The Arch of Constantine Essay Example for Free

The Arch of Constantine Essay The Arch of Constantine has stood as one of the triumphal symbols in Rome, along with the Triumphal Arch, and the Arch of Titus. It was in 313 A. D, when Emperor Constantine the Great established what is known as the largest arch in Rome, situated near the Colosseum. Through the structure, the reliefs, and the mixture of historic scriptural decoration, the Arch of Constantine communicates a manipulative message of Imperial power. In addition, it is in the Formalist approach: consisting of line, shape and other various features, as well as the Marxist approach: which deals with the manipulation of art by the ruling class and conveying of social messages, that we can witness this message of Roman imperialism. Firstly, in its formalistic attributes, the monument holds a definite symmetrical appearance, consisting of three openings with the middle opening being the center of focus, as it is the largest of the three. As for the arch itself, it is made from pure marble with an evident repetition in components of four: from the columns, to the medallions, and also the Dacian statues on the attic of the monument, which were taken from the time of Trajan. As well, the rest of the arch is lavished with decorations of the original reliefs as well as the reliefs of other emperors from earlier monuments like Hadrian, Trajan, and Marcus Aurelius. In turn, the combinations of both old and new reliefs show the history of the Roman military campaign as well as the conflicting mixture of styles and traditions in Rome. When looking at the Arch from an Marxist approach, we can acknowledge its strategic placement in the city of Rome. In turn, we can read the reasoning in the placement of the monument when the theory of Marxism is understood as dealing with the struggle of the working class as well as the alienation of the ruling class. Being situated near the Colosseum and acting as a gate into the Palatine Hill, the Arch allows much public accessibility while the reliefs on the monument remind the public of the achievements and historical events in Rome. However, what is most evident is the constant reminder of the Emperor’s authority, a manipulative message that is perhaps repeated through out the whole arch. In furthering this, the monument was a glorious by pass in commemorating Constantine for his victory over Maxentius, his rival. However, it is also through this Arch that the Roman army travels to enter into battle, as well as returning home in victory. Besides the formal structure of the arch, the reliefs decorated upon it also impose a great notion on the power of the state. Reliefs all around the Arch display a record of military campaigns, conquest and Constantine’s personal qualities. Many of the reliefs are even reused from monuments of earlier emperors, such as the two-framed panels on the attic, originally found on a monument of emperor Marcus Aurelius. Another example is the Dacian statues situated in between the framed panels, while they were originally from a Trajanic monument. These reused imagery were all chosen to demonstrate the success and the official military role of the emperor. By doing so, Constantine hoped to gain some of the same honour and recognition as the earlier emperors did. In addition, the Arch consists of â€Å"Victories†, who are statues of powerful women with wings. Their symbolism is likewise to their name, suggesting to the viewer of Rome’s great success in battles won. In this way, Constantine uses these well-recognized, iconographical figures to interpret ideas to the people of Rome. However, besides the message of conquest, two longer panels are found under the medallions on both sides, illustrating the emperor’s influence on the people. The first panel, known as oratio, shows Constantine giving a public speech in the Roman Forum, suggesting leadership and guidance in the emperor. Within this panel, great emphasis is used to lead the viewer’s focus on none other than Constantine, as heads of Romans are generally turned to face the speaker. The second panel, called donatio, displays the emperor distributing money to the public, also showing the emperor’s influence on the people, and even his ability to provide for Rome at his own expense. In furthering these two panels, it is intriguing to find that the head of Constantine is missing in both pieces. This is due to the fact that his head was made of a different, perhaps finer marble and after time, has disconnected with the rest of the piece. However, despite the renewing of earlier monument figures, the reliefs on the Arch of Constantine no longer follow the same naturalistic styles but have become more abstract and formal. Losing the classicality of former monuments, the heads of individual figures are enlarged and stubbier, while their poses are more repetitive, and their carving is flatter. Yet through out many of the reliefs, the message stays the same, showing the emperor has the sovereign, triumphant one, who dominates in each scene. Furthermore, it is the formalistic attributes of the shape and structure of the arch, as well as the Marxist approach in the mixed reliefs that shape the Arch of Constantine as an icon of imperial power. In addition, much of these aspects that shaped the Arch can be seen in many structures in our world today. As well, the way we read these images can be applied to our modern structures, discovering the hidden agendas and implications in the piece. Likewise, facilities such as the White House or a courthouse can be seen with the same principles as icons of power and control as well as order. Other examples include the no longer existing World Trade Centers, which were the iconographical symbols of capitalism. As well, facilities like many schools and universities display the pride and control of the school staff through posters, banners. We are sometimes reminded of the achievements and respective position of the school as we enter its front doors. Similar to the Arch, these structures literally influenced the public, as people are bound to come in contact with them, walk pass them or even through them. Even sport arenas can be seen in the same light, as many stadiums display their historical success and victories or even legendary leaders. It is clear that the usage of formalistic structure and iconographical imagery, in the light of Marxism, is still relevant today. From propaganda, to commercial advertisements, to authoritative visuals, we are confronted in equally similar ways everyday.

Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde :: English Literature

Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde I have been reading the book Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The book was written by Robert Louis Stevens on during in the 19th century. This book was written during a time where Victorian society had a lot of strong moral values. These codes were very strict and controlled every aspect of the Victorian lifestyle. People in these times believed to settle things verbally rather than aggression so fighting was looked down upon. People looked upon this kind of behavior as a sin and of course they looked down upon sins as well. The upper class Victorian society believed that everyone kept to this moral code that they had. People in this time believed that people with very high status were very moral and did not cause any sins. However, this book was also written during a time where there was a lot of hypocrisy around and people. The underbelly of this society showed what Victorian society was really like. Though it's polite and well-groomed exterior, we find people committing sins and going against the moral codes. These sins were however well hidden from the society and although they acknowledged some of the 'evil' that was happening, they still just shrugged it off saying that only the people committing 'evil' were the 'sick individuals'. The 'sick individuals' also seemed to belong to the lower class society. Victorian people were very physiognomous as they judged people by their physicality and the word 'sick' seemed to describe the lower class society very well according to Victorian times. We know now that it wasn't just the lower class individuals committing sins, but they weren't individuals either. Robert Luis Stevenson explorers this very well and shows that the upper class can be evil too. Stevenson used 'Hyde very well to hide Dr Jekyll's evil side well. Even the name is ironic. The upper class society had seemed to 'Hyde' all this very well. They kept their upper society life 'clean' but they had another side that committed sins. That is what 'Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' is all about. The author (Stevenson) had based this book on people in this era. He believed in the duality of man, which meant that every person had two sides to their personality. He believed that one side of a person would be nice and colorful whereas the other would be rude and dark. Stevenson who was brought up in upper class society, was fascinated with lower class society. With this, he seemed to become angry at what Victorian society was like and this is echoed in Jekyll. The book 'Frankenstein' heavily influenced Stevenson heavily as the

Ethical Analysis of Gumdrop Northern

At the conclusion of this audit, the following ethical Issues were identified: emergence to International law and treaties by exporting manufactured landmines to Afghanistan and Iran; use of substandard materials used to construct body armor; disclosing Information from the military that would prevent Injuries; and the formulated plan to send out notices under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, and severing ties to the collective bargaining agreement which resulted in 100+ employees out of work.Despite the several issues that have been identified, we are optimistic that we can implement solutions that can correct these incidents and prevent future issues from happening. Due to the magnitude of the issues that were found it is essential to get a basic understanding of business in ethics. Ethics can be perceived differently among people because it has several nuances. According to Frederica, Farrell and Farrell, The American Heritage Dictionary defines ethics as, â€Å"The study of the general nature of morals and of specific moral choices, moral philosophy, and the rules or standards governing the conduct of the members of a profession. (p. 7). This Is a good starting point to help us further understand the importance of ethical compliance. For the purpose of this memorandum, the definition that will be used is the principles, values, and standards that businesses should adhere to, to ensure it is acting within ethical standards. Furthermore, studying ethics in business is very important because ethical misconduct is a considerable concern in business throughout the world. My ethics committee and I have referenced this definition and statement through the duration of our audit, and is the foundation of our findings.Now that we have discussed the definition and importance of ethics in business, we will discuss ACH ethical Issue that was discovered in Gumdrop Northerner operations. After each ethical Issue has been addressed, we will di scuss potential solutions and our reasoning for the betterment In your short and long-term goals. Ethical Issue #1 : Ignorance to International Law and Treaties by exporting manufactured landmines to Afghanistan and Iran. This is a very dynamic issue because there is conflict of interest.This conflicts with your parent company, the Department of Defense because you are a long-term military contractor that manufactures munitions, body armor and armored vehicles for the United States military. The U. S. Litany is currently fighting in a decade-long war in the Middle East, and landmines have been common amongst the fatalities since the beginning of the war. Improvised explosive devices (Deeds) have continued to be the number one killer of United States armed forces in Afghanistan, and 60 percent of all combat- related deaths in 2011 alone were caused by Deeds (Moral, 2011).Deeds are the most common method used by insurgent groups and rebels who wage non-traditional warfare, and are des igned to kill or cause serious bodily harm. The conflict of interest that my committee and I are most concerned with is the simple fact that you are opposed to supply effective body armor to the coalition forces to protect them from explosive blasts, but you are also supplying the enemy with the essential tools that cause these aforementioned explosive blasts.This conflict of interest not only violates international law and treaty, but you are potentially responsible for deaths of uniformed personnel serving in the armed forces. It is your responsibility to behave ethically, and this has not happened by your ignorance to the law, and the endangerment you have caused to uniformed personnel. In addition, the landmines hat you sell to the Taliban and Iranian government are defective, and many of who attempted to plant the mines was killed in the process due to the faulty switches.It should also be noted that many of these deaths were children and soldiers of each respective country. Th is ignorance on every angle is unethical by all counts. The basis of this ethical issue can have a wide range of effects legally, and can have severe repercussions on corporate stakeholders. The legal effects are very straightforward. The company can potentially be taken to court to file the violation of international law, and the consequences can be severe.For example, Department of Justice lawyers are rumored to be involved where families of injured or killed service members can consult attorneys to investigate Gumdrop Northerner contributions. Furthermore, the stakeholders are also potentially at risk. Anyone who has a stake or claim in your business can be directly affected because of your negligence to law, and this can damage your reputation, which is important in keeping your contract with the Department of Defense. In addition, it can Jeopardize the future of your company.Ethical Issue #2: The Use of Substandard Materials Used in the Company's Manufacturing and Failure to Di sclose to Stakeholders It has also been brought to our attention that Gumdrop Northern has utilized substandard materials in their manufacturing. Given the nature of your business, the United States military needs state of the art body armor that has the sophistication to stop penetrating shrapnel aimed for the body. The use of substandard materials is unacceptable because the safety of our soldiers is paramount in today's war.The body armor is the primary mode of protection that protects America's sons and daughters, and the armor you are providing the U. S. Litany does not protect them to Afghanistan and Iran. The substandard material is not only limited to the personnel body armor, but it also is connected to the armored vehicles used to transport military personnel throughout the theater. It has been revealed that there is a thin sheet of steel on the underside of the vehicle that makes them extremely vulnerable to improvised explosive device explosions.This is alarming because, as previously mentioned, Deeds are among the chief causes of death of soldiers. You have structured a vehicle that is protective on the sides and top, but have ignored arguably the most important part of up-armored vehicles used in the Middle East. This also leads to the negligence of the company to disclose this information to its primary and secondary stakeholders, and failure to understand the stakeholder orientation. The failure to disclose information can cause the rescission of an agreement.In your case, the Department of Defense can void the agreement with your company and also pursue a money settlement. Also, the purpose of the stakeholder orientation is for you to understand and address the demands of a stakeholder. The U. S. Litany is your primary stakeholder and you have failed to meet their demands and standards by using substandard materials and failing to disclose this information to them. It is your responsibility along with other top managers in Gumdrop to act in a responsible manner by providing truthful information to all stakeholders.We have found in our audit that you have failed in this field, and you have not complied with ethical standards. Ethical Issue #3: The formulated plan to send out notices under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, and severing ties to the collective arraigning agreement, which resulted in 100+ employees out of work. We have found that your actions under the WARN Act are completely legal because you have acted within all the guidelines underlined in the act. Also, your plan to file for bankruptcy to reject the collective bargaining agreement is another area of concern.However, we believe it is unethical to do so because of the circumstances that you have found yourself in the aforementioned ethical issues. This issue is controversial because you are middling between the lines of ethical and legal issues. We believe that this is an unnecessary approach, and there are other venues to pursu e to resolve the issues at hand. I believe you should place significant value on your shareholders because they are primarily responsible for the day-to-day operations and ensuring your company is bringing in profit.Therefore, you should treat your people right and you can accomplish this by giving them a fair shot. If you trade seats at the table, it would seem unfair to dump them so quickly because they have families to feed, bills to pay and priorities to maintain; so we think you should do the right thing and help them in any way possible. The ethical issues hat we have identified are substantial and they can have serious potential effects on the reputation of your company and its future. With that said, we have outlined a detailed plan that we have formulated as the best for the business.Resolving the Ethical Issues: All of the issues have been put on the table and addressing possible solutions is statement of Gumdrop because this is where we believe you have failed. We suggest that a meeting is held by the Board of Directors to re-tool the mission statement of Gumdrop Northern. When all of the issues are put on the table it helps to have all eye players there to innovative think of the direction the company wants to move in. For the first ethical issue, the resolution is quite simple.We believe that Gumdrop Northern should adhere to international law and treaty by severing your ties with Afghanistan and Iran. It doesn't make sense to supply the enemy with antipersonnel ammunition, and protect the individuals fighting the enemy. Although more than half of your profits derive from these clandestine operations, it is conflicting with your interest by protecting the United States military with your manufactured products. This relationship should be terminated, and it should tie into your company's mission statement.Furthermore, it is your moral and ethical responsibility to report your shortcomings. I believe that showing integrity defines a company, and thi s can be the first step to repairing and strengthening your relationship with your stakeholders. It is also a great first step into repairing your corporate image. Moving on, the second ethical issue that we discovered is definitely a priority in addressing. The United States Military deserves the best protection because of their illnesses to volunteer their lives to fight for our freedom.Gumdrop Northern is using substandard materials when superior equipment should be used in preparing the body armor and armored vehicles. I think that the best solution to this problem is using the best equipment available to help protect the soldiers. I believe you should immediately recall all the body armor that has been issued, and rebuild the body armor that the soldiers use. This move is good for your image because it shows you have identified faults in your products, and will work relentlessly to alter it to meet military standards.You are also doing yourself a favor by telling your primary s takeholder that there are issues with your product, which is something that you have failed to do so. In addition, you should also revamp the armored vehicles that you supply to the troops. This is the primary mode of the transportation for uniformed personnel, and ensuring the safest vehicle possible should be a priority. Gumdrop Northern should provide additional sheets of metal to the bottom of the vehicle to strengthen the most vulnerable part of the vehicle. Finally, the third ethical issue can be resolved by not doing any of it.It is our belief that you should take responsibility for your actions, and slowly repair your image. I believe that taking care of your shareholders is important in business because they make sure your company is working. Therefore, the essential portion of this resolution is to own up to your mistakes and build on what you have. This solution shows ethical responsibility, and this is the focal point of this memorandum. I previously mentioned that an es sential part of this meeting is also to identify fiduciary duties of the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operation Officer.It is the ethical responsibilities of each of these managers to gain back the trust and confidence of the stakeholders (I. E. – United States Military). This is the best alternative that is the best for the business considering the ethical issues that were identified and the potential circumstances that were discussed. It is the right thing to fixing your problems. By owning up to your mistakes it may damage your company's problems in the short-term, but you are strengthening your company in the long run.I believe the first couple of months will be difficult because of the backlash you'll chive by showing your integrity, but with strength and perseverance, Gumdrop Northern can return to prominence. I also believe that part of repairing the company is implementing an ethics committee and appointing an individual to act as the ethics officer. I believ e this is essential because it would help prevent issues like the previously mentioned from happening in the future. It also will keep Gumdrop Northern in ethical compliance. Your company has fallen short in this area, and it should be a priority in your company's mission statement.

Essay on Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Analysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† by Harper Lee is a story of national magnitude that contains complex characters. Harper Lee deals with the emotions and spirits of the characters insightfully. A few of these characters display courage at one point or another in the story. These flashes of courage come during turbulent times of the story, and often led to success. Atticus Finch displayed courage on numerous occasions. Without his wife he had to raise Jem and Scout alone for most of their lives. Because he knew he had to set an example for his children to follow, Atticus tried never to let his emotions get the best of him. He stated on several occasions that he would not be able to tell†¦show more content†¦To live during this time must have taken great courage in itself, even though Jem was just a boy. His father instills great values in Jem. That is where he gets his courage. One obvious way that Jem showed courage was when he stood with Atticus in front of the jail. He would not leave his father when Atticus was in trouble. A group of men were threatening Atticus and Tom Robinson in front of the county jail. Atticus said, â€Å"’Go home, Jem. Take Scout and Dill home.’ We were accustomed to prompt, if not always cheerful acquiescence to Atticus’s instructions, but from the way he stood Jem was not thinking of budging.†(Lee 152) Jem stood strong with his father, ready to take on all opposition that night. He knew the severity of the situation and was ready to defend his father. Another way Jem showed courage was defending Scout and himself towards the end of the book against Bob Ewell. Jem fought valiantly against the bigger, stronger man who held a grudge against his father. â€Å"We were near to the road when I felt Jem’s hand leave me, felt him jerk backwards to the ground. More scuffling and there came a dull crunching sound and Jem screamed.†(262) Jem was clearly overpowered by Ewell as Bob twisted Jem’s arm so hard it snapped. Jem would not give up though. His courage wouldn’t let him. Boo Radley shows a lot of courage. Boo is a thirty-six year old that lives inside his house and very rarely comes out. When he was a child he gotShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Theme Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1765 Words   |  8 PagesAnalysis Of Themes In To Kill A Mockingbird The novel To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, published in 1960, comes out during a flourishing time of tremendous segregation and injustices in the United States. In fact, during this time in America, Civil Rights Movement are at their peak; also, some residents are pushing for equality for all, during this time period. One of those United States citizens who is exposing the South for what it truly is, is Harper Lee. Harper Lee, born on April 28, 1926Read MoreAnalysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Essay1360 Words   |  6 PagesAnalysis of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee In 1960, Harper Lee published her critically acclaimed book To Kill a Mockingbird. Only a year after being published the American classic novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction as well as the Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Gregory Peck stared as Atticus in the successfully adapted 1962 motion picture of To Kill a Mockingbird that won an Academy Award. This book is based on many childhood experiencesRead MoreAnalysis Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee1431 Words   |  6 PagesPrison in To Kill A Mockingbird Historically, women have spent time living in the shadows of men, purely because of their gender. Women are oppressed and expected to conform to certain gender roles/expectations because of their sex, just like men. Caitlyn Jenner is a transgender female. 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