Representation of Evil in “Vasilisa the Beautiful”

Representation of Evil in â€Å"Vasilisa the Beautiful† Introduction Russian folklore is rich with various myths, legends and folk tales that detail the life of various mythical characters. In many of such tales, there is extensive use of magic, witchcraft and the use of extraordinary powers. However, the most common characteristic of Russian folklore is the use of women in storytelling. Historical scholars define Russia’s literature as one that is rich with folk tales involving mystical adventure. However, most of these tales have a heroine instead of a hero at the end. Vasilisa the Brave has its setting at a time when magic and the use of extraordinary power was at its peak. A story is told of a young lady named Vasilisa who is sent by her cruel step-mother to collect some light from a witch called Baba Yaga. However, the main essence of the errand is to have Vasilisa be harmed and possibly die in the process of collecting the light. However, it is her humility and generosity that saves Vasilisa from being devoured by the witch Baba Yaga. The condition given by the witch is that Vasilisa completes a few tasks including basic household chores for Baba Yaga. After successfully completing the task, Baba Yaga hands Vasilisa a lantern fashioned from a skull, which ultimately burns the stepmother and the stepsisters to ashes. Background The story of Vasilisa is laden with symbolism. The writer uses various representations of the local culture to relate to the actual happenings in contemporary culture. The character of Baba Yaga has also been used on various platforms to bring out not only an evil but also a powerful character. â€Å"Vasilisa the Beautiful† characterizes Baba Yaga as a dangerous person who wields massive power of magic. However, her actions towards Vasilisa paint a person who despite being associated with evil does not seem to support evil deeds against the innocent in the society. From the common folklore history, Baba Yaga comes out as the villain who will go to any lengths to harm the protagonist. It is no doubt that Baba Yaga’s character is meant to strike a balance in terms of interpretation and giving the story the intended happy ending. Representation of Evil in â€Å"Vasilisa the Beautiful† â€Å"Vasilisa the Beautiful† is seen as being more of a Russian Cinderella story thus appealing to the Western readers. Despite the fact that the story has been written in so many forms by writers who have different versions of what happens in the story, the basic facts in the story are predominantly similar. The story revolves around a young lady Vasilisa. After the death of her mother, Vasilisa is left with no one to take care of her. However before her death, Vasilisa’s mother leaves her a doll that is supposed to help Vasilisa whenever she needs help. The condition by the mother is that whenever she needs help, Vasilisa should feed the doll and the doll reciprocates by assisting her in her problems. The greatest condition that Vasilisa is given by her mother is never to let anyone know of the doll’s existence (Zheleznova, 1966). Vasilisa’s stepmother is described as a cruel woman who discriminates against Vasilisa making her do most of the chores in t he household while her daughters lazy around the house doing nothing. Further cruel treatment directed towards Vasilisa is whereby she is given only a merger portion of all meals. However, Vasilisa does not eat her meals but rather saves the entire meals for the doll which in turn helps her complete her chores. The doll in the story is a characterization of how Russians and the society in general view super-natural beings. The doll in this case is presented as a mundane object that has extraordinary capabilities while keeping in mind that it can be found anywhere. The author tries to portray Vasilisa’s relationship to the doll as mutually exclusive. It is the treatment towards the doll that dictates whether the doll offers any help to Vasilisa. By feeding the doll, Vasilisa is rewarded by having her chores done by the doll. It is important to note that Vasilisa does not have direct power in her relationship with her doll. Hartman (1993) is of the view that it is only by using the doll that Vasilisa is able to improve her living condition characterized by cruelty. Vasilisa was able to follow her mother’s instructions who directed that she feeds the doll any time that she needs the dolls’ assistance. In addition, Vasilisa is not supposed to tell anyone regarding the doll’s existence. The application of these in the contemporary society is the need to follow instructions. The author depicts Vasilisa as an obedient lady who always heeds instructions from elders as it is depicted throughout the story. It is this obedience that helps Vasilisa time and time again during difficult situations. By being obedient, Vasilisa is able to escape the wrath of her stepmother and later from Baba Yaga. Towards the end, it is the willingness to listen to advice that eventually sees Vasilisa get married to the tsar. When her father is away on business, Vasilisa’s cruel stepmother plots to kill Vasilisa and together with her daughters send Vasilisa though the forest to Baba Yaga for some light. Upon arrival Vasilisa is required by the witch Baba Yaga to do menial household duties and also serve her meals. Vasilisa does all the work without questioning and even goes further to enlist the help of her doll when Baba Yaga requires her to do some almost impossible tasks. After completing all her task, Baba Yaga asks Vasilisa why she is so humble and why she does things without questioning. In her response, Vasilisa asks Baba Yaga about three horsemen who she had previously seen entering and leaving the witch’s homestead. Baba Yaga responds by saying that the three horsemen are her my bright daymy red sunand my dark night—and all three of them are my faithful servants(197). In a critical analysis of fairy tales known as Shadow and Evil In Fairy Tales, the author states that Baba Yaga’s reference to owning the night and day is a literary representation of the pagan culture not only in Russia but the world in general. Franz is of the view that Russian paganisms manifest itself particularly in the Russian society that often has hard-line views on different issues in the society. For some reason, Russia has over the years been viewed as ‘female’ with the reference of ‘rodina’ which means motherland being the best example to support this reference. In relation to â€Å"Vasilisa the Beautiful†, the author is seen to hand more power to women based on the fact that from the story, women seem to make decisions and are also the key characters in the story. In light with all the female characters in the story, Vasilisa’s fate rests with the major characters that are; her mother, the doll, Baba Yaga and her stepmother. Baba Yaga claims to own day and night. This situation replicates most countries and the level of authority exerted to the common citizens. Franz also notes that there are several skulls in Baba Yaga’s hut which is interpreted as the witch’s power over life and death. This can be compared to the power of life and death that the state has over ordinary citizens. In Indo-European folklore, light is often used to symbolize knowledge. Most Western fairy tales describe the quest for knowledge as progressive growth that is beneficial in the society. From the story, Vasilisa was sent by her stepmother to get some light for Baba Yaga. The representation of light in the contemporary society is knowledge. However, â€Å"Vasilisa the Beautiful† introduces a rather unique feature of Russian tale. Instead of the quest for knowledge being represented as a beneficial process, the Russian version suggests that the quest for knowledge is a dangerous process and thus should be avoided unless there are compelling reasons as to why the process must be undertaken. It is important to note that by being sent to collect some light from Baba Yaga, Vasilisa’s stepmother expects that she will not survive her task. However, Vasilisa’s behavior and conduct enables her to succeed in her quest. In addition to this, Vasilisa is able to acknowledge her subordinate role in the society particularly based on how she treats Baba Yaga. Thus from a wider perspective, the author tries to emphasize the rewards that come with good behavior and humility in the society. Faced with a near-impossible task, Vasilisa is able to tame even Baba Yaga who is a witch. Baba Yaga even goes further to state that she does not comprehend how Vasilisa is willing to take orders without questioning. As stated by Compora (2010), the metaphor of identifying Baba Yaga with the state is continued further in the story. From the story, it is permissible for Vasilisa to inquire about some of the things that happen at Baba Yaga’s hut. However, Baba Yaga tells Vasilisa that not every question has an appropriate answer. Baba Yaga goes further to tell Vasilisa that too much knowledge will lead to old age. Before answering the question about the three horsemen, Baba Yaga asks Vasilisa how she was able to complete all the tasks given to her. Vasilisa says that the reason why she successfully completed various tasks was because she had her mother’s blessing. From the story, Baba Yaga is seen as both the villain and the protagonist. This assumption is based on the fact that she rewards Vasilisa for her good behavior and exhibiting good morals. On the other hand, Baba Yaga is described as terrible when she is angry. All the main characters have certain characteristics that define their personality. Vasilisa is portrayed as humble, obedient and hardworking. Vasilisa’s stepmother and stepsisters are portrayed as cruel, selfish and evil. Baba Yaga on the other hand strikes out as considerate and non-manipulative. The portrayal of Vasilisa as selfless implies that she always considers other people’s opinion in her decisions. This reflects in modern society the importance of selflessness. Perhaps to show just how much generosity is in the society, Vasilisa’s stepmother and stepsisters attempt to use Baba Yaga’s power to destroy Vasilisa. This is evident from the story whereby Vasilisa is sent to fetch some light from Baba Yaga even though the stepmother and stepsister knew that she was likely to be harmed in the process of collecting the light. However, it is the stepmother and stepsisters who pay for their evil deeds with their lives. According to Schielzo (1983), â€Å"Vasilisa the Beautiful† further characterizes the use of stepmothers in mythology. Since time immemorial, there is always a negative connotation that accompanies the word stepmother. Stepmothers have been used in myths to contradict the positive nature of mothers. It is therefore not surprising that throughout the folklore history, stepmothers always seem to carry specific personal traits. The most common attribute that is associated with stepmothers is jealousy. In the case of Vasilisa, she is mistreated by her stepmother simply because the stepmother felt that she was prettier than her own children. The same scenario of a jealous stepmother is replicated in various stories throughout history. Baba Yaga gives Vasilisa a skull with fiery eyes indicating that this was the light that the stepmother and the stepdaughters had requested for. Vasilisa innocently takes the skull with her back to her stepfamily that is immediately burnt to ashes by the fiery eyes. The death of Vasilisa’s stepmother and stepsisters mark the assumption in early mythology and story writing that evil never wins. Vasilisa maintains her humble nature which gives the story one of the rarest features of Russian literature which is a happy ending. Conclusion â€Å"Vasilisa the Beautiful† is a manifestation of how various phenomena influenced early folklore. Most mythical analogies incorporate the use of a supernatural being, witchcraft and magic. Also a common trait in such analogies is the use of an evil stepmother. This application relates to so many things in the society and is meant to reflect the situation on the ground. From the beginning of the story, the writer is very specific regarding the direction of the story. Perhaps it is the use of magic that has the greatest impact on the story. Critics argue that despite it not being realistic to apply magic in modern literature, the latter was extremely relevant in early literature especially Greek Myths and Legends. More importantly, the major themes analyzed in the story indicate a systemic application of literature to influence behavior and promote good conduct. This is evident from the story where the evil stepmother and the stepsisters are burnt to ashes by the skull. The d eath of the stepsisters and the stepmother is considered as payback regarding how the same people treated Vasilisa. References Compora, D. P. (2010). Folk and Fairy Tales. Journal of Folklore Research Reviews Hartman, D. K., Hartman, J. A. (1993). Reading across texts: Expanding the role of the reader. The reading teacher, 202-211. Louise, M.F. (1974). Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales. Boston: Shambhala  Publications Mayer, M. (1994). Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave. Morrow Junior Books. Sanders, R. Folk Fairy Tales. (1978)UK: Methuen Co.Ltd. Scielzo, C. (1983). AN ANALYSIS OF BBA-YAG IN FOLKLORE AND FAIRY TALES. The American journal of psychoanalysis, 43(2). Zheleznova, I. L. (Ed.). (1966). Vasilisa the Beautiful: Russian fairy tales. Progress Publishers.

John Jays Hammond JR. :: essays research papers fc

John Hays Hammond, JR. John Hammond was one of the greatest electrical and mechanical inventors of his time. The things he invented during his lifetime impacted history a great deal. According to John Pettibone, John Hays Hammond, Jr. was born in 1888 in San Francisco, California (Pettibone 1). Most of his life Hammond was known as Jack. He was the second son and namesake of a world-famous mining engineer, who was the friend, confidant, and almost running mate of William Howard Taft. Jack’s father grossed a supposed one million dollars a year as well as bonuses at the South African gold and diamond fields where his father relocated his family in 1893. While in South Africa, Jack’s father got imprisoned by accident and in prison got really sick. Mark Twain was on tour of Africa and visited the prison and soon afterwards the Hammond family moved to recuperate in England (Dandola1-2). Young Hammond became devoted to studying life in the past and castles after his family relocated to England in 1898. At the beginning of the century his family moved back to the United States. Years later, as a marriage gift for his wife Irene, Hammond started building a medieval castle home in Gloucester, MA. In 1929 the couple took up residence in the castle and in 1930 revealed it as a museum (Pettibone 1). To invent, John Hays Hammond would at no time have to look far for ideas. He was born into an educated family in 1888 and some of the family’s associates included Nikola Tesla, the Wright brothers, and Thomas Edison. Hammond was both a realistic and fanciful inventor; his attractions varied from culinary and music to torpedoes and electronics (John 1). In New Jersey where John Hammond enlisted at the Lawrenceville School in 1903, his first invention came along. To elude the school’s 8:00 PM rule for lights out, Hammond was delighted to install into a lot of his friend’s dorms a sensor and an over current protection device that automatically turned off the rooms lighting as the door was opened. Hammond was disappointed years afterwards, that he had not listened to Edison’s advice, when a device similar to his became commonplace in vehicles and refrigerators. Edison had told him: Patent all your ideas, and get yourself a good lawyer (John 1). Jack never lost interest in medieval history, which became one of his passions after he was exposed to castles while enrolled in an English prep school.

Discuss in Detail Ways in Which Variations in the English Language Reflect the Society They Are Situated in Essay

Discuss in detail ways in which variations in the English language reflect the society they are situated in. According to Walt Wolfram, â€Å"Language sows its own seeds of change. Social context gives it the fertile ground to grow and spread.† The global spread of English has inevitably led to the formation of new varieties such as Singlish and Hinglish, which are different in their own ways. The differences among these variations, in terms of lexical choice, structure and even pronunciation, are due to the different context and needs of the societies. These include the economical incentive of English in the society, social groups and their cultural make up. The economic incentive of learning English in the society plays a big role in the type of variation that distinguishes the new Englishes from other varieties. With the affluent and powerful recognizing the importance of English to connect, be a part of the global platform and even acquire well paying jobs, the aspiring mi ddle class, who makes up the majority in any societies, would find it very lucrative to learn English, so as to be associated with them. However, in most societies where English is considered a foreign language, learning it in language school is very expensive and usually is an option for the wealthy. As a result, they would pick up bits and pieces of lexical items from the English language, and use it in their speech, maintaining the structure of their native language. An example would be Hinglish, where â€Å"my head is eating circles,† is a direct translation of † mera sir chakkar kha raha hai.’, effectively keeping the structure of Hindi. In India, majority of good Standard English speakers are from the upper class due to the exorbitant fees of the language schools. As such, the variation of English in this case reflects the economical incentives and the income gap in the society, where there is a negative association of the variety due to speakers not being able to afford the education of Standard English. In Text B(i), lexical chain pertaining to negativity is adopted to be referred to code m ixed languages. They include, â€Å"gutter- speak†, â€Å"bad† and â€Å"consequence† However, as the use of the variation used by the lower and middle class increase due to the population distribution, it might lead to the acceptance of the dialect in the whole society, then coming up with a more organized and uniform variety that most members of society would understand. This uniformity of the variety reflects the social acceptance of the variation. In Text B(i), semantic field of uniqueness is adopted to

Gentle Hearted Man Essay

Gentle Hearted Man Essay Gentle Hearted Man Essay The Gentle Hearted Man Garry , a selfless caregiver, amazing papa, and a righteous follower of Christ, through his ways of living he is truly an inspiration and leader to others. Many don’t know how to successfully live a life that is worth living. It is hard in this world to find a voice and to make something of your life. To live a life well does not mean that one lives a perfect life with no fault but instead it means that one lives a life that is impactful to those around. Early on in his life Garry found out that he was an intelligent fellow and a solid leader. Become known as quite the troublemaker when he was growing up. He spent his first few years of life in England with his parents, Marlys and Dick, as well as his older brother Jeff. When his family came to America they had one more child, a little girl named Catherine. Growing up Garry found himself in hard spots always striving for attention because he was the middle child and often felt over looked. In high school everyone loved him and he loved the attention. He began bullying the under classmen and even some of the special needs students. Talking to Garry about his high school years made him fall apart in tears. Even to this this day Garry can’t forgive himself for how he treated Gregory Fletcher, a mentally ill man. This is how Garry recalls their friendship â€Å"Gregory do you want to be cool today?† I would as. â€Å"Yes† Gregory would respond as he stood at the head of the long lunch table where all of us cool kids would sit. â€Å"ok† I would say â€Å"go buy all of us some cinnamon rolls† he would smile and quickly run over to the line and return to us with fresh backed cinnamon rolls. While he would stand there, some buddies of mine would joke with him, knowing he wouldn’t understand. This was a game for all of us. Have the retarted kid spend all his money on us and in the end we would tease him and put him down. (Interview with Garry Montag) One day he saw Gregory sitting alone and thought to himself, â€Å"how can I be so cruel to such an innocent human being who hasn’t done anything wrong†. Garry felt guilt, so he found out where he was living and arrived at his home. When Garry went to knock on the door a very kind older women answered it, which Garry would soon find out to be his mom. She went to call for Gregory and when he appeared he looked so excited. His mom said â€Å"Gregory talks about you often, thank you for being such a good friend to him.† When Garry heard that his heart sank into his stomach and knew that something needed to change. That was Garry’s first real realization in life that his values and the people surrounding him needed to change. Soon after visiting Gregory he began visiting him more and they had a unique friendship. Senior year Garry found Christ and trusted in him that he had a plan for his life. Garry went on to go to Oregon State University where he would mee t the love of his life, Heather White. Heather was the ultimate catch, head of her dance team, and cheerleader for the Portland Timbers, smart, and a musical genius. He adored Heather so much he proposed to her a year after meeting. Although soon after the proposal something tragic happened. At only 19 years of age Heather began loosing the ability to walk, hold things, talk well, bathe on her own; the normal day to day activities. She had to undergo many medical observations for they couldn’t diagnose what she was going through. At first they though it was MS but soon declared it to be ALS. Garry stood by her even when others dropped her knowing that it was evil forces trying to stop them â€Å"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly† (John 10:10). Garry believed that Christ knew what he was doing. Garry went with Heather to every doctor’s appointment he could. The doctors told him that a diseas e like ALS is incurable and that she would die within the next months or years. He had his faith in God and now 20 years later she

Ziggurat at Ur, c. 2100 B.C. essays

Ziggurat at Ur, c. 2100 B.C. essays Ziggurats are a form of ancient temple common to the Sumerians, Babylonians and Assyrians. A Ziggurat is a huge platform with a series of smaller platforms on top. They look like a stepped pyramid with stairs leading to the summit where there was a small temple. Each ziggurat was dedicated to the city's most important god or goddess. Ziggurats are like a mud-brick mountain fit for the gods. Around 2100 B.C. king Ur-Nammu built a ziggurat in honor of the God Sin. It was called Etemennigur, which meant a house whose foundation creates terror. It was built in Ur, south of Iraq and has been visible on the flat Mesopotamian plain for thousands of years. The ziggurat was built from small mud bricks that were locally produced. The mud bricks were made out of mud and reed; the reed was pressed into moulds that had been left to dry in the sun. Each brick measured around 25 x 16 x 7 centimeters and weighed around 4.5 kilograms. The core of the ziggurat at Ur was constructed using mud bricks which were then covered with baked bricks. The baked bricks, which measured about 30 x 30 x 7 cm and weighed up to 15 kg, they were made out of clay pressed into moulds. The bricks were left to dry and were then baked in a mud oven using dry twigs which were set on fire. This made the bricks water resistant. The first stage of the ziggurat was built using around 7,000,000 mud bricks And 720,000 baked bricks. On top of every sixth layer of bricks, reed matting was placed in a criss-cross manner. Sandy soil was also placed with the layer of reeds. Most of the bricks were stamped with the name and title of King Ur-Nammu. The base of the temple was either square or rectangular, and the most common size for it was either 50x50 or 40x50 meters. From the base, new steps were added, until the ziggurat was topped by a small sanctuary. All walls were sloping, and all horizontal lines ...

Masculinity Representation in Films Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Masculinity Representation in Films - Essay Example 54). However, at times, when these action heroes start going back to the action roles that brought them into the limelight, in some instances, several years down the line, scholars extend their ignorance and overlook the fundamental divinity of age as they discuss the hard bodies of these hegemonic heroes (Bould 2005, p. 39). As such, this paper intends to analyse the representation of masculinity in one of the Die Hard films, namely Die Hard 2. The analysis will be drawn by references to the works of Mulvey (1974), Neale (1983) and Tasker (2004). Masculinity as a spectacle merely depicts an idea of opinion which a filmmaker tends to deliver to the audiences. This depiction merely involves physical prowess, sexual virility and aggression (Rzepka and Horsley 2010, p. 61). These are potentially bewildering images of action heroes. With that in mind, it is interesting to note that this hegemonic ideal is not only hard to create but also implausible to maintain for the contemporary male. Therefore, the figure that depicts powerful masculinity may only exist or be embodied in legendary heroes, mythical figures and a minute number of males within a society (West and Lay 2003, p. 27). Die Hard 2 is a story revolving around a police officer who lives in New York. The movie begins when on the eve of Christmas he visits his ‘distanced’ wife, who lives in Los Angeles. Upon his arrival, he finds her and the rest of her work colleagues having a Christmas party at the building in which they work (Gates 2006 p. 35). Coincidentally, some criminals posing as political terrorists invade the building, demanding the release of war criminals who are jailed in an American penitentiary facility. John McLane works as a New York law enforcement officer. He stays far away from his wife and has some unresolved issues; it is partly due to them that he is not on good terms with his wife (Rzepka and Horsley 2010, p. 89). He is a masculine character with virile physical prowess and social dominance. Another important aspect is the high level of aggression noted among these heroes. Prior studies undertaken concerning the subject matter of Hollywood’s presentation of male genres have characterised Die Hard 2 as a male-driven action movie. The audiences of this movie will not find it difficult to spot the genre of the movie, i.e. male-driven. This is visible and prominent in the case of presentation of the lead hero as a macho man (Milestone and Meyer 2012, p. 50). This is because of his spectacular ability to wrestle his enemies, which is a trait of a hero from a movie of the male-driven genre. Indeed, extant studies and research from a feminist perspective clearly state that the physical masculinity of an action hero gives a preferential tone for the action narrative (Carroll 2003, p. 79). An analysis of Die Hard 2 highlights that movie directors focus on physicality in such action heroes as John McLane, and the way they display their bodies forms a vital ingredient of the visual effects (Gates 2006, p. 58). Several suggestions are that American action films strive, frequently at the expense of developing the narrative, to contrive situations or instances for displaying the body of an action hero. Ideally, extant literature that examines both the hegemonic male and the action hero

Economic Geography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Economic Geography - Essay Example The second map depicts the results of the analysis of the number of immigrants in every state in America, by 2009. An analysis of survey by the census bureau shows that Newark, NY, is among the most populous urban areas in the United States. The state has over twenty million residents and one of the states that have the highest number of foreign people. The high population and immigration in New York result from the diverse economic activities in the state. Newark, NY, has a vast diversity including Canadians, West Europeans, Latin Americans, Russians, Africans and other foreign members. Different counties in New York have high number of foreign-borns. Fulton County has one thousand foreign-borns, for instance (U. S census Bureau 1). The two maps have close relationships since high immigration is a cause of high population in New York. High immigration also emanates from the influence of other pull factors as employment, New York being among the most industrialized states in the