Merchant of Vinice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Merchant of Vinice - Essay Example One of the central characters (Shylock) is a money lending Jew. Many Christians during the time in which this play took place believed that money lending was a sin so it was relatively common for Jews to participate in this activity. At the time of the play’s setting, Venice was an exceedingly wealthy city which was funded largely by trade, which meant that money lending was somewhat of a â€Å"Necessary evil†. For the purpose of this paper, avarice will pertain to the sin of excess and the desire to gain more material wealth. It could be argued that the character of Shylock is guilty of the sin of Avarice by the very nature of his profession. As highlighted earlier, the simple lending of money for the purpose of collecting interest was in itself a form of greed. Antonio leant money at zero interest partially to undermine Shylock’s business but also because gaining from other peoples transactions was viewed as sinful. However, Shylock went beyond earning simple interest and it was made abundantly clear that he revered money and often collected high rates of interest. It is the case that envy pertains to an insatiable desire that applies to more than just material wealth, as well as resenting something that somebody else has. It is upon this foundation that it could be argued that Shylock is guilty of the sin of envy insofar as he celebrated at the sinking of the massive fleet while out at sea. Moreover Shylock was also envious of how the law ended up favoring Antonio. Finally it could be argued that because Shylock was often reviled for being a Jew he was envious of the relative freedom that Christians were able to enjoy. Finally this paper will conclude with a discussion on how Shylock was guilty of the sin of wrath. For the purpose of this report, Wrath will refer to some sort of uncontrolled feelings of rage. Probably the most obvious example would be how Shylock demanded

Children and the Internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Children and the Internet - Essay Example The aim of this paper is to explore the reasons why parents should monitor the time their children spend on the internet, and show the serious dangers that children come across when their internet time is not being supervised. It is very strange that some parents, who are normally very protective of their children, supervise their behavior in public spaces and warn them against the dangers of the strangers with candy; are not aware that internet is also a public sphere full with dangerous people. The biggest danger of the internet is that it is a virtual space. Hence, when parents think that their children are safe at home in the privacy their rooms, they are neither safe nor private if they have an unsupervised internet connection in their rooms. Thus, the internet creates an illusion of safety and privacy, while the children engage in various activities in the social networking sites. While some parents, whose children are probably better at using technology, are unaware the danger s of the internet; some people, including the educators, know its dangers but still advocate unmonitored internet usage in the name of â€Å"teen privacy†. ... Hence, monitoring internet activities of the children has nothing to do with their privacy, since they engage in social activities on the internet. Frances Jacobson Harris is one of the people, who underestimate the threats of the internet posed to the children. In her article â€Å"Teens and Privacy: Myths and Realities†, she called the parental concern with regard to the dangers of the internet as â€Å"technopanic†. Indeed, she seems very naive in a sense that she resorts to the testimonies of her students as evidence of her rather weak arguments. She simply believes that children would automatically block the sexual predators and she supports her naive â€Å"belief† with her students’ responses like this: â€Å"This guy wouldn't give up asking to meet me in real life (through a game site) so I blocked him.† And this is â€Å"end of story† for her (76). However, students’ responses to the casual questions of their teacher are far fr om being credible sources for an article; thus, her argument is not convincing. Plus, her students’ responses would not change the fact that many children still fell victim to the sexual predators. Indeed, Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky warns families and asks them not to be naive and think â€Å"my child knows better† (3). In â€Å"Internet Safety Toolkit†, they point out the fact that â€Å"predators are skilled at using manipulation. They portray themselves to be a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, mentor or confidant to a child and even sometimes to the child’s parents or caregivers as well. They sometimes make themselves out to be helpful, interested and wanting to improve the life of their potential victim in some way† (3). Hence, children may not automatically block the masters of sexual manipulation as Harris