Argumental essay on Virginia Woolf Shakespeares Sister

Argumental on Virginia Woolf Shakespeares Sister - Essay Example Woolf points out that the basis of cultural identity and social expectations is what depicts one’s genius and outcome, as opposed to the ability to develop as an individual independently shows the main identity which one holds. The first way in which Woolf shows the difference in social status and identity as the outcome is through the definition of Judith as Shakespeare’s sister [argument by definition]. The concept is one which is related to the definition of what it means to be a woman. Woolf shows how Shakespeare easily could have gone into social circles, schooling and other areas because of the time frame and what had occurred. Woolf states: â€Å"Meanwhile his extraordinary gifted sister, let us suppose, remained at home. She was adventurous, as imaginative, as agog to see the world as he was. But she was not sent to school. She had no chance of learning grammar and logic, let alone of reading Horace and Virgil† (Woolf, 56). This excerpt defines how the di fference between men and women in the same family is dependent on social status. The identity comes from the definition of what it means to be a woman within society and how this is what sets one’s destiny. The definition of Shakespeare as well as his sister both shows how the very definition of gender is what creates the alternatives for the destiny which each reaches. The second concept which is used by Woolf is the comparison of Judith and Shakespeare [comparison]. The comparison which is made is one which is defined by the gender difference which offers opportunity. The concept is based first on how Shakespeare is the â€Å"apple of her father’s eye† (56) because of his theater and acting skills. This allowed him to walk through open doors which then sets his career in pace for writing some of the best features in theater. However, when comparing this to Judith, that had the same amount of talent, a different outcome was created. â€Å"She stood at the stag e door; she wanted to act, she said. Men laughed in her face. The manager – a fat, looselipped man – guaffawed. He bellowed something about poodles dancing and women acting – no woman, he said, could possibly be an actress† (Woolf, 57). Both genders are noted to have the same upbringing and opportunity; however, the lack of schooling and the definition of gender stop Judith from being able to go forward. However, there is a comparison between the two and what opportunities should be available. The comparison is one which becomes based on gender as women don’t have the ability to act while men have open doors to acting. This is another example of the differences in gender and how it leads to a change in identity and expectations of what should happen to the individual during their life time because of social standards. Opportunities and how this changes destiny is furthered with the expectations that are given to Judith’s life because of her g ender. [example] The example is one which shows how the changes in destiny and life path are altered according to gender. Shakespeare is immediately able to go to London to study while Judith is expected to be married and to not oppose her position in life. â€Å"But then her parents came home and told her to mend the stockings and mind the stew and not moon about with books and papers†¦. She cried out that marriage was hateful to her, and for that she was severely beaten by her father† (Woolf, 57). Woolf sets the example of what it means to be a woman and

Platos Lysis with Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics Essay

Platos Lysis with Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics - Essay Example Lysis is Plato’s dialogues discussing the nature of friendship whereas Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics also discusses the nature and concept of friendship and its importance in the lives of human beings. Plato and Aristotle are the Greek philosophers that have covered several important subjects in their writings. They contradict as well as support each others’ view point on certain matters however, the conception of friendship is perceived differently by these philosophers and they provide the understanding of the nature of friendship.The Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics has been regarded as Aristotle’s best work on friendship and ethics. It is the most important philosophical work that drew significant impacts upon the European middle age societies because the medieval philosophy was widely based upon the concepts presented in Nicomachean Ethics. The conception of friendship presented by Aristotle basically depicts his thinking about the nature of fri endship and why people need friends in their lives (Crisp, p76). He believes that there is no person that would like to live a friend less life because being a social animal man always like situations and circumstances where he has a friend. Plato Lysis also talks about the importance of friendship but he has not much focused upon the importance and role of friendship in the lives of people from social and emotional perspective (Cooper, p290). The dynamics of friendship are also explored by Plato in one of his most engaging puzzling dialogues Lysis. These dialogues are rich mixtures of stable arguments, theories and literature in which Plato presented his views regarding friendship. Plato discusses the nature of friendship in these dialogues using the main characters of Socrates and two boys and friends Lysis and Menexunun. Another character of the dialogue was Hipplothales who had unrequited love with Lysis. In Lysis, Plato explained the conception of friendship in detail and depth and says that true friendship is based upon four basic conditions. At first, friendship could develop between the people that are similar and good man. Secondly, friendship occurs between dissimilar people. Thirdly, people who are neither good nor bad could also become friend and fourthly the relatives develop gradual friendship with each others because it is in the nature of the human beings to become friend of others (Annas, p532). The Lysis are often being regarded as philosophical failure because several arguments depicted in the dialogues are not convincing and due to these bad dialogues it has been regarded as a philosophical failure. It is found that Lysis fails to provide satisfying answers to certain important questions associated with the nature of the friendship. It is often been argues that Lysis actually didn’t answer the question that what friendship is. It shows dialogues between Socrates, Lysis and menexenus arguing about the friendship where Socrates asked Lysis and Menexunun that when a person loves another who is friend the lover