The Critique for Bassanios speech

The Critique for Bassanios speech Free Online Research Papers In the play, â€Å"The Merchant of Venice† a Shakespearean comedy by William Shakespeare, the author expresses the idea of appearances versus the intentions in reality through Bassanio’s speech (3.2.73-107). This speech takes place when Bassanio is deciding which of the three caskets: contains the portrait of Portia but more importantly the grant to marry Portia and to be given all her inheritance. Bassanio reveals that the gold and silver caskets are too threatening based on the caskets’ looks and picks the lead casket which as we know did have the portrait of Portia. Through the use of literary devices such as figurative language, symbols, imagery, tone, form of the passage, and narrative voice, Shakespeare reveals the idea of appearance versus the intensions behind the characters and significant objects in The Merchant of Venice. He also discusses that first impressions can be deceiving by covering up the truth or intentions behind the people or objects. Shakespeare uses imagery, tone, and symbols: throughout the passage to suggest the intentions of objects are not what they are appeared to be. â€Å"The world† really hasn’t change based on the idea that it â€Å"is still deceived by ornament†. People still have different intentions that they appear to have, and they still try to trick others into getting their own way. The world is â€Å"so tainted and corrupt† that â€Å"the outward shows be least themselves.† Even â€Å"in law†, there are things that are â€Å"seasoned with a gracious voice [that] obscures the show of evil† which is referring to the government that is covering up its selfish behavior from the public for the leader’s self interests of money and riches. Shakespeare also uses â€Å"religion† as an object that is â€Å"hiding the grossness with fair ornament† which is their god Jesus and all its followers: hiding the true about Christianity and its evil doings from the rest of the world and the youth. Shakespeare compares and contrast ‘cowards† to different objects and people. Their â€Å"hearts are as false as stair of sand†, hearts usually represent love, bravery and are the color red but to compare it to something like sand which have no life, either very hot or cold and which is yellow shows that Shakespeare is showing that these cowards may look the same in â€Å"the outward show† but what is inside is a whole different object. Shakespeare mentions â€Å"the beards of Hercules and Mars† to be â€Å"upon [the cowards’] chins† to show how the cowards are wearing something to be seen as wise but when ‘inward search’d, [they] have livers white as milk.† Shakespeare says their livers are white: livers are usually red and refer to the seed of courage, so Shakespeare brings forth the idea that these cowards have no courage as their livers are milk and that they do n’t have a hint of red or courage in them. Shakespeare uses â€Å"beauty† as something that can appearance fake by â€Å"purchased by the weight† through products like makeup which â€Å"work a miracle in nature† since there is basically no difference in real or fake beauty in today’s times but â€Å"the woman who wear it the most are respected the least† (line 19 of passage) this refers to the women who are prostitutes and hooker in the past as they dress up themselves and are not respected. Makeup is similar to a â€Å"beauteous scarf† that is â€Å"veiling an Indian beauty† as it covers the face of the person inside, but it may have the intentions to fool as it could be used to hide an inconvenient truth about them. â€Å"Crisp snaky golden locks, which make such wanton gambols with the wind,† create an image of beauty â€Å"upon supposed fairness† but it is soon broken when Shakespeare reveals that the golde n locks of hair may have been fake and that they are from a â€Å"dowry of a second head, the skull that bred [the golden hairs is in] the sepulchre† or tomb. The skull is linked to the gold casket so here the golden casket is compared to a tomb to represent the life entrapment to the rules that Portia’s suitors had to accept. â€Å"The guiled shore† may seem nice to sailor in a â€Å"dangerous sea† but it avoid the fact that the cunning shore may have greater danger than the stormy sea itself. Gold is used as a symbol of â€Å"ornament† that is existent â€Å"to entrap the wisest† like how there was â€Å"hard food for Midas,† but lead is â€Å"pale and common† â€Å"which rather threatenest that dost promise aught.† Bassanio feels the gold and silver casket are threatening and the lead casket though it is common will promise the most. Bassanio last phrase â€Å"joy be the consequence† leaves his faith upon god but it is unclear if he has realized Portia’s hints about which casket containing her portrait. Shakespeare further develops the idea of appearances may not be the same as the intentions of the objects or people in this play as it could be used to fool. Shakespeare applies figurative language like similes, and allusions in Bassanio’s speech to state the misconception between the intentions of what is real and what is not. He uses an allusion when describing â€Å"in religion†¦hiding the grossness with fair ornament†, refers to how Christianity is the eyes of Christians is non threatening but the truth is covered up by the elders which is that Christians â€Å"approve with a text† says that you must believe in Christianity or you will go to hell. The imposing of religion onto non Christians believers is the evil that is ornament by the force of the people believing in that religion. Allusions referring to â€Å"Herculesand Mars†, are contrasted to â€Å"cowards, whose hearts are all as false†. Hercules is the son of Zeus and Mars is the god of war. He compares Hercules’s and Mars’s beards to the beards of cowards that â€Å"are as false as stairs of sand, {that they} wear yet upo n their chins.† These cowards are wearing a noble beard on their chins to disguise themselves to appear as mature and brave men. It is ironic that Bassanio is saying that appearances and the intentions of a person or object don’t some reflect upon each other, because Bassanio had borrowed money from Antonio to impress Portia and become a suitor for her: so he had used appearance to deceive and cover up the truth about himself. The theme also reflects on the irony how the objects used in the speech relate to Portia some way or another who is seen as an innocent little girl but as we find out later in the play is actually very clever and smart like how she used the ring as a certain control over Bassanio and how she saved Antonio of his bond with Shylock. â€Å"[Every sin in the world manages to make itself look good somehow]† (lines 8-9) is a hyperbole since not are sins are covered up and people know the truth of some but certainly not all. â€Å" The hearts [o f cowards] are all as false as stairs of sand† since cowards have fake intentions and are not true at heart this also raises up the question if Bassanio is a coward since at first his intentions were Portia’s wealth but throughout the story is unclear if Bassanio loves Portia or her wealth. Shakespeare uses religion as in the allusion â€Å"veiling an Indian beauty† which refers to the Indian customs that a woman must cover her face during her marriage, Shakespeare uses this to describe the scarf that cover the face as an ornament to cover what is inside. â€Å"Midas† is a god who had an ability to turn anything to gold with a single touch but the first impressions of this ability overlooked the long term effects which were that Midas had issues eating food because it turned to gold. There irony when Bassanio says â€Å"skull† which we known was in the golden casket but how did he know. Shakespeare uses figurative language to express the idea of fi rst appearances can be deceiving based on the person’s or object’s intentions. Shakespeare utilizes narrative voice, form and structure of Bassanio’s passage, to further reflect upon the uncertainty of what is real or fake. The speech Bassanio says before he makes a decision about which casket he will choose, is 35 lines. Certainly, the passage’s length is relative to the time Bassanio is taking his time to choose the casket since his future is determined by the outcome of his choice. He wants to be seen as a very wise man like â€Å"Hercules and mars†, which is why he is taking his time and explaining his decision. Since Portia has been giving hints to Bassanio about which casket contains her portrait, it is questionable if he is really thinking about his choice or just improvising to present himself as a wise man and it is questionable if he does or doesn’t realize the hints that Portia is giving. This uncertainty where Bassanio is either fake or true goes back to the theme of appearance versus reality where Bassanio has either re alized Portia’s hints and improvising for time or if he is really thinking about his decision. The purpose of Bassanio saying â€Å"the world is still deceived with ornament†¦ [and]seasoned with a gracious voice† refers to how he thinks the gold and silver caskets are â€Å"so tainted and corrupt† as they are disguised with golden and silver ornament to hide their evil intentions â€Å"to entrap the wisest†. Explaining that the golden and silver caskets are deceiving as they â€Å"[hide their] grossness with fair ornament† which he says â€Å"obscures the show of evil†. He likes the â€Å"paleness† of the lead casket, chooses it based on it unthreatening appearance and because the lead casket â€Å"rather [than threatening, it] promise you† fortune which later on we find the Bassanio was right and the lead casket had all the fortune. Certainly as all the other suitors had explained their choices of casket, Bassanio had t o with this passage. There are many uncertainties about why Bassanio said his passage. There are some ideas about his purpose. First, Portia is related to these symbols in some way, so it is strange that Bassanio is saying these things to Portia and her followers. He could being saying something about Portia or is a just a coincidence. Secondly, Bassanio could be referring to himself since he uses appearance to impress Portia by showing other people’s wealth and how he could be a coward wearing a noble beard by him saying this wise speech about the casket. Furthermore, Bassanio may have realized Portia’s hints and expressed this speech as a cover up of his truth like the theme of the passage. Shakespeare uses form, structure of the passage and the narrative voice to further develop the concept of appearances covering up the intentions of the person or object. In the play, â€Å"Merchant of Venice† by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare presents an idea of the appearance of objects and characters versus the truth or reality behind them and their true intentions. By the use of symbols, imagery, tone, figurative language, narrative voice and form of Bassanio’s passage, Shakespeare develops the character of Bassanio and talks about many key objects and people in the play. Times haven’t really changed from Shakespearean times based on people and objects, now more than ever, try to deceive people since the assumed intentions based on first appearance are almost never the same as the intentions of that object or person in reality. Today, society is stilled fooled and baffled from shocking incidences and we still haven’t learned from the past. Research Papers on The Critique for Bassanio's speechHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsMind TravelWhere Wild and West MeetHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenHip-Hop is ArtCapital PunishmentRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Laws That Protect Your Right to Vote

Laws That Protect Your Right to Vote No American who is qualified to vote should ever be denied the right and opportunity to do so. That seems so simple. So basic. How can government by the people work if certain groups of the people are not allowed to vote? Unfortunately, in our nations history, some people have been, either intentionally or unintentionally, denied their right to vote. Today, four federal laws, all enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice, work in concert to ensure that all Americans are allowed to register to vote and enjoy an equal opportunity to cast a ballot on election day. Preventing Racial Discrimination in Voting For many years some states enforced laws clearly intended to prevent minority citizens from voting. Laws requiring voters to pass reading or intelligence tests, or pay a poll-tax denied the right to vote the most basic right in our form of democracy to untold thousands of citizens until the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Also See: How to Report Voter Rights Violations The Voting Rights Act protects every American against racial discrimination in voting. It also ensures the right to vote to people for whom English is a second language. The Voting Rights Act applies to elections for any political office or ballot issue held anywhere in the nation. Most recently, the federal courts have used the Voting Rights Act to end practices amounting to racial discrimination in the way some states elected their legislative bodies, and chose their election judges and other polling place officials. Voter Photo ID Laws Twelve states now have laws requiring voters to show some form of photo identification in order to vote, with about 13 more considering similar laws. The federal courts are currently struggling to decide whether some or all of these laws violate the Voting Rights Act. More states moved to adopt photo ID voting laws in 2013, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Voting Rights Act did not allow the U.S. Department of Justice to automatically apply federal oversight of new election laws in states with histories of racial discrimination. While supporters of photo voter ID laws argue that they help prevent voter fraud, critics like the American Civil Liberties Union, cite studies showing that up to 11% of Americans lack an acceptable form of photo ID. Persons most likely to not have acceptable photo ID include minorities, elderly and disabled persons, and financially disadvantaged persons. State photo voter ID laws come in two forms: strict and non-strict. In strict photo ID law states, voters without an accepted form photo ID – driver’s license, state ID, passport, etc. are not allowed to cast a valid ballot. Instead, they are allowed to fill out â€Å"provisional† ballots, which remain uncounted until they are able to produce an accepted ID. If the voter does not produce a an accepted ID within a short period of time after the election, their ballot is never counted. In non-strict photo ID law states, voters without an accepted form photo ID are allowed to use alternative types of validation, such as signing an affidavit swearing to their identification or having a poll worker or election official vouch for them. In August 2015, a federal appeals court ruled that a Texas strict voter ID law discriminated against black and Hispanic voters and thus violated the Voting Rights Act. One of the strictest in the nation, the law required voters to produce a Texas driver’s license; U.S. passport; a concealed-handgun permit; or an election identification certificate issued by the State Department of Public Safety. While the Voting Rights Act still prohibits states from enacting laws intended to disenfranchise minority voters, whether photo ID laws do so or not, remains to be determined by the courts. Gerrymandering Gerrymandering is the process of employing the process of â€Å"apportionment† to improperly redraw the boundaries of state and local election districts in a way that tends to predetermine the results of elections by diluting the voting power of certain groups of people. For example, gerrymandering has been used in the past to â€Å"break up† election districts populated by mainly black voters, thus lessening the chances of black candidates being elected to local and state offices. Unlike photo ID laws, gerrymandering almost always violates the Voting Rights Act, because it typically targets minority voters. Equal Access to the Polls for Disabled Voters Approximately 1 in five eligible American voters has a disability. Failing to provide disabled persons easy and equal access to polling places is against the law. The  Help America Vote Act of 2002  requires the states to ensure that voting systems, including voting machines and ballots, and polling places are accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, the law require that assistance at the polling place is available to people with limited English skills. As of Jan. 1, 2006, every voting precinct in the nation is required to have at least one voting machine available and accessible to persons with disabilities. Equal access is defined as providing persons with disabilities the same opportunity for participation in voting, including privacy, independence and assistance, afforded other voters. To help in evaluating a precincts compliance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the Justice Department provides this handy  checklist for polling places. Voter Registration Made Easy The National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also called the Motor Voter law, requires all states to offer voter registration and assistance at all offices where people apply for drivers licenses, public benefits or other government services. The law also prohibits the states from removing voters from the registration rolls simply because they have not voted. The states are also required to ensure the timeliness of their voter registration rolls by regularly removing voters who have died or moved. Our Soldiers Right to Vote The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986 requires the states to ensure that all members of the U.S. armed forces who are stationed away from home, and citizens who are living overseas, can register and vote absentee in federal elections.