his foster sister (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 17). Shakespeare employed this strategy to pull off the elements of betrayal by way of guiding Ophelia to betray her lover, Hamlet. In the setting of Hamlet, Ophelia sells out the prince repeatedly when at first; she deserts him under the instructions of Polonius, her father. The second time is when she reports Hamlet’s questionable behavior towards her, to her father and Claudius as well (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 18). By her act of disloyalty towards him, he reproves of her conduct and shuns her away to a nunnery (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 17). Her behavior hurts him, and he decides to humiliate her by refusing to wed her and instead calls her a ‘breeder of sinners.’ In light of her treachery, Hamlet becomes more alert to the people around him, more so, the ones he considers as precious and cherished (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 18). In this setting, Shakespeare brought Ophelia into play to scrutinize Hamlet’s resolve of revenge and feigned madness, as Hamlet trusts her enough to divulge his secrets to her. Another significance of revising Ophelia’s individuality is visible in Shakespeare’s elimination of Herminthrud in Hamlet. If he included her in the plot, he would have first had to pause and acquaint her to his audience, hence disrupting the flow of the story. In view of this, he thus observed the rule of flow and coh erency in this narration. Unlike Saxo, who described Herminthrud’s character trait, Shakespeare omitted her intentionally to capitalize on the story’s code of revenge by having Hamlet attack Ophelia (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 15). Ophelia thus serves as a scapegoat and takes the blame for all the female characters’ offenses. In addition, the omission of Herminthrud allowed Shakespeare to justify why Ophelia developed madness. Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare argue that the unsympathetic attitude that Hamlet brandish on Ophelia only mirrors the contempt Amleth harbored against women (14). Gertrude Saxo and Shakespeare both incorporated the character of Geruth and Gertrude respectively as that persona that makes merry with the villain. This detail is apparent from the plays’ descriptions that both these personalities marry the antiheroes who have just killed their husbands (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 25). By virtue of their union, t hey display an indecent show of incest that devastates both their spouses’ specters, as well as their sons. Despite the legends’ striking resemblance, there are several nonconformities in these characters’ distinctive attributes, verifying that Shakespeare reconstructed his version. The Significance of Gertrude’s Character Alteration The tale of Amleth presents Geruth as a very mild dignitary who suffered under her former husband’s- King Orvendil- quick temper before his death (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 27). Her circumstances are so lamentable that her remarriage to Feng calls for deliverance; Saxo sculpts her as Feng’s pushover, whom he forces into marrying him after dispatching her husband, Orvendil. Later on, her son Amleth berated her to rectify her transgressions of conjugating with the villain, who doubled up as her spouse’s murderer and her brother-in-law. Amleth is successful in his castigations as she repents and v ows to help him enact his attack on Feng; Saxo per contra does not cite her again in the play. By contrast, Shakespeare’s Hamlet is quite the edited restatement of the earlier Amleth legend. Before all else, Shakespeare fails to establish Gertrude’s stand on the regicide issue meted out on King Hamlet, her husband (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 26). Shakespeare’s indecisive angle enabled him to stage a theatrical aspect of a riddle, as his viewers are inquisitive of whether the queen willingly married Claudius, or he forced her into it. This part of the play also serves as a brainteaser- a quality that is profitable to any play or work of literature. Along the storytelling, Shakespeare records that Hamlet also rebukes his mother, Gertrude, for coupling with Claudius and more so, allying with the bully. Shakespeare also included a supplementary section where the Prince exhibited pictures of Claudius to the queen, in an effort to mark out Claudius’ f laws- a feature lacking in the Amleth legend. Following Hamlet’s admonitions, Gertrude apologizes for her actions and promises him that she will suppress the details of their meeting, never to disclose it to anyone. Unlike Geruth, Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (26) remark that Gertrude breaks her promise and confesses the solemn secret to Claudius, her second husband. There is a valid reason Shakespeare allowed the queen, Gertrude, to break her promise and betray him to Claudius. Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare state that the betrayal served to enlighten why the Prince set sail for England (28). Hamlet reluctantly embarked on a sea voyage to England, under the king’s strict bidding, as he- Claudius- dreaded that Hamlet was out to kill him. In addition to this, he also required some space and time to account for Polonius’ decease to his children, Ophelia, and Laertes. Claudius also coerced the prince into exile, as he wanted to scheme a dark and cover t plan for killing Hamlet, by drafting letters to the King of England. Gertrude’s betrayal is thus paramount to the unfolding of affairs in Hamlet’s storyline; Shakespeare demonstrated her imperfect portrait of motherhood (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 24). Additionally, Shakespeare contradicted Saxo by retaining Gertrude’s character in Hamlet, almost until the end of the narrative, where she died after drinking the contaminated wine. The author hangs on to her to maximize on the plot and theme of tragedy and a total catastrophe by reporting on her regrettable death (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 24). The passing of the Queen amplified the element of calamity in the genre of tragic stories by resulting in an even more tragic ending. Hamlet The Danish legend and Hamlet both reverberate a similar sentiment- that of retaliation and the implementation of an eye for an eye. The playwrights appoint their champions as Amleth and Hamlet indicatively to acc omplish a counter play motif (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 29). In their capacity as the leading role, they execute their assigned duties by way of donning a camouflage of madness to avoid suspicions by their uncles and bring their mission to fruition. Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (29) analyze that in their paths for vengeance, they trigger the annihilation of other members of the royalty, either deliberately or not. Beyond the correspondence between the two tales, Shakespeare still progressed to change some parts to modify Hamlet. Below is an outline of the revisions he made together with their distinct significances. The Significance of Hamlet’s Character Alteration In Saxo’s rendition, Amleth first appears at a junior age, such that he is feeble and powerless to take any action upon his father’s regicide. Feng’s deed of eradicating and regarding Orvendil’s regicide, as a deserved performance inspires Amleth to yearn for revenge ( Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 30). He formulates a strategically viable approach that he will administer on Feng when he becomes of age. In his laid out plan, he plots to eradicate Feng together with all those nobles that tolerated his uncle’s injustice. When he finally avenges King Orvendil’s death, Amleth continues to live, taking over the reins of kingship to implement peace in his kingdom (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 31). In Hamlet, Shakespeare presents Hamlet as a young adult, approximately thirty years, who is still pursuing his university studies in Germany. Unlike Amleth, Hamlet is of age; he is fully able to maneuver and act towards his goal (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 31). Regardless of his grown-up status, Hamlet is still hesitant to obtain payback; as a result perfecting the delay acts employed as plot devices in Shakespeare’s play. Shakespeare also circumvents from imaging Hamlet as intentionally conspiring to cause seven o ther subsidiary deaths encompassing Ophelia, Gertrude, and Laertes (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 32). Instead, he brings out these deaths as a mere coincidence and a victim of the occurrences at the palace, all in an attempt to magnify the concept of tragedy. Uncalculated misfortunes are the core of a tragic story; therefore, Shakespeare endears to the expectations of his audience (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 33). Furthermore, the ultimate collapse of the protagonist at the end of the narrative multiplies the effect of adversity. Fortinbras The Significance of Fortinbras’ Character Alteration Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway, is a sovereignty personification that makes an entry in Shakespeare’s Hamlet to take over governance from the ruins encountered in Denmark (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 32). Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (46) write that Saxo’s report does not feature Fortinbras. The reason for this omission is that Amleth def eated Feng and his nobles and, therefore, took his rightful capacity as the new king of his empire. In Hamlet’s production, Shakespeare orchestrates the death of Hamlet to record tragedy at its highest peak, explain Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (33). The crowning fall of the Prince compelled Shakespeare to usher in a new ruler, Fortinbras, who would reign with utmost justice and peace. Another cause of incorporating Fortinbras in the play was that Hamlet likened himself to Fortinbras; By virtue of being a Prince, Hamlet qualified him as sufficient to preside over the throne. Additionally, Fortinbras prevailed under the same state of affairs as Hamlet, and his uncle displaced him as the king yet he, as the prince, was the inheritor of the crown. The unfortunate event aggravated the Norwegian prince to the point he also seeks revenge on his father’s slayer, provide Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (34). Given that they experienced the same dilemma, Hamlet adv ocated for Fortinbras’ appointment to the throne assuming that he would carry out his ambition. Claudius Shakespeare ventures to mirror Feng, from the Amleth legend, in his recount of Hamlet by embodying him as Claudius (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 21). Claudius is a tyrant ruler and traitor; a mannerism perceptible in the way he dispatches his brother, marries his wife and conspires to put his nephew to death. As explained below, Shakespeare still customized Claudius’ character. The Significance of Claudius’ Character Alteration In Saxo’s tale, the playwright starts the folk tale by unfolding the details of the ruling history ongoing before Amleth’s tragedy (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 23). He narrates the bitter and tense association between the two co-rulers, Feng, and Orvendil. When Orvendil triumphs in a war against Koller of Norway and becomes Jutland’s sole leader, Feng becomes jealous and massacres him in quite a sc andalous manner. Feng strikes one as a very hard-hearted and unsympathetic figure. So cruel is he that he makes public his murderous deeds to the absolute court of Jutland then disguises the act by claiming that it was a righteous act (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 22). By contrast, Shakespeare embarks on the story midway, presenting Hamlet as a full-grown man who is thirty years of age (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 25). Shakespeare deletes the ruling history of King Hamlet’s reign, thus allocating the readers the task of unraveling whether Claudius and King Hamlet were also joint leaders. Secondly, Claudius, unlike Feng, does not announce his cause of regicide, thus adding an interesting twist to the play that involves discerning the grounds of the sudden fate of the king. Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare (22) offer that Shakespeare injects some mystification into the drama piece. Hamlet only becomes aware of the atrocity through the ghost’s divinat ion. Hamlet’s rage and crave for revenge intensify as he now realizes that the death was not accidental. The Names ‘Amleth’ and ‘Hamlet’ The title of Shakespeare’s drama play is reflective of the protagonist’s name, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 13). In the course of lifting the name of his titular character from Saxo’s journal, Shakespeare reshuffles and circulates the etymological significance of the heading ‘Amleth.’ He decides to reposition the letter ‘H’ from the end to the beginning of the name, to read as ‘Hamlet’ in place of ‘Amleth.’ Shakespeare is steadfast in the rebirth of the name ‘Hamlet’ to revolutionize and answer to the call of modernity. The reason for his intended modernization is that he was working in a neoteric period or rather, in the Elizabethan era (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 14). His audienceà ¢â‚¬â„¢s generation appealed to developments and reformations of outdated literary works. Language Borrowed For a long time, the wide-ranging perception has been that Shakespeare conceived entirely new words and phrases, advances Sanchez (12). The public deduce that he originated most of the terms and expressions used today, thus exalting him as the father of the modern-day language (Sanchez 14). Sanchez states that this impression is all wrong and even quotes that researchers have disputed this understanding in favor of the reality that Shakespeare merely borrowed terminologies from his predecessors (15). They argue that he possessed a great skill of acquiring language from earlier poets, novelists, and composers such as Thomas Nash. However, he did not just borrow heedlessly; instead, he transformed their meaning in the context of the texts he was writing. Explained below are two of the terms he adopted in his play, Hamlet. The Use of the Term ‘Nunnery’ and its Signif icance In the making of Hamlet, Shakespeare renovated the meaning of the utterance ‘nunnery.’ A meticulous study of Nash’s Christ’s Tears Over Jerusalem qualifies me to say that Shakespeare repeated the word from the celebrated pamphleteer, Thomas Nash. Nash first assimilated the ‘nunnery’ expression in his book Christ’s Tears Over Jerusalem to mean an Institute of courtesans and concubines (Nash 19). In Hamlet, Shakespeare slots this term in the phrase â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery,† uttered by Hamlet when he advises Ophelia to sign into a convent (Sanchez 32). Shakespeare utilizes this terminology, but he does not blend it to mean a brothel or bawdyhouse as Nash did. Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare explain that Shakespeare instead projects its literal definition of a religious community (18). Shakespeare’s aim of changing the meaning is to enable him to make Hamlet urge Ophelia to liberate herself from the fleshly wor ld full of dishonest men. Moreover, Hamlet uses this term while rebuking Ophelia of her betrayal, which he suspects of her (Stopes, Belleforest, and Shakespeare 16). The Use of the Phrase ‘Mind’s Eye’ and its Significance A reading of Sanchez (57) reveals that Shakespeare takes on another idiomatic expression from a writer known as Chaucer (1390). The phrase in question here is ‘mind’s eye.’ Chaucer accommodated the set expression in his account, The Man of Law’s Tale, wording it as â€Å"It were with thilke eyen of his mynde† (Sanchez 58). In the negation of Chaucer’s expression, Shakespeare reverses the arrangement and sequence of the statement to appear as â€Å"mind’s eye.† Shakespeare integrates this saying in Horatio’s reply when he, together with the castle’s guards, glimpse King Hamlet’s apparition on the palace walls. â€Å"A mote it is to trouble the mind’s eye,† c autions Horatio. Sanchez deciphers this to mean that Horatio was warning the guards to acknowledge the ghoul’s appearance (61). In other terms, he was predicting that its sheer emergence could bring disaster to the castle. Shakespeare applies the word ‘eye’ here to represent the castle and not the conventional meaning of ‘one’s optical memory.’ Conclusion Despite the fact that he borrowed concepts and models from his predecessors, Shakespeare was a great tragedian himself in devising his plays and drama sets. Sanchez (5) reports that in his play of Hamlet, Shakespeare generously adapts Saxo Grammaticus’ story thesis based on Amleth. However, he makes some structural changes, primarily in the qualities and traits of his characters among other elements. He remodels the characters of Hamlet, Ophelia, Claudius, Gertrude, Fortinbras, and the ghost in conjunction with the language borrowed (Sanchez 15). Shakespeare’s revisions are just : he only implemented them to blend with the tendencies affixed in tragic stories (Sanchez 56). Works Cited Nash, Thomas. Christ’s Tears Over Jerusalem: Whereunto is Annexed. A Comparative Admonition to London. London: From the Private Press of Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Printed by T. Davison, 1815. Print. Sanchez, Isabel 2012, â€Å"The Root of the Recycled: A Comparative Analysis of Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet† and the Mythological â€Å"Ur-Hamlet†Ã¢â‚¬ . Masters thesis, Florida International Univ., 2012. FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Web. Stopes, Charlotte, Francois Belleforest and William Shakespeare. Why Does Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ Differ from the ‘Amleth’ Story of Belleforest? [From the Transactions of the Royal Society of Literature, Vol. 33]. London: Adlard Son, 1914. Print. This essay on The Value of Source Study of Hamlet by Shakespeare was written and submitted by user Brooke C. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

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Appearance vs. Reality Our society today revolves mostly around appearance and how people view themselves and others. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s Truman Capote writes a story about a young lady, who from the outside seems perfect. Throughout the novel Holly Golightly is seen as both a witty and naà ¯ve character. From all the makeup and pretty clothes she wears to the persona she gives off to everyone, makes Holly appear to be a well-rounded individual. But in actuality Holly is hiding behind her appearance and doesn’t know who she really is. The only real aspect about Holly Golighty is her outside appearance. She is glamorous and has great beauty. Most of the time â€Å"she wore a slim cool black dress, black sandals, a pearl choker†¦ [and] a pair of dark glasses† (p.12). She dressed everyday as if she had to impress everyone. Her dark glasses seemed as though to hide her real self from the world. The narrator â€Å"had never seen her before not wearing dark glasses† and when he did, he noticed â€Å"they were large eyes, a little blue, a little green† (p.18). She acted as if she didn’t want anyone to know who the real Holly was. When she threw parties most of the people who attended them she didn’t know. But that’s what she wanted, she didn’t want close friends. Even her cat was just an acquaintance to her, she didn’t believe that he belonged to her. â€Å"Poor slob without a name. It’s a little inconvenient, his not having a name. But I h aven’t any right to give him one: he’ll have to wait until he belongs to somebody† (p.39). Holly’s appearance to her friends and acquaintances were just a scheme to hide the real Holly. But in reality Holly is a frightened young girl still trying to find her true self. Although Holly tries to use her appearance to hide herself, by the end of the novel its known that Holly isn’t just her outside appearance. At the very end before going to the airport, she... Free Essays on Appearance Vs. Reality Free Essays on Appearance Vs. Reality Appearance vs. Reality Our society today revolves mostly around appearance and how people view themselves and others. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s Truman Capote writes a story about a young lady, who from the outside seems perfect. Throughout the novel Holly Golightly is seen as both a witty and naà ¯ve character. From all the makeup and pretty clothes she wears to the persona she gives off to everyone, makes Holly appear to be a well-rounded individual. But in actuality Holly is hiding behind her appearance and doesn’t know who she really is. The only real aspect about Holly Golighty is her outside appearance. She is glamorous and has great beauty. Most of the time â€Å"she wore a slim cool black dress, black sandals, a pearl choker†¦ [and] a pair of dark glasses† (p.12). She dressed everyday as if she had to impress everyone. Her dark glasses seemed as though to hide her real self from the world. The narrator â€Å"had never seen her before not wearing dark glasses† and when he did, he noticed â€Å"they were large eyes, a little blue, a little green† (p.18). She acted as if she didn’t want anyone to know who the real Holly was. When she threw parties most of the people who attended them she didn’t know. But that’s what she wanted, she didn’t want close friends. Even her cat was just an acquaintance to her, she didn’t believe that he belonged to her. â€Å"Poor slob without a name. It’s a little inconvenient, his not having a name. But I h aven’t any right to give him one: he’ll have to wait until he belongs to somebody† (p.39). Holly’s appearance to her friends and acquaintances were just a scheme to hide the real Holly. But in reality Holly is a frightened young girl still trying to find her true self. Although Holly tries to use her appearance to hide herself, by the end of the novel its known that Holly isn’t just her outside appearance. At the very end before going to the airport, she...

Crystal Easter Egg Project

Crystal Easter Egg Project These crystal Easter eggs make great decorations! Basically, you grow crystals around a real egg. You can make a crystal geode, an egg decoration or a hanging ornament for an Easter egg tree. Make pastel eggs or vibrant eggs in any color of the rainbow. This is an easy crystal growing project that yields quick results. Time Required a few hours to overnight, depending what you want Materials You can use pretty much any recipe for growing crystals. Good choices would include sugar, salt, Epsom salts or borax. I chose alum because I wanted large crystals on the egg and quick results. If you want to completely coat your egg with sparkly crystals, borax or sugar would work best. The amount of borax, sugar, salt or Epsom salt is different from the amount of alum. Basically, keep adding material to the boiling water until it stops dissolving. Use this saturated solution to grow the crystals. An egg1 cup boiling hot water4 tablespoons alum (which is the size of a typical container in the grocery store)A pin or needleFood coloring or Easter egg dye (optional)String or a pipecleaner (optional)Cup Prepare the Egg You have a few options here. Crystal Geode EggIf you want to make a geode, carefully crack the egg or cut it in half. Rinse off the shells and allow them to dry before continuing.Crystal EggYou can use a hard-boiled egg to make your crystal egg. This results in a heavy egg that can be used as a tabletop decoration.Egg OrnamentUse a pin, awl or Dremel tool to pierce a hole into each end of the egg. Push the pin or an unbent paper clip into the egg to scramble the yolk. Blow into the hole on one end of the egg to remove the egg. If you have trouble, try enlarging the hole. The crystals will grow over the bottom hole, so it isnt critical to have an inconspicuous hole. Make the Crystal Egg This is how I made the egg in the photograph: Pour 1 cup of boiling water into a glass.Stir in 4 tablespoons of alum. Keep stirring until the alum dissolves.If you want colored crystals, add a few drops of food coloring. The eggshell picks up color easily, so a little dye goes a long way.Put the egg in the glass so that it is completely covered by liquid. If you blew out the egg, youll need to submerge the egg until the air bubbles escape or else your egg will float. If you like, you can suspend a hollowed egg using a pipecleaner or string.Allow a few hours for crystal growth. Once you are pleased with the crystals, remove the egg, hang it or set it on a paper towel, and allow it to dry. This egg has large sparkling crystals that show the shape of the alum crystals. If you want alum crystals all over the egg, seed the egg before putting it in the solution by dipping it in alum powder or painting the shell with a mixture of alum and glue. Crystal Egg Recipes Sugar Crystal EggDissolve 3 cups of sugar in 1 cup of boiling water.Borax Crystal EggDissolve 3 tablespoons of borax into 1 cup of boiling or very hot water.Salt Crystal EggThe solubility of table salt or sodium chloride is highly dependent on temperature. Stir salt into boiling water until it stops dissolving. Sometimes it helps to microwave the solution to a rolling boil to get the salt into solution. Its okay if there is some undissolved salt at the bottom of the container. Let it settle out and then pour off the clear portion to use to grow your crystals.Epsom Salt Crystal EggDissolve 1 cup of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) into 1 cup of very hot tap water. More Easter Chemistry Projects Homemade Natural Easter Egg DyesWater Into Wine Chem DemoSugar and String Crystal Easter Egg

Final Paper Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final Paper Proposal - Essay Example ss try to argue what each of these individual thinkers would have thought about the rights of gay marriage – the fact that they all lived more than a century ago probably means that they would all have been against it simply due to bias. Rather, it will argue what positions are internally coherent with their stated philosophies, and whether the philosophical traditions they belong to would support or oppose gay marriage. I believe that, even though Karl Marx had spoken out publicly against gay rights, all three of these thinkers propose philosophies that fundamentally support the right of gay marriage. John Stuart Mill’s liberalism might be the most friendly to the idea. Firstly, he championed the fight against the tyranny of the majority (Mill 24), where majority opinion, bias and hatred controls other parts of the population. The fight against gay marriage is obviously a case of tyranny of the majority. Secondly, he founded the â€Å"harm principle† where actions that do not harm others should not be negated by the government. Though some have argued that gay marriage can harm society, the lack of evidence of specific harm would mean it would be protected by the harm principle. Kant, likewise, would probably support the right of gay people to marriage. One of his foundational works, Groundwork on the Metaphysics of Morals proposes the categorical imperative: that one should behave as one would if behavior became a universal maxim. This will be harder to prove in an essay, but there are many ways of framing the banning of gay marriage that, universalized, would be harmful, such as: relationships not recognized by a particular religion should not be recognized by law or law should be based on religious morality. Finally, based on Marx’s Communist Manifesto, I believe that he would be against the current fight against gay marriage, on purely pragmatic grounds. Marx was a thinker who focused on class, and noted and fought against attempts by the

Should wehelpthe poor Yourdiscussion should includeeither Essay

Should wehelpthe poor Yourdiscussion should includeeither Pogge'sarguments (in Poverty,Climate Change and Overpopulat - Essay Example As one of the many life-threatening social issues, poverty is associated to many deaths, including diseases and violence, especially in the underdeveloped countries. (Pogge, 2010).   A great factor in the increase of poverty is the unequal distribution of wealth, which leads to social inequality. The economic inequality skews the economic opportunities of people to gain the financial stability they need to ensure a life without poverty. The more unequal the distribution of wealth is, the greater number of people there is at the bottom of the economic and social structure. Pogge’s argument on helping the poor simply explains that the lower the poverty level is, the higher the sustainability would be. Helping the poor means the society needs to exert its efforts on the redistribution of wealth. This is a very big and idealistic step in the eradication of poverty. Since poverty is caused by the unequal structure, specifically economic, of the society, completely taking out pove rty is next to impossible. Pogge suggests a number of points on how to deal with poverty, thus helping out the poor people, and, as a result, helping out the society and the environment in one blow. In this regard, Pogge suggests that the society have a moral obligation to help the poor just because it will result in everyone’s self-preservation. One of the main arguments of Pogge’s perspective is that of Rolston’s. Rolston actually criticizes the point of Pogge that the society has the moral obligation to help the poor. He insists that helping out the poor, and the quest to eradicate poverty will paralyze our society. It’s not that society has no resources to help out the poor but in focusing more on eradicating poverty, the resources would be used up and the society won’t be able to answer to the other challenges that the society is facing, such as financial capability and ecological burden. Rolston suggests that if the society aims to eradicate poverty, it would need to look into the following challenges as well: redistribution of wealth, economic sustainability and population control (Rolston, 1996). Although affluent societies have the resources to answer these social issues, most poverty-stricken countries don’t have the capacity to do that. And the lingering question would be: would the affluent societies pursue the value of preserving the life of other societies while maintaining their own? Would they have the courage to redistribute their wealth to ensure that other societies would have the financial capabilities that they are enjoying? Rolston even suggests that most individuals protect what they value most, even if it results to the demise of another, taking it to account that it is beyond their control (Rolston, 1996). This is similar to Newton’s law of cause and effect. Every decision that we make affects other people, whether directly or indirectly. Rolston’s point shows that one of human na tural characteristics is self-preservation, and this could have a result in the downfall of another. Another point that contradicts Pogge’s perspective is the problem of population. Rolston suggests that feeding the poor is like feeding cancer (Rolston, 1996). It will only result to more problems later since the poor will only give birth to more poor later on. This correlates to his perspective that if the socie

Early Marriage Essay Example for Free

Early Marriage Essay Why do Americans get married so early? Growing up in Germany I’ve been living in America for one and a half year and I honestly have to say that I got used to the culture, values and traditions pretty quickly. But one thing I never understood and I’m still doubting about is why Americans get married with an age of 21 or even younger. In European countries and many other ones like China and Japan the average age of marriage is 30. There is a world out there, new things to experience and people to meet – so why settle down so early? All of the American couple friends I made dated in High School and got married after College. They have been together for a couple of years and seem very happy with what they have in each other. They know each other well, enjoy their comfort in consistency and have history together. I personally doubt if they are just staying together because they are afraid of the unknown or do they think they’ll never find somebody better? In my opinion you haven’t really experienced life when you go and settle down with somebody you met in High School. In the High School age you are still trying to figure out who you are in life, develop characteristics and are very influential of others. So is it a good idea to decide who you are gonna spend the rest of your life with in a stage of age you are still trying to find yourself? The twenties are dedicated to just you. You go out and travel, explore what you ever dreamt of and live your own life. Of course it is always challenging to be single and go on dates. No doubt about that! But being single and not â€Å"tied down† offer you experiences which enlarge your personal horizon immense. The kinds of different people you meet and experiences you’ll have, if bad or good, will help you figure out who you are and what you want in life and certainly in a relationship. The biggest fear I had if I were married with 21 is what happens if you get divorced. You don’t know a life without the person you met as a teenager and probably can’t imagine anything like that. My personal conviction of not getting married at an early age doesn’t result of that, but it’s definitely scary to devote yourself to somebody in an age where you haven’t explored yourself. I’m personally convinced that I’ll find the right person to marry after intensely living my twenties. And that doesn’t mean that I just want to sleep around 😉 I hope by that time I’ll definitely know what to expect from my partner and be mature enough to decide who is the right one for me. The intention of my opinion is definitely not to disrepect anybody’s lifestyle or marriage. If two people love each other and get married it is one of the most beautiful things! I personally doubt that it is a good decision to get married in an early age, but this is up to everybody themselves of course.

High School Exit Exams :: Argumentative Persuasive Education Essays

High School Exit Exams Exit Exams are an unfair way of determining whether a student should or should not receive his or her diploma. Most students work very hard throughout high school to receive good grades. This should be enough to determine whether a student should pass high school. There are many intelligent students which do not have good test taking skills, exit exams keep many good students from graduating and teachers have to narrow their lesson plans for these types of exit exams. These are all good reasons why exit exams should not be required in graduating from high school. When it comes to test taking, some students do not know how to remain calm. Many times when students fail a test it was not because they did not understand the material on the test, it is because students do not contain good test taking skills. Taking a test can be very nerve wrecking and uncomfortable. A student from Paris (texas) High School said, "some people get testaphobia, I passed my math classes with flying colors, but I get to that TAAS test and my mind's like a blank, I have no idea why." (Kunen 62). TExas is one of the 22 states that requires a high school exit exam like the TAAS test. Every year many students are kept from graduating high school because of these exit exams. This makes students and parents very angry. Students who have had high passing grades throughout high school do not understand why they cannot pass exit exams. Sometimes the student blames him or herself by thinking that he or she did not learn enough, when in fact there is nothing wrong without heir knowledge. These students do not realize that they lack good test taking skills. Parents are angry that their child was kept from graduating because of a single test, even though the child had all the he credits required. This situation occurred to Lee Hicks, another student from Paris (texas) High School. Had he lived 14 miles away in Oklahoma, which has no statewide exit test, he'd have received a diploma and would now be serving his country in the Navy. Instead Hicks severs customers in a Paris supermarket; he won management's Aggressive Hospitality Award for 1996. "He's a great employ ee, a bright young man--extremely hardworking," says store director, Larry Legg.

Relating Moles to Coefficients of a Chemical Equation Essay

Introduction: The definition of a mole is Avogadro’s number (6.02 x 1023) of particles (atoms, molecules, ions, electrons etc.). Moles are a very important part of chemistry especially in stoichiometry since it is part of many other calculation quantities and formulas including molar mass, solution calculations and gas volume calculations. The mole is also used in chemical reactions and equations to calculate the amount of reactant needed to react completely with another reactant or to calculate the product produced from the amount of reactant provided and vice versa. This is done by using the ratio of the coefficients in a balanced equation. This ratio of coefficients is also known as the mole ratio. In the following experiment, a simple displacement reaction would occur from the reaction of an aqueous solution of copper (II) sulphate and zinc powder. Zn (s) + CuSO4 (aq) à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ ZnSO4 (aq) + Cu (s) This reaction would be set up to allow the zinc to be the limiting factor therefore react completely, in order for that to happen, copper (II) sulphate would be in excess. As zinc is the limiting factor, it will be used to calculate the expected amount of copper produced from the 1 to 1 mole ratio of zinc and copper from the balanced equation above. Aim: To find the mole ratio of a reactant to a product in a chemical reaction . Apparatus: – Balance – Bunsen Burner – Two 150 cm3 Beaker – Glass Stirring Rod – Tripod – Gauze – 100 cm3 Graduated Cylinder – Goggles – Heat Proof Mat – Pure Distilled Water – Tongs – Balance to 0.01 g Reagents: – Copper (II) Sulphate Crystals – Zinc Powder Method: 1. Weigh the mass of a clean, dry 150 cm3 beaker. Then weigh out 7.0 g of copper (II) sulphate using the beaker 2. Add 50.0 cm3 of pure distilled water into the beaker and heat the solution gently until all the copper (II) sulphate has dissolved 3. Determine the mass of the second clean, dry 150 cm3 beaker. Then weigh out as accurately as possible, 1.30 g of zinc powder using the beaker 4. Record the mass of the beaker and the zinc powder in the results table, nearest to 0.01 g 5. Slowly pour the copper (II) sulphate into the beaker containing the zinc. Stir continuously for 1-2 minutes 6. Leave the beaker for 10 minutes while the reaction continues. Record your observations 7. When the copper has settled, pour out the light blue liquid. 8. Add 10 cm3 of pure distilled water into the beaker. 9. Leave it for 10 minutes again and pour out the liquid again 10. Repeat steps 8 and 9, two times 11. Place the beaker in the oven to dry for 24 hours 12. Remove the beaker from the oven and determine the mass. Results: 1. Mass of empty 250 cm3 beaker 97.37g 2. Mass of the 250 cm3 beaker and copper (II) sulphate 104.37g 3. Mass of copper (II) sulphate 7.0g 4. Mass of empty 150 cm3 beaker 98.66g 5. Mass of 150 cm3 beaker and zinc powder 99.96g 6. Mass of zinc powder 1.30g 7. Mass of the 150 cm3 beaker and copper formed (after drying overnight) 98.78g 8. Mass of copper 1.41g Calculations: 1. Number of moles of copper produced n = = = 0.0222 mol 2. Number of zinc moles reacted n = = = 0.0199 mol 3. Zn : Cu 0.0199 mol : 0.0222 mol 1 : 1 4. Mass of copper expected = n(Cu) = 1 x 0.0199 = 0.0199 mol m = nM = 0.0199 x 63.55 = 1.26 g 5. Percentage Yield: x 100 = 89.4% Conclusion: The mole ratio from calculation 3 is approximately 1 to 1, same as the expected mole ratio from the balanced equation. The expected mass of copper is 1.26 g but 1.41g of copper was weighed out therefore, the percentage yield of the above experiment is 89.4%. This is mostly caused by the impurity of the copper since there might be a small amount of leftover zinc sulphate in the beaker. Evaluation: From the experiment above, some things could have been done better to achieve a higher percentage yield. The glass rod should’ve been dipped into water before stirring the copper (II) sulphate and zinc in order for no copper to attach to the glass rod after stirring. More importantly, I could have improved and made this experiment more accurate by rinsing the copper more thoroughly so no zinc sulphate would be left in the beaker.

Why Children And Young People May Need To Be Looked After Away From Their Families

â€Å"There were over 91,000 looked after children in the UK in 2012. † (www. nspcc. org. uk) in this task I am going to describe why children and young people may need to be looked after away from their families. There are many reasons that children and young people may need to be looked after away from their home, one of those are the child’s or young person’s parents. This may be down to bereavement of the parents meaning that they have died, if the parents have died then the child or young person will go to the closest other family member unless there aren’t any in which case the child or young person would be looked after outside the family.Another reason children are being looked after away from their families is due to abuse. If the parents or guardians are abusing the child or young person in any way then they will be removed from the family home as it’s not safe for them, this comes under the children act (1998, 2004). â€Å"Over half of l ooked after children in England and Wales became looked after because of abuse or neglect in 2011/12. † (www. nspcc. org. uk) Some children or young people may go into temporary foster care due to parental illness, which is when the parent becomes dependant their self and are unable to look aft6er their child.For example if a single parent falls very ill then she/he would be unable to take proper care on their dependent child therefore they would go into a foster care setting where they would be looked after until the parent was again able to care for the child. The child or young person may be looked after away from the family if the parents feel they are incapable of taking care of them and have requested that they be adopted or in a foster family. One example of this is financial difficulty as the parents do not have enough money to care for the child and give it even a reasonable standard of life.Another example of this could be young parents that feel they are too young t hemselves to be able to take care of a child they may request that the child be taken into a more suitable family that will be able to take proper care of it. Also children or young people that have parents who have committed offences may need to be looked after if there is no other family as the parent could go to prison, depending on the offence the child may only be temporarily looked after in a foster family setting then would return to the family home when the parent is released.Although not all reasons that children need to be looked after outside of the family is due to the parents or guardians, some reasons may be due to the child or young person. One of these reasons is a child or young person with disabilities that have complex needs and are unable to be cared for at home as they do not have the right equipment or the money to get it.For example a child in a wheel chair may not be able to be cared for at home as the household they live in is not wheel chair friendly and th e family have not got the funding to move or renovate the house therefore the chid would be looked after outside the family. Another reason due to the child that they are being looked after outside the family is their behaviour. If a child or young person has behavioural problems they may become too much for the parent to handle and need to be looked after outside of the family. An example of this could be a child or young person who is harming he’s/hers family

Whats a Good PSAT Score for 2015

What's a Good PSAT Score for 2015 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips With all the scoring changes on the redesigned College Board exams, what counts as a "good score" on the PSAT these days? There are a few factorsyou can use to define what's good: score percentiles, National Merit criteria, andyour own personal goals for the PSAT and the SAT. First, it's critical to understand how the PSAT is scored. This guide will review the scoring scale of the PSAT, along with National Merit Scholarship Corporation's Selection Index, so you know what counts as a goodPSAT score. To start off, let’s go over a few key PSAT terms that will help you understand the rest of this guide. PSAT Scoring Terms: A Glossary Before examiningthe scoring scale of the PSAT, let’s review a few important terms: scaled scores, section (or test) scores, raw scores, subscores, and National Merit Selection Index. By understanding the difference between these terms and how they relate to one another, you’ll have a clearer understanding of the rest of this articleas wefigure out what makes for a â€Å"good† score on the PSAT. Scaled scores: your overall PSAT scores, which fall between 320 and 1520. Math accounts for half of this score (160-760), and the Reading section and Writing and Language section account for the other half together (160-760). Section (or test) scores: your scores by section, which fall between 8 and 38. You’ll get three section scores, one for Math, one for Reading, and one for Writing and Language. Raw scores: the number of correct answers by section. Your maximum potential raw scores varyby section. Subscores:seven scores between 1 and 15 that tell you how you did on certain types of questions. The questions fall into these seven categories:Command of Evidence, Words in Context, Expression of Ideas, Standard English Conventions, Heart of Algebra, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, and Passport to Advanced Math. National Merit Selection Index: the scale used by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to determine eligibility for Commended Scholar and Semifinalist. The Selection Index for the PSAT will fall between 48and 228. As you can see,you’ll get a lot of different scoreson your PSAT score report. Now that you have a preliminary sense of these terms, let’s look in more detail at how the PSAT scoring system works. How Is the PSAT Scored? As you read above, the PSAT has aminimum possible score of 320 and a maximum of 1520. Both the low and high end of this range are shifted about 80 points lower than the scoring scale of the SAT, to account for the fact that the PSAT is a somewhat easier test. Math isscored from 160 to 760, and Reading and Writing (technically called Writing and Language) isscored together from 160 to 760. Math makes up half the total score while the Reading and Writing sections will make up the other half together. You can think of the PSAT as half math and half verbal. While your final score will lump Reading and Writing together, you'll get a chance to see your performance on each the three separatesections. In addition to your overall scaled scores, you’ll get three section scores - one for Math, one for Reading, and one for Writing, that fall between 8 and 38. These numbers may feel a little random, but it’s actually pretty easy to convert from your section score to your scaled score. To get your math scaled score, just multiply your section score by 20. To get your Reading and Writing scaled score, add your section scores together and then multiply by 10. This chart gives you one hypothetical example of a student who got section scores of 28, 32, and 34 on Reading, Writing and Language, and Math, respectively: Test Test Score Section Score Total Score Reading 28 (28 + 32) * 10 = 600 600 + 680 = 1280 Writing and Language 32 Math 34 34 * 20 = 680 At the risk of making things more confusing, I'll quickly add that your score report shouldalso tell you your â€Å"raw score,† which is simply one point for each correct answer. Since there are 47 questions on Reading, you could get a max raw score of 47. On Math there are 48 questions, so you could get a max raw score of 48. Finally, on Writing, there are 44 questions, so you could get a max raw score of - you guessed it - 44. Again, your raw score simply reflects the number of questions you answered correctly. Then that raw score is converted to a section score and, finally, your scaled scores. Now that you have a sense of the PSAT’s scoring system, let’s consider our original question: what isa good PSAT score? What Makes for a Good PSAT Score? There are a few ways we can define â€Å"good.† First, we can look at the scores that rank in a high percentile compared to the scores of other test-takers. Second, we can look at what scores qualify for National Merit distinction and scholarships. And third, we can look at what your PSAT scores predict for your performance on the SAT. Let's start by reviewing how percentiles work and how you can predictthe strength of your PSAT scores. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: What Are PSAT Percentiles? Once you get your scores back, you'll see the different values described above - your raw scores, your section scores, and your scaled scores. Additionally, your score report will tell you your percentiles. Your score report will tell you two percentiles: the Nationally Representative Sample percentile and the User Percentile. Your Nationally Representative Sample percentile may look higher, since it confusingly includes projections for all students in a grade, even those who typically don'tthe PSAT. It seems that your User percentile will be the most reliable piece of data, since it only includes students whoare actually very likely to takethe PSAT. Therefore, the chart below gives you User percentiles, or for how your PSAT scores compare to other students in your grade who took the test. So how do percentiles work? They simply tell you the percentage of students compared to which you scored higher or the same. If your scaled scores land in the 80th percentile, for example, then you scored the same as or higher than 80% of other test-takers. The other 20% scored higher than you. Students' performance varieson Math, Reading, and Writing, so a score of 600 on Math, for example, may translate to a different percentile than the same score on Reading and Writing. Readon to see how scores from the new PSAT are expected to convert to User Percentiles. What PSAT Scores Will Rank in a High Percentile? This chart has the full list converting PSAT/NMSQT scaled scores to percentiles.This information is sourced fromCollege Board's dataon the PSAT administered in October 2015. As you read through the chart, notice thatyou don't have to have a perfect scaled score to make it into the top 99%. This is important if you're aiming for National Merit - you don't have to get a perfect score to make it into the top 1%. Score Reading and Writing Math 760 99+ 99+ 750 99+ 99+ 740 99+ 99 730 99+ 98 720 99 98 710 99 97 700 99 97 690 98 96 680 98 96 670 97 95 660 96 94 650 95 93 640 94 93 630 92 92 620 91 90 610 89 89 600 86 88 590 84 86 580 82 83 570 79 80 560 77 78 550 74 74 540 71 70 530 67 66 520 63 61 510 59 59 500 54 55 490 50 50 480 47 45 470 43 39 460 39 36 450 35 33 440 32 27 430 28 23 420 25 19 410 23 16 400 21 14 390 18 11 380 15 8 370 11 6 360 9 5 350 7 4 340 5 3 330 4 1 320 2 1 310 1 1 300 1 1 290 1- 1 280 1- 1 270 1- 1 260 1- 1 250 1- 1 240 1- 1 230 1- 1- 220 1- 1- 210 1- 1- 200 1- 1- 190 1- 1- 180 1- 1- 170 1- 1- 160 1- 1- This conversion might vary a bit each year, and College Board's data on the new PSAT is still preliminary and subject to change. In previous years, the Math section was slightly more competitive than Reading and Writing. Similarly, math getsnoticeably more competitive as you look at the lowest scores, and you would need 30 to 40 points higher in Math than in Reading and Writing to score in the 99th percentile. For the most part, though, both sections look like the same scores convert to more or less the same percentiles.At a few levels, Reading and Writing looks to be even more competitive than Math.Let's take a closer look at these percentiles totry to answer our original question of what makes a good score on the PSAT. The higher percentage, the better. What's a Good PSAT Score Based on Percentiles? Based on the chart above, an average PSAT score, or one that's right in the middle in the 50th percentile, is about 490 for both Reading and Writing and for Math. We can define good as being not just above average, but also as stronger than a significantmajority of other test-takers. Given that definition, these are approximately the scaled scores you need in each section to score in the 70th, 80th, 90th, and 99th percentiles. Percentile Reading and Writing Score Math Score Composite Score 70% 540 540 1080 80% 580 570 1150 90% 620 620 1240 99% 700 740 1440 As you can see, both sections convert to roughly the same percentiles except when you approach the 99th percentile. Then you'd need to score about 40 points higher in Mathto make it into the top 1%. Apart from scoring higher than other students, you might define a good score as one that qualifies for National Merit. Let's take a look at what you need to qualify. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: The original National Merit Scholar. What's a Good PSAT Score for National Merit? The percentiles in the chart above compare students all across the U.S who typically take the PSAT. To determine whether you qualify for National Merit, though, you actually have to look at how your scores compare to those of other students in your state. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) compares scores on a state to state basis. It names the top 3 to 4% of students Commended Scholar. To be named a National Merit Semifinalist, you have to score at the very top. National Merit Semifinalist distinction is given to the top 1%. The important thing to remember about National Merit is that it uses its own Selection Index. Since the PSAT changed its scoring system this year, this new Selection Index differs from that used in previous years. Before scrolling down to the chart below, read this next section to make sure you understand thePSAT Selection Index of today. Important: NMSC'sNew Selection Index National Merit has always used its own Selection Index, or scoring scale, to determine Commended Scholars and Semifinalists. In past years, this Selection Index looked a lot like PSAT scaled scores, so you may not have noticed. This year, though, it looks quite a bit different, even though it’s calculated in a similar way. As you read above, the PSATlumps together the Reading and Writing sections in one final scaled score. National Merit, however, still wants to consider these two sections, Reading and Writing, separately. Therefore, NMSClooks at your section scores rather than at your scaled score. It takes your Math section score, Reading section score, and Writing section score - all of which fall between 8 and 38 - adds them together, and then multiplies by 2. The NMSC Selection Index hasa scale between 48 and228. Confused yet? Let's look at an example. The Breakdown: NMSC’s New Selection Index Where does NMSC get this scale of 48 to 228? Let’s say you got minimum scores of 8 on each of the three PSAT sections. You could figure out your Selection Index by adding 8 + 8 + 8 (= 24) and then multiplying by 2 (= 48). That’s the lowest end of the Selection Index scale. What about the max Selection Index score of 228? You could get that with top section scores of 38 in all three sections. 38 + 38 + 38 = 114. Multiply that by 2, and you get 228. Now you can see that the Selection Index isn’t as random as it might have looked at first glance - it just relies on your PSAT section scores between 8 and 38, rather than your PSAT scaled scores between 160 and 760.You can also see why we took the time to go over all these terms at the beginning of the article! Based on reported data from individuals around the country, we've put together a list of every Selection Index cutoff across the United States for the PSAT in 2015. If you see any error with your state, let us know in the comments! Here are the qualifying scores from the old PSAT (2014 and earlier) and the new PSAT (2015 and later). State OldPSAT Cutoff New PSAT Cutoff Alabama 207 215 Alaska 210 213 Arizona 213 219 Arkansas 206 213 California 222 221 Colorado 213 218 Connecticut 220 220 Delaware 215 218 District of Columbia 224 222 Florida 211 217 Georgia 215 219 Hawaii 214 217 Idaho 211 214 Illinois 215 219 Indiana 212 217 Iowa 207 215 Kansas 213 217 Kentucky 210 215 Louisiana 208 214 Maine 212 214 Maryland 221 221 Massachusetts 223 222 Michigan 210 216 Minnesota 215 219 Mississippi 207 212 Missouri 209 216 Montana 206 210 Nebraska 209 215 Nevada 208 214 New Hampshire 212 216 New Jersey 224 222 New Mexico 210 213 New York 218 219 North Carolina 212 218 North Dakota 201 209 Ohio 213 217 Oklahoma 206 213 Oregon 217 219 Pennsylvania 216 218 Rhode Island 212 217 South Carolina 209 215 South Dakota 203 209 Tennessee 212 218 Texas 218 220 Utah 208 215 Vermont 213 215 Virginia 219 221 Washington 219 220 West Virginia 201 209 Wisconsin 208 215 Wyoming 204 209 Average 212 216 As you can see,New Jersey, DC, andMassachusetts require some of the highest scores to qualify. The average qualifying scores for all states isa little lower at around 216. If you haven't taken the PSAT yet and areserious about achieving excellent scores, then I'd recommend aiming for at least 2 to 5 points higher than these cutoffs, as the actual qualifying scores can vary from year to year. How can you figure out your target section scores? By understanding where the new Selection Index comes from, you can take our estimate for your state and simply work backwards. Let’s consider a few examples. How to Calculate Your Target Scores for National Merit As you read above, National Merit will take each of your section scores between 8 and 38, add them together, and multiply by 2. To figure out your target scores by section, take these steps and go through them in reverse. First, divide your state’s cutoff qualifying score by 2. Let’s say you live in New Jersey, and your cutoff will be an estimated 222. Divide that in half and you get 111 (222 / 2 = 111). Now, your section scores in Math, Reading, and Writing should add up to 111. Divide 111 by 3 and you’re looking at a 37in each section: 111 / 3 = 37. You could define your target scores as about 37 in each section - or a little higher to be safe. If you’re more confident in Math, then you could aim for a top math section score of 38. Then you’d have slightlymore wiggle room in Reading and Writing. Depending on your strengths and weaknesses, you can setyour target scores in theoptimal way. To review, you can define your target section scores by dividing your state’s cutoff in half. Then divide by 3 to get a sense of what you need in each section of the PSAT. Customize your target section scores from there. Of course, only a small number of students are actually aiming to score in the top 1%. You may very well be deciding what's a good PSAT score based on your own goals for the test, as well as for the SAT and ultimately, college. Pause for your quintessential collegiate building. What's a Good PSAT Score for Your College Plans? Even if you're not competing for National Merit, the PSAT still matters and is an important test along the path to college. It's valuable practice for the SAT and can help predict your SAT scores. The redesigned exams are very similar, with matching content and format and comparable scoring systems. By doing some research into the colleges you're interested in, you can figure out what you need to score on the SAT. Simply Google the name of your school, along with "average SAT scores." Most schools release data on the average SAT scores of accepted students, so you have a sense of what you need to be a competitive candidate. Then you can use your PSAT scores to determine where you're currently scoring and how much more you need to improve. Based on your target scores and time you can commit to prep, you can design a schedule to prep and raise your scores. The following is a rough estimate of how many hours you need to devote to studying to achieve certain score improvements on the PSAT. 0-50 SAT composite point improvement: 10 hours 50-100 point improvement: 20 hours 100-200 point improvement: 40 hours 200-300 point improvement: 80 hours 300-500 point improvement: 150 hours+ Whether or notyou've already taken the SAT, your PSAT score is a useful starting pointto measure your level and figure out where you need to go from there. Then you can make a study schedule to get yourself where you want to be. Finally, these are the most important points to remember when you take the PSAT and determine whether or not you're satisfied with your scores. Key Points to Remember If youtookthe PSAT in October 2015, you were kind of a College Board guinea pig. 2015 wasthe first year featuring the redesigned PSAT with a new scoring scale and Selection Index.Remember that the PSAT is now scored between 320 and 1520, which is a composite of the Math section and the Reading and Writing sections together. To score in the 70th percentile or above, you want to aim for at least a 540in Reading and Writing and a 540 in Math (or a composite of 1080). To qualify for National Merit, you'll need something like an impressive Selection Index score of214, or a section score around 35 to 36 in Math, Reading, and Writing. The PSAT is a valuable benchmark that you can use to plan your studying for the SAT. Make sure to check your PSAT scores right away to see if you need to take any further steps, like for National Merit, and to move forward with your SAT prep. What's Next? For more on the changes that weremade to the PSAT in 2015, check out our complete PSAT guide. Then head on over to these free PSAT practice tests and other resources to prepare for the exam. Are you wondering what makes a good SAT score? This article breaks down the percentiles so you can see what exactly counts as a bad, good, and excellent score on the SAT. Besides the PSAT/NMSQT that qualifies for National Merit when you take it as a junior, College Board now also offers the PSAT to 8th, 9th, and 10th graders to prepare. Learn about the PSAT 8/9 and the PSAT 10 and how to decide between these tests and the regular PSAT. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

How to Write the Wake Forest University Essays 2017-2018

Founded in 1834, Wake Forest University is located in the suburban North Carolina town of Winston-Salem. With approximately 4,800 undergraduates enrolled in either Wake Forest College or the Wake Forest School of Business, Wake Forest is respected for its personalized attention to students and challenging liberal arts curriculum, as well as for its resources as a large research institution. With its motto of â€Å"Pro Humanitate† (for humanity), students at Wake Forest are encouraged to volunteer, whether in the local community or around the world. Students also gain international experience through the study-abroad program, with approximately 60 percent of undergraduates taking advantage of this opportunity offered in more than 70 countries. In 2017, Wake Forest admitted approximately 37% of Early Decision applicants and 25% of Regular Decision applicants. Wake Forest currently stands at #27 in the U.S. News and World Report 2017 National University Rankings . In addition to the Common App essay (which you can learn more from the blog post How to Write the Common Application Essays 2017-2018 ), Wake Forest requires 7 short essays. (To view the essay prompts for hundreds of schools, check out our Essay Prompts Database .) While these prompts may seem intimidating at first, our essay specialists team here at will help you tackle Wake Forest’s 2017-2018 application to the best of your ability! The first thing to note here is the length of the essay. With a maximum of 150 words, it’s possible (but not necessary) to have a short introductory sentence. However, since the space available for response is so limited, there is no need to summarize or include a concluding sentence. For this prompt, there are no gimmicks; take the question literally . Essentially, admissions officers are looking for a genuine academic interest sparked by a task that might have been unusual or difficult. To begin to answer this question, first brainstorm for an activity to write about. If you are a prospective mechanical engineering major who built a life-sized trebuchet in your freshman design class, feel free to write about that. Or, if you are applying as a math major and proved from scratch the derivative rules in your pre-calculus class as an interest assignment, that would be a great topic too. Admittedly, it can be pretty difficult to think of an assignment that fits these guidelines so well. So if you can’t think of a high school assignment that’s a) unique and b) related to your field of study, try thinking of any moment that you truly enjoyed in an academic setting, even if it is not an â€Å"assignment† by traditional definition or related to your major. By pinpointing a moment or time frame of interest, you can then dig deeper into that incident and potentially come up with material for your essay. Taking a previous suggestion as an example, if you were particularly intrigued by a question in a literature discussion, then was there anything you did in response to it? Did you perhaps go to find your teacher during office hours to continue the discussion, culminating in an essay you penned for the school newspaper or literary magazine? Next, once you’ve brainstormed and described the interesting assignment, it’s best to explain what you learned and how that newfound knowledge has sparked your interest. For example, a Gender Studies major may have done a poster presentation on the history of feminism and now holds an appreciation for the historic roots of the movement. Giving these details will paint a clearer picture of your interest for the admissions officers. Again, this prompt is essentially serving as a â€Å"Why Major?† substitute, so admissions officers hope to learn the backstory of your academic interests through this essay. With these guidelines, you will definitely weave a more compelling narrative! Submit your essay and we’ll get back to you with helpful edits. For this prompt, Wake Forest is asking you to prove that you have both the empathy and critical thinking skills to derive meaning from works that may not be directly related to your own life. These skills, in turn, will be of great value to any college student! To approach this prompt, first choose the book about which you want to write. (Although â€Å"work of fiction† doesn’t necessarily specify a book, it’s typically more meaningful to write about a book, as opposed to a TV show or movie, since written words leave the most room for interpretation.) You can write about a classic, but if you do, try to avoid writing about something that you’ve read from school (e.g., 1984 , The Great Gatsby , The Scarlet Letter ) because it is likely that many, many others are writing about the same. But if the only thing you’ve read (in recent memory) is a school book, choose that over something you read recreationally from long ago. Once you choose your book, your next goal is to demonstrate your interpretation of the world and how your chosen text has helped shaped this perspective. For this essay, one way to do this is by explaining how the book has made you more empathetic to unfairness of random luck that everyone is subjected to, or how the text has motivated you to assume an active role in political events. For example, The Book Thief may have cemented your understanding of the nuances of human emotions during World War II, or The Kite Runner may have introduced you to the intricacy of early 20th-century Middle Eastern conflicts. With a relatively high word limit of up to 300, you can spend time explaining your perspective before reading the book and contrast it with your perspective afterwards. Including specific details from the book would be especially convincing to admissions officers. Finally, wrap up the essay by generalizing your new viewpoint on this particular political event to your novel perspective on the world as a whole. This illustrates to Wake Forest University your ability to learn from all mediums, and your ability to reflect on other’s trauma or difficult experiences as your own. Along with Prompt #7, this essay is your chance to show something about you that is not depicted by any other part of your application. Take this essay as your chance to be quirky or satirical, or simply take a literary risk! If you are having difficulty thinking of a possible theme, think about your culture and your relationships with family and friends. In both the Common App and other supplemental essays, it is rare that students reveal information about interpersonal relationships (e.g., â€Å"Top Ten Songs to Play on Car Rides with Mom†) or cultural norms (e.g., â€Å"Top Ten Foods When You Miss Home†). You could definitely use this essay to address personal aspects of you that don’t demonstrate your academic prowess, but simply show what you value in life. This essay prompt is self-explanatory, and with only 150 words, you should be fairly straightforward. When discussing how you became interested in Wake Forest, it would be best to use a personal anecdote (as opposed to, for example, saying that you became interested in Wake Forest after seeing it on the list of top U.S. colleges)! When discussing why you are applying to Wake Forest, take a look at what the university prides itself on providing. These points of pride include the rigorous liberal arts curriculum, small class size and professor attention, undergraduate research, philanthropic culture, study-abroad programs, and an accepting community. Include some of these key factors with a personalized twist. For example, instead of writing about the renowned professors who are extraordinarily accomplished in their respective academic fields, write about one or two instructors who you are especially excited to work with on your humanitarian research concerning global immigration policy for refugees. Providing these key, personal details differentiates your essay from the sea of other applications writing about the same key characteristics of Wake Forest. If you are applying Early Decision, include a memorable moment that cemented your determination to commit to the school. Did you have an â€Å"aha† moment when you visited the campus and were given a tour by a student when she saw you poking your head into the laboratories during one of her classes? Or did you attend a class and fall in love with the sharp insight that the professor provided on the current criminal justice system in the United States? Whatever the case may be, especially if you’ve visited the campus, remember to include any personal anecdotes about Wake Forest. With a relatively low word count, this essay would best be satisfied with a short anecdote of a time when you’ve spoken with, met, or debated with someone different from you. Generally speaking, it would be better to speak about a time when you engaged with someone closer to you rather than with a stranger. This is mainly because, although there are exceptions, it is far more believable that you learned a profound lesson from someone who you’ve known for years than from someone who you’ve only known for a few minutes. Let’s also remember that â€Å"different from you† is a very vague description that could refer to ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, or simply life experiences. Even the most homogeneous of communities have some distinctions between families. Utilize these distinctions to explain how you’ve become more accepting, philanthropic, or open-minded — all qualities that Wake Forest embodies and expects. Here, Wake Forest University wants to know that you care deeply about an issue that is greater than yourself. As we mentioned in the beginning, Wake Forest’s very motto proves its commitment to philanthropy. While it is possible to write about something silly (e.g., â€Å"gif† vs. â€Å"jif,† chunky vs. smooth peanut butter), given that Wake Forest mentions American politics in the essay prompt, it would be best to write about something more serious. Here, the fairly low word count means that the best method may be to employ a personal anecdote to â€Å"argue† for an issue that directly affects you. This not only answers the question but also provides yet another dimension of your personality and personal history. If you cannot think of an issue that directly affects you, try to think of a current event or controversy that affects someone else in your life (like a friend, grandparent, etc.), to give your argument the benefit of pathos. Some topics that come to mind are travel ban, current debate surrounding immigration policy, and how proposed changes to the H-1B visa will affect the medical industry and prospective doctors. This essay serves as your final chance to make a lasting impression on Wake Forest’s admissions officers. You’ve already spoken extensively about your love for the school, the origins of your academic passions, your â€Å"top ten,† and your life’s defining moments and works. Here, Wake Forest is looking for a topic that you are passionate about, which is unrelated to academics. Take this essay as a final chance to humanize yourself and prove that you’re not a robot trying to get into college! You can do that by writing about a hobby or passion that you did purely for enjoyment and not necessarily â€Å"for the resume.† If you love freestyle rapping in your free time, entitle your podcast â€Å"The Key to an Easy Groove† or something more humorous. If you love knitting, entitle it â€Å"The Key to a Good Weave,† or something along those lines. In the same vein, I would caution you from writing about something that your extracurricular activities already prove; for example, if your application includes a slew of awards for debate, try to avoid writing more a podcast that gives tips on becoming a good lawyer.

Sexual Abuse (Police Foundations Course) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sexual Abuse (Police Foundations Course) - Essay Example Moreover, the taboos surrounding the sex act affect the investigation of offenses related to it. The victim is often blamed and treated insensitively with callous disregard for the outcome. Given the situation, it is imperative that the investigation be conducted with painstaking attention to detail, because failure to do so will allow the offenders to escape the justice they so richly deserve. The crime scene investigation is crucial as it is the foundation on which the case against the offender will be built. The crime scene must be secured and photographs should be taken before following the prescribed protocol for such situations. The next step is the collection of forensic evidence "which might provide a clue to the identity of the killer" (Geberth 440) . Such evidence may often be the only way to trace, implicate and convict the guilty party. Physical evidence from the scene such as fingerprints, stray hairs, fibers, used condoms, gloves, urine, feces, blood, and the like must be carefully gathered and preserved as they are the means by which the offender may be linked to the scene of the crime and the victim. The collection of these materials must be documented and photographed in order to avoid damage from exposure to the weather or careless handling. The next step is the thorough medical examination of the victim.