Two essay questions on Hamlet - Final #2

"Evil Step-mother" is a common term for children all over the world. Although some children claim that they like their step parents, It is much more common for kids to have intolerance towards newly adopted parents. There have been many movies and plays throughout history that deal with rotten stepparents, and many times rotten stepchildren. They seem to be depicted in many different ways, at many different times in history.

Firstly, Cinderella is a fairy tale that is based completely around the abuse she recieves from her "Evil Step-mother and Step-sisters." Her step-mom is shown as downright horrible with acts ranging from making her do all the chores to not allowing her to go to a ball that all women in the town are required to go to. She is so hated, that in the film-adaptation of the story, Her and the stepsisters are all ugly, and their cat is named "Lucifer." As many people know, Lucifer was Satan's name before he was cast down to hell in the Bible.

Although my parents recently divorced, I haven't had much experience with Step Parents. My mother does have a boyfriend, and he seems to be a very nice guy. My mother has talked about when she was a child, she had a step mother her treated her terribly. In my opinion, the reason why Step parents have such a bad reptuation is because of the psychological effects of a divorce on a child. No child handles divorce exceptionally well, and many children have a terrible problem with change. Whether the newcomer is rude or not, a child still has a preset for where their mommy or daddy used to be, and all they really seem to understand is that the situation has changed.

The hardest barrier for many children to overcome is the change. Facing and accepting the change is such a challenge, especially if their real mommy or daddy has no idea how to deal with a divorce. Its very hard for parents to be compassionate with their children when they're so wrapped up in trying to finalize something as big as a divorce, no matter how long they've been together. Step Parents have it tough too, because all they did was fall in love with someone, and sometimes dealing with a child isn't an adult's strong point.

Alternatively, Sometimes a step realtionship works out for the better. I've known people whose dad's or mom's have walked out before they were even out of the womb. They adopt a new parent as their own, no questions asked. Sometimes the people that father the children aren't necissarily the ones who should be their "dad." If i've noticed anything, it is that children dealing with unkind step parents may be scarred, but they are always stronger because of it. My mother had gone through 3 divorces as a child, Which means there was alot of change and instability. So when she decided that she couldn't be with my dad anymore, she had the compassion and caring that her mother and my own father couldn't seem to give.

As much as history depicts unkind and mean stepparents and even step children, there is a reality to having these people that shows true caring also. As much as I wouldn't want to have a step-dad or step-mom, I would truly want to see my own parents happy.

Two Essay Questions on Hamlet - Final #1

"Madness in Great ones must not unwatched go." There is plenty of truth in that one simple statement. When one observes the world from a quiet standpoint, it is easy to see the people that could very easily end up ruining a society, and corrupting good hearts. Of course the way one is viewed by anyone is a matter of opinion, for instance, Neo-Nazis and the KKK still exist, and they believe with every inkling of their being that they're fighting for a great cause.

A perfect example to validate this statement would be the Holocaust. Hitler had many followers at first, he was viewed as a great leader and had the support of many. People trusted him and thought him to be someone who could greatly help out the world. But after awhile, his true colors began to show through, his cause was revealed to the world, and those trusting followers began to be his fearing followers. His plan was literally to slaughter millions of innocent people for reasons that made sense to him, and really no one else. What makes this piece of history even worse is that there are still people who support his cause. Before the 2008 elections, two Neo-Nazis were arrested for conspiring to asassinate Obama before votes were even in. Although many do no support Obama, there is no reason to end his life because of the color of his skin.

Although World Leaders and Politicians are usually the prime candidates for issues of morality, there is another kind of morally indecent people that are loved by the hearts of many: Movie stars and Musicians. Hollywood seems to be the breeding ground for indecency, crudeness, and exploitation. America has watched as many innocent young girls have been put up on the silver screen in cute Disney movies, only to expose themselves in a nude magazine 2 or 3 years later. The worst part about hollywood is that it accepts actors and musicians at any age. For instance, Britney Spears was merely 16 when she released her first single, and now in her late twenties, she's battling the paparazzi and exposing herself on camera. It's funny how America has no tolerance for sex-offenders and pedophiles, and yet many underage actresses flaunt themselves to males everywhere, young or old. Many young girls look up to these actresses, and their lifestyles become more "acceptable" every day.

Societies seem to have many problems when it comes to keeping up with their great ones. In times of hardship, people look to anyone for some kind of solace, which is precisely the time that greedy hearts take the stand. Rulers and "Great Ones" before would suck the hope out of their societies when their people would find out something terrible about them. People would feel betrayed and let down, depressed and even angry. Now finding dirt on someone with power is considered fascinating, and exciting. Citizens can't wait to find some kind of corruption or scandal that these higher-ups get involved in. And that is how America has evolved.

One can never trust a politician, never trust a doctor, never trust their big screen heroes. All these psychological problems are beginning to develop in America, and no one can understand why. It's because no one listens to their gut instincts. America, and every other country in the world listens with their eyes and ears, because no one trusts their hearts anymore.

Are you a thinker or a doer?

While i ponder things and sometimes dwell, i do try my hardest to get things done.
As an introvert, i tend to think about things quite a bit, think about different scenarios and
situations, and act according to what i think will work out. Sometimes I get impulsive, just because i get tired of thinking about things. I usually tend to observe things around me and act according to what i've seen. For exmaple, if someone i know has gotten a ticket around the cottonwood area for something stupid like tinted windows, I would then drive slower, watch my speed, stop at the stop signs for a bit longer, and try and make sure there is no reason for a CHP to pull me over. I guess you could call it paranoia, but the way i see it, getting pulled over too would just be my luck.
Personally sometimes I wish that I were different when it came to taking risks. As an observer, I constantly calculate what would happen if something were to go wrong, or what could go wrong. The funny thing is, when it comes to life situations, most of the time I'm an optimistic and hopeful soul. But when it comes to myself, many times i assume that the world is out to get me. If i could change the way i am, i would also try to find reason to be more motivated. All my life i feel like i've been in denial of growing up, and ive seen the world for what it is, which is most of the time quite cruel. I dont want to let my fears get the best of me, because the biggest risk you ever take is to not take any risks at all.

Spying on your Kids

In all honesty, i think that spying on your children is alot more okay than it was back in the day.
Back in the day, there was no Myspace or Facebook, no public chatrooms or MMORPGs that
allowed your children to communicate with perverts and pedophiles. I still think that invading your kid's privacy behind their backs is wrong, invading personal space is traumatizing, whether your'e 6 or 25 years old.
I think that theres a lot of kids out there that get treated quite badly because their parents are paranoid. It's different when kids are visibly problematic, looking stoned all the time or starting to wear less than appropriate attire. Or If you're worried about their self-esteem, like they may have suicidal tendencies.
Kids are very impressionable, and yet they're all different. I think the steps that parents take to protect their children need to be out of love and not out of anger. If you're worried about your kid, then thats one thing, but invading their personal space is not a good reward for achievement and effort, especially if your kid is already on the sensitive side.
If a parent truly cares about their kid, then they should be able to find the courage to confront them. Spying on them and going through their personal things is taking just as big of a risk as confronting them, if not bigger. Kids may be impressionable, but they also have feelings and need to be able to understand why parents have to know about certain things. Building a relationship is hundreds of times more important then trying to find out whether or not they're smoking dope or having sex.

Polonious's Advice

My parents have always told me that keeping your friends and family close is
what keeps you sane. That even though alot of people will come and go,
there are always those few that will stay with you forever.
The funny thing i've noticed is that they're never who you think they'll be.
For instance, i have a friend i've known since 2nd grade, she's always been someone
i can have fun with. As of freshman year, i got a boyfriend whom i still love very dearly.
The funniest thing was that she, being my "best" friend, decided that after my parents got a divorce and my grandmother died in the same year, would not speak to me or even really try to make contact anymore because i wasn't trying hard enough.
You know who was there though? Yep, you bet, my boyfriend. He's been here for me, through good times and bad, and has always been my shoulder to lean on. He treats me so well and he tries so hard to make me happy. Which is already easy enough for him.

I've realized that he is my best friend, and thats okay :)

It hurts knowing that the people you think are the greatest end up showing their true colors when times are hard.
It's nice knowing that there are people who will actually talk to you at the same level you ponder life. That people will get into conversation deeply with you and all it does is bring you closer.
Ive kept Dustin close because sometimes i feel like he's all i have, but i also understand that the only thing constant in the world is change. I'm trying to get my relationship with my family strong again, its just been hard trying to adjust to all these changes.

Revenge

In our family, there is a woman who we consider a terror. She is selfish,
spineless, and treats so many people with disrespect it's disgusting.
She tries so hard to get into everyone's business, and continually hurts other people
because of her own lack of self-esteem.
A few years ago when my grandmother was still alive, this woman (who we will call "Bertha" for privacy's sake) decided to harass my grandma about a subject that she had no reason to get into. My grandmother was one of the sweetest, kindest people you would ever talk to, and she would do anything for anyone. Bertha, one day, decided that there was a family heirloom that belonged to her and only her, that my grandmother happened to give to my aunt.
My great grandmother had given my grandmother a string of pearls that meant very much to her, and said directly to her "Now helen, give these to the granddaughters to wear on their wedding day." So my grandmother passed them on to my aunt, who was to pass them down to her daughter. Bertha decided that they were her pearls, and that she would take my sweet grandmother to court just to get them back. My grandmother was on a respirator, about 68, and
could barely get out of the house without an oxygen pack. Needless to say my father was downright furious. As revenge, he took the string of pearls to a jeweler and had them split into
bracelets, which he passed out to Bertha, my aunt, and my other aunt.
Bertha was furious, and refused to speak to my father after that. He was called a few choice words, which didnt really mean a thing to him, and then kicked out of their house.
To this day, the pearls are distributed to everyone evenly, just to shut dear Bertha up.

The big one?

The idea of our 3 major american automakers merging makes me downright sick.
There's so many different factors you have to take in for the civilians when considering
that kind of a merge. Firstly, them merging is pretty much a monopoly of sorts, and
that means they can charge whatever they want, treat customers however they want,
and not having competition means that there's no drive for better, faster and more efficient vehicles. I feel like this kind of a merge will take away from the American spirit, as much
as that may already be dissipating.
What annoys me about this recession is that no one realizes that this is part
of our economic cycle. No one understands that things prosper for awhile and then either
very quickly or very subtly decline. I disagree with this guy, i think that he's missed major points
about the idea of an auto merger.