Sunday, April 26, 2020
Where to Begin When Writing an Effective Literary Analysis Essay
Unlike reading for pleasure, a literary analysis essay requires you to study the text and examine the literary approaches used. It deals with analyzing all the sections of a literary work. Generally, your essay should examine and determine the main characters and ideas, identify the literary style used in writing, the genre of the text, and the analysis of the topic. A literary essay can be quite demanding but having the right resources and knowhow will guarantee a pleasant writing process. What is the Purpose of a Literary Analysis Essay? Knowing the relevance of a literary essay will aid you in the writing process. There are various reasons why a literary essay is important; It does not only involve reading the text, but it teaches the students the basic skills of analyzing and illustrating a text. The objective is to enable the student to understand the deeper meaning of a literary text, and how the work is similar to our daily lives. A literary analysis essay seeks to explain the text from specific points of view. A literary analysis essay example of Julius Ceasar will view the text from the psychological, historical, and philosophical aspects. This strengthens the students ability to think creatively and logically. Through analysis of a literary work, you get to understand a point or a scene in the text that is often misunderstood by others. Make an Order The Structure of a Literary Analysis Essay The first thing you need to know before even reading the text is how to write a literary analysis essay. Organizing your work in the correct format is an important step in your writing process. The structure will give you a blueprint of the essay. A literary essay is divided into 3 unique parts. The Introduction This contains the central points, thesis statement, and a brief explanation of the information to be expected in the essay. Catch your readers attention by starting with a quote from the literary work that will support your explanation. Quotes by the author that relate to your essay can also be used. The quote is usually the first sentence of the introduction and should be placed in quotation marks. The sentence that follows identifies the speaker and the conditions surrounding the quotation as well as explaining how this quotation is related to your essay. Keep the introduction brief by illustrating the meaning of the topic and explain its importance to the literary text you are analyzing. The last sentence contains the thesis statement which states accurately the central point of the entire essay The Body The first sentence of a body paragraph is the topic sentence which carries the main idea of that whole paragraph. This enables the student to keep from going off topic. Asking yourself questions like what is the purpose of a literary analysis essay will help you to come up with strong arguments. Each paragraph should have specific examples supporting the main idea. These act as verifiable proof by strengthening the meaning of your topic sentence. The final part of the sentence shows the reader how the material illustrated in the paragraph supports the main objective of the essay. The Conclusion You should begin by restating the thesis statement, which is your argument point. A sample literary analysis essay about Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, the thesis statement might have been that the protagonist had experiences that made him perform certain experiments at some point in the text. Show the reader how you analyzed the text to make your conclusion which relates to your thesis statement. Keep the tone of the conclusion positive and create a sense of completeness. Sample Literary Analysis Essay Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Money with its great ability to enchant and entice has long been the object of mans obsession. It arouses a feeling of anger, lust, greed, contentment, power, and pride. The sense of security that money offers is the same that lead Daisy towards Gatsby. Daisys needs for the feeling of satisfaction, causes her to wed the wealthy Tom Buchanan. Gatsby uses this need to secure a social status, to lure Daisy so as that he can get her money. Although he has nothing, he uses an imaginary fortune to convince her that he belongs to the same class as her. Convinced that Gatsby belongs to a high social class, Daisy opens up to Gatsby and he soon falls in love with her. Upon realizing that Gatsby has lied to her she vanishes into her rich full life (157) To Daisy, wealth is a great quality in a relationship. This means that Gatsby is no longer an option. Tom, on the other hand, is a great source of love and money that can provide her all the luxuries she needs. Therefore, in their marriage, Tom acts as a source of Daisys social status and material possession rather than a husband. She chooses him because of his ability to provide for her is guaranteed and his wealth shows no signs of running out. Later when she finds out that he is seeing anoth er woman, her greatest worry is that her wealthy status will disappear, so she turns to the recently wealthy Gatsby. When Daisy first leaves him, he realizes that the only way to win her is by improving his social status through the acquisition of wealth. According to him, wealth is a stairway that mount[s] to a secret place above the trees (117). The secret place represents the life that only the rich can afford, all the luxuries that only the rich and powerful can get. Through this wealth that he gains by conducting businesses, he hopes that Daisy will love him although she is married to Tom. Because she is aware of her husbands disloyalty, she sees Gatsby as a safer option of social stability. Make an Order Through his new found wealth, Gatsby views Daisy in a different light. She ceases to be a person to be love and becomes an object to be won. He realizes that he has committed to following a grail (156) since she lost her husband. Gatsby realizes that Daisys wealth can guarantee him social security without realizing this is the same thing that she seeks. He is so caught up dreaming about her wealth to the point where he only sees her that way to him, her voice is full of money (127) In his mind, she is one with her possessions and the person of Daisy ceases to exist. He dreams of a luxurious life with her and it seems so close that [he] can hardly fail to grasp it (189) He does not realize that all this is behind him. He does not see that with the Daisy he loved dead to him; he cannot fulfill his goal. Without realizing that his efforts will end in failure, he continues to pursue her. With the use of his wealth, he tries to revive their former relationship. He goes out of his way to fix everything the way it was (117) His wealth creates an illusion that there is no way his dreams will be interrupted. This encourages him to continue pursuing Daisy however, he fails to see that certain characteristics of their relationship have changed for example, he no longer sees her as the person he fell in love with but rather as an object that will bring social stability to him. His devotion to recreate his past blinds him to the present events which he pays a high price for living too long with a single dream (169) Through his constant pursuit of Daisy and the social status she would offer condemns Gatsby to an early death. When he finds it difficult to change his life his existence loses meaning. Tom and Daisys marriage cause peoples untimely demise but they choose to go back to their money and let other people clean up their mess (188) Not wanting to be held accountable for Gatsbys death, they decide to isolate themselves from society once again turning to their money for protection and security. Daisys disregard for Gatsby after his death shows that her only interest was money and social stability. When the wealth is no longer available, her desire for Gatsby diminishes. Gatsbys relationship with Daisy shows that wealthy people are the most desirable in our society. These people rarely interact or form relationships outside their social ranks. The rich wish to increase their wealth while the poor seek to improve their social status. When the rich keep to themselves, they continue getting rich, while the poor become poorer. Conclusion Writing a literary analysis essay can be overwhelming; however, by following specific steps and heeding the instructions given in class will simplify this process. Reading essays by successful writers will also give you insights on the different approaches of analyzing a text. For more guidance on how to write a literary analysis essay, feel free to get in touch with us for personal help.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Free Essays on Living In The Present
William Shakespeareââ¬â¢s play, Romeo and Juliet, has multiple levels of understanding and interpretation. Romeo is son of Montague and Lady Montague. The play is centered upon the fact that the Montague family is engaged in a blood feud with the Capulets. At the beginning of the play Romeo is in ââ¬Å"loveâ⬠but really just lusting for a girl named Rosaline. Juliet is Romeoââ¬â¢s true love, which causes problems because she is a Capulet. The American Heritage Dictionary defines ââ¬Å"impetuousâ⬠as: ââ¬Å"characterized by sudden and forceful energy or emotion; impulsive and passionate; having or marked by violent force.â⬠Romeo is an extremely impetuous young adult; he is given to impulsive and sometimes violent acts. Romeo is impulsive which causes chaos for him throughout the play. For example, Romeo wants to go to Capuletââ¬â¢s party to find his most recent lust, Rosaline (1.3.69-108). As soon as Romeo finds out that Rosaline is going to be present, he decides to go without giving any thought to the fact that there was a fight earlier that day with the Capulets. He decides to go in hopes that he can find someone there and forget about Rosaline. The next day Romeo tells the Nurse that he wants to marry Juliet and that he wants Juliet to meet him at Friar Lawrenceââ¬â¢s cell to be wed that afternoon (2.4.184-186). Romeo has completely forgotten about Rosaline and moved on to Juliet leaving whatever lust for Rosaline he might have had behind. After knowing Juliet for less than a day, he has asked her to marry him leaving much to be found out about each other after they have been married. Romeo does not ever give any look into the future except when he decides to spend the rest of his life with Juliet. Because of Romeoââ¬â¢s impulsiveness -he doesnââ¬â¢t think before he acts-, he occasionally gives in to his violent rage. Avenging Mercutioââ¬â¢s death, Romeo slays Tybalt (3.1.135-141). Romeo is thrown into a violent rage because Tybalt s... Free Essays on Living In The Present Free Essays on Living In The Present William Shakespeareââ¬â¢s play, Romeo and Juliet, has multiple levels of understanding and interpretation. Romeo is son of Montague and Lady Montague. The play is centered upon the fact that the Montague family is engaged in a blood feud with the Capulets. At the beginning of the play Romeo is in ââ¬Å"loveâ⬠but really just lusting for a girl named Rosaline. Juliet is Romeoââ¬â¢s true love, which causes problems because she is a Capulet. The American Heritage Dictionary defines ââ¬Å"impetuousâ⬠as: ââ¬Å"characterized by sudden and forceful energy or emotion; impulsive and passionate; having or marked by violent force.â⬠Romeo is an extremely impetuous young adult; he is given to impulsive and sometimes violent acts. Romeo is impulsive which causes chaos for him throughout the play. For example, Romeo wants to go to Capuletââ¬â¢s party to find his most recent lust, Rosaline (1.3.69-108). As soon as Romeo finds out that Rosaline is going to be present, he decides to go without giving any thought to the fact that there was a fight earlier that day with the Capulets. He decides to go in hopes that he can find someone there and forget about Rosaline. The next day Romeo tells the Nurse that he wants to marry Juliet and that he wants Juliet to meet him at Friar Lawrenceââ¬â¢s cell to be wed that afternoon (2.4.184-186). Romeo has completely forgotten about Rosaline and moved on to Juliet leaving whatever lust for Rosaline he might have had behind. After knowing Juliet for less than a day, he has asked her to marry him leaving much to be found out about each other after they have been married. Romeo does not ever give any look into the future except when he decides to spend the rest of his life with Juliet. Because of Romeoââ¬â¢s impulsiveness -he doesnââ¬â¢t think before he acts-, he occasionally gives in to his violent rage. Avenging Mercutioââ¬â¢s death, Romeo slays Tybalt (3.1.135-141). Romeo is thrown into a violent rage because Tybalt s...
Monday, March 2, 2020
The Story of Bonnie and Clyde by Bonnie Parker
The Story of Bonnie and Clyde by Bonnie Parker Bonnie and Clyde were legendary and historic outlaws who robbed banks and killed people. The authorities saw the couple as dangerous criminals, while the public viewed Bonnie and Clyde as modern-day Robin Hoods. The couples legend was in part helped along by Bonnies poems: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, and The Story of Suicide Sal. Bonnie Parker wrote the poems in the middle of their 1934 crime spree, while she and Clyde Barrow were on the run from the law. This poem, The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, was the last one she wrote, and the legend reports that Bonnie gave a copy of the poem to her mother just weeks before the couple was gunned down. Bonnie and Clyde as Social Bandits Parkers poem is part of a long-established outlaw-folk hero tradition, what British historian Eric Hobsbawm called social bandits. The social bandit/outlaw-hero is a peoples champion who adheres to a higher law and defies the established authority of his time. The idea of a social bandit is a nearly universal social phenomenon found throughout history, and ballads and legends of them share a long set of characteristics. The main feature shared by ballads and legends around such historical figures as Jesse James, Sam Bass, Billy the Kid, and Pretty Boy Floyd is the enormous amount of distortion of the known facts. That distortion enables the transition of a violent criminal into a folk hero. In all cases, the peoples champion story the people need to hear is more important than the facts- during the Great Depression, the public needed reassurance that there were people working against a government perceived as callous to their predicament. The voice of the Depression, American balladeer Woody Guthrie, wrote just such a ballad about Pretty Boy Floyd after Floyd was killed six months after Bonnie and Clyde died. Curiously, many of the ballads, like Bonnies, also use the metaphor of the pen is mightier than the sword, stating that what newspapers have written about the bandit hero is false, but that the truth can be found written in their legends and ballads. 12 Characteristics of the Social Outlaw American historian Richard Meyer identified 12 characteristics that are common to social outlaw stories. Not all of them appear in every story, but many of them come from older ancient legends- tricksters, champions of the oppressed, and ancient betrayals. The social bandit hero is a man of the people who stands in opposition to certain established, oppressive economic, civil, and legal systems. He is a champion who wouldnt harm the little man.His first crime is brought about through extreme provocation by agents of the oppressive system.He steals from the rich and gives to the poor, serving as one who rights wrongs. (Robin Hood, Zorro)Despite his reputation, he is good-natured, kind-hearted, and frequently pious.His criminal exploits are audacious and daring.He frequently outwits and confounds his opponents by trickery, often expressed humorously. (Trickster)He is helped, supported, and admired by his own people.The authorities cant catch him through conventional means.His death is only brought about by the betrayal by a former friend. (Judas)His death provokes great mourning on the part of his people.After he dies, the hero manages to live on in a number of ways: stories say that he is not really dead, or that his ghost or spirit con tinues to help and inspire people. His actions and deeds may not always gain approval or admiration, but rather are sometimes decried in the ballads as mildly stated criticism to outright condemnation and refutation of all the other 11 elements. Bonnie Parkers Social Outlaw True to the form, in The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, Parker cements their image as social bandits. Clyde used to be honest and upright and clean, and she reports that he was locked up unjustly. The couple has supporters in the regular people like newsboys, and she foretells that the law will beat them in the end. Like most of us, Parker had heard ballads and legends of lost heroes as a child. She even references Jesse James in the first stanza. What is interesting about her poems is that we see her actively spinning their criminal history into a legend. The Story of Bonnie and ClydeYouve read the story of Jesse JamesOf how he lived and died;If youre still in needOf something to read,Heres the story of Bonnie and Clyde. Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang,Im sure you all have readHow they rob and stealAnd those who squealAre usually found dying or dead. Theres lots of untruths to these write-ups;Theyre not so ruthless as that;Their nature is raw;They hate all the lawThe stool pigeons, spotters, and rats. They call them cold-blooded killers;They say they are heartless and mean;But I say this with pride,That I once knew ClydeWhen he was honest and upright and clean. But the laws fooled around,Kept taking him downAnd locking him up in a cell,Till he said to me,Ill never be free,So Ill meet a few of them in hell. The road was so dimly lighted;There were no highway signs to guide;But they made up their mindsIf all roads were blind,They wouldnt give up till they died. The road gets dimmer and dimmer;Sometimes you can hardly see;But its fight, man to man,And do all you can,For they know they can never be free. From heart-break some people have suffered;From weariness some people have died;But take it all in all,Our troubles are smallTill we get like Bonnie and Clyde. If a policeman is killed in Dallas,And they have no clue or guide;If they cant find a fiend,They just wipe their slate cleanAnd hand it on Bonnie and Clyde. Theres two crimes committed in AmericaNot accredited to the Barrow mob;They had no handIn the kidnap demand,Nor the Kansas City depot job. A newsboy once said to his buddy;I wish old Clyde would get jumped;In these awful hard timesWed make a few dimesIf five or six cops would get bumped. The police havent got the report yet,But Clyde called me up today;He said, Dont start any fightsWe arent working nightsWere joining the NRA. From Irving to West Dallas viaductIs known as the Great Divide,Where the women are kin,And the men are men,And they wont stool on Bonnie and Clyde. If they try to act like citizensAnd rent them a nice little flat,About the third nightTheyre invited to fightBy a sub-guns rat-tat-tat. They dont think theyre too tough or desperate,They know that the law always wins;Theyve been shot at before,But they do not ignoreThat death is the wages of sin. Some day theyll go down together;And theyll bury them side by side;To few itll be griefTo the law a reliefBut its death for Bonnie and Clyde. - Bonnie Parker 1934 Sources Hobsbawm, Eric. Bandits. Orion, 2010.Lundblad, Bonnie Jo. The Rebel-Victim: Past and Present. The English Journal 60.6 (1971): 763ââ¬â66.Meyer, Richard E. The Outlaw: A Distinctive American Folktype. Journal of the Folklore Institute 17.2/3 (1980): 94ââ¬â124.Muecke, Stephen, Alan Rumsey, and Banjo Wirrunmarra. Pigeon the Outlaw: History as Texts. Aboriginal History 9.1/2 (1985): 81ââ¬â100.Roberts, John W. Railroad Bill and the American Outlaw Tradition. Western Folklore 40.4 (1981): 315ââ¬â28.Seal, Graham. The Robin Hood Principle: Folklore, History, and the Social Bandit. Journal of Folklore Research 46.1 (2009): 67ââ¬â89.
Friday, February 14, 2020
E-business Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
E-business Project - Essay Example Viability - To date, no site offers online musical instrument lessons. This means that this will be a "one-of-a-kind" musical site. It will address many problems besetting people who want to take lessons on playing musical instruments but either they don't have the time to physically go to places where these lessons are held or they don't have in their possession the necessary instruments. Likewise, this online experience can answer the needs of physically handicapped people who are musically-inclined and who would like to learn to play an instrument but could not due to commuting problems posed by the individual's physical disability. E-Business Model - The business model for Music Teachers Online is produced to offer a premium site with products and services with minimum overhead. This model offers a simplified site that eliminates avoidable costs and focuses on the basics of an e-business. Designing the website could cost quite a bit, depending on the experience of the business owner. If the owner were able to design the site it would decrease costs significantly, because the design will be the main cost incurred. In this case, the business owner will need the assistance of a professional web designer. A professional designer can implement the necessary formats for adding a shopping cart, setting up bulletin boards and other complicated design issues. Depending on the experience of the designer, this could cost upwards of a $1,000. The site owner needs to have or maintain a credit card (of good standing) or any of the legitimate online pay schemes available where customers can channel their purchase payments. However, once the site is up and running, there are few maintenance fees. Revenue Model - Revenue from this site will come from various sources: online lessons as well sales of musical instruments and sheet music, plus ticket sales. Other Details - This is an efficient musical e-commerce site with exponential business expansion possibilities. It is a site that will be informative and easy to use for both the customers and musical groups. It is also an aesthetically pleasing site that considers the fact that many of its prospective customers/viewers are on dial-up and quick load
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Knowledge Management and the Competitive Strategy of the Firm Article
Knowledge Management and the Competitive Strategy of the Firm - Article Example The study reviews literature that tackles knowledge management in relation to the competitive advantage of an organization. The literature includes Porter ââ¬Ë5 forces modelââ¬â¢, and ââ¬ËWernerfeltââ¬â¢sââ¬â¢ resource base view of a firm. The relationship between KM and strategy formulation by use of resource-based perception of the organization is established. The applicable literature that links KM with strategies is examined. The paper culminates with research findings, implications, and conclusions. Porter based his argument on SWOT analysis concept. Porter views that the five force model depends heavily on the competition level in the industry. The five forces include; the threats presented by new entrants in the market; suppliers bargaining power; threats offered by the substituting goods, and the jockeying among the existing contestants. When an organization has perfect information pertaining to the existence of the above factors they tend to conquer the market . This is because the organization will devise a strategic plan that counteracts the actions of the competitors. The strategy focuses on external factors that analyzing the opportunities and threats evident in the industry. Barney views that organizations that utilize their internal strengths to act on the opportunities at the same time weakening threats and avoiding internal weakness attain a significant value on the competitive competition. The theory argues that a firmsââ¬â¢ success lies in its ability to incorporate its ability and resources. A firmââ¬â¢s resources must never be easily imitated by the competitors. Various researchers supporting the theory including Penrose, Barney, and Mahoney and Pandian asserts that; competitive advantage resources must be valuable, with no substitute and inimitable.
Friday, January 24, 2020
Faith in E. M. Forsterââ¬â¢s What I Believe Essay -- Forster
Faith in E. M. Forsterââ¬â¢s What I Believe E. M. Forsterââ¬â¢s ââ¬Å"What I Believeâ⬠is interesting in that it reflects a moderated idealism. Throughout the essay, Forster will make a proclamation, such as rationality is good, and subsequently retreat half a step, in this case insisting on the continued necessity of faith. It is an interesting technique and demonstrates much of the complexity of his positions, and arguably those of Bloomsbury insofar as they are a whole. Particularly interesting are his fascination with faith, which forms the bedrock of the argument, and with personal relationships. Forster draws a distinction between ââ¬Å"beliefâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Beliefâ⬠in that while he does ascribe to the former, he distrusts the latter. ââ¬Å"They [Christians] have Faith, with a large F. My faith has a very small one, and I only intrude it because these are strenuous and serious days, and one likes to say what one thinks while speech is comparatively free.â⬠1 Forsterââ¬â¢s faith, therefore, is not the Faith, or Belief, ascribed to in religion, rather he seems to have faith in things like free spe...
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Explain the main features of the theory of Utilitarianism Essay
The theory of Utilitarianism takes its name from the Latin word Utilis, meaning ââ¬Ëusefulââ¬â¢. It was first developed by Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher and legal theorist of the 18th century. Bentham sought to produce a modern and rational approach to morality which would suit the changing society of the industrial age. This was also the era of the French and American Revolutions, and of the Enlightenment, so orthodox morality was challenged on many fronts. Utilitarianism may be regarded as a relativist, consequentialist and teleological system of ethics, prescribing no fixed moral rules and judging an action by its consequences or end result (Greek: telos). Bentham argued that one should maximise happiness for the majority (ââ¬Ëthe greatest good for the greatest numberââ¬â¢: Francis Hutcheson), a view which is known as the ââ¬ËUtility Principleââ¬â¢. Happiness was thus equated with moral goodness. This idea further identifies Bentham as a ââ¬Ëpsychological hedonistââ¬â¢, since he regarded humans as being primarily motivated by pleasure and the avoidance of pain. A contented society would be a good society. To bring reason and evidence to the field of ethics, Bentham then put forward what he regarded as a scientific or empirical process for making moral decisions, known as the ââ¬Ëhedonic calculusââ¬â¢. This consisted of seven key criteria one must consider when making a moral choice: Intensity Duration Certainty Propinquity or remoteness (how close at hand pleasure falls) Fecundity (how likely pleasure is to be followed by more pleasure) Purity Extent (how many people it affects). Later in the 19th century, Benthamââ¬â¢s God son John Stuart Mill modified his theory. Mill was a leading politician and philosopher of his day, advocating radical and liberal causes such as the equality of women. He regarded Utilitarianism as an important but flawed approach to ethics. While Bentham had regarded all pleasures as ââ¬Ëcommensurateââ¬â¢ (they are all equal or equivalent), Mill distinguished between ââ¬Ëhigherââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëlowerââ¬â¢ pleasures. Higher pleasures would be those which engaged the mind (e. g. music or poetry), but lower pleasures would be those which engaged merely the body (e. g.eating, sex). Mill developed the idea of ââ¬Ëcompetent judgesââ¬â¢: those who had experienced the full range of pleasures could discriminate between what is higher and lower. A good society would be refined and constructive in its pleasures, and so Mill avoided the charge that Utilitarianism is a system of base gratification. Another key distinction between Bentham and Mill lies in the difference between Act and Rule theories of Utilitarianism. Bentham proposed an Act Utilitarian approach, meaning that he treated each individual action separately, without any rules to guide the individual. Mill meanwhile proposed that one should make rules based upon the consequences which tend to follow from certain actions (e. g. stealing tends to cause pain, so we should have a rule against stealing). So, despite advocating the same underlying idea (the promotion of happiness), we can see that Mill and Bentham arrived at two very different approaches to morality, with Mill avoiding some of the more radical and controversial ideas put forward by Bentham. Evaluate the main strengths and weaknesses of the theory The strengths and weaknesses of Utilitarianism vary between different versions of the theory. The advantages of Act Utilitarianism are not the same as those of Rule; Millââ¬â¢s outlook was very different from that of Bentham. Overall, however, the strengths of both forms are outweighed by their weaknesses. They are not convincing as ethical systems, and some other approach to ethics is required. An advantage of Benthamââ¬â¢s Act Utilitarianism is that it considers the consequences and happiness which result from actions; this seems a sensible approach to ethics which would find much support today. The theory is also flexible and easy to apply; it does not prescribe many hard rules and provides a simple method for decision making. The theory also enables tough decision making through its relativism (i. e. it would allow us to sacrifice individuals if it is of great benefit to society). The problem with Benthamââ¬â¢s theory however is that it is truly relativistic, so any conceivable action could be allowed (killing for the sake of pleasure, or ideology). It also enables the suffering of the innocent under a majority, despite obvious injustice. It further allows cruel or sadistic pleasure, since Bentham regarded all pleasure as commensurate (equal), a point noted by the philosopher Bernard Williams. Millââ¬â¢s theory offers many advantages which get around the problems of Benthamââ¬â¢s Act Utilitarianism. By distinguishing between the quality of pleasures, Mill rules out the possibility of sadism or evil pleasure (e. g. prison guards enjoying torturing an innocent victim). Also, by offering Rule Utilitarianism, Mill is stating that certain actions are explicitly prohibited because they tend to promote pain. So, he would not allow torture, no matter how much it was enjoyed. However, Millââ¬â¢s theory lacks the flexibility of Benthamââ¬â¢s, which means that sensible rule breaking is no longer possible (an objection pointed out by R. M. Hare). One could not tell white lies, even to protect others. There is a further weakness in Millââ¬â¢s idea of different qualities of pleasure: how can we judge what makes pleasure higher or lower? Surely this is a subjective matter, as taste varies from person to person. It might also be argued that the concept of a competent judge is vague, since it is not clear whether we can really identify such people in todayââ¬â¢s society. Overall, the theories put forward by Bentham and Mill fail to provide a convincing or useful approach to ethics. On the one hand, Benthamââ¬â¢s views are strikingly relativistic, allowing any pleasure (even sadism). On the other hand, Millââ¬â¢s Rule system lacks the flexibility to make sensible choices in difficult situations. It may be that some other and more modern version of the theory can overcome these problems, such as Welfare Utilitarianism (as supported by Peter Singer) or Two Rule Utilitarianism (as suggested by R. M. Hare). We could strike a balance between favouring firm moral principles and paying attention to significant consequences or the all-round wellbeing of society. Such a compromise offers a more promising approach to ethics than the classical forms of Utilitarianism.
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