Stellers Sea Cow - Facts and Figures

Name: Stellers Sea Cow; also known as Hydrodamalis Habitat: Shores of the northern Pacific Historical Epoch: Pleistocene-Modern (2 million-200 years ago) Size and Weight: About 25-30 feet long and 8-10 tons Diet: Seaweed Distinguishing Characteristics: Enormous size; small, flexible head About Stellers Sea Cow Although its much less well known than the Dodo Bird or the Giant Moa, Stellers Sea Cow (genus name Hydrodamalis) shared the unfortunate fate of these famous birds. Widespread across the northern Pacific Ocean for hundreds of thousands of years, by the mid-18th century this giant, 10-ton ancestor of modern dugongs and manatees was restricted to the obscure Commander Islands. There, in 1741, a population of a thousand or so survivors was studied by the early naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller, who remarked on this megafauna mammals tame disposition, undersized head perched on an oversized body, and exclusive diet of kelp (a type of seaweed). You can probably guess what happened next. As soon as word of Stellers Sea Cow got out, various sailors, hunters and traders made it a point to stop over at the Commander Islands and bag themselves a few of these gentle beasts, which were valued for their fur, their meat, and most of all their whale-like oil, which could be used to fuel lamps. Within three decades, Stellers Sea Cow had breathed its last; fortunately, though, Steller himself bequeathed his studies of live specimens on future generations of paleontologists. (Its important to realize that Stellers Sea Cow had been on the decline for tens of thousands of years before Europeans arrived on the scene; according to one theory, early human settlers of the Pacific Basin overhunted sea otters, thus allowing the unchecked proliferation of sea urchins, which feasted on the same kelp as Hydrodamalis!) By the way, it may yet be possible for scientists to resurrect Stellers Sea Cow by harvesting scraps of its fossil DNA, under a controversial research program known as de-extinction.

O and Othello Comparison - 929 Words

‘Othello is one of the brilliant plays written by William Shakespeare. It is the story of man named Othello and how his mind was twisted and manipulated by a man named Iago and how Iago made Othello think that his wife Desdemona was cheating on him with his lieutenant Michael Cassio, which results in many deaths. Tim Blake Nelson has creatively restructured ‘Othello’ into a film to appeal to a teenage audience. It still contains the same central ideas which are racism, jealousy and deception which will be analysed on how they are portrayed in ‘Othello’ and are creatively reshaped in ‘O’. Jealously is one of the main central ideas and is shown through many character but mainly Iago and Hugo and Othello and O. In act 4, scene 5 Othello†¦show more content†¦In ‘Othello’ Desdemona call him the Moor and she is his loving and faithful wife whereas when Iago says it, it is offensive. In the film ‘O’ there is a lot of racism, Odin and Desi jokingly discuss their different races. When she disapproves of his use of â€Å"nigga,† he tells her that he is allowed to say it but she cannot even think it. Despite his apparently shallow answer, Odin is â€Å"haunted†¦by a profound self-consciousness about his own blackness†. When Hugo tells Odin that Desi and Mike called him â€Å"the nigga,† This is extremely offensive to and he begins to act out his rage and self-loathing. In ‘Othello the word ‘Moor’ has been replaced by with a the word ‘nigga’ to appeal to younger audiences. Deception can also be seen throughout both texts and especially when Iago sets Cassio up to make Othello hear the Cassio has been sleeping with Desdemona. In ‘Othello’ this scene is set in a jail area whereas in ‘O’ it is set in Iago’s bedroom and Othello is hiding outside the room listening in on the conversation. Nelson has creatively reshaped this scene from early times to the 20th century. During this scene in ‘O’ Cassio talks about Desi as a floosy and talks badly of Odin calling the name Nigga, this in use of language from Michael is the language that teenagers use which is another way Nelson has creatively reshaped Othello. Overall, Nelson has creatively reshaped the central ideas jealousy, racism and deception into theShow MoreRelatedEssay on A Comparison of Othello and the Movie O1548 Words   |  7 PagesA Comparison of Othello and the Movie O When Shakespeare composed the tragedy Othello televisions were not. Along with no televisions, life in the late 1500s had many different qualities than it does today. This time period had no war on drugs and no high school shootings. Peer pressure was not an issue. The audiences of Othello in the 1500s did not face the circumstances that we, American high school students, face today. With these significant differences in daily life, come the attemptsRead More The Use Of Animal Imagery In Othello Essay1040 Words   |  5 Pages In William Shakespeare’s play â€Å"Othello† the use of animal imagery was evident throughout the telling of the story. Shakespeare explained several characters actions by comparing them to similarities in animals. The characters in â€Å"Othello† were often depicted as having animal-like characteristics. Some characters were even compared to animals by other characters in the play. By defining characters in terms of these characteristics one can get a clear description of what the character isRead MoreJealousy and Race in Othello 1430 Words   |  6 PagesOthello is one of Shakespeare’s tragedies; originally written as a play and performed to an Elizabethan audience. Othello and many of Shakespeare’s other plays have been performed to various audiences since, and have been adapted into Opera, Ballet, Film and television productions. Othello has survived the centuries to this day and age; and continues to captivate and remain relevant to a modern audience; Othello certainly is a timeless classic work of art. â€Å"The object of tragic imitation is menRead MoreIs Othello a Tragic Hero? Essay1479 Words   |  6 PagesTo what extent can Othello be considered a ‘tragic hero’? The extent of which Othello is a tragic hero has been open to much debate; the basis on which he is judged falls to Aristotle’s established view of the crucial elements that distinguish whether a person is truly tragic. According to Aristotle, a tragic protagonist is a nobleman or person from high status, who contributes to his own demise and illustrates a flaw or weakness in judgment. The tragic protagonist must make a fall from a highRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Othello, Desdemona, Emilia, And Bianca949 Words   |  4 PagesShakespeare’s play Othello, there are only three women characters; Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. In this play, women are viewed as possessions to the men, causing critics to argue that the women to have no control of their lives. Women were viewed as their husband’s property, not being able to make their own decisions and listening to what their husbands told them to do. They were not seen as a human nor were females seen as being equal to men. Throughout Shakespeare’s Othello the three women showRead MoreConventions of a Shakespeare Tragedy1189 Words   |  5 Pagestragic flaw brings the downfall of the hero. Othello is the tragic hero, because Othello is a character of nobility. He is good at the beginning but at the end he starts to become evil. ‘‘Othello’s downfall is jealousy (Othello’s Tragic Flaw) Iago tells Othello not to be jealous when Othello thinks his wife is cheating on him. Iago says to Othello, â€Å"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds (Othello Act 3 Scene 3).† The meaning of this quote isRead MoreTragic Hero in Othelo by William Shakespeare996 Words   |  4 PagesConventions of Othello Shakespeare has been a part of the American Society for many years. Compared to other Authors, he has a different style of writing but within his own writings, they are all very much alike. He has written many plays including Othello and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare was a man who wrote plays that followed the same literary conventions. These conventions included tragic hero, fallacy, irony, and also suspense. A tragic hero is a male figure who is high in society and one whoRead MoreShakespeares Use of Language to Show Othellos Changing State of Mind1627 Words   |  7 Pagesfriendship. This is dramatically effective, being at the beginning of the scene because all through the scene Othello is seen thinking and talking about how disloyal she is. It also makes the tragedy at the end of the play more awful, as the audience knows she really is innocent. Iago then cunningly preys on the inquisitive nature of all humans, including Othello, to mould his mind to thinking the way he would like. He says unbeneficial things, dropping hints as to his feelingsRead More The Besieged Lieutenant in Othello1169 Words   |  5 PagesShakespeare’s tragedy Othello, the audience finds a victim who is beset by Iago more than once, but who recovers in both cases – Cassio. He is the sole survivor among the main characters. In his book of literary criticism, Shakespearean Tragedy, A. C. Bradley rejects the ancient’s accusation that Cassio is an inexperienced soldier: That Cassio, again, was an interloper and a mere closet-student without experience of war is incredible, considering first that Othello chose him for lieutenantRead MoreOthello, By William Shakespeare963 Words   |  4 Pagesaware of the scheme he is putting into action and plays on Othello’s weakness â€Å"O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on† (Othello. 3.3.167-169). Iago takes advantage of his own wife, Emilia, retaining Desdemona’s scarf from Othello from her and placing it in Cassio’s possession. By doing, this Iago is able to prove his allegations of Desdemona and Cassio. Othello expresses jealousy and believes that Desdemona has been unfaith to him with

Bakhtin’s Theory of Self Knowledge Free Essays

Mikhail Bakhtin in his theory of Self-Knowledge was primarily concerned with the freedom that a â€Å"fictional† character could have and its connection to the author. Accordingly, Bakhtin have suggested, what he calls, the theory of â€Å"surplus-vision† which corresponds to the inability of the character to obtain a self-knowledge which is only possible through having the chance to observe him self. In a more simple terms, Bakhtin explained that the character could or any other human being for that instance that exist outside of a person’s mind could not contemplate and think about the same things that the person who is contemplating has been thinking. We will write a custom essay sample on Bakhtin’s Theory of Self Knowledge or any similar topic only for you Order Now Thus, when a person is contemplating about someone else, he would â€Å"see and know somethingâ€Å"that the character that the person has been contemplating could never see and know†. In such case that someone whom the person is contemplating, or that character that the person have been thinking could not act independently on his own without author, as its creator could have thought. Put plainly, this means that the character could never be in a situation wherein he can decide and write about himself without the authors will or foreknowledge. Bakhtin have further discussed that the character’s ability to act liberally would depend upon his being able to act in surprising manner. Such that, a free action is an action that no one else have thought of or have predicted. However, in the case of the character in its relation to its author, it seems to be very impossible for it to be able to act freely from the author’s wishes. This is where Bakhtin’s theory of self-knowledge plays an important role. It is when the analogy of the author and God that Human self-knowledge was put into question. Yet, according to Joseph Bartlett, even without the analogy to God, any person’s action is still predictable or can still be predicted by other person for instance, by someone who has known the other person for quite a long time. Thus the only way, in a view that divine intervention is not counted, that the person could be free is through knowing the expectation of other people and acting surprisingly (2005). Bakhtin believes that this was the only way that the person could act freely and not determined, having a self-knowledge of thy self is the only way to free thyself. For instance one of my friends has been living a very active lifestyle. He joins different sports and was engaged in interdisciplinary activities and courses. This is when he was to choose a humanities course for his senior year; I along with some of our friends have been really surprise when he took up an art course. It was really surprising and even more, when I asked him about his decision, he simply stated that he wants to surprise himself. References Bartlett, J. (2005). Freedom And Self-Knowledge In The Dramatic Works Of Anton Chekhov. University of Missouri-Columbia. How to cite Bakhtin’s Theory of Self Knowledge, Papers