Discuss how realism is created in the film drama Yasmin Essays

Discuss how realism is created in the film drama Yasmin Essays Discuss how realism is created in the film drama Yasmin Essay Discuss how realism is created in the film drama Yasmin Essay Yasmin, written by Oscar award winner Simon Beaufoy, is a topical drama focused around a predominantly Asian community in the north of England. Starring Bend It Like Beckham and East Is East actress Archie Panjabi, Yasmin, explores problems and prejudices faced by Asian people in the aftermath of the atrocities in America on September the Eleventh. Using characterisation, setting, camera, mise-en-scene and sound, director Kenneth Gleenan, creates a sense of realism through an accurate depiction of life in an Asian community after the terrorist attacks. In this essay I have chosen to focus on the opening scene, and I will discuss methods used in Yasmin to create realism through media and film-making techniques, and how successful Yasmin is in doing this. I will also look at the writers and directors representations of life for British Muslims after the tragedies of September the Eleventh. The narrative in Yasmin is set in modern day and tackles contemporary issues and prejudices that can be easily applied to a Muslim community. Based around events on September the Eleventh, the audience have a universal awareness of the actual events that it focuses around, however many of the problems surfaced by Yasmin are not exclusive to a Muslim community and are faced by many minorities of other cultures, religions and minority groupings. So the problems portrayed in Yasmin are a representation of a wide scale issue faced by minorities in post 9-11 world where racial tensions are often high. The story follows the journey of a typical British Muslim, Yasmin, through the time before, during and after the attacks in America. It looks at all aspects of Yasmins life from her daily goings on to family problems, culture clashes and the hostility she faces from the people close to her as well as ordinary people on the street and the police. Torn between the traditions, customs and values of her Asian upbringing and the way of life the Western world has taught her; Yasmin is a troubled, young British Muslim struggling to find her true identity. The director, in the opening scene, makes this fact very clear in the short section when Yasmin hides so that she can strip herself of her traditional Muslim clothing in favour of typical Western fashions; taking refuge in a field just outside the town in which she lives. Through costume and lighting, the Mise-en-Scene in this section is a medium used powerfully and effectively to accurately portray the personal problems Yasmin faces whilst not making them so obvious as to allow the audience to draw some conclusions and personal opinions themselves. Through costume, by placing on a pair of tight jeans, realism is displayed, firstly because Yasmin is a young girl, and she chooses to wear tight jeans that strongly define her feminine figure, something that would be considered a very normal thing to do for a young girl to do, even though a slight stereotype. Secondly, the jeans can be read as a symbol of her rebellion against her traditional values, and the restrictions they place upon her as a female. They are symbolic of true problems, faced by many people. The use of costumes in the opening scenes quickly establishes Yasmin as a gritty TV drama; indeed, Yasmins cheap and ill-fitting jeans are a far cry from the glamorous designer outfits modelled by A-list celebrities in glossy, over-produced Hollywood productions. Instead, Yasmin attempts to accurately portray problems faced by people who are torn between cultures whilst avoiding patronising or offending these people by being true to life. Apart from costume, lighting also plays a significant-role in the opening scene. The use of bright daytime light along with the grey and white clouds casts shadows around Yasmin, and can be seen clearly in the birds eye view shot that looks down on Yasmin as she drives down the road out of the countryside. The shadows could be seen to represent her emotions; her guilt and the demons she faces, and are created through a realistic use of light. The birds eye view shot also allows the audience to see the tranquillity of the setting in that there are no other cars or people in the scene. This is realistic in the fact that it becomes clear to the audience why Yasmin chooses to take cover there as it is tranquil, and she can be alone with her thoughts to consider what she is doing, the consequences, but also why she is betraying her family and traditions, or whether if she wasnt changing her persona through her clothes she would be betraying her true cravings to truly integrate and conform to British customs. Also illustrated in the car, and the fact that it is a sports car shows her want to escape, and the fact that it is old is realistic as it shows how Yasmin is young and in real life wouldnt be able to afford much else. To create a naturalistic setting, this scene is shot in daylight to create a muted colour to further emphasise the fact that Yasmin is a gritty TV drama, which contrasts the vibrant and melodramatic styles generated by Technicolor, as used in Hollywood productions. Whilst putting on her jeans, the character of Yasmin is framed irregularly on the left of the shot, and to her right are plants and trees. This could be seen as the directors representation of how Yasmin is only in her youth and is still young and naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve, and has not yet grown in to a tree. A portrayal of Yasmin being young and wanting to have fun and escape and shackles that she is faced with is realistic, believable ethic that I believe the Director is trying to represent. The sound in this section is often scarce, or dim at best. Birds twittering, wind blowing, are the distant digetic sounds that can be dimly heard by the audience. The silence in this section could be seen as a conscious decision made by the director to show Yasmins isolation and how she is lost amongst her own thoughts and own problems, and not by any specific pressures that are being enforced upon her by other outside influences, it can be read as being representative of her situation making her an int rovert. They are realistic sounds that are in context to the setting, and add to the effect of the peaceful tranquil atmosphere that I feel Yasmins character seeks in the country. As Yasmin drives away, some traditional Asian music plays, a non-digetic sound, into a point of view shot showing Yasmin looking at the road ahead, that could represent the path Yasmin will take, and in combination these two mediums create a question for the audience, what path will Yasmin take, a realistic problem someone in her scenario would ask themselves, am I British or am I what my father has made me, Muslim? The second part of the opening scene I have chosen to look at is the portion in which Yasmins elderly father, who maintains the local Mosque, and Yasmins brother, go to mosque to begin the mornings call to prayer. Like the scene with Yasmin, the director immediately outlines what the coming storyline will focus upon, however unlike Yasmins section of the opening scene, the father is faced with problems that arent as personal issues, but issues the local Muslim community are facing as a whole. As the father and brother walk around to the mosque, along littered streets with broken bollards, continuing to install realism into the setting, there is a long shot down one of the streets that is extremely powerful in creating a realistic setting in context with the financial state of the community and geographical setting as it is filmed on real streets, not a film set. There is a long shot of a row of houses, poorly maintained, shabby, poor looking with cars of a similar stature. This is ty pical of the northern England industrial areas, where houses were built quickly, all looking the same, and with it being set in northern England, this is typically a poorer area with the decline for manual labourers in the industrial sector, less jobs are available to people living there causing a higher rate of unemployment. Also, on nearly every house there is a satellite television receiver dish, which is a very strong symbol of a stereotypical average home in modern Britain, everyone sitting around watching their televisions all day. As if a neighbour looking out on the characters, there is also a high angle shot that creates a fly-on-the-wall effect for the audience, creating realism. In contrast to the other section of the opening scene, this scene doesnt have any non-digetic sound, and is filled with digetic sound that create realism, people talking, cars driving past, footsteps, children shouting on their way to school, typical sounds of people going about their daily routin es. The scene then cuts to the father and brother approaching the shutter that covers the entrance door to find graffiti spelling out a racist comment. Go Home Paki is in big letters across the shutter. This is hard hitting and very strong in showing realism in a number of ways. Firstly, it is powerful in the fact the racist term Paki is seen as a taboo and highly unacceptable, and shocks the audience, and provides a hook setting the atmosphere for rest of the story. Secondly, the language used is the type of comment a racist person would use, and would be specifically used to upset the victim by using racist derogatory language, but by also suggesting that the Muslim people dont belong in England, and raises a similar issue faced by Yasmin in the other section of the opening scene for the father, where is my home? Although his body language and facial expressions obviously express that he feels pain from the comments on the shutter, the fathers reaction is quite off hand suggesting that this is a regular occurrence, making the audience empathise with the situation and allowing the audience to familiarise themselves with the trials and tribulations the family are facing. A high angle- long shot, of the inside of the mosque, rich red carpets with ornate motifs typical of Asian design follows. It is a clever use of mise-en-scene to create an authentic and accurate setting inside the mosque. The carpet, with the high angle shot makes the father and brother look very small, almost engulfed by their traditions and culture, represented in the vibrant colours of the ornate carpet. The next shot is a low angle close-up shot upon the shoes of the two characters as the take them off. There is a great contrast in the style of footwear with the father wearing traditional smart black shoes, whilst the teenage son wears trainers. This is a contrast seen amongst many people from different generations, and is also realistic in the sense it shows that the Asian families are a little more relaxed in the boys mixing with the western culture a little more, whereas the girls are expected to stay traditional as if they were following Islam in Asia, and the use of the clos e-up shot emphasises this. The dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cor in the mosque is old woodchip paper, beginning to peel from the walls, again symbolic and accurate to the people of the area and their financial status. Finally, the last major point that shows realism in this section of the opening scene, is the final shot where the father is cleaning the graffiti off of the shutter. The digetic sound of the son calling people to prayer over the loudspeaker is sustained in the background, realistic in its continuity, and as the father begins to clean the paint, he firstly begins to clean the word home. I found this slightly surprising as I would have believed that he would have erased the racist term, Paki, yet upon reflection I came to believe that this was a way the director represented to his audience what troubled the father, like Yasmin, the most, is that he doesnt know where home is anymore, he is torn between two cultures. His home, with his traditions and beliefs, or the culture he believed would bring him prosperity, but in the face of adversity he has grown accustom to. As I outlined when discussing this point before, this is a strong use of realism as it is a real and sensitive approach t o real problems and issues faced by Asian communities living in areas of Britain. Through camera angles and framing, using non-digetic and digetic sounds, mise-en-scene entwined within the narrative, Yasmin creates a powerful, accurate and audience sensitive depiction of problems and prejudices faced by British Asians within families, cultures and society, outlined by use of historical context in the form of events from September the Eleventh. I believe that the filmmaker and writers were trying to show how hard it is to find what normal is when you are trying to find a common ground seen as acceptable between two very different cultures built on different traditions and values. Speaking to an universal audience, and in my opinion acting as a voice for Asian people in particular, the Director is trying to emphasise the unfairness of the problems faced by minorities in our society post- September the Eleventh. Yasmin shows that minority communities should be strong and have dignity and pride in all of what they are, but it also provides a message for White British people, and racists, asking them to understand how hard life is for British Asian people.

Philosopher Hypatia of Ancient Alexandria

Philosopher Hypatia of Ancient Alexandria Known for: Greek intellectual and teacher in Alexandria, Egypt, known for mathematics and philosophy, martyred by Christian mob Dates: born about 350 to 370, died 416 Alternate spelling: Ipazia About Hypatia Hypatia was the daughter of Theon of Alexandria who was a teacher of mathematics with the Museum of Alexandria in Egypt. A center of Greek intellectual and cultural life, the Museum included many independent schools and the great library of Alexandria. Hypatia studied with her father, and with many others including Plutarch the Younger. She herself taught at the Neoplatonist school of philosophy. She became the salaried director of this school in 400. She probably wrote on mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy, including about the motions of the planets, about number theory and about conic sections. Accomplishments Hypatia, according to sources, corresponded with and hosted scholars from other cities. Synesius, Bishop of Ptolemais, was one of her correspondents and he visited her frequently. Hypatia was a popular lecturer, drawing students from many parts of the empire. From the little historical information about Hypatia that survives, it is surmised by some that she invented the plane astrolabe, the graduated brass hydrometer, and the hydroscope, with Synesius of Greece, who was her student and later colleague.  The evidence may also point to simply being able to construct those instruments. Hypatia is said to have dressed in the clothing of a scholar or teacher, rather than in womens clothing. She moved about freely, driving her own chariot, contrary to the norm for womens public behavior. She was credited by the surviving sources as having political influence in the city, especially with Orestes, the Roman governor of Alexandria. Hypatias Death The story by Socrates Scholasticus written soon after Hypatias death and the version written by John of Nikiu of Egypt more than 200 years later disagree in considerable detail, although both were written by Christians.  Both seem to be focused on justifying the expulsion of the Jews by Cyril, the Christian bishop, and on associating Orestes with Hypatia. In both, Hypatias death was a result of a conflict between the Orestes and Cyril, later made a saint of the church. According to Scholasticus, an order of Orestes to control Jewish celebrations met with approval by Christians, then to violence between the Christians and the Jews. The Christian-told stories make it clear that they blame the Jews for the mass killing of Christians, leading to the banishment of the Jews of Alexandria by Cyril.  Cyril accused Orestes of being a pagan, and a large group of monks who came to fight with Cyril attacked Orestes. A monk who injured Orestes was arrested and tortured.  John of Nikiu accuses Orestes of inflaming the Jews against the Christians, also telling a story of the mass killing of Christians by Jews, followed by Cyril purging the Jews from Alexandria and converting the synagogues to churches.  Johns version leaves out the part about a large group of monks coming to town and joining the Christian forces against the Jews and Orestes. Hypatia enters the story as someone associated with Orestes and suspected by the angry Christians of advising Orestes not to reconcile with Cyril.  In John of Nikius account, Orestes was causing people to leave the church and follow Hypatia.  He  associated her with Satan and accused her of converting people away from Christianity. Scholasticus credits Cyrils preaching against Hypatia with inciting a mob led by fanatical Christian monks to attack Hypatia as she drove her chariot through Alexandria. They dragged her from her chariot, stripped her, killed her, stripped her flesh from her bones, scattered her body parts through the streets, and burned some remaining parts of her body in the library of Caesareum.  Johns version of her death is also that a mob for him justified because she beguiled the people of the city and the prefect through her enchantments stripped her naked and dragged her through the city until she died. Legacy of Hypatia Hypatias students fled to Athens, where the study of mathematics flourished after that. The Neoplatonic school she headed continued in Alexandria until the Arabs invaded in 642. When the library of Alexandria was burned, the works of Hypatia were destroyed.  That burning happened primarily in Roman times.  We know her writings today through the works of others who quoted her even if unfavorably and a few letters written to her by contemporaries. Books About Hypatia Dzielska, Maria.  Hypatia of Alexandria.  1995.Amore, Khan.  Hypatia.  2001. (a novel)Knorr, Wilbur Richard.  Textual Studies in Ancient and Medieval Geometry. 1989.Nietupski, Nancy. Hypatia: Mathematician, Astronomer, and Philosopher.  Alexandria  2.Kramer, Edna E. Hypatia.  The Dictionary of Scientific Biography.  Gillispie, Charles C. ed. 1970-1990.Mueller, Ian. Hypatia (370?-415).  Women of Mathematics. Louise S. Grinstein and Paul J. Campbell, ed. 1987.Alic, Margaret.  Hypatias Heritage: A History of Women in Science from Antiquity Through the Nineteenth Century.  1986. Hypatia appears as a character or theme in several works of other writers, including in  Hypatia, or New Foes with Old Faces, a historical novel by Charles Kingley.

Discuss the reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes . what were the problems Essay

Discuss the reforms of Solon and Cleisthenes . what were the problems in Athenian society that made reform necessary how did th - Essay Example Additionally, Solon divided society into four classes—each of which were based on wealth. The two highest classes were allowed to serve on the Areopagus, which was the highest council of Athens. The third class were permitted to serve on elected councils, and the lowest class was able to take part in the assembly, which brought affairs to the elected council. On the other hand, Cleisthenes developed a constitution in order to make Athens a democracy. Cleisthenes is commonly referred to the founder of democracy in Athens for this very reason. This constitution was loosely based on the ideas of Solon, but Cleisthenes expanded on them. As part of the new constitution, all men aged 18 years and older were registered as Athenian citizens and became members of their village. This was a significant step in the evolution of Athenian society because these new citizens were each allowed to vote, thus giving them power over elected officials. At that time women were not considered citize ns of Athenian society, and because of this they did not have any voting powers. The council that was established worked as the chief arm of the government and had full executive and administrative power. Any citizen aged over 30 was qualified to be part of this council. Each year the members of the council were picked at random. The Assembly had the power to veto any of the council’s decisions.

How would pet therapy benefit children with autism Research Proposal

How would pet therapy benefit children with autism - Research Proposal Example He further added that the disease targets those areas of the brain responsible for social integration, language, abstract and creative thinking. The symptoms of autism include social impairment, poor communication skills (both verbal and non-verbal), and through repetitive, stereotyped and repetitive behaviour (APA, 2000). Individuals suffering from autism usually struggle with stressful and changing environments, and are also very sensitive to environmental stimuli. Children with autism have trouble interacting with others and people usually have a bizarre reaction when encountering them. On top of this, traditional psychotherapeutic and educational interventions have for a long time failed to present consistent improvements in children suffering from autism. Since conventional forms of intervention are failing to provide reliable and successful intervention, it is important to seek other innovative forms of autism management. This paper seeks to look at pet therapy and the manner in which it can be used to detect and manage symptoms related to autism. For this study, the independent variable will be pet therapy while the dependent variable will be autistic-related symptoms. The pet therapy applied will depend on the types of pets used in a chosen institution while autistic-related symptoms will be taken as a whole i.e. change in symptoms over time. As explained above autism is a neurological brain disorder characterized by communication impairment, social impairment and repetitive, restricted or stereotyped behaviour. The disease manifests itself before a child attains three years of age and persists into old age. The disorder is one of three disorders that comprise the autism spectrum (ASD). As of 2012, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 20 per 1000 children have autism in the United States (Blumberg, 2013). Pet therapy is the use of animals in managing certain psychoneurotic disorders. The

The Great Big Turnip | Analysis

The Great Big Turnip | Analysis Introduction: Our choice of storybook is The Great Big Turnip edited by Bob Williams, published by KohWai and Young. This book is appropriate for children aged four to six as it is specially designed and created to assist children who have mastered basic reading skills. Marchado (2010) states that the success of any book for young children depends on its presentation of basic human tasks, needs, and concerns based on childrens perceptions, and at a level at which they can respond (p. 289). Thus, after examining our selected choices of books, we decided to choose The Great Big Turnip because it has met many aspects of selecting the right book for young children. The story revolves around a farmer who had discovered a giant turnip in his garden. He could not pull it out alone hence he sought help from his family members and other animals in the house. Together, they managed to pull the turnip out of the ground and enjoyed plenty of food for many years. From this synopsis, the story is able to inculcate the value of teamwork in the readers as it teaches that joint effort makes it easier to complete a task. Its print and vibrant illustrations had captivated us instantaneously. The language used is age appropriate for children to learn and comprehend. The moral of the story is that we should always help others when they are in need, even if you may think that your help is insignificant. Literary elements: Plot: The plot is good because it creates suspense in the story to develop the childrens interest in reading the book. It is also simple and straightforward as it focuses on how the farmer gets help to pull the giant turnip out of the ground. Machado (2010) states that simple plot necessitated by the length of a picture book allows young children to become involved immediately in action, discover problem, and understand the resolution (p. 289). The story is in a chronological order as it unfolds sequentially. In the beginning on page 3, it talks about the farmer planting turnip seeds on the ground. In the middle on page 7, the farmer asked his wife for help when he could not pull the turnip out all by himself. Eventually, they still needed more people to help out. On page 14, it reveals how the turnip was pulled out from the ground. From the plot, readers are able to pick out problem-solving skills from the characters, such as asking for assistance. The climax of the story happens on page 13 when six more characters were involved in pulling the turnip out of the ground, and it arrests the childrens attention to find out how the characters overcome the situation. Characterization: The characters in the storybook are life like as they appear like normal living being. Machado (2010) states that characters should be portrayed realistically and have experiences and emotions with which children can immediately identify (p. 289). Thus, this book has definitely met the book selection criteria. The protagonist in the story is a farmer. As the story continues, other characters develop one after another throughout the story to help the farmer. The story does not talk about the characters past, present and future as it focuses on how the farmer gets help from his family to pull the big turnip out of the ground. Based on the farmers dialogue, it shows that he is a jovial person. On page 5 and 7, the farmer was elated to find out that his plant had grown into an enormous turnip. At the end of the story on page 16, the farmer shows a sense of happiness as it states that the happy farmer ate turnip for years (William, 2002). Besides, this book also portrays an array of emotions based on the other characters dialogue on page 7, 9 and 11. It shows excitement yet their struggles in pulling out the turnip. Setting: The farmers garden is the main location where the story took place during daytime. Based on a western context, readers are able to visualize a realistic event that occurred in the story which helps to build on their prior knowledge of the images. Theme: The theme of the story is able to relate to childrens understandings, needs and interests because underlying concept educates the importance of teamwork and unity. The farmer would not be able to pull the big turnip out of the ground without the help of his wife, son, daughter, dog, cat and mouse. It shows the significance of working towards a goal in harmony; oneness of mind. Style and Diction: The language used is simple and age-appropriate for children aged four to six. The language used is able to create mood from text such as exclaimed, cried and excited. The story involves a careful choice of words and rhythm such as they all pulled and pulled, but the turnip still would not come out! With a predictable text, children are able to participate by reading aloud to themselves or a storyteller. And the book contains good diction as it contains phrases like eyes popped out from her head, luckily, fell backwards in a heap. Point of View: The author used a third person point of view to write the story using pronoun like He, She and They. Objective point of view was used in the story as the author only tells what happen without stating more than [what] can be inferred from the storys action and dialogue (Literature, No Date). Stereotypes: It is not reflected in the storybook. Personification: It is not reflected in the storybook. Visual elements The picture-books visual variety would kindle the interests of the children and arrest their visual attention. It is slightly smaller than an A4-sized book which words inside are of Arial font and appropriate font size. The space in between words and line spacing are not cluttered. Hence, this popular fairytale facilitates easy one-on-one readings and independent reading. Cover page: On the cover page, yellow, embroidered images on the borders of The Great Big Turnip give volume to the title and front illustrations. Every word in the title is capitalised and dark turquoise in colour. Below the title is a bright and colourful cartoon of the climax of the story, which is also slightly similar to the cartoon on page 14 and page 15. The clever illustration will intrigue readers as it shows just the giant turnip spinning out of the soil and several characters falling behind. It allows readers to think about what happened in the story. Texture: Illustrations are two-dimensional which gives a visual texture and promotes imagery development. Line: Heavy lines used give more precision and curved lines used depict fluidity which brings the characters to life. Jagged lines can be found on page 15s illustration of the spinning turnip, which enables the readers to sense danger. Colour and Shape: Furthermore, the cartoon characters stand out more as additional colours and geometric shapes are used to allow the reader to clearly differentiate all of them. Illustrations from page 13 are good examples, as when the characters are pulling the turnip out, the reader would not focus on other things such as the house far away or even the forest in the background. Colours such as brown used compliment the settings like the farmers wooden house and the soil in his garden. There is also more assertion and rigidity in the illustration of the farmer due to the geometric shapes used (Scott, 1989). Free-form shapes such as the cursive ends of the turnip on page 15 enable the reader to imagine the great amount of force when the turnip was pulled out (Scott, 1989). All in all, the visual elements of the picture-book nurture visual literacy which builds on the language development of child. They allow the facilitating readability and influencing recall of the text (Machado, 2010).

Analysis of “The Oval Portrait” by Edgar Allen Poe Essay

â€Å"Art is a jealous mistress.† Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote easily summarizes â€Å"The Oval Portrait,† written by Edgar Allen Poe. It is a chilling tale, describing the two different passions of a married couple. The husband, a painter, requests that the wife let him paint her portrait, and in obeying him, she meets her doom. As the painting matured, her health and spirits declined and yet she remained and, without objection, she continued to sit for him. His passions increase and after many weeks, as the painting nears completion, each stroke of the brush strips her of her beauty, and finally, upon the conclusion of the painting, it robs her of her life. This is a bewitching story of passion, murder, vampirism, and murder. Poe’s story is an uncanny analysis of two passions: art and romance. It is a given that the artist loves his wife, but he seems to share a much deeper bond with his art. It is unfortunate for the wife to have fallen in love with a painter who was â€Å"passionate, studious, austere and having already a bride in his art.† As she was young and happy, she seemed to have a love of all things, and yet she came to loathe his art and to despise his brushes and the other tools of his passion. All the way through the story, it is made very clear that art is not simply his occupation, but it becomes an actual woman who rivals with the wife for the painter’s affection. As the wife withers away, the portrait comes to life, thus the painter achieves any artist’s ultimate fantasy: the preservation of his true love and passion (whether it be the wife or the painting) against the total destruction of time. It is well known that the women in Poe’s time were banned from the public sphere and stripped of power and identity. Taking this into consideration, it is safe to say that the artist may have wanted her to die. Though the story never indicates it, the wife could have been very outspoken, and because of this, it is likely that the painter could be tremendously ashamed of her. The painter, knowing that she would do anything for him, could have asked her to be the model of his portrait. Then, he would be likely to take as long as he needed to paint this portrait of her. His only cover-up for her death would be that she loved him enough to sit that long, and he loved art enough to get that carried away with it. â€Å"Art itself is involved in the transfer of vitality; the process of creation is vampiric.† In Poe’s tale, it is evident that as the painting comes to life, the wife gets closer to death. The way that the inanimate portrait gains life from the living is comparable to vampirism. The vampire myth itself is an ideal paradigm for love that is too demanding, or art that is too life consuming. The artist in this story, who can be depicted as a vampire, seems to  have to kill in order to renew life. Throughout the entire life of the painting, the wife’s cheeks lose color and she grows weaker, so it would seem appropriate to say that he could be painting with her blood. The artist transfers the life essence of the wife into his painting of her; draining her with each sitting until she dies at the moment he completes his work. Poe investigates the nature of human relationships, including love and lust and develops his theme to observe the vampiric qualities inherent in the creative or artistic process. Therefore, Poe manages to subtly demonstrate that a vampire’s life depends upon the death of another. There is definitely a sense of mystery in this narrative. From what an audience can gather, no one else was in the room with the painter and his wife. Whoever wrote the history of the painting could not have known what happened to the wife, unless the painter himself wrote it. Anything could have occurred in that room. From what the reader can tell, it is a good possibility that the painter strangled his wife himself and painted her dead body. It is nearly impossible to tell what exactly happened. Poe also left the audience hanging at the end of the story. Nowhere in the final paragraph does Poe state or even infer that the painter had come to blame himself for his wife’s death. In fact, the tale ends precisely where the reader’s questions should have been answered and the conflict resolved. Some may like to believe that the painter was at least capable of grieving for his bride, but it is hopeless to even assume that there is a real answer. It is basically left up to the reader to make up his or her own mind about what happened afterwards. To put it briefly, â€Å"The Oval Portrait† is a very mysterious, dark, and creepy story. The life that the young painter takes from his wife illuminates the painting. But in the end, she bears the tragic consequences of her husband’s love for his art and her own love for him. Through this story it becomes obvious that love triangles are dangerous to life, as are vampires and society itself. This story is a prime example of the hazards of loving someone that already loves another.

Assume vs. Presume How to Choose the Right Word

The words assume and presume are both verbs which come from the Latin verb sumere, which means to take. In common use, the two words are often used as synonyms meaning suppose. Yet assume and presume are not exact synonyms, and they are used in different contexts. Assume refers to the act of laying claim to something or a statement that is taken for granted. Presume refers to a belief that something is true even though it hasnt been proven, an attitude or belief thats been determined by probability, or the overstepping of proper bounds. How to Use Assume Assume is a verb with two separate but related meanings. First, assume means to suppose that something is true, despite having no proof, or to take something for granted, as in I assume you will cook dinner this evening. This is by far the most common use of the word. A second, less-common meaning is to take on, shoulder, or accept responsibility or an honor of some sort, as in She assumed leadership and led the group to success. Assumption, the noun form of assume, carries the same meanings, as in His assumption was incorrect, or Her assumption of power was difficult to accept. Assume also has several other less-common meanings: (1) to take control, (2) to pretend, or (3) to don or put on an article of clothing. All of these are more literary uses, but they do appear in both historical and contemporary literature. How to Use Presume Presume is listed in some dictionaries as a synonym of assume, and, as such, is often substituted for assume. Presume, however, has a subtly different meaning. Unlike an assumption, which may have no particular reason behind it, a presumption is based on some level of proof, as in I presumed, based on our past experience, that the dinner would be excellent. Presume also has a very different meaning: It is synonymous with the word dare and means to take an action that is offensive and, usually, not allowed, as in You should never presume to address the queen by her first name! This use of the word can also be described as taking a presumptuous action. Examples Assume and presume often are used interchangeably. For example, both of these sentences are correct: I assume I can get my money back if I cant attend the event.I presume I can get my money back if I cant attend the event. The following are uses of assume that are not synonymous with presume: Marianne assumed the position of CEO of Big Corporation, Inc.Eileen assumed that she would inherit all her parents belongings.Mrs. Jones assumed her favorite outfit: a black dress and mink stole.Anthony assumed the appearance of a monk, making it harder for the police to track him. These uses of presume are not synonymous with assume; in the first sentence, the context shows that Jacob had a good reason for his presumption, and in the second, the word is used as a synonym for dare: Jacob presumes that he will become president of the company, based on his series of quick promotions.Because of his position as the church warden, Roger presumed to castigate the priest for his boring homily. How to Remember the Difference Its important to recall that, in some cases, the two words are really synonymous. When they are not synonymous, its helpful to remember that assumptions are not based on proof, whereas presumptions are based on proof. Unusual uses of the words can be remembered in this way: When presume is used to mean dare, try substituting the word dare for presume. If the meaning of the sentence is the same, use the word presume.When someone is taking or putting on something, the word assume is correct.When someone is overstepping his or her bounds, the word presume is correct. Sources Assume or Presume? Oxford Dictionaries | English, Oxford Dictionaries.Presume vs. Assume. Grammarly Blog, 7 Apr. 2017.