The Rise of Vampires Essay Example for Free

The Rise of Vampires Essay Vampires have become prominent protagonists and antagonists in numerous books, poems, movies and television series. As such, their origin and basis have become quite vague. The rise of the concept of vampires is capable of many interpretations in various cultures and localities. However, this scattering of cultural roots only serves to promote the theory that vampires are real. This paper will show that vampirism is nothing more than a misunderstood medical condition manifesting in particular groups of persons. Moreover, vampirism has evolved to become simply a literary tool for creative writers and film makers. At the present time a vampire is typically characterized as a creature that feasts on the blood of humans (Barber, 6). Literature has adorned vampires with several other features other than the typical drinking of blood. From the different interpretations of authors it may be shown that a vampire was believed to have fangs, to be vulnerable to sunlight, and to be immortal (Bunson, 131). During the early descriptions of vampires they were also characterized as having purplish bruises on their skin or as having dark skin. In recent literary descriptions however the vampire has taken on a simple depiction as having pale white skin. The most popular depiction of a vampire is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dracula was portrayed as an antagonist in the story and he became quite feared because of his prowess in victimizing those whose blood he sought. In later years the vampire would also play the role of protagonist either fighting against its own kind, such as in the 1998 movie Blade. The vampire would also be pitted against other folklore creatures such as the werewolf, as in the 2003 movie Underworld or in the Stephenie Meyer saga Twilight. Despite the changes that vampires have undergone the literary creations have to be set aside to understand whether there is factual or historical basis to support the claims propounded. It was found that a Romanian prince, Vlad, had once used unusual methods of executing his enemies by having their heads chopped off and impaled on top of a long pole (Florescu, 148-149). The blood dripping down the pole would then be collected into goblets from which Vlad the Impaler would drink (Florescu, 149). He is said to have partly inspired the creation of the character Count Dracula. The Countess Dracula is far removed from Vlad the Impaler. Elizabeth Bathory was said to have participated in the killing of numerous virgins and women (McNally, 59). The killing of 600 women were imputed upon Bathory although she was only convicted for the killing of 80 (McNally, 59). Rumors as to her purpose for doing so grew and expanded to involve vampire-like attributions. Apart from the imputation of vampire evolution on such historic figures, vampirism has also been theorized to be related to the onset of porphyrias. This is an illness which manifests with purplish bruising on the skin and with heightened sensitivity to sunlight (Warren, Rohl, Hunt, 54). Because these symptoms were closely related and similar to the characterizations of early vampires, patients suffering from this illness were often subjected to suspicion, fear, and stigma. However, the associations between vampirism and porphyrias have been largely disqualified and greatly contested. The symptoms related to vampire characteristics are few and paint a limited picture of what porphyrias truly is. Vlad the Impaler was found to have suffered from this disease, showing why people may have established a connection between vampires and the disease. However, many historical figures were found to have suffered from the disease as well and the only attributable cause was the in-breeding practices of nobles in the old days. Porphyrias is a genetic disorder and so the probability of manifestation is increased when both parents have histories of the disease in their bloodline (McNally, 148). King George III is suspected of having suffered from this disease as evidenced by his actions evidencing delusion and insanity (Warren et al. , 294). This theory finds a stronger foothold in light of the lineage of King George III. Mary Queen of Scots, a direct ascendant of King George III was found to have had well documented attacks attributable to porphyrias, as did her father James V of Scotland (Warren et al. , 285). The above discussions show that vampirism is no more than a series of atrocities conducted by historical figures and related diseases associated with them. The misconstruing of the relations between the atrocities and diseases have led to the evolution of a mythical creature known as the vampire. However, despite the historical bases, there is no evidence to show that the vampire of lore exists or ever existed. The incontrovertible conclusion is that vampires are mere character tools in literature and filmmaking injecting mystery into a setting similar to our own surroundings. Works Cited Barber, Paul. Vampires, Burial and Death: Folklore and Reality. New York: Yale University Press, 1988. Bunson, Matthew. The Vampire Encyclopedia. London: Thames Hudson, 1993. Florescu, Radu R. , and McNally, Raymond T. In Search of Dracula. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. McNally, Raymond T. Dracula Was a Woman: In Search of the Blood Countess of Transylvania. New York: McGraw Hill, 1983. Warren, Martin, Rohl, John C. G. , and Hunt, David C. Purple secret: genes, madness and the Royal houses of Europe. London: Bantam, 1998.

The Concept Of Power In Politics Essay examples -- essays research pap

The Meaning of Power   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The instrumental character of power is that of a â€Å"means to an end.† It includes the tools, resources, and abilities used to pursue goals. The meaning of power and its role in politics is understood first with a background of its dual nature. De jure refers to the theory of power. The concept of â€Å"absolute power,† considers tangible factors. When comparing nations’ power, money and gross national product are units of measure; the United States is more powerful than Mexico. Army size and strength are also measurable. World powers, such as the U.S., Britain, and Japan, defeat countries with smaller, weaker armies. From an objective standpoint, tangible assets make a country a world power. But world powers and their leaders also possess intangible qualities. De facto is the subjective aspect of power that is immeasurable. Charisma, such as that of Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King, could not be described, but made them successful leaders. The â€Å"will to win† or morale of people, especially athletes, is power. De facto power is continually changing because of the relative character of power, to time, situation, and contending parties. When power is applied in interaction with contending parties, the situational factors of power and politics come into play. Power is initially proven in a political situation through credibility. The opposing party’s belief that you have power and will use it makes them take you seriously. I...

Critical Analysis Top Dog Under Dog

While booth is n awkward person, he tends to try to take the easy way out by doing illegal stunts such as robbery which causes a turning point in the play. In this analysis I Am mainly arguing whether this story was a reenactment of the death of Abraham Lincoln; when he was killed by John Wilkes Booth in an assassination. My main argument is whether it was a racial thing to reenact the assassination but using African Americans in poverty to contribute the roles of one of the biggest assassinations in U.S Offence 2 history. Both brothers going through rough times and Lincoln getting fired and being out of a job. They both have nothing to rely on but Booth thinks getting his brother Lincoln back into the game will change their financial stance significantly. The use of â€Å"Lincoln† and â€Å"Booth† provides a means of rewriting history in terms of an ironic textually and a parodied reversal. This becomes a case of laughter in which Parks' ironic use of the names works t o undermine the social history of the US and slavery.This irony is the fact that Lincoln arcade job is an Abraham Lincoln impersonator, assassinated daily by paying customers. This figure of the black man playing as a white man. As the figures of the white assassin can be made black, these become roles which any individual can take up in his or her own celebration. Yet, what this shows is that such imagery is not merely a formal of history, but rather that it encodes a deeper logic. That is, beneath the play of names and the reversal of black and white, Top dog/Underdog plays on the logic of chance and inevitability.On the one hand, the characters' narrative fate is preordained by their names; on the other hand, they have a choice, a chance to rewrite the historical narrative f Booth killing Lincoln. That the black Booth kills the black Lincoln in the end is explained through the logic that blacks Offence 3 have no one to blame but themselves for black on black violence; it is a mat ter of â€Å"individual† responsibility. Context: Topped/Underdog is in time era of about roughly 1 ass's. These late summer nights puts two grown brothers in a tiny boardinghouse room to work through their past, present, and possible futures.The room is rented by the younger of the two, Booth, a petty thief and wannabe threaded Monte street cutlers; the rent is paid by the elder brother, Lincoln, an arcade performer and former card hustler who has sworn off the cards. Characters: Booth (cards) is a black male who is little brother to Lincoln. He is a daily thief who steals everything he desires. Booth is a guy who thinks he is a know it all but in reality is just a crazy bipolar idiot who thinks he has a plan for everything. Booth tries to learn the hustle game 3 card Monte by pressuring his brother Lincoln into teaching his the cheats and skills of the game.Drop out in school and tells everyone lies o get what he wants such as making Links wife have an affair. He is the mur derer because he kills his brother Lincoln in an Offence 4 altercation where Booth felt as if his brother Link robbed him of his entire inheritance Lincoln (Link) is a Black male in his ass's. He is big brother to Booth. Lincoln is a relaxed chilled character who keeps small. He went to school and worked at an arcade imposing as honest Abe to make a living at a low pay salary. He used to hustle people for their money in a game called card Monte. Ft the gang and hustler life to save his life and get on the eight track because he seen his partner get murdered. Link is very unconfined in his motives and feels that whatever he wants to do is not the right way such as when he is goanna lose his job; he overreacts and is not confident that he will not get his job back. Link is smart; he learns from his mistakes when his friend was murdered. Grace is a Smart intelligent woman who is studying cosmetology. She dates Booth and is supposedly in love with Booth since she was a little girl so sa ys Booth. She is beautiful; she knows how to have a lot of fun and knows what she wants in life.

Personal Theory of Practice - 873 Words

Personal theory of practice assignment The professional development of a teacher can be a challenging task yet not impossible. During the process of this course I have learned how to face this challenge. However developing my own ideas and style of language teaching is still a work in progress. As a prospective language teacher I take in all methods and principles this course as given me. In doing so I believe it will make me a better professional. This course has presented me with some thoughts ELT teachers need to have once the period of formal training is over. Teaching starts with the teacher seeking to get a better understanding of her class and how to connect with them. Once the teacher establishes what her students interests and views are, finding the right teaching assessment will be an easier task I think. As the upper secondary school National Curriculum (2011, p.103) states â€Å"It is important to keep in mind that, the competence levels describe the knowledge, skill and competence that characterizes students regardless of school level. Thus pupils in compulsory school are studying a Nordic language or English at the first competence level as students in upper secondary schools who are studying a new language. The time for acquiring the competence that characterizes each competence level may differ from one pupil to anotherâ€Å". 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