Fast Food Disaster Essay

Fast food chains have taken over America, but this is not a good thing. Obesity has become one of the biggest problems the United States of America. Anywhere from 25 – 30% of children, and 50% of adults are obese. Where does this obesity come from? Fast food chains with processed foods, “mystery meats”, and “sugar shocked” pops are major contributors to this widespread problem of obesity. What about this food is so bad for us? It is the trans fats that are in tasty products straight from our favorite fast food chains. This world has a rising amount of the popular fast food restaurants, which contain foods packed with trans fats, and do not contain enough essential fatty acids (EFA’s). The rising popularity of fast food chains, and percentage of obese people needs to be stopped.

The Fast food industry has had a tremendous outbreak of popularity since they first came into existence. In the course of two years 25,000 fast food restaurants were built. That is an amazing number. McDonalds itself spends over half a BILLION dollars a year promoting their “culture” of eating. No company could have that much advertising money unless it was extremely popular. That is where our problem starts. The popularity of fast food has come from being a small problem to being a worldwide problem. No matter what continent you are on chances are you will find at least 1 fast food restaurant because of the never fading popularity of fast food.

Many studies have been performed having to do with McDonalds because of how popular it is. Most people would probably guess that almost everyone knows what Christianity is. However, McDonalds is more widely known. In a study done with children, the researchers found that the Golden Arch, found on McDonalds signs, was more recognized then the Christian cross. McDonalds has also created a mascot. His name is Ronald McDonald. I would be very surprised if I walked into a room of 20 American children and found that none of them know whom Ronald McDonald is or what the Golden Arch symbolizes. 96% of children know who Ronald McDonald is. That SECONDS him to Santa Clause whether they believe in him or not. McDonalds is known to most every American child.

Kids today eat too much as it is, and a lot of what they eat isn’t healthy. The large amount of advertisement from McDonalds contributes to this. If children know so much about McDonalds, you would guess that they would have eaten there. Surveys that have been taken say that most people eat McDonalds at least once a month. A study that was performed said that immigrant children coming to America, even with all their poverty and lack of good health care, are healthier then the everyday American child. Instead of eating processed foods, they eat more fruits, vegetables, and grains. Of course over time, every immigrant child will be sucked up into the contagious American way, and develop our unhealthy eating habits. The amount of obese children has increased by 50% in the last 20 years.

Almost everyone knows that fast food is bad for you. With the media highlighting every bad thing in the world it is hard to not know that. Most of us do not realize that it is not only bad for our health, but a threat to it as well. Some may know about the calories in it, which in just one meal can be enough for the day.

Very few may even know about the bad meat. So they think I wont eat the hamburger, I’ll have French fries instead. I know I used to think that, but the French fries are worse, because of the “partially hydrogenated” oils they are cooked in. Amazing isn’t it? There is virtually no way to make fast food good for you.

Ok, now I would guess your wondering what in the food is bad for you, so I will tell you that it is the trans fats. To most of you that word probably means nothing. It didn’t mean anything to me before I found out what it is. There are two types of fats: Trans fats and the essential fatty acids. The essential part of “essential fatty acids” implies that you need them. Trans fats are the bad fats. A lot of this information has been centered on McDonalds because McDonalds is the largest source of these fatal fats. Now, I know you can tell me well they changed their fries to being “cholesterol free”, but in the reality of that, in terms of your health, that means nothing. The cholesterol rating has nothing to do with whether or not they are good for you. It is all about what they are cooked in: the oils. Oils are “partially hydrogenated”. This tells us that they contain these potent Fatty acids. Most of us don’t know what “partially hydrogenated” means. That’s why we allow this to pass when we are reading labels. Trans fats are in many things whether we know that they are there or not.

What are trans fats? Trans fats were made in 1911 when Procter and Gamble made Crisco. Saying that something is “partially hydrogenated” means that hydrogen was added to a polyunsaturated fat.

Manufacturers did this to increase the shelf life of their products. When you do this the fat becomes more solidified allowing it to keep longer. However, it also keeps longer in our bodies. This causes blockages in our arteries. These blockages can eventually lead to heart attacks and various other things. Trans fats are really bad, solid fats that can seriously harm us.

Most children do not get enough EFA’s, essential fatty acids. These acids help us in so many ways. They are the fat that we need to live on. They are necessary for hemoglobin production, circulation, cell membrane, immune function, and brain development. Lacking them can cause heart, mental, skin, and other disorders. This shows that it is “essential” to have essential fatty acids. EFA’s are important to us because they keep us living and if children are lacking them it will lead to big problems.

Trans fats are in almost everything you can buy at fast food restaurants making them highly dangerous. We all need to do something to help this. This world has a rising amount of the popular fast food restaurants, which contain foods packed with trans fats, and do not contain enough essential fatty acids (EFA’s). The popularity of fast food restaurants many never change. Therefore we should attempt to make our fast food restaurants healthier. That doesn’t mean make the French fries cholesterol free! That means change how things are cooked and what they are cooked in. By changing what they are cooked in we can get rid of many of the trans fats, and possibly add some EFA’s. In that way we would make the food healthier decreasing obesity levels, and hopefully change the amounts of trans fats in most foods. Trans fats are virtually taking over not only the fast food restaurants, but also the world.

Spirituality Essay

That goal is to strive for better life, good health, better jobs, a good spouse, good crops, a better car, etc. For this better life we look up to a higher power to help us to reach our needs. In the American Heritage dictionary the definition of spirituality is, “ relating to or consisting of spirit, Ecclesiastical; sacred”. Most cultures call this spirit, “ God”. Gods in all cultures, from the earliest recorded evidence, have the same characteristics. Gods must be perfect, they are the omniscient originators of the universe, they are the principle objects of faith and worship, and they are of supernatural powers. I have chosen a portrait from the magazine, Christianity Today, December 9th, 2002. The faces have eyes to show us that they see where they are going, but the faces are without features because they represent that all mankind is included in the goal of reaching a higher power with the help of the higher power. Evidence has been found that suggests that since the very earliest civilization, humans have looked to a higher power. There has to be some sense of guidance from someone that is trustworthy, someone who has never made a mistake, and someone who judges, punishes, and rewards human behavior. In early Mesopotamia, in the order of the governmental hierarchy, the diviners would interpret signs in the universe that they considered signs from the Gods. Events such as floods and droughts, winning and loosing wars, good crops and bad crops. These things would be signs to let them know if the Gods were pleased or angry. The diviners would converse with the high priests that would advise the kings. The kings were looked at as second in power under the Gods. Their life centered on pleasing their Gods for they lived in fear of making their Gods angry. In all beliefs, it is important to worship and look up to the Gods. The Mesopotamians built Ziggurats, which are temples to worship their Gods. It was expected of them to prepare big feasts for them. This was pleasing to the Gods and they were rewarded with an abundance in their crops, or winning a war, or in some way that was very important to them. The Mesopotamians worshiped their Gods out of fear, not love or mercy. They believed that the deity interfered with human behavior. There was a sense of belief but not salvation, and they believed that when they died they went to a place where there was neither reward nor punishment.

The Egyptian government was a theocracy. The Pharaoh was the leader of the people and must obey the laws of the Gods for the benefit of his people. Some rulers claimed to be divinities. His behavior set a guideline to benefit his people. Proper ethical and moral behavior prepared them for an abundance in the next life. The Egyptians believed that they had to pass a test of one of their Gods to be reborn into the after life. The spirit had to pass judgment and prove that the soul was free from sin, there was confession and then the heart was weighed against the feather of Maat, goddess of truth. If the scale balanced he or she would be admitted to the afterlife, if not they would be devoured into death. Egyptians would spend their whole life preparing for death. They lived a good clean life, and built elaborate tombs called pyramids to be buried in when they died. Everything of value would be buried in these tombs with them, even their slaves because they believed that these material things would pass with them. The Egyptians would build temples to worship their Gods.

Just as it was in antiquity, today people are still worshiping a God of some kind. Spirituality has withstood the test of time. It is such an important part of our lives. We have built temples to worship our God in. We have churches, or synagogues, or cathedrals, some sort of building for every different type of faith. People of all walks of life look to a higher power for guidance. If there was nothing to strive for we would wander aimlessly in the world, and we would be without order. If we didn’t have anything to work for there would be no meaning to life. People have to have something to believe in. This has been proven by the fact that throughout time, from the very beginning, there has been worship of some form, and it is still with us today.
In the Christian faith we believe that our God created the heavens and the earth. He created mankind to live on the earth with all other living creatures that are beneath our level of intelligence. We follow a book as our guide, and we communicate with him by prayer. The Bible tells us that God sent us his son to die for us so that we may have an ever lasting life. We have only to believe in our God and accept him as our savior and we will have eternal life in a place where there is no evil or suffering . We ask that he come into our heart and be our savior and we will have a spiritual relationship with him. He has said that if we do this all of our sins will be forgiven and we will enter into his kingdom when we die. There are no rituals that we must do, and it is free. It doesn’t cost a thing because our God sent his son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross and wash away our sins. When Jesus left us to go back up to heaven, he left with us a Holy Spirit to be the presence and power of God. We live by the guidance of this Holy Spirit and by the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us. We are not forced to do anything in this relationship, we are just asked just cooperate.

When we die, we will go to heaven where our God has prepared a home for us. A place where there is no sickness, and no strife, hunger or pain. We will continue to worship God for eternity.

In the three examples, I have presented the similarities in spirituality. There are numerous other types of worship out there from all different cultures, to numerous to mention. We all have the same idea. We all have the need to believe in something greater than ourselves, we all worship a higher power and look to them for guidance in our world. All of mankind have a common goal and that is to worship a God that will lead us and lift us up to a place where we want to be. A God that will give us love, peace, hope, and faith. This gives us something to believe in, a guideline to follow. We all see where we are going and it is open for every one to join in. When Jesus comes we will all be united in a kingdom with one God and this will complete the cycle.

Learning Science Essay

In today’s world education is the most powerful thing a person can have. It is your education, your diploma that will get you to where you want to go. No one can take it from you or use it against you. It is your weapon. There is nothing better then to have a conversation with an educated or learned man. And science is a big part of education. It is with science that man went to the moon. Because of science we are able to do so much in today’s world. Because of science, knowledge and discovery we are able to indulge in all our the luxuries and activities that we so often take for granted. As we progress through time, science continues to grow rapidly.

There are a huge number of fields of science. Some of them include astronomy, astrophysics, biology, chemistry, meteorology, physics, psychology, zoology, geology, computer science and many more. And these many fields continue to develop and discover new things everyday. The scientists who work and apply themselves in these fields work in a variety of places such as universities, hospitals, business industries, government agencies, independent research organizations and scientific associations. Science is important for many reasons. It is important because it helps and drives the development of technology. Through science we progress and develop new ideas and thoughts. It is important because it improves the quality of life.

Through science we are able to discover new medicines and cures and other things like transportation. It is important because it helps you make informed opinions and ethical educated decisions about scientific and other issues. It is important because it helps you understand how the world operates. With science you are able to answer questions about the world, how things work and why. And it is also important because it helps us react to our surroundings safely. These reasons help enforce the importance of science and explain why learning science is important.

My understanding of science is that it is an attempt to understand the nature of existence. And although one might not be interested in science, or keen on learning it. There is no harm in enriching your knowledge and providing yourself with necessary useful information.
“It is through science, that we have become.” Fahd Altobaishi.

Racism Essay

Racism has had a huge impact on America for many years, and still continues to impact people. In “Learning to Read and Write”, Douglass shows how knowledge affects our place in society. He also shows race plays a role in class structure and education. This is because the class structure is slavery, which is based on race, and slaves are forbidden education.

In the text, there are many different ways that race and class interact. Generally, the blacks were the poor slaves. They had no freedom and could not advance economically due to the lack of education. The fact that they were forbidden education kept them superior to whites. The whites were much better off economically than whites. They had more money and more power over blacks. The education they were provided allowed them to advance in society. The society in the text believes that blacks do not deserve the same opportunities as whites. Education has an important role in society and can affect who you become. The different treatment received by blacks and whites lead to this gap in society. Despite this gap in society due to education, race and class structure interacted in many ways.

The interaction of Frederick Douglass, the slave, and the poor white boy is just one way they interacted. Unlike most whites, this young boy had very little money and was unable to feed himself. Frederick Douglass had a better like than most slaves, and even some white people, but he wanted to gain knowledge to further advance in society. Even though this poor white boy had no money or food, he still had the opportunity to get an education and eventually advance in society. Even blacks that had more money than most whites could not get an education. Frederick Douglass would give food to the poor white boy in exchange for knowledge that he could not get anywhere else. The poor white boy would tell him words that Frederick Douglass could not otherwise read. This shows how a poor white was still seen higher in society than a black male that had money and was well fed.

There was also interaction between the slave and the master. The master was white and naturally had supreme power over the slave. The slave was black who was destined for a life of serving whites. The whites did not allow the advancement of blacks in society. They wanted to keep the blacks inferior. This shows how race affects your place in society, and despite that, blacks and whites manage to interact in society.

The differences between blacks and whites lead to they different places in class structure. The lack of education that blacks were given kept them at the bottom of the class structure. Whites were given education, and therefore were higher in the class structure. Even though blacks and whites held different places in class structure due to slavery, they still managed to interact in society.

Essay on Obesity

Many of Americans are oblivious to their addiction to fast food and the health risks that are involved. Fast food companies make it easy for the general public to skip the old fashioned home cooked meal and go out for an inexpensive, fast, and (for the kids) fun meal. Fast food companies are being blamed for their role in contributing to the growing epidemic of obesity in Americans because of high calorie foods, high fat beverages, and super-sized servings.

The fast food community does not realize what they are eating and what health problems can arise from eating fast food. According to Andrew Martin of the Washington Bureau, “Hardee’s restaurants recently scrapped almost its entire menu to focus on hefty sandwiches called Thickburgers–including the Double Bacon Cheese Thickburgers, weighing in at two-thirds of a pound and 1,148 calories.” (“Obesity” 1) Fast food companies do not warn fast food eaters of the many calories that are in just one hamburger. In a recent lawsuit against Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and KFC, a 56-year-old New York maintenance worker named Caesar Barber argued that “because of eating fast food five times a week the high fat, grease, and salt he became sick with obesity, high-blood pressure, two heart attacks, and diabetes” (“Food” 1).

Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University’s Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, says “fast food is in the same league with cigarettes” (“Food“ 2). Meaning that once people start eating fast food, it is hard to stop. On the other hand, Walter Olsen, a legal advisor for the fast food company executives, says “Most people are aware that eating double cheeseburgers is not the same as celery” (“Food” 2). Fast food companies blame the eater for not having boundaries when eating their food (“Food” 2).

High fats in fast food causes problems for obesity in Americans also. Sodas at a fast food restaurant are easy to pick up on the go because have lids, they are inexpensive, and they taste good. According to Sally Fallon, “each can of [regular] soda contains the equivalent of ten teaspoons of sugar…” and shocking enough “diet sodas are sweetened with aspartame, a substance that causes blindness and obesity in laboratory rats” (“We Are” 5). Water sounds like a better option between these two choices. When a restaurant advertises that a product is made from natural ingredients, this does not make it a healthier item on the menu (“We Are” 6). Fallon suggests just because a fast food item has the words “natural” or “artificial” on it does not mean that it is healthy or not. Fallon added that “these flavors contain compounds, such as MSG, that can be toxic, especially in a body that is poorly nourished” (“We Are” 7).

People everywhere have heard this question after every order at the drive though window at you local fast food restaurant: “ would you like to super-size that order?” or “go large for only $0.39 more?”. Obviously, super-sizing an order will have that much more calories and high fat, which will help in the growing epidemic of obesity even more. “In a recent survey by Sandelman & Associates, nearly two-thirds of respondents believed the quantity and nutritional value of fast food contributed in some way to the nation’s obesity problems” (Martin, Chicago Tribune 2). The founder of the super-size idea is David Wallestein, a theater executive, who wanted his costumers to but more popcorn in his theater realized that most people did not want to seem greedy and buy two bags at once so making it bigger would make them buy more popcorn (“Obesity” 3). Fast food companies caught on quick and decided that serving larger amounts would be more profitable because savings on packaging materials would help to profit them (3). Food is cheap compared to the cost of the packaging materials (3).

Abortion Essay

The topic that I am going to discuss throughout this essay is abortion and whether it should be banned in this country. Abortion is a widely discussed issue, which has many arguments both for and against. People who support in banning abortion are called “Pro-life”, and they believe in the sanctity of human life. People who are against banning abortion believe that if you do this you are taking away the right of the individual to make decisions about their own body. These people are called “Pro-choice”. My opinion is that I think abortion should always be an option available to people. I don’t believe it should be used as contraception though, but no woman should have to carry an unwanted child.

One of the most important reasons to me which led me to my opinion of abortion is the question of what if the mother of the child is not capable of looking after the child and caring for it, or cannot afford expenses of having a baby. I believe that abortion should be allowed in this case because if the child cannot be cared for perhaps because of a lack of money then it may be neglected or if it is born into a deprived family it may be resented because of the amount of care it needs which could lead to abuse.

In addition, the next most important question, which led me to form my opinion, is, what if a baby is going to be born with a fatal birth defect? In cases such as this, then what is the point of going through the pain of pregnancy? I believe that if a child will be born with down syndrome or any other comparable condition, its is still a person and has a right to life, it may not be the “perfect” child, and also may be more difficult to care for but it is still a child and this is part of the risk of pregnancy. If the child’s birth could be a threat to the life of mother or child though, then I think that abortion should be an option.

Also, if abortion is banned women would risk their lives going for “back street abortions”; which could prove very dangerous for potential mothers, because of the risk due to the lack of medical qualifications of the people carrying out this procedure, which could be very basic.

On the other hand, the ‘Pro-life’ lobby does have good arguments also. If a child is unwanted it could be put up for adoption; although admittedly in later life the person may want to find their real parents which I think any child has a right to do; but adoption is admittedly a much more palatable option than getting rid of the child completely. This gives the child a life and where there’s life there’s hope.
Also, every life has potential for greatness; so should we risk the loss of this? Everyone has a right to a life and happiness and should we control who does and who doesn’t have this opportunity?

I don’t have arguments to be used against these points. They are valid points, but I still feel that the positive benefits of having abortion as an option out-weigh the bad, and out-weigh the good points of not having abortion.

The most important reason to me, that led me to my opinion of abortion is, what if a woman was made pregnant through rape? In cases such as this should a woman have to carry a child that was caused through no fault of their own? Is it fair for the woman to go through the pain of pregnancy because of a horrific assault that will live with her for the rest of her life? Is it fair on the child to be a product of such a dreadful act?
I think abortion should be an option in this type of case. It would be horrible for the woman to give birth to an unwanted child, and for the child to grow up knowing he or she was the product of a brutal assault. No woman therefore should have to carry such an unwanted child.

In conclusion to the points I have made for and against abortion then, I do not think that abortion should be banned. I think it should be an option for all women so long as they have a reason for doing so; but I do agree that after the 24th week of pregnancy, when the foetus starts to develop and look more like a baby, abortion should not be allowed. Although I do also worry that, who are we to take away life from someone? Despite this though I think abortion should be an option and it should really be up to the patient whether they wish to make this choice or not.

Hamlet Essay

In William Shakespeare’s renowned play, Hamlet, the title character has many different states of mind and personality changes. However, he consistently shows throughout the play evidence of misogynistic behaviour. Because Hamlet feels so betrayed by the actions of his mother, he begins to associate this betrayal with the actions of all women, which in turn causes him to treat Ophelia cruelly and unfairly. Hamlet’s misogyny is shown in how he speaks to and about his mother, how he cruelly addresses Ophelia, and in how he refers to women in general. Hamlet shows many times in the play that he has a high disrespect for women, and uses his low opinion towards the female gender as a stereotype for all women. This, by definition could easily be interpreted as misogyny.

Throughout the play, the leading character of Hamlet behaves in a misogynistic manner towards the women in his life. However, many things he says in passing also involve misogynistic content. Hamlet appears to have a slight obsession with women being promiscuous to the point that he includes this in his analogies. “Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words.” (Act II, sc. Ii, l.583). Even though Hamlet could have easily used another analogy in it’s place, he seemed to feel the need to mention ‘whores’ there. In discussion with Ophelia, Hamlet mentions how he believes that women are two-faced. “God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another.” (Act III, sc. i, l.144-150). Although Hamlet believes that Ophelia is deceitful, it is the word “yourselves” that proves to be misogynistic. Hamlet is referring to the actions of all women, not just Ophelia or his mother. Hamlet also believes that all women are out only to deceive men like himself. “It is but foolery but it is such a kind of gain-giving as would perhaps trouble a woman.” (Act V, sc. ii, l.206-207). He refers to ‘gain-giving’ as meaning a feeling of anxiety or misgiving, which he is associating with women. It is proved several times in the play that Hamlet has a high disrespect for all women that he continually mentions in casual conversation.

After the death of his father, and his mother’s hasty remarriage, to his uncle, Hamlet begins to show feelings of hatred and contempt towards his mother. Many of the things he says about her, or in reference to her could easily be seen as misogynistic. He refers to her actions as if they are typical of all women. In Act III, while conversing with Hamlet about the play that is being put on, and Hamlet is impatient with the introduction of the play. Ophelia assures him that it will be brief, to which Hamlet replies, “As woman’s love.” (Act III, sc. ii, l.108). Although Ophelia has done nothing to betray Hamlet in any way and is still very much in love with him, Hamlet assumes that her love will not be long-lasting simply because Gertrude’s love for Hamlet’s father did not last any length of time after his death. In a soliloquy early into the play, Hamlet mentions what he considers to be his mother’s betrayal to him and his father and utters, “Frailty, thy name is woman!” (Act I, sc. ii, l.146). ‘Frailty is apparently referring to his mother’s ‘moral weakness’ which in Gertrude’s case, could very well be true, but it his reference to all women having moral weaknesses and being distrustful that shows misogyny. Similarly, when Hamlet finds out the truth regarding his father’s death from the Ghost, he includes the line, “O most pernicious woman!” in his soliloquy (Act I, sc. ii l.106). It is assumed that he is using the word ‘pernicious’ as being fatal or tragic, reiterating that he considers women to be evil and whose purpose is to destroy men. It is evident in many cases that Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother and seems to use these feelings against all women.

It is evident throughout the play that Hamlet holds bitter feelings towards women as a result of the actions of his mother, Gertrude. These feelings are clearly shown by the way that he talks to Ophelia on countless occasions. Although at times he ears to be in love with her, he thinks that she is untrustworthy and deceitful. “That if you be honest and fair, your honesty should admit no discourse to your beauty.” (Act III, sc. ii, l.108-109). Even though Ophelia has done nothing to betray Hamlet he constantly belittles her. Hamlet believes that Ophelia is a whore and can only be saved by religion, and does not deserve to be happy with a man. “If thou dost marry, I’ll give plague for thy dowry: be chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a nunnery, go: farewell, or, if thou wilt needs marry, marry a fool, for wise men know what monsters you make of them.” (Act III, sc. i, l.135-140). Although Ophelia has not acted in a promiscuous manner, Hamlet believes that all women are whores because he thinks that his mother has acted like one. And although Ophelia has professed her love to Hamlet, he believes that she is being deceptive with her feelings towards him. “I could interpret between you and your love if I could see the puppets dallying.” (Act III, sc. ii, l.242-243). Even though Ophelia appears to truly love Hamlet he refuses to believe that her intentions are sincere. Throughout the play, Ophelia remains to be innocent, naпve and in love with a man who constantly insults her. However, Hamlet’s opinion of women has been jaded by his mother and therefore he treats Ophelia terribly and in a misogynistic manner.

Hamlet proves many times in the play that he does indeed not hate just the women in his life, but apparently all women in general. Several of the misogynistic things that he says are not about the specific women that he is involved with, but about the entire female gender. It appears that his outlook on women was drastically altered by what he considers to be his mother’s deception and promiscuity and therefore has taken a discriminatory and misogynistic view on women.

Macbeth Essay

Lady Macbeth was only partially responsible for Macbeth’s downfall in that she pressured him into killing Duncan which triggered Macbeth’s irreversible decline. However Macbeth himself and his relentless ambition would’ve been a strong factor in the series of events that lead to his death. On another level though, because of the witches meddlings Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were merely spectators to their own lives as fate (determined by the witches) carried out it’s predetermined and unchangable path.

When Macbeth decided not to go ahead with the murder of Duncan, saying, ‘We shall proceed no further in this business’, it was Lady Macbeth who persuaded him through goading him and questioning his manliness, ‘when you durst do it, then you were a man,’ to continue with it. She mockingly asked if it was just the drink talking when he suggested it, ‘Was the hope drunk wherein you dress’d yourself? Hath it slept since?’ She wonders aloud how he can hold his head high, being such coward, ‘. . and live a coward in thine own esteem . . .’ What seemed to be the crux of her argument however was that Macbeth had sworn to kill Duncan and it was not tolerable to go back on his word as Lady Macbeth emphasised this by telling him she would rather have taken her baby, ‘pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, and dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you have to done this,’ than go back on her word. She also tells him that if he does not go on his word than his word is untrustworthy so she will not believe him when he tells her he loves her as we see when she says ‘from this time, such I account thy love.’ It is clear from these many abusive arguments that Lady Macbeth must take a significant portion of the blame for Mabeth murdering Duncan, hence his downfall.
Supernatural evil spirit unsex me.

Macbeth was, however was largely responsible for his own decline. Even the witches prophecies can not be held entirely responsible, as Macbeth’s over riding ambition existed long before the witches came into the picture. It became apparent that he and Lady Macbeth had even discussed killing Duncan before he met with the witches. We see this when Lady Macbeth says, ‘nor time nor place did then adhere,’ meaning that when they had planned it earlier they didn’t have opportunity but as they did then they should go ahead with it. This could well mean that Macbeth would have murdered Duncan without the prophecies and that the prophecies just acted like a catalyst in matters and totally sealed fate.

Even Macbeth himself recognises that it is simply his ‘vaulting ambition’that drives him on to consider murdering Duncan. He can also see many arguments as to why he should not kill Duncan. Quite rightly he recognises that he will pay the consequences of murdering the king when he says that ‘bloody instructions . . . return to plague the inventor’ and that he might just as well take the ‘poision’d chalice to our own lips.’ Macbeth also acknowledges that Duncan is ‘here in double trust: first as I am his kinsmen and his subject, strong both against the deed: then as his host . . .’ This all shows that Macbeth is fully aware that what he is doing is wrong. Therefore he has mainly himself to blame although other factors do play a part.

Napoleon Essay

Napoleon has often been regarded as the most talented (and shortest!) general of the last millennium, but his largest impact on Europe was after the wars. It is true that he led most of Franceбпs young men to their death, but the reason why is often unknown. France was already in shambles, but Napoleon turned the whole country into an armed camp. Although he was originally considered a great hero, his eventual defeat made him the creature of horror stories told by mothers to their children.

Although he was always considered a Frenchmen, he was actually a native of Corsica, an island off the coast of the French-Italian border. His family lived in the coastal city of Ajaccio, which was where he was born on August 15,1769. None of his Ancestors had ever been a soldier, but his father had been a Corsican Patriot. Because his father later became a member of the French Aristocracy, he was educated in Paris at a military school at the expense of the French King. When Corsica declared independence from France in 1793, Napoleon and his family fled to France since they chose to remain faithful to France. His first command in the French army was when he participated in the Siege of Toulon during the revolt there. He took over the job of a wounded artillery general and succeeded in seizing important spots in the siege. The French government noticed him for the first time when he helped in forcefully pacifying a mob in Paris trying to overthrow the revolutionary government in 1795. The following year, he married Josephine de Beauharnais who was the widow of a general guillotined during the revolution. In the same year, Napoleon was placed in command of the French army in Italy. Although his army was initially badly trained and ill equipped, he used his superior military-genius to defeat the King of Sardinia and four Austrian generals. His army was within 80 miles after of Vienna and so Austria sued for peace. Napoleon forced them to sign the Treaty of Campo Formio, thus ending the First Coalition. The Treaty let France keep most of their conquests in northern Italy and because of this, Napoleon strengthened his position in France by sending the Directory millions of francs worth of treasure.

In 1798, Napoleon decided to invade Egypt thereby cutting British trade links with the east and to remove the country from Turkish hands. However, his personal ambitions included making himself a second Alexander the Great by expanding France all the way to India. Although he initially met with success, defeating the Turkish army at the Battle of the Pyramids, conquering Egypt and totally overhauling her government system, his fleet was destroyed by Horatio Nelson at the Bay of Aboukir, thereby stranding his army in Egypt. Because of this, he decided to invade Syria, but the British/Turkish armies repulsed his troops. At the same time, a Second Coalition was brewing back home in Europe. So, he ditched his army, fled back to France, and used the Directoryбпs disorganized situation to establish himself as Consul, then First-Consul, and then eventually Emperor of France. He easily defeated the Second Coalition and totally reformed the French government system. His new laws were supposedly based on the aims of the Revolution, but at the same time, he was taking away the right of the people to remove him from power. Among his new laws were ones that abolished the Three Estates, centralized and reformed laws on tax collecting and public education, and established a system of promotion based on merit not heritage throughout the army and government.

However, in 1804, Britain renewed hostilities with France over the island of Malta. Britain was soon joined by Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Spain, forming a Third Coalition against France. This new war had many consequences including the Louisiana Purchase and the establishment of the Confederation of the Rhine (effectively ending the Holy Roman Empire), the Kingdom of Naples, and the Kingdom of Holland. The French defeated the Austrians and captured Vienna, forcing them to cede even more land to France. When the Prussians and the Russians invaded the Confederation of the Rhine, Napoleon moved against them, crushing the Prussians and forcing Russia to become an ally of France. In 1806, Napoleon started implementing his Continental System, intensifying an economic war against the British that started nearly 15 years ago. When Russia became an ally of France, they were also forced to implement the system. However, the system eventually led to Franceбпs economic downfall, as it was nearly impossible to implement as the British ruled the sea after Napoleonбпs fleet was destroyed at Trafalgar by the British admiral Horatio Nelson in 1805. At the same time, France was fighting a costly war on another front.

In 1808, Napoleon overthrew the existing Spanish king and then set up his brother Joseph as king. However, when the Spanish people revolted and drove Joseph out of Madrid, Napoleon launched the Peninsular war, a major offensive against the British forces helping the Spaniards inside Spain. In the end, France lost the war after losing 300,000 soldiers and untold amounts of money and supplies. This war should have warned Napoleon about the fiery patriotism of the people of conquered countries, but his ignorance of the situation led to his eventual defeat instead.

The next step in his slow path downwards was his decision to invade Russia in 1812 when Tsar Alexander withdrew from the Continental System. Despite the fact that he managed to capture Moscow, the Russians did not surrender. Instead, they burned the city before the French got there, so the shelter and supplies that Napoleon was banking on were destroyed. Therefore, his army had to retreat back to Germany, all the while chased and hunted by the Russians. The whole Russian campaign ended up as a complete failure. He lost almost all of his 500,000 men that he had started with. At the same time, patriotic revolts were occurring throughout Franceбпs conquered territories. In 1810, he divorced Josephine and married the daughter of the Austrian Emperor, Marie-Louise, in a last-ditch attempt to improve relations. Upon his return to France, the Prussians, Russians, Swedish and British started the War of Liberation against him. His army was eventually forced over the Rhine at the Battle of Leipzig and soon after that, he abdicated in favor of his son, who was born in 1811, with the allied armies not far from Paris. However, the allied armies did not accept the plan and they demanded that the brother of Louis16, Louis 18, be put on the throne. Napoleon was sent to rule the Island of Elba in 1813 with the British Navy guarding the Island. However, in 1815, he returned to Paris and his old armies quickly gathered around him, being already sick of the new king. The allies were threatening to invade France again since they heard of the return of Napoleon, so he quickly organized a new army and marched them into Belgium to meet the British and Prussian armies. At Ligny, he defeated the Prussians under Blucher and then marched to Waterloo to meet the British under Wellington. At first, he was doing well in the battle. His forces were pushing the British back until a speck arose on the horizon. At first, Napoleon thought that it was his cavalry, but as time passed, his hope turned into dismay. For it was the Prussian army that had reformed after Ligny and had marched all the way to Waterloo from their defeat. With the new troops, Wellington eventually defeated Napoleon and he was forced to abdicate a second time. However, he was still forced to flee as the allies didnбпt accept the plan (again). He intended to board headed to America, but the English fleets were watching all the French harbors. One month after Waterloo, the new French government ordered him off French soil in 24 hours. So, he sought out asylum in Britain. On the 15th of July, he boarded a British ship and surrendered his sword. He was sent into exile on the island of St Helena, where he spent the last seven years of his life. In those last years, he often dreamed of times before, but strangely enough, he never thought of his times as Emperor, only about his commands as a defender of the revolution. He kept on telling himself that all along he had been supporting the cries of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” and that he had always been a true friend of the revolution.