Introduction to Computer Application and Systems Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Computer Application and Systems Essay The first week required us to assemble a team and establish the team charter; we also discussed the benefits of information systems in the work environment, such as the computers and Internet access. Almost every major company has computers and Internet access now, the company cannot run smoothly without these basic information technology systems, if the company wants to be successful, it has to connect to the rest of the world and Internet is the best way for the company to do so. But there are also some bad sides about the advanced information technology systems, websites like â€Å"Facebook, Twitter, MySpace† require people put their personal information on the website, even some people are smart enough not putting their real name or address on the website, but majority of the computer users just do not have the awareness, they put their real personal information on those websites and once the information is there, it can never be erased. See more: how to start an essay about yourself for college We also talked about the history of the information systems in week one, such like â€Å"Roads† are the first information flow of the ancient world and other things like â€Å"Birds, Stone, Paper† all indicated the beginning of the information systems. Microsoft Office Word is one of the most useful tools designed by Microsoft, the impact it has had on writing is phenomenal, the Microsoft Office Word program is used by perhaps 95 percent of all writers currently extant, and it also changed the way people write, people do not have to worry about a misspelling or lost on word counts, because the Word tools can help them with all these problems. It is rare to see people still writing an essay or a business report on a piece of paper now; this just shows the information technology systems made people’s life so much easier and how important they relate to the society.

The Theme Of Alienation Loneliness And Selfhood English Literature Essay

The Theme Of Alienation Loneliness And Selfhood English Literature Essay In Krapps last tape, Krapp systematically distanced himself from companionship and love of other people. When Krapp was twenty nine years old, he lived with a woman named Bianca, whose love he later described as a hopeless business despite the fact that she truly loved him and possessed very warm eyes that always seemed to impress him (Beckett 54). After the death of his mother when Krapp was only thirty nine, he felt that life had lost meaning. This is evident from the words he said to his new love that it was hopeless and there was nothing positive about life. He rejected his lover and completely lived alone from this time onwards, although he was sometimes visited by Fanny, who was a bony old ghost of whore (Beckett 98). At the age of sixty nine, Krapp was only accompanied by his loneliness during his birthday celebration, whereby he spent the day in a pub deeply occupied by heavy thoughts of his past life and his lost chance for love and fulfilled life (Beckett 67). Krapps last tape is a compact statement of a mans predicament as a prisoner of time. He preserved the worst for himself and threw the best away by rejecting love of others. At the age of sixty nine, the only thing he could do was to play a tape he made when he was thirty nine, reminding him of the last love that he rejected when he still had potential for happiness in life (Beckett 89). Krapp was a lonely man, whose isolation was self inflicted. He viewed women as bad influence and valued his career as a writer more than any human companionship or relationship. He confessed that he could not withstand the thought of his future career as a writer being interfered with by women and love (Beckett 89). Krapp chose a tape recorder to be his sole companionship. He seemed to find comfort in recorded voice, which he faithfully listened to, even in old age. However, although Krapp lived like he did not need anyones company, he seems to have been inwardly desperate to have someone to engage in a conversation. He eventually discovered that he had made a terrible mistake by forsaking the rest of humanity (Beckett 130). Loneliness, selfishness and selfhood are clearly illustrated throughout Krapps character and way of life. He never found satisfaction in life even after selfishly living a lonely life that he had chosen to live and he realized that the selfhood that he had discovered had truly misled him. He realized that he needed other people and the rest of the world in order to be fulfilled but it was already too late. In Kate Chopins story of an hour, Mrs. Mallard went through feelings of relief as soon as she received the bad news of her husbands death, which was said to have occurred in a train accident. Although at first she was sorrowful and confused by the news of her husbands death, she was suddenly relieved by the thought of being free from marriage and slavery of love. She knew that no amount of love and security could pay the lack of control over her own existence (Chopins 194). Mrs. Mallard seemed to have been controlled by society, pretending to be happy and fulfilled in her marriage. As molded by the society, she appeared to be a perfect wife, who enjoyed companionship of her husband and loved being a wife. She suppressed her true selfhood and sacrificed her delight to please the society, pretending to be happily married. As expressed in her reaction and sigh of relief when she heard the news of her husbands death, it is quite evident that she had always inwardly struggled with her marriage to Mr. Bently Mallard, that was dominated by male chauvinism. Feminism shown through freedom upon her husbands death explains her happiness and relief to be alone, free from bondage of marriage and love (Chopin 193). Her own feelings of freedom came back possessing her when she first uttered the words free, free! In this story, Mrs. Mallard is described as a woman who had forgotten and abandoned herself throughout the entire period of marriage to her husband. The husband is described as being happy with the marriage, despite the fact that Mrs. Mallard was not happy and inwardly viewed the marriage as slavery. Her emotions had been stiffled and and suppressed to fit into hollow social conventions of the society. She was the submissive woman, who believed that her husband had a right to impose his will on her (Jamil 216). However, she suddenly gained control over herself after discovering that she had been set free from bondage of marriage and slavery of love by the death of her husband. She embraced visions of a bright future and realized that whether she had loved him or not was not important anymore, all what was important to her now was the possession of self assertion that she experienced afte r his death. (Choppin 193, 194). This was the nineteenth century American womans hour of awakening into selfhood, which gives her immesurable joy and beauty of life. (Jamil 215). Her happiness after discovery of her selfhood was so strong that when she realized that her husband was not dead, she immediately collapsed. She could not imagine how she was going to abandon her new found freedom and return to life with her husband, where she would be required to bend her will to his. Mrs. Mallard preferred to live alone, without her husband because that meant freedom to her just like Mr. Krapp chose to live alone and viewed women and love as a hopeless business. To him, they would interfere with his freedom of pursuing his writing career, while to Mrs. Mallard, the presence of her husband was a permanent bondage to slavery that had taken away her freedom and selfhood. The story of a sorrowful woman by Gail Godwin depicts a wife and a mother who gradually withdrew from her family after becoming overwhelmed by her husbands and childs presence and completely shut them out of her life. Their presence was a daily reminder of the fact that she had lost her freedom as well as her self- identity and her life would never be the same again (Godwin 78). She wanted her freedom and her self -identity back. She wanted to stay away from her husband, her child and the rest of the community and live a lonely life because to her that would be more fulfilling, just like Mr. Krapp. She viewed marriage as a source of pain, that had taken away her identity, her selfhood and her freedom. She further wanted to stay away from the society that advocated for marriage and therefore decided to live a lonely life. However, what she considered as freedom and selfhood did not give her the fulfillment that she had longed to have. Her dissatisfaction with her role as a mother and a dutiful wife made her to try many other alternatives in life but she did not find satisfaction in any of the options that she tried out. She did not find any particular role that could suit her and therefore she ended up withdrawing from the rest of the world. This is illustrated by the coldness and isolation of the undecorated white room that she moved into. She even pictured herself as a virgin in a tower, untouchable and profoundly isolated (Goldwin 117). This shows that she had not only isolated herself physically from her family and the rest of the world but also emotionally thus making herself an outsider looking in on the world. She viewed her family as source of bondage, slavery and dissatisfaction in life. However, isolating herself from the rest of the society did not give her any satisfaction like she had expected. She only ended up being a lonely woman, both physically and emotionally. The theme of alienation, selfhood and loneliness cut across the three stories discussed. The three main characters in the stories viewed family as a source of bondage, limitations and dissatisfaction in life. It is portrayed as a form of slavery that would tie women and men to their families and take away their freedom as well as their selfhood. These stories portray traditional marriages whereby women are supposed to be submissive to their husbands and be good home makers as unfulfilling and undermining to women. The women discussed here are seemingly tired of living under bondage and slavery of their husbands and the entire society and are looking for liberation and freedom. They want to rediscover themselves and find more fulfilling roles that define them and give them a voice as useful members of the society. They can no longer stand the idea of being dominated by society as well as by their husbands as clearly observed when Mrs. Mallard collapsed on discovering the truth that he r husband was truly alive and not dead as it had been reported. On the other hand freedom in these stories is categorically accompanied by loneliness and lack of fulfillment as portrayed by Krapp and Godwin. The woman in Godwins story did not find any satisfaction in her loneliness after abandoning her family and the society at large. Her freedom brought more emotional and physical dissatisfaction as she tried to rediscover herself and even to assign her new roles, which only tormented her mental and emotionally, causing even more pain to her life. After spending all his life alone with the tape recorder as his sole companion, Krapp finally came to his senses and realized that he had actually ruined his own life because he was lonely and desperate for companion. He realized that listening to the tape recorder alone could not give him the delight and the fulfillment that he had longed to have in his entire life. However, it was already too late as he was already an old man.

Looking At The Storys Behind Indian Art Cultural Studies Essay

Looking At The Storys Behind Indian Art Cultural Studies Essay I intend to do research on the Indian folk art forms, their styles, different symbols and forms as well as the context and cultural backgrounds. I will focus on MDAHUBANI PAINTINGS, a folk art originated from North India. This research will help me understand the characteristics of these art forms, which will inspire my animation story and visual style. The story of Indian art is also the story of one of the oldest and most resilient cultures on earth. Throughout its history, Indian art has combined local tradition with outside influences, and has evolved along with a civilization, which has been remarkably innovative in all areas. As in every culture, art has been a mirror of Indias fascinating history from the beginning, reflecting religious beliefs, political events, and social customs. Especially in folk arts we find a compelling and beautiful record of centuries of Indian culture. Introduction to Indian Folk Arts The somewhat lesser-known traditions of Indian painting are the so-called folk paintings dating back to a period that may be referred to as timeless. These are living traditions, intrinsically linked with the regional historic-cultural settings from which they arise. It has an age-old heritage that can be traced back to the beginning of civilization on this subcontinent [1]. It began with cave paintings, with the natural dyes so strong that they can still be seen today on the walls of the caves after centuries. The folk and tribal painting come from the remote rural and tribal regions. Sometimes the artists of these rustic works are not even educated. They lack the basic means to attend schools, and as they are gifted with such beautiful mean of expression by nature. The various painting forms coming from these regions began not just as a painting but also as a religious and social ritual performed daily. It began with painting the walls and floor of mud houses. They hide the belief that this purified the ambience and pleased the deities. Various religious and symbols were therefore seen within the painting. The term folk paintings here encompasses pictures made in Indian villages by both men and women, for ornamentation of their abodes, portrayals of their gods and for their various rituals; and, by local professional painters or artisans for use of the local people. All these paintings were produced in a variety of styles and themes. History, sociology and geography infused the painting of each region with local flavor. Their style and quality depended on the materials available in the place in which they were executed, these very factors that helps to identify the region. Folk art may be defined as the art created among groups that exist within the framework of existing society, but, for geographical and cultural reasons, are largely separated from the sophisticated and cultural reasons, and the developments of their time. As a result, they produce distinctive styles and objects for local needs and tastes. In folk tradition, art is nourishment to the daily life of the people. Whether he is a TAMILNADU (an Indian state) [2] potter who creates a massive terracotta AIYANAR (example in Appendix. Pic.1) or a MADHYA PRADESH (an Indian state) [2] tribal who creates PITHORA painting (example in Appendix. Pic.2), at the moment of creation, the poverty-stricken, illiterate folk, becomes a master-crafts-man who can create marvelous plastic and visual forms with a creative genius handed over to him by generations. Topography and geography too have control over the medium of art. In the case of UTTAR PRADESH (an Indian state) [2], we can find folk paintings on the walls of the houses. Whereas in ASSAM (an Indian state) [2], one cannot find wall paintings because most of the walls of the house are built with cane or bamboo. The folk and tribal traditions, consider all materials available in day-to-day life are worthy of serving as a medium of expression. In this regard, artist-writer, HAKU SHAH writ es, When a tribal touches a blade of grass, gourd or bead, fiber, twig, grain, pin, plastic button, conch shell, feather, leaf of flower, he sees through it, smells it, hears it, and therein starts the ritual of being with it [3]. Each part of the country with its own trees and plants, birds and animals, hills and dales has inspired Indian folk artists to have multiple metaphors, series of symbols and innumerable images to build a rich treasure-house of art. The following are the common stylistic characters in folk-art: Preference for simple outline and choice of typically representational lines; A simplification of colors and volumes so that shading is eliminated; Stylization of motifs to create decorative elements; and Repetition of lines, of entire figures, of dots for intensive or rhythmical purposes. Following is the list of some of the main folk arts from different parts of India Madhubani Painting Folk art of Madhubani from the Mithila region [2] of north India. There are different styles developed by different castes of the region. (Examples in Appendix Pic.16a 16h) Thanka Painting Combining the magnificent beauty with spiritual vision, Tankha is painting solely dedicated to Buddha and his teachings. These represent how the Buddhists see the universe. It is generally in eight layers with the upper most layers or part depicting a deity. The rest seven are the various elements of the universe like, fire, earth, space, water and air. Colorful and geometrical, these are many a time seen as the basis of temple architecture. These paintings are done with dedication, concentration, and passion and also with the deep religious feeling of doing something directly related with the supreme power. (Example in Appendix Pic.3a, 3b) Patachitra Painting Indian art Patachitra is a pre-Islamic form of religious art. It comes from the eastern Indian state Orissa [2]. Hindu gods and goddesses and other mythological scenes are painted on a leather-like surface made of several layers of old cotton glued together. (Example in Appendix Pic.4a, 4b) Kalamkari Painting Kalamkari Literally meaning pen-work, it is the religious painting on cloth with blocks and wax resist, from the temple town of KALAHASTHI in southeast ANDHRA PRADESH [2]. (Example in Appendix Pic.5a, 5b) Warli Painting Warli is a tribal community from MAHARASHTRA, India [2]. They have made a significant contribution to the heritage of Indian tribal art. Done by both men and women, these art works show their dedication to the nature and the superpower. (Example in Appendix Pic.6a, 6b) Gond Painting Tribal painting, Gond is a freehand expression of the Gond tribes of MADHYA PRADESH, India [2]. Painted freehand, these two dimensional paintings reflect their perception of life. The third dimension, the depth is always lacking in these paintings reflecting the simplicity of the artist. Sometimes these paintings also tell how colorful their imagination can be. They put colors to the blandest creations of the nature at times. (Example in Appendix Pic.7a, 7b) Batik Painting Batik, wax resist painting from WEST BENGAL, India [2]. Meaning wax-painting in Javanese, it originated in Indonesia and later revived in WEST BENGAL, India. The creativity of the talented dyers has given it a fresh new definition. The principle of batik is a simple one, wax or a similarly resistant substance such as rice paste is used to create patterns or motifs on cloth before it is dyed or colored in some way. When the wax is finally ready to be removed, the untouched cloth beneath it stands out as the original color of the cloth. (Example in Appendix Pic.8a, 8b) Miniature Painting Folk art miniature paintings inspired by the graceful romantic life style of the Mughals [4]. These paintings show one moment at a time and in minute details. The love scenes, the court scenes, various solitary women, animals, flowers all were closely observed and reproduced simultaneously. (Example in Appendix Pic.9a, 9b) Santhal Art The Santhal tribe, one of the famous tribes belonging to the Bihar state of India [2], has a typical style of painting, known as Santhal paintings. The bodies of the various forms that they paint are seldom or perhaps never in one shade, they are always striped, dotted or filled with any other geometrical pattern. They are done on a handmade paper with poster colors. The topics are selected from the natural surroundings or just from the happenings of their day-to-day lives. (Example in Appendix Pic.10a, 10b) Phad Art RAJASHTAN, an Indian state [2], the land of colors is known for Phad painting, which is done on cloth. This type of painting is mainly found in the BHILWARA district. The main theme of these paintings is the depiction of local deities and their stories, and legends of erstwhile local rulers. Phad is a type of scroll painting. These paintings are created while using bright and subtle colors. (Example in Appendix Pic.11a, 11b) Yantra Tantra art or yantra is used as an instrument or medium of focus on a deity while meditating. It is used while performing religious ceremonies. It is a graphical representation of geometrical or abstract images such as triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons or circles. (Example in Appendix Pic.12a, 12b) Chittara Chittara, meaning picture is an expression of the village artists of KARNATAKA India [2]. Chittara is done on handmade paper. This paper is coated with mud first and then the desired color of the background is given to it by various colors extracted from the natural objects. The color red is procured by grinding a special red stone, the color black is procured by grinding burnt rice and soaking it in water for few days, mud and rice paste gives white. (Example in Appendix Pic.13a, 13b) Introduction to MADHUBANI Paintings Painting is generally done by folk artists or classical artists in three ways: wall-painting (BHITTI-CITRA), canvas-painting (PATA-CHITRA) and floor-painting (ARIPANA). Of these the wall-painting and the floor-painting are very popular in MITHILA region [2]. The Wall-painting or mural paintings, popularly known as MITHILA painting or MADHUBANI painting. MADHUBANI, literally meaning from the forest of honey is the name of the village from where comes the MADHUBANI paintings. Situated in the interior of northern India, this art is the expression of creativity in the day-to-day life of the local people. Done mainly by the females of the family, this art is regarded as a part of daily ritual. Initially all vegetable dyes were used for the paintings but today they have access to the variety of poster colors to cater to their needs and to enable them for more experiments with colors. The estimated date cant be traced back to the actual era that brought MADHUBANI art in to existence. It is however centuries old art that is associated with the normal lives of the villagers. In that region it is believed that every morning the worshipped deity comes invisibly to the household to bless the members of the family and also to bring more prosperity. So this art started as a welcome painting for deities. It started from the entrance floor and the exterior of the house. Passed from mothers to their daughters, the art of MADHUBANI has constantly been improving in its quality. As this tradition was initialized with a purpose of decorating the exterior of the house, the walls and the floor always served as the canvas. Floor-painting (ARIPANA) The art of ARIPANA or floor-painting has been handed down from generation to generation. There is not a single house in MITHILA in which ceremonies are held without ARIPANA. The women of MITHILA specialize in drawing circular patterns of designs with a white liquid paste made of ground rice mixed with water. Sometimes vermilion is also applied, besides white, red, green, yellow and black colors. In various ARIPANA designs, they have the images of gods and goddess painted on different shapes and forms with multiple colors, reflecting the artists originality and imagination. ARIPANA is an indigenous word, which means the art of drawing embankment or wall. The word is derived from ALIMPANA or ALEPANA (of Sanskrit origin) and though grammatically correct, it falsifies the real origin of the word [5]. (Example of ARIPANA art in Appendix. Pic.14a, 14b) The land and people North of the river Ganges, in the state of BIHAR [2] lies a land called MITHILA, shaded by old mango groves and watered by melt water rivers of NEPAL [2] (Indian neighbor country) and the Himalayas. MITHILA has played a noteworthy part in the political and cultural life of ancient India. It is a land full of the beauty of landscape in sharp contrast to the ugliness of poverty in which its people, most of whom are talented painters, live, who accept their fate, good or bad, and paint for painting sake. It is said that altogether MITHILA was the home where the enlightened and the learned might always find a generous patron, peace and safety, where courts were devoted to learning and culture and where poets and philosophers lived in honor and affluence. Even though women in the villages around MADHUBANI have been practicing their folk art for centuries, the world at large has come to know about these women and to consider them to be artists only in the last forty years. Even now, most of their work remains anonymous. The women, most of them illiterate, are reluctant to consider themselves individual producers of works of art and only a few of them mark the paintings with their own name. Among the first modern outsiders to document the tradition of MADHUBANI painting were William and Mildred Archer. Mr. Archer was a British civil servant assigned to the district during the colonial era (till 1947). The Archers obtained some drawings on paper that the women painters were using as aids to memory. Works that the Archers collected went to the India Records Office in London (now part of the British Library) where a small number of specialists could study them as creative instances of Indias folk art [6]. The women painters in MADHUBANI lived in a closed society and were unwilling to paint openly. Eventually due to a drought (1966-68) in the surrounding areas of MITHILA that resulted in severe economic crisis women began to commercialize their art. The All India Handicrafts Board [7] encouraged the women artists to produce their paintings on handmade paper for commercial sale. The government of India, the state government of Bihar and the regional craft guilds has all come in together to initiate the productions and marketing for these women painters. This sudden change in the form of art and its presentation has enabled the world to discover a new form of art with an enviable linkage to the lives of women [8]. The Style of painting This style of painting belongs to North Bihar. In keeping with the tradition under which it began, the style is replete with symbols of fertility like the lotus plant, the bamboo grove, birds, fish, etc. in union. The art shifted to drawing paper in the 1960s, and this brought with it a new freedom and creativity. Paper is movable and economically feasible too. Figures from nature mythology are adapted to suit this style. The themes designs widely painted are the worship of Hindu deities such as KRISHNA, RAMA, SIVA, DURGA, LAKSHMI, SARASWATI, Sun and Moon, TULSI (basil) plant, court scenes, wedding scenes, social happenings around them, etc. Floral, animal and bird motifs, geometrical designs are used to fill up all the gaps. There is hardly any empty space in this style. The skill is handed down the generations, and hence the traditional designs and patterns are widely maintained. One of the main features of MITHILA paintings is simplicity. All that is required for the artist is a suitable surface, ordinary paints, and local brushes. Preliminary sketching is hardly required in MITHILA paintings because the outlines are developed in a single sweep of the brush. Tools Used No sophisticated tools are needed in MADHUBANI paintings. Artists are still unacquainted with the modern brush. The traditional brush is made from a bamboo-twig by wrapping the twig up with a piece of cloth or by having its end frayed in such a way that the fiber looks like a bundle of hair. Color Scheme The artists prepare the colors. Black is obtained by mixing soot with cow dung; yellow from turmeric or pollen or lime and the milk of banyan leaves; blue from indigo; red from the KUSUM flower juice or red sandalwood; green from the leaves of the wood apple tree; white from rice powder; orange from PALASHA flowers. The raw materials were mixed with goats milk and juice from bean plants. Today green, blue, red and orange have been added to these colors. The colors are applied flat with no shading. There is normally a double line drawn for the outlines, with the gap between the lines filled by cross or straight tiny lines. In the linear painting, no colors are applied. Only the outlines are drawn. Some villages only produce black ink drawings. Other villages use pink, yellow, blue, red and parrot green, each paint mixed with the traditional goats milk. Impact of Hindu religion and mythology in Indian folk arts Hinduism Religion has been a definitive influence on Indian Art. Hindu Paintings featuring Hindu gods, Hindu goddesses, and the various Hindu pantheons are one of the most prominent symbols of Indian and Hindu Art. Hindu god/goddess in branding In India, manufacturers try to affect the psyche of consumer, by branding an item with the names and images of Hindu deities. They bring the premium image of a God and His virtues and associate them to their product, thus exploiting the mass recognition of well-established imagery of the God to boost product branding. The beauty of this strategy lies in the fact that the companies using Gods images do not have to be concerned about any kind of intellectual property issues like copyright, thus enjoying an immense credibility just by virtue of having connected their name to a venerated name. This kind of branding shows the popularity of god/goddess images in India and the corporate/legal freedom of their use. Manufacturers use images and names of Hindu Gods on product labels and promotion materials to attract buyers attention. Even in America some of the phone card companies like MCI, which target Indian consumers, print Gods images on its international phone cards and sometimes even t he phone card itself is named after a God. In India the largest group of advertisers are the food marketers, followed by marketers of drugs and cosmetics, soaps, automobiles, tobacco, appliances, and oil products. All of these companies somehow associate their products virtues with the virtues of a God and try to sell it to the consumer, who can very well relate to the image presented. For instance, Indian jewelers use image and name of Goddess LAXMI, who is considered the ruler of all material wealth extensively. One of the most famous names among jewelry shops in India is: Maha Laxmi Jewelers. (Examples of some Ads and products in Appendix. Pic.17a 17j) Forms and symbols in MADHUBANI Paintings The motifs of the designs include conventionalized flora and fauna, circles in series, spiral or curvilinear devices, series of short lines, foot-points of fragmentary (imaginative) pictures illustrating legends and stories, giving glimpses of environmental and natural life. While the religious paintings include various gods and goddess, the secular and decorative paintings contain various symbols of prosperity and fertility such as elephant, horse, fish, lion, parrot, turtle, bamboo, lotus, flower, PURAINA leaves, PANA, creepers, SWASTIKA etc. Besides, we also come across in these paintings aspects of agricultural animal life, which plays an important role in the rural economy of MITHILA. The animal, in fact, is a duplicate representation of energy and character of God. Thus, the subject matter generally falls into two groups: (1) A series of heavenly forms. (2) A series of strictly selected vegetables and animal forms. For different occasions, they have different forms and symbols attached to these paintings. Wedding Paintings At weddings, the following objects the sun and moon, a bamboo-tree, a circle of lotuses, parrots, turtle and fish come into prominence. These paintings draw their themes mostly from the PURANAS and epics. The most prominent image looming largest on the walls are the bamboo-tree and the ring of lotus, the KAMALAVANA or PURAINA. The focus is on fertility, and the marvelously intricate diagrams of the KAMALAVANA, the PURAINA and the forest of bamboos are, as pointed out by Archer, MANDALAS and diagrams of the generative organs. The lotus circle is not only a lotus but also the symbol of the brides sex, while the bamboo-tree is a bamboo, it also represents the phallus. (Although sometimes it is said that the women artists iconize the husbands patrilineage as a stand of bamboo.) In other words, lotus is a female and bamboo is a male. According to Archer, the latent symbolism reaches its height in the many paintings in which the bamboo-tree is depicted not as aloof and apart but as driven through the center of a clinging circle [9]. There are also minor symbols of parrots, turtles, fish, sun and the moon. In Indian context, the parrots symbolize the lovebirds and they feature constantly as images of the bride and bridegroom in folk songs and poetry. Turtles also have a significant place because they associate water with all its beneficent power with marriage, their strange shape being diagrammatic of the lovers union and their head and tail emerging from the shell looks like the exact counterparts of the bamboo plunging in the lotus. Then, there are fishes which are emblems of fertility and, finally we have sun and moon who are inserted because of their life-giving qualities. (Example of marriage art known as KOHBAR in Appendix. Pic.16a 16h) About the MADHUBANI painting Artists: Baua Devi Baua Devi is one of the most respected artists in the MITHILA community, and certainly the most successful. She lives in JITWARPUR, the village where she was born. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout India as well as the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris and at the MITHILA Museum in Tokamachi, Japan [10]. Also, at the MATRIX show at UC Berkeley Art Museum, 1997 [11] included two mural-scale paintings by Baua Devi, one depicting the life of KRISHNA, the other, a festival around a pond in a Mithila village. The scope of MADHUBANI paintings, its popularity in India and in other parts of the world MADHUBANI Painting has lately received much attention and popularity. There are quite a few websites devoted to MADHUBANI painting. I simply would like to add that the credit for bringing recent and massive popularity to this art form goes, in large measure, to the Lalit Narayan Mishra. In his capacity as the Minister for Railways in Mrs. Indira Gandhis cabinet, reproductions of these paintings adorned the coaches of many fast and super-fast trains. [12] Copies of the paintings became a hot-selling item for both native and foreign travelers. The reproductions could be found in plenty, for instance, among the hawkers in the bustling street side market along the JANPATH in New Delhi, India a must for the foreign tourist! Credit is due also to Mr. Bhaskar Kulkarni, erstwhile member of the Indian Handicrafts Federation. He was the first to organize an exhibition of this school of paintings at New Delhi in 1967 [13]. This brought instant international recognition. Folk art is having a tr easure house of symbolic language to contribute as a gift to Modern art. Folk in a sense carries the connotation of anonymity, collective wisdom, spontaneity and simplicity. With the development of Anthropology a new awareness has come into understanding the primitive and folk traditions. Anthropology has proved that regionalism in art is not against internationalism. [14] Conclusion MADHUBANI paintings are popular because of their tribal motifs and use of bright earthy colors. I would like to explore how these unique features of folk art could be successfully translated into the form of Animation. Based on my research I have these findings about MADHUBANI PAINTINGS characteristics: -The figures are recognizable by a face in profile while the rest of the body faces the front. -The face has one very large eye and a bumpy sort of nose coming out of the forehead. -The figure outlines are drawn as a double line with diagonal hatching between them. -The borders are highly decorated either geometrically or with ornate floral patterns. -Clothing also is highly decorated with geometrical, floral or even animal patterns. -The drawings of animals are easily recognized for what they are, but again tend to be very stylized. -The forms and symbols in these paintings have their own significance and different forms and symbols are used on different occasions. -There could be different interpretations of symbols and its uses. -These paintings have a limited number of colors and each color has its own meaning. Artists prepare the colors applied. -The artist uses traditional brushes (made from a bamboo-twig) for drawing. With time medium has changed. Originally these paintings were done on walls in villages. Later, the artists successfully transferred their techniques of wall painting to the medium of paper. Now most of the artists use watercolors and handmade papers. At the same time they maintain the characteristics and style of paintings although the medium has changed. In order to create a new source of non-agricultural income, different organizations encourages the artists to produce their traditional paintings on handmade paper for commercial sale. This way now it also widely spread. Even in the more recent work on paper, the themes are normally the Hindu Gods and Goddesses and stories from Hindu mythology. They exhibit their paintings throughout India as well as different parts of the world. Now with the advent of digital tools like Macromedia Flash, which can produce the similar kind of drawings using different combinations of pencil and brush strokes. Use of digital tools also makes these dr awings faster and more effectively as these paintings has lots of repetitive patterns. So we can say, transferring the techniques of wall painting to the medium of paper gained these paintings more popularity and recognition. Same way I strongly feel that when these styles and characteristics of MADHUBANI paintings will be transformed into digital medium, such as animation, it will take the paintings to the next level, where these folk art styles will be used by more and more digital artists from India and all over the world. End Notes [1] Based on the art history timeline the art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC . However based on the recent findings, An archaeological site off Indias western coast may be up to 9,000 years old. The revelation comes about 18 months after acoustic images from the sea-bed suggested the presence of built-up structures resembling the ancient Harappan civilization, which dates back around 4,000 years. . [2] States from India. Map of India Appendix Pic.15 [3] Thakur, Upendra, MADHUBANI Painting. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, 1982. [4] Roy, The Bratas of Bengal, The RANGOLI or ARIPANA, KOLAM or MURGGY, as it is known in Bombay (now Mumbai), TAMILNADU and ANDHRA, is a pleasing decoration of the ground. [5] The Mughals ruled in India from 1526 to 1857. The Mughal period can be called a classical age in northern India. In this cultural development, the Indian traditions were amalgamated with the Turko-Iranian culture, brought to the country by the Mughals. [6] Gene R. Thursby, University of Florida . [7] Ministry of Textiles (Govt of India) [8] Madhubani Painting Workshop Brochure. . [9] Archer, W.G., MADHUBANI Paintings. Mumbai, 1998. [10] The Mithila Museum in Tokamachi, Japan. . [The Mithila Museum is housed in a converted schoolhouse in Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, situated in Japans snow country. Here approximately 850 Mithila paintings, more than 300 paintings that the Mithila artists created in Japan, Warli paintings by an aboriginal group in India, and Indian teracotta statues and figurines, are exhibited on a permanent basis.] [11] Baua Devi and the Art of Mithila. . MATRIX: August 15 through October 26, 1997 at the UC Berkeley Art Museum. [This is the first United States exhibition of paintings on paper by the Indian artist Baua Devi. The exhibition also includes a selection of works by other artists from the Mithila region of northeastern India. Baua Devis paintings explore an array of personal and mythological themes. An image, which she has come to adopt as her own is the nag kanya, or snake maiden, a creature with the torso and head of a beautiful woman and the lower body of a snake. The nag kanya resembles the snake goddess Manasa, whose attributes echo those of the key Hindu god Shiva. The nag kanya also derives from the real snakes that occupy the watery region where Baua Devi lives.] [12] Railways in North Bihar. . [13] Mr. Bhaskar Kulkarni. . [14] The Art of Folk Tradition. . References Thakur, Upendra, MADHUBANI Painting. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, n.d. Thakur, Upendra, History of MITHILA. New Delhi: Abhinav Publications, n.d. Jain, Jyotindra, Ganga Devi: Tradition and Expression in Mithila Painting. Ahmedabad, India: Mapin Publishing Pvt Ltd., 1997. [A fine book on a leading artist who practiced what is sometimes called the Kayastha style of MADHUBANI painting.] Vequaud, Yves, The Women Painters of Mithila. London: Thames and Hudson, 1977. [A book that contributed to and then reflected the worldwide popularity of MADHUBANI painting.] Osaki, Norio, MADHUBANI Paintings. Kyoto Shoin, 1998. Shearer, Alistair. The Hindu Vision: Forms of the Formless. Thames Hudson, 1993. Aldred, Gavin. Indian Firework Art. Trafalgar Square, 2000 Prakash, K. Authentic Folk Designs from India. New Delhi: Dover Pubns, 1995. Dawson, Barry. Street Graphics India. Thames Hudson, 2001. Archer, W.G., MADHUBANI Paintings. Mumbai, 1998. Anand, Mulk Raj, MADHUBANI Painting. New Delhi: Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, 1984. Online exhibit of MADHUBANI Paintings. . About an Artist.. The MAITHILI BRAHMANS: An Online Ethnography.. Marketing God: About religious content on Indian television.

Symbolism and Theme in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily Essay

Symbolism and Theme in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily  Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," a series of interconnected events collectively represent a single theme in the story. Symbolism is the integral factor involved in understanding the theme. "A Rose for Emily's" dominant theme is the search for love and security, a basic human need which can be met unfavorably in equivocal environments. Faulkner's use of symbolism profoundly develops the theme of the story, bringing to light the issues of morality that arise from a young woman's struggle to find love. Faulkner provides the necessary pieces of symbolism, speckled through out the action of the story, for the reader to assimilate and assemble. Curiously, it is a broken time line that Faulkner follows, that allows him to achieve maximum effect at the end of the story. The placement of the conclusion or denouement at the beginning of the story, allows the curiosity of the reader to become strongly engaged on the character of Emily Grierson. As the narration begins with the funeral of Emily, the juxtaposition of the image received in the opening paragraph, is sharply compared to that of the information found in the third paragraph. Where in the first the town has come to pay respects to a fallen monument, in the third it is learned that she was really, "...a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town..." (276). The story progresses through flashbacks, and Emily is heard speaking to the gentlemen representing the Board of Aldermen, and it is noticed that she is wearing a thin gold watch chain. It is not until a lull takes place after the spokesman announces the purpose of their visit, that they then,"... could hear the inv... ...uest for love and security, and Emily has provided this for herself. Whether she knew the process through which she gained it was moral or not remains a mystery whose answer died with her. She sought refuge from the cold, and inhospitable environment of abandonment. She sought to get away from the only life she ever knew. The strategic placement of symbolism in the action of this story, provides vast areas with depth of knowledge from which the theme comes forth. The reader is pulled into character early on, by placing the conclusion up front, and placing the falling action at the end of the story. This creates a greater sense of surprise or shock value, and may even evoke a sense of true pity for Emily from the reader. Work Cited Faulkner, William. â€Å"A Rose for Emily.† Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. Symbolism and Theme in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily Essay Symbolism and Theme in William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily  Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily," a series of interconnected events collectively represent a single theme in the story. Symbolism is the integral factor involved in understanding the theme. "A Rose for Emily's" dominant theme is the search for love and security, a basic human need which can be met unfavorably in equivocal environments. Faulkner's use of symbolism profoundly develops the theme of the story, bringing to light the issues of morality that arise from a young woman's struggle to find love. Faulkner provides the necessary pieces of symbolism, speckled through out the action of the story, for the reader to assimilate and assemble. Curiously, it is a broken time line that Faulkner follows, that allows him to achieve maximum effect at the end of the story. The placement of the conclusion or denouement at the beginning of the story, allows the curiosity of the reader to become strongly engaged on the character of Emily Grierson. As the narration begins with the funeral of Emily, the juxtaposition of the image received in the opening paragraph, is sharply compared to that of the information found in the third paragraph. Where in the first the town has come to pay respects to a fallen monument, in the third it is learned that she was really, "...a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town..." (276). The story progresses through flashbacks, and Emily is heard speaking to the gentlemen representing the Board of Aldermen, and it is noticed that she is wearing a thin gold watch chain. It is not until a lull takes place after the spokesman announces the purpose of their visit, that they then,"... could hear the inv... ...uest for love and security, and Emily has provided this for herself. Whether she knew the process through which she gained it was moral or not remains a mystery whose answer died with her. She sought refuge from the cold, and inhospitable environment of abandonment. She sought to get away from the only life she ever knew. The strategic placement of symbolism in the action of this story, provides vast areas with depth of knowledge from which the theme comes forth. The reader is pulled into character early on, by placing the conclusion up front, and placing the falling action at the end of the story. This creates a greater sense of surprise or shock value, and may even evoke a sense of true pity for Emily from the reader. Work Cited Faulkner, William. â€Å"A Rose for Emily.† Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, et al. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.

Conflicts of Gender in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe :: Things Fall Apart

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are constant struggles between gender, identity, commodification, and class. Among the men and women in many African tribes that still exist today, there are divergences, which will always remain intact because of the culture and the way in which they are taught to treat each other. Chinua Achebe wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart, which is a great piece of African literature that deals with the Igbo culture, history, and the taking over of African lands by British colonization. The ongoing gender conflict is a prominent theme in Things Fall Apart presenting the clash between men and women of the African Igbo society. Throughout history, from the beginning of time to today, women have frequently been viewed as inferior, men’s possessions whose sole purpose was to satisfy the men’s needs. Maybe it's because men are physically stronger than women and have always had the ability to control them that way. In Things Fall Apart, the Igbo women were p erceived as being weak. They received little or no respect in the Igbo society and were harshly abused. The recurring theme of gender conflicts helps drive the novel Things Fall Apart by showing how important women are to the men, yet they do not receive the treatment they deserve. Women have many responsibilities in the Igbo society such as having children, cooking, cleaning, and farming. These are important function for women, yet they are not given much credit or meaning for their existence in the roles they fill. As Rose Ure Mezu points out â€Å"The world in Things Fall Apart is one in which patriarchy intrudes oppressively into every sphere of existence. It is an andocentric world where the man is everything and the woman nothing.† In some way Mezu is correct in saying that the man is everything and the woman nothing. The man holds the highest importance of the family and it is he who holds the titles. In Things Fall Apart, the reader follows the troubles of the main character Okonkwo, a tragic hero whose flaw includes the fact that "his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness" (2865). For Okonkwo, his father Unoka was the essence of failure and weakness.

Repaying Kindness Essay

There is a saying that goes like this-‘Be kind to unkind people – they need it the most’. I for one believed it to be utter nonsense.for me it was ‘one for one’s self’. Ever since is remember i was passed from one foster home to another,never really belonging anywhere†¦nothing was black or white in my life. every thing was decorated in different shades of grey. As soon as I was old enough I packed everything and rushed out to face the world on my own.but something good came out from my earlier misery. The little ten year old I’m proud to call my sister. For me she was everthing. All the work I did,all the trouble I went through was for her. Never taking help from others because I alone wanted to be everything she needed. But when she got diagnosed with cancer ,I knew I would not be enough.but I was still too proud to cry out for help. I’ve already learned that crying out for help goes unanswered. But by some miracle ,this time a kindness from god ,without me even asking ,was granted in the form of a man; my employee. Mr. Ilhum ,my employer was a jolly fat man with a beer belly. Although he was almost fifty,his only child was an eight year old boy. His wife died at childbirth.it was really a sad case .from what I heard,they had been trying for a child for over 8 years.one week after Susane , my sister was diagnosed, he quite accidently found out the doctor’s report . to say he was shocked would be quite an inderstatement.from then on he took over and had susane admitted .money was of no concern to him. When I once asked why he was doing it he said,every one deservers to live their life .according to him he wasn’t doing as any us favours but he was doing something any m,an would do. Yeah right. I am pretty sure there is no one else as crazy as him. Still I wasn’t about to question his sanity,after all , he was saving my sister. Due to susane’s cancer being caught at an early stage, the treatments were able to make her better and in no time,he was back to her old life. Every thing was fine again,but at the back of my mind,the question always remained; how do I ever repay such a kindness?After about a month or so the answer soon came to me when I saw the fire dancing around his house. I was working in the outside garage when I heard shouts .but was got to me the most was the cry of a child. It was filled wit such terror that it send shivers down my spine.forgetting all about my work I rushed towards the  house, I was consumed with horror. What a sight! The two storey white house was no longer a happy picture,but a flaming ball of fire. What was worse was that all the people standing around and trying to put off the fire could see the little boy crying hysterically from the second window,but no one went to help him. Forget about repaying any kindness,all that was going throughmy mind was his crying face. After that everything was hazy due to the huge amount of adreline rushing throught me.but I do remember seeing the relief on the child’s face when I scooped him in my arms. As soon as I got out, the firemen rushed at me wit wet blankets and put me in a stretcher. Mr.Ilhum was standing next to my,with his hands on another stretcher ,tears running freely from his eyes. It was then that I registered that the little boy was his. As the morphine started working it was hard to stay awake,but I do remember the words â€Å" that was one heck of a way to repay a kindness,now I owe you one.†

Theme of Pastoralism in Shakespeare’s as You Like It

William Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’ is probably one of the most famous pastoral comedies of all times. Written around 1599 and published in 1623, its plot was derived from Thomas Lodge’s pastoral romance ‘Rosalynde’. But what is interesting about this play is how Shakespeare, using the features and tropes of a pastoral comedy, undercuts the idea of the pastoral. The pastoral, as a genre, can be said to have had its beginnings with Theocritus’ ‘Idylls’. Other notable works in this genre are Virgil’s ‘Eclogues’ and Longus’ ‘Daphnis and Chloe’. Artificiality and lack of realism are the chief characteristics of this tradition.When the Elizabethans wrote in this tradition, they more or less followed the set conventions. The shepherds with which they peopled their rural landscape were metaphors for amorous lovers, scholar-poets and aristocrats in exile. These poets gave the primacy to cou rtiers who led a shepherd-like existence or merely treated the rural environment as a background to the amours of shepherds and shepherdesses who in their love-behaviour resembled the refined noble-men of the court. ‘As You Like It’ also has these love-lorn figures in characters such as Silvius and Phebe.Yet, it can be clearly seen from their marginalized status in the play that Shakespeare has clearly departed from the convention of ‘pastoralisation’ of the courtly people. 1. The people in Shakespeare’s pastoral are not the dainty shepherds and shepherdesses of the golden world. They are uneducated, plain-spoken, not much concerned with romance, poetry and etiquette. The reason for this far-away-from-reality portrayal of the country people in pastoral romances and poetry was the fact that the authors/poets were a part of a class belonging to the town and court.Their anxieties and pre-occupations with their own socio-politico-economic conditions nece ssitated the construction of an idyllic space, free from all the troubles and tensions. And it was to fulfil this need to escape that they created an almost Eden-like rural world. The pastoral, therefore, became one of the literary forms best suited for an expression of disgust with the court and an admiration for the ‘simple pleasures’ of the country. 2. â€Å"They say he is already in the Forest of Arden, and many a merry men with him; and there they live like the old Robin Hood of England.They say many young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet the time carelessly as they did in the golden world†, says Charles in Act 1, Scene 1 of the play. This sure raises our expectations about the Forest of Arden as a place where life is like a never-ending holiday. In Act 2, Scene 1, Duke Senior also describes the Forest as a place where he finds â€Å"good in everything† and compares it to the Garden of Eden. But in the very same dialogue, he refers to the à ¢â‚¬Å"icy fang/ And churlish chiding of the winter’s wind†. This brings to our notice the less-than-perfect nature of life in Arden.Even when away from the strifes of courtly life, the courtiers and the duke have to bear the â€Å"penalty of Adam†. Each of the character that enters the Forest of Arden considers it as a refuge from the iniquity, restriction, oppression and corruption of the life at court. Rosalind and Celia run away from the court to escape the patriarchal domination of the tyrant Duke Frederick. Orlando and Adam come to the Forest in search of a new life away from the injustice meted out to him by his own brother. Duke Senior and his courtiers remain in the Forest as exiles, having been wronged at the hands of Duke Frederick.But even here Shakespeare inverts this notion by giving each one of them their share of trials and tribulations. It certainly is not an escape into a utopian world as we would like it to be. Each of them reaches the Forest in a state of physical exhaustion and it is not the end of their troubles, what with hunger, extreme weather conditions and struggle for survival staring them in the face. The play also deals with the idea of old world-new world order and uses pastoral as a medium to resolve serious socio-political problems.The society at this point in time was in a state of flux and the aristocracy came to be divided into two categories – One that still set much store by the notions of blood lineage, loyalty and a golden, feudal society where everyone knows his place and the other that adopted the Machiavellian idea of rampant individualism and gain of power for selfish purposes. Shakespeare presents this split in the society in terms of familial conflict between Oliver and Orlando & Duke Senior and Duke Frederick.In denying Orlando his share in his fathers’ fortune and mistreating Adam, Oliver violates the moral law of the traditional order which required the lord to fulfil the patriar chal commitment of ensuring a harmonious social order on his estate. Sir Rowland de Boys is depicted as the epitome of the ideal lord. By virtue of being morally akin to his father, Orlando is loved by everyone. He embodies traditional values of the old feudal order, â€Å"the antique world†. Oliver, being all that his father was not is representative of the new world order.Duke Frederick, similarly, is put in the same moral category when he says, â€Å"The world esteemed [Sir Rowland] honourable/But I did find him still mine enemy. † Not only this, he is an anomaly in the law of primogeniture because he overthrows the rightful inheritor, Duke Senior, who also loves Sir Rowland and thus we hold him in the same light as Orlando. Oliver violates moral law, Duke Frederick violates social law. It is in the Forest of Aden that this violation is corrected and we see the ultimate re-uniting of the Orlando and Oliver when the wronged younger brother saves the life of the very elder brother who had plotted to kill him.And it is after entering the Forest that Duke Frederick realises his folly in usurping the rightful position of his brother and Duke Senior is thus reinstated as the king. The Forest, more importantly the idea of countryside, then works as a place which provides resolution to the conflicts and restores harmony. There is a constant contrast being drawn between the court and the country in the play which undoubtedly presents the country as a better and superior alternative.The move by the characters into the Forest of Arden is seen as a retreat into nature where they are physically and spiritually rejuvenated. It is also a source of learning for the Duke Senior, for he â€Å"Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks/Sermons in stones, and good in everything†. Their stay in the Forest re-instils a sense of confidence in them and they also acquire a degree of self-knowledge. But in spite of this idealization of the country we do not see even one character that completely identifies with it.The pastoral is just a temporary refuge and never a permanent haven. As soon as the familial and social conflicts are resolved, the inhabitants leave the place about which they had eulogised. In Act 1, Scene 1, talking to Adam about Oliver’s unjust behaviour towards him, Orlando describes his gentility against the coarseness of the country people. In saying â€Å"You have trained me like a peasant, obscuring and hiding from me all gentleman-like qualities†, Orlando gives vent to an inherent prejudice against the country folks as uncivilized people.Even when in the Forest, Orlando thinks of the country dwellers as incapable of any civility and the prejudice in him remains intact when he says â€Å"I thought that all things had been savage here†. Duke Senior refers to his days at court as â€Å"better days† with an evident sense of nostalgia in the same scene and draws a contrast between the ord erly life at court and the almost anarchical existence in the Forest when he recalls the â€Å"holy bell [that] knolled to church/ And [when he] sat at good men’s feasts†. This distinction between the court and country is brought out most tellingly in the characters of Touchstone and Corin.Touchstone’s description of himself as a courtier not only parodies the courtiers and their ways but also provides a contrast with the simplicity of Corin, representative of the rural fraternity. We notice a misplaced sense of elitism and superiority seeping in in the behaviour of Touchstone as soon as he enters the Forest when he calls out to Corin as â€Å"you clown† in Act 2, Scene 5 and refers to himself as his â€Å"betters†. The conversation between the two in Act 3, Scene 2 shows the yawning fissures that separated the two classes and precluded any possibility of a democratic exchange of ideas. 3.Touchstone’s answer to Corin’s inquiry about h is feelings for shepherd life underlines the conventions of the pastoral life-â€Å" Truly, shepherd, in respect of itself it is a good life; but in respect that it is a shepherd's life, it is naught. In respect that it is solitary, I like it very well; but in respect that it is private, it is a very vile life. Now, in respect it is in the fields, it pleaseth me well; but in respect it is not in the court, it is tedious. † Corin himself continues this realistic tone when he points out the obvious differences between life in the court and life in the country.The best truce between the two diametrically opposite worlds comes in Corin’s sagacious analysis-â€Å" Those that are good manners at the court are as ridiculous in the country as the behaviour of the country is most mockable at the court† thus establishing that one place is not necessarily better than the other, just different. The relationship that the court people establish with the Forest and the forest- dwellers is almost exploitative in nature. Despite being away from the court physically, they can never really leave behind the court mannerisms and prejudices.We see a new court order being established in the Forest. The Duke and his courtiers are refugees in the forest, but still they become tyrants and usurpers of the place rightfully belonging to the inhabitants. They kill the animals, the natives i. e. , for their own convenience and pleasure. Broken feudal loyalties are strengthened when Duke Sr. meets Orlando and recognises him to be the son of his favourite, Sir Rowland. We see the creation of a social hierarchy when Rosalind and Celia, by virtue of their socio-economic position in the society, enter into a business arrangement’ with Corin and offer to buy his land. Although, he is a native of the Forest and should be economically prosperous, going by the conventions of the pastoral, we are informed that he does not even â€Å"shear the fleeces [he] graze[s]† a nd is servant to a â€Å"churlish master†. Thus unlike the traditional pastoral relationship between the courtier and shepherds which is that of good-natured equality, in Shakespeare’s play the shepherd can only become a host to the ladies by becoming their servant. . Some critics have also read this usurpation of the rights of the natives as a critique of the systemic enclosure of the commons in 17th century England. As mentioned earlier, the retreat into the Forest is not an escape into a utopian world. Rather than simply being an idyllic, innocent site to escape to, Arden is constructed as a neutral space where people are allowed to be themselves, free to create alternate identities and perhaps this is from where the title of the play, ‘As You Like It’, derives. 5.Each character that enters the Forest projects his own personality on to it. So while Duke Sr finds it to be â€Å"idyllic golden world†, almost Eden-like, Orlando calls it â€Å"deser t inaccessible†. Rosalind and Celia meet a pleasant sheepcote â€Å"fenced with olive trees† on entering the Forest while Oliver is greeted by a snake with drawn fangs and a lioness ready to kill him. So a retreat into Arden can be seen as a metaphor for the retreat into ones soul. It becomes the mirror of their minds, reflecting their thoughts onto their situations.Rosalind and Celia escape the unpleasant and restricted atmosphere of the court and don new identities in the Forest. While Celia chooses the name Aliena, representative of her state of mind, Rosalind forges an altogether new identity for herself by choosing to dress up like a man as Ganymede. By doing this, Rosalind draws upon the latent courage and resilience of her character. She becomes a working woman, independent of all male control, something which the orderly and patriarchal world of the court would not have permitted.A subversion of the gender stereotypes is also happening in the relationship of Orl ando and Rosalind in the Forest where Orlando roams about looking for her and inscribing eulogies as proof of his love for Rosalind on tree barks and she tests his love in the garb of Ganymede. Orlando, whom we had seen as a man who knows his worth and potential but is unable to actualise it due to his situation in society, transforms into a most ardent lover as he is given the freedom to express his love. The loyal courtier in him is accorded its true worth when Duke Sr recognises him as the son of Sir Rowland de Boys.Thus the entry into Forest can also be seen as a symbolic quest to determine one’s identity. In so far as all the action of the play takes place in the Forest of Arden, it is of prime importance. But as we have noticed, the retreat into Arden is not a permanent move on the part of the court dwellers. The stay in the Forest is a means to and not the end itself, the end being resolution of all social and familial conflicts. And Shakespeare very well uses the past oral tradition to achieve this resolution.