The Age of The Renaissance :: The Renaissance

The Middle Ages is considered by many historians a time period of ignorance, where little or no advancements took place. The church was the center of attention, and instead of a philosophical view of the world, beliefs were centered around superstitions. On the other hand, the rebirth of education and advancements that followed the Middle Ages and was labeled as the Renaissance. There have been arguments as to whether the Renaissance is actually a separate time period, or instead, just a high point of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance was definitely a distinct era. Inspiration from the ancient Greek and Roman people led to humanism beliefs and encouraged man to become multi-talented. Therefore, the Renaissance man, a man who excelled in many areas, became prominent. Also, the ideals of the people changed, and religion no longer ruled their lives. Advancements in all aspects of life virtually improved. Thus, many aspects lead to the change from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, a ti me period that was undoubtedly distinct from the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, ideas and beliefs changed greatly. Humanism, a crucial movement to the Renaissance, stressed secular ideas and beliefs and the importance of advocating human’s ideas and values. The movement drew inspiration from the ancient Greek and Roman people. Therefore, classical education began to circulate once again (document 1). The people of the Middle Ages had great amounts of ignorance and believed in faith and false ideas while focusing on childish possessions, but during the Renaissance these ignorant beliefs disappeared and humanism took its place (document 2). The church was no longer the center of life for many and some lost interest in the traditional beliefs that the church was preaching. Yet, it was still an important aspect. The church had lost large amounts of power and wealth due to the humanism movement because people became less reliable on the church and could think and follow ideals on their own. But, the church was rapidly changing during this time period also, because religion was focused on wealth and the money it could obtain (document 5). Instead, many supported the idea that the people who held secular beliefs should be ruled by noblemen that were scholarly, highly educated, and not only concerned with goods (document 5). Entirely new ideas and beliefs began to circulate during the Renaissance, and the church lost much of its great influence.

Strengths Paper

â€Å" A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better. †~ Jim Rohn Throughout history, people have needed leaders to help them handle certain situations and work through problems. Anybody can become a leader, but first they must determine what their strengths are. There is now a test that one can take online that outlines their five top strengths and explains in detail what each one means. It varies for each person that takes it, but my top five strengths are achiever, adaptability, strategic, restorative, and relator.The first of my strengths is achiever. This means that whenever I start something, I like to finish it and generally do whatever it takes to reach that goal. My second strength, adaptability, in a way, ties into the first one. Adaptability means being able to approach problems from different angles and finding new ways to complete things when one idea doesn't work. I feel like these two strengths relate to me pretty well. I do not like to leave projects open ended whenever I start them and I'm usually pretty good at ‘rolling with the punches. These two allow me to tackle situations in a variety of ways and leave me with plenty of the proverbial â€Å"plan B's† in case any of the first attempts do not work properly. My third strength, strategic, also aids my ability to work through problems. This particular strength allows me to think about the situation fully before jumping into it. Once I figure out what's happening, I can come up with a plan that best suites the circumstances and work on accomplishing it. By nature, I have found out that I more of a planner.I like to lay things out in my head before I start so things run more smoothly once I begin, which works well with my strategic strength. The last two strengths, restorative and relator, confused me for a little bit. I can put myself into other people's shoes easily and I would much rat her mend my broken relationships than burn those bridges, but I wouldn't necessarily put them into my top five. It's not a bad thing by any means, though! As a whole, these five strengths work well together nicely and, in a certain situation, could play off of each other in a very effective way!For example, let's say that I worked at a burger joint downtown. Well, everyone gets hungry and the need to eat usually overwhelms any other feeling that one could have. So, here's the scene: it's a hot summer day and after classes, I decide that I'm going to go get some free food at the restaurant that I work at. Walking in, I know what I want to achieve: I want a big, juicy burger with mustard, ketchup, tomatoes, pickles, onions, and cheese with a side of fresh onion rings. I grill the burger, pull out the buns, and head to the fridge to grab all the condiments.I generally only like to make one trip, so I carry all the items to the table where my burger is waiting. Little did I know that so meone had spilled Coke earlier in the day! As I slip on the spill, the pickles and ketchup fall to the tile in the kitchen and shatter. I have to adapt to the new situation, so I come up with a new strategy. Banana peppers and a little bit of mayo would fill in for the dropped items nicely! I bring all the items over to the table and restore what could have been a disaster.I can now take my delicious lunch outside, find someone that I can relate to, and have a conversation over fresh burgers and crispy onion rings. Everybody has the potential to be a leader. Before they assume this responsibility though, it is best that they find out what their top strengths are so that they can benefit a larger amount of people more effectively through their actions. For me, my top strengths are achiever, adaptability, strategic, restorative, and relator. With these, I can figure out problems, find out ways to solve them, get others input on the subject, and come out of the situation intact.

Examine the Ways in Which Rhys Demonstrates How Women Are...

Examine the ways in which Rhys demonstrates how women are victims of a patriarchal society in Wide Sargasso Sea. A patriarchal society is one whereby men are the decision makers and hold positions of power and prestige. Patriarchy refers to a societal structure whereby men are dominant not in number or in force but in their access to status related power and decision making power. In these societies, women are presented with an interpretation of the world made by men, and a history of the world defined by men’s actions. Rhys presents her interpretation and opinions on first-wave feminism in Wide Sargasso Sea. Second wave feminism and beyond suggests that men exploit women in nearly every aspect of their lives. Radical feminists define†¦show more content†¦According to English custom, Antoinette is financially dependent on Mr Rochester, as he controls all her wealth. In Part Three of the novel where the novel is described from Antoinette’s point of view, she describes the key to the attic where she is kept prisoner as â€Å"the colour of fire and sunset†, indicating that fire is a symbol of power. The novel ends with her dreaming of setting the house on fire, which is the only tool she knows how to use to express her rage. With a candle in her hand, Antoinette claims, â€Å"Now I know why I was brought here and what I have to do†. As she is now stripped of her name and her country, the candle in her hand represents the only empowerment she is able to preserve. By Rhys leaving the novella as a cliff-hanger, and not allowing us to witness the fire, she suggests that patriarchy is too strong to break through and that therefore women cannot fulfil their desires and are destined to be silenced. This idea also portrays Antoinette to be different from the passionate and fiery, extremely feminist, personality she is suggested in other parts of the novella to posses. Wide Sargasso Sea is a three part narrative, the middle part being in the first person voice of Rochester, and the other to being the voice of Antoinette. This narrative structure skews ideals of patriarchy by challenging concepts of narrative authority, particularly of a white male authority, as Rochester is inserted in