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The COVID illusion and the currency reset

The reset: not all at once; step by step

When this highly destructive farce is over, there are several ways things could go.  In this article, I describe one path.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank (WB) are joined at the hip.  In 2018, they double-knotted their ties by forming a partnership to monitor outbreaks and epidemics before they spread.

Basically, behind the scenes, the deal looks like this: WHO creates the illusion of global epidemics; WB steps in later, to pick up the pieces of the result—injured national economies— by shelling out loans to governments.

These loans always carry conditions.  The prime condition is: let in private, roaming, foreign, predatory, private investors so they can take over vital sectors of a nation: energy, agriculture, water, etc.

But this time, WHO, as planned, has gone ballistic.  The lockdowns are shredding economies.  It’s not going to be “here’s a loan.”

It’s more on the order of: we have to bail out everybody.

How is that done?

Step by step, through switching over one kind of illusory money for another kind of illusory money.

“We invented one kind of money out of thin air, and it reached the end of the line.  Now we have to invent another kind of all new money out of thin air.”

Universal guaranteed income (UGI).  Eventually, for everyone.

It, too, comes with conditions, gradually implemented.  Basically, the deal is: “we pay you, and you obey us.”

The behavioral side of the model is the Chinese regime, which works obedience through a “social credit score.”

Infractions lower the score.  In which case, the violator can’t travel on a plane or send his kids to certain schools or stay in certain hotels or start a business.  There are levels of punishments.

Infractions include walking a dog off a leash, spreading fake news, crossing against a red light, failure to separate garbage properly, business fraud—little and big offenses.

Under a global UGI, it would be: “Here’s your monthly digital check, now follow orders, or your money might be reduced.  Be a good citizen.”

Of course, a system like this requires complete and utter surveillance, public and private, every which way.

The holy grail is energy quotas for every person.  “Mr. Smith, this is your wall talking through the glorious Internet of Things.  Your energy number for the month is reaching its limit.  I want to help you avoid that limit and the social credit score penalties that would be enforced.  I’m going to initiate brown-outs and dimming in your home for the next two weeks.  Your Internet will be shut down—excepting the hours of midnight to three in the morning.  Cook all your meals for the day between four and five am…”

Behavior control.  What’s going on now is a tune-up for the future.  Now they say: stay indoors, don’t let in visitors.  Stand in line outside stores, keeping a distance of six feet.  Report people who appear sick.  Get tested.  Wash your hands a dozen times a day.  In the future, the list of rules and regs will be different, but the overall theme will be the same: be a good citizen and contribute to a better world.  Be sincere and earnest and helpful.  Don’t rebel.

And just like now, many, many people will respond: “Yes, thank you.  I like the straight and narrow.  I like the feeling of contributing to something larger than myself.  I like the collective.  I like the fact that we’re all in this together.”

A sub-population of these people will want to do more.  They’ll want to join the government.  They’ll want to help the government enforce the rules.  They’ll want to “express their energy.”  They would, if asked, gladly march in columns down streets, salute, hand out summons, make arrests, and even commit violent acts under orders.

They would wear crisp uniforms, and take oaths.  They would want ranks and seals.  They would like to be called ELITE.

Because history means nothing to such people, they’ll never know names like SS, Red Guards, or Stasi.  But that’s what they’ll be.

Unless the whole plan for a technocratic Brave New World is exposed and falls apart, because enough people remember another name and know what it means:

FREEDOM.

When this fake pandemic crisis is declared “done,” several themes will emerge.  They will be promoted in various ways, employing many messages.  I’m talking about official government and media propaganda.

First of all, the “pandemic” will be described as major turning point in human history.  A great shock to the system.  All sorts of professional shills and bullshitters will talk about BP and AP.  BEFORE THE PANDEMIC and AFTER THE PANDEMIC.

We will be told, “We can’t go back to the way it was before.”

The first great propaganda theme will be: HELP US BUILD A BETTER WORLD.  This message is for the sincere people who want to pitch in and do good, in a collective sense.  “Let’s build a better world where we can avoid these pandemics, or see them earlier.  Let’s form a civilization where equality and justice for all is the top priority.  Let’s all share and care…”  If you’re looking for logic, forget it.  In whatever way they can, the propagandists will imply that somehow the pandemic was a signal that we must “do better.”  We must “get through it together” as we did during the crisis.  The love we showed then must be the love we show now.  An appeal to idealists everywhere who fall for vague generalities like cats fall for catnip.

The second great theme, aimed at the educated class and the technical types and the scientists and “thinkers,” will be: ORGANIZATION.  “We must organize world civilization more effectively.”  Because somehow, that was the problem Before the Pandemic.  Lack of organization allowed things to get out of hand.  We can’t any longer be separate groups and nations going their separate ways.  Too much disorder.  We need better structures in every phase of life.  We need more interconnection and coordination.  The educated class loves this stuff.  It fits their image of success.  If society operates like a machine, problems will be solved.

The third great propaganda theme is aimed at all sorts of people who emerged from their lockdown and self-isolation, took a walk in a park on a spring day, and suddenly remembered what they had been missing.  Their relief nearly reaches a point of hysteria, as at the end of a World War.  The theme is: NEVER AGAIN.  “We don’t want to go back to those dark days under any circumstances, and whatever it takes, we’re on board.  Tell us what to do.”

With these themes in hand, the technocracy can be enacted.  We’re all for building a better world.  We must organize it with t’s crossed and i’s dotted.  And we must never go back into the dark.

Unless people remember what is left out.  THE INDIVIDUAL.  And FREEDOM.

Technocratic operators are counting on us to forget.  They’re counting on many people who value freedom to say, “Well, it’s all hopeless.  I know what freedom is, but too many others don’t.  So why bother.  I’ll just surrender and float on the tide.”

Floating is an illusion.  The tide moves in a planned direction.  Toward a shore that isn’t pretty.

Are things pretty now?

That’s called a clue.

-Jon Rappoport

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Passport to the Brave New World: the Vaccine

I have already written about the currency reset and other features of a technocratic future waiting in the wings. —New levels of visible surveillance, social credit scores, universal guaranteed income, Internet of Things, energy-use quotas, smart cities.

—Events can move in several directions, going forward. In this article, I explore one of those directions.

The occasion is this fake pandemic; the big hammer is the vaccine against the phony COVID.

As Fauci mentioned a couple of months ago, it could be a DNA vaccine—new technology—which means it is really gene therapy. Synthesized genes are injected into the body. They purportedly set up immunity. Actually, they PERMANENTLY alter the genetic makeup of the recipient. Jabbed: How the Vaccin... Wilcox, Brett Best Price: $13.02 Buy New $13.05 (as of 03:50 EST - Details) 

As you can imagine, this creates the opportunity to put many different genes into humans. To try to invent “new humans.”

The so-called immunity certificates Fauci is now talking about? They would be issued to people who test positive on the new antibody tests for COVID-19—which is an interesting turnaround, because, since 1984, positive tests results have generally been taken to mean “infected.” Why the shift?

Because there is a need for these immunity certificates—as an INTRO to condition the population to an IDEA.

If and when the COVID vaccine arrives, the certificates would be used to signify immunity for all those who take the shot.

It would function as a license. Your passport into the Brave New World. You’re “immune,” so you’re allowed to move out of fear mode. And circulate and travel and enter schools…

For DNA vaccines, the reference is the New York Times, 3/15/15, “Protection Without a Vaccine.” It describes the frontier of research. Here are key quotes that illustrate the use of synthetic genes to “protect against disease,” while changing the genetic makeup of humans. This is not science fiction:

“By delivering synthetic genes into the muscles of the [experimental] monkeys, the scientists are essentially re-engineering the animals to resist disease.”

“’The sky’s the limit,’ said Michael Farzan, an immunologist at Scripps and lead author of the new study.”

“The first human trial based on this strategy — called immunoprophylaxis by gene transfer, or I.G.T. — is underway, and several new ones are planned.” [That was five years ago.]

“I.G.T. is altogether different from traditional vaccination. It is instead a form of gene therapy. Scientists isolate the genes that produce powerful antibodies against certain diseases and then synthesize artificial versions. The genes are placed into viruses and injected into human tissue, usually muscle.”

Here is the punchline: “The viruses invade human cells with their DNA payloads, and the synthetic gene is incorporated into the recipient’s own DNA. If all goes well, the new genes instruct the cells to begin manufacturing powerful antibodies.”

Read that again: “the synthetic gene is incorporated into the recipient’s own DNA.”

Alteration of the human genetic makeup.

Not just a “visit.” Permanent residence.

The Times article taps Dr. David Baltimore for an opinion:

“Still, Dr. Baltimore says that he envisions that some people might be leery of a vaccination strategy that means altering their own DNA, even if it prevents a potentially fatal disease.”

Yes, some people might be leery. If they have two or three working brain cells.

This is genetic roulette with a loaded gun.

And the further implications are clear. Vaccines can be used as a cover for the injections of any and all genes, whose actual purpose is unannounced.

The vaccine masters have a problem. They know their genetic technology is far from perfect. Plans to re-engineer the human race are not a simple one two three.

For example, consider the latest and greatest genetic tool, called CRISPR.

Here is a backgrounder I wrote a year ago.

New CRISPR gene-editing: the extreme dangers

Technologynetworks.com (6/26/17): “CRISPR gene editing is taking biomedical research by storm. Providing the ultimate toolbox for genetic manipulation, many new applications for this technology are now being investigated and established. CRISPR systems are already delivering superior genetic models for fundamental disease research, drug screening and therapy development, rapid diagnostics, in vivo editing and correction of heritable conditions and now the first human CRISPR clinical trials.”

All hail. 

It’s called CRISPR, a much faster, more precise, and cheaper technique for editing genes. Researchers are in love with it. You can find hundreds of articles and studies fawning over the innovation.

At phys.org, however, we have this, ahem, warning note (5/29/17): “…a new study published in Nature Methods has found that the gene-editing technology can introduce hundreds of unintended mutations into the genome.”

Oops.

“In the new study, the researchers sequenced the entire genome of mice that had undergone CRISPR gene editing in the team’s previous study and looked for all mutations, including those that only altered a single nucleotide.”

“The researchers determined that CRISPR had successfully corrected a gene that causes blindness, but Kellie Schaefer, a PhD student in the lab of Vinit Mahajan, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University, and co-author of the study, found that the genomes of two independent gene therapy recipients [mice] HAD SUSTAINED MORE THAN 1500 SINGLE-NUCLEOTIDE MUTATIONS AND MORE THAN 100 LARGER [GENE] DELETIONS AND INSERTIONS. None of these DNA mutations were predicted by computer algorithms that are widely used by researchers to look for off-target effects.” (Emphasis is mine.)

“’Researchers who aren’t using whole genome sequencing to find off-target effects may be missing potentially important mutations,’ Dr. Tsang says. ‘Even a single nucleotide change can have a huge impact’.”

Genetic roulette is alive and well.

Spin the wheel, see what numbers come up. Good effects, bad effects, who knows? Step right up and take your chances.

Of course, researchers who admit these tremendous problems remain optimistic. They look forward to “refining the method.” That’s a cover for: “we really don’t know what we’re doing right now.”

Unfortunately, much science operates in this fashion. Launch a new technology, and turn a blind eye to the consequences. For example, place mercury, a devastating neurotoxin, in vaccines. What harm could result—aside from the destruction of children’s brains.

Here is more gushing PR, otherwise known as throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks: “There are weekly press releases and updates on new advances [in CRISPR] and discoveries made possible with this technology; the first evidence is now emerging that CRISPR-Cas9 could provide cures for major diseases including cancers and devastating human viruses such as HIV-1.” (technologynetworks.com)

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And just in case you think only the most careful and competent leading lights of the genetic research community would be permitted to get within a mile of CRISPR, here is more from technologynetworks.com:

“CRISPR-Cas9 systems, tools and basic methodology are very accessible as ready to go toolkits that anyone with lab space and an idea can pick up and start working with…In response to a growing need, companies such as Desktop Genetics have developed open access software to accelerate CRISPR experimentation and analysis.”

That’s good to know. “Anyone with lab space and an idea” can jump on board and have at it.

Do your own cross breeding of the pregnant phrases, “What could possibly go wrong,” and “Nothing to see here, move along,” and you’ve summarized the situation.

“They say they cured my anemia, but now I turn green and purple and I keep falling down.”

If all this isn’t enough to make you see the dangers of CRISPR, consider this statement about engineering human immune cells (T-cells) in a “safer” way. From statnews.com (June 23, 2013):

“The experiment would alter the immune system’s T cells only after they’re removed from a patient. That gives scientists the chance to screen the CRISPR’d cells to make sure only the three intended genes, all involved in making T cells find and destroy tumor cells, are altered. But after those T cells are infused back into a patient to fight melanoma, sarcoma, or myeloma, the CRISPR system can keep editing DNA, and tracking such edits becomes like following a polar bear in a snowstorm.”

Not very comforting. Once set in motion, even under the most protected and limited conditions, CRISPR can keep on working, scrambling genes in unknown ways.

So…when it comes to DNA vaccines, aka gene therapy, a plan to precisely re-engineer humans could quite easily descend into uncontrolled chaos.

And the controllers and elite funders of the vaccine know that.

What to do?

With the global population as their guinea pigs, perhaps they would start small. Introduce the slightest possible gene-alteration, stand back and see what happens. Try out a gene that would ordinarily—hopefully—achieve next to nothing. Try to measure the results.

Viewed from one angle, the whole fake epidemic is a set-up for the vaccine, and for mandatory vaccines.

I have written about the special exemption from liability recently issued by the US Dept. of Health and Human Services. Basically, anyone associated with pharmaceutical strategies undertaken “against the coronavirus” cannot be sued, regardless of “adverse effects” of medicines or vaccines.

Taking a stand against mandatory vaccines—any and all vaccines—is more important than ever.

-Jon Rappaport

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COVID: The Squeeze Play on the Population

It’s a con as old as the hills. The ancient chieftain of a little territory looks out across his domain and says to his top aide, “You know, we have these clusters of people worshiping different gods. That’s not good for business. Our business is CONTROL, so we need UNITY. Make up the name of some god, and go out there and sell it. Take down those little shrines and tell all the people they have to believe in the new deity. Use force and censorship when necessary. Later on, I may decide I’M really the name you chose for the new god. We’ll see. If you have any trouble right away, call me on my cell. I’ll be out sunning by the pool.”

Unity of thought. That’s what controllers are after.

In the case of this fake epidemic, the population must view WHAT IT IS in the way public officials and the press are describing it. Dissenting analysis must be pushed into the background.

Here is a 4/9 Bloomberg News headline: “5G Conspiracy Theory Fueled by Coordinated Effort.” [1] A sub-headline states, “Researchers identify disinformation campaign but not source.” The article begins: “A conspiracy theory linking 5G technology to the outbreak of the coronavirus is quickly gaining momentum…” Nature Made Calcium, M... Buy New $9.00 ($0.03 / Count) (as of 03:55 EDT - Details)

Obviously, such wayward thinking has to be stopped. And down further in the Bloomberg article, we have chilling news: “Some social media companies have taken action to limit the spread of coronavirus conspiracy theories on their platforms. On Tuesday, Google’s YouTube said that it would ban all videos linking 5G technology to coronavirus, saying that ‘any content that disputes the existence or transmission of Covid-19’ would now be in violation of YouTube policies.”

“In the U.K., a parliamentary committee on Monday called on the British government to do more to ‘stamp out’ coronavirus conspiracy theories, and said it was planning to hold a hearing later this year at which representatives from U.S. technology giants will be asked about how they have handled the spread of disinformation on their platforms.”

Independent analysis of the “epidemic” hangs in the balance. The masters of control want to maintain an information monopoly.

It goes without saying that, in order to achieve this monopoly, detailed surveillance of Internet content is necessary.

Another type of surveillance is also part of the squeeze play. Apple.com has the story (press release, 4/10) [2]:

“Across the world, governments and health authorities are working together to find solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic, to protect people… Since COVID-19 can be transmitted through close proximity to affected individuals, public health officials have identified contact tracing as a valuable tool to help contain its spread. A number of leading public health authorities, universities, and NGOs around the world have been doing important work to develop opt-in contact tracing technology.”

“To further this cause, Apple and Google will be launching a comprehensive solution that includes application programming interfaces (APIs) and operating system-level technology to assist in enabling contact tracing. Given the urgent need, the plan is to implement this solution in two steps while maintaining strong protections around user privacy.” All-Natural Large Heat... Buy New $27.95 ($27.95 / Count) (as of 03:18 EDT - Details)

“First, in May, both companies will release APIs that enable interoperability between Android and iOS devices using apps from public health authorities. These official apps will be available for users to download via their respective app stores.”

“Second, in the coming months, Apple and Google will work to enable a broader Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform by building this functionality into the underlying platforms. This is a more robust solution than an API and would allow more individuals to participate, if they choose to opt in, as well as enable interaction with a broader ecosystem of apps and government health authorities. Privacy, transparency, and consent are of utmost importance in this effort, and we look forward to building this functionality in consultation with interested stakeholders. We will openly publish information about our work for others to analyze.”

“All of us at Apple and Google believe there has never been a more important moment to work together to solve one of the world’s most pressing problems. Through close cooperation and collaboration with developers, governments and public health providers, we hope to harness the power of technology to help countries around the world slow the spread of COVID-19 and accelerate the return of everyday life.”

If you believe citizen privacy is an utmost concern in the minds of Google and Apple, I have condos for sale on the far side of the moon.

The tracing tools appear to involve a very rapid expansion of Snitch Culture. What else are “opt-in users” going to communicate about? The weather? Lunch?

“Dear Relevant Users and Public Health Officials: Yes, I know Marty. Sad to hear he’s been diagnosed with COVID-19. I did have a brief meeting with him just prior to the lockdown. I suppose I might be infected. I should get tested right away. Let’s see, who else was at the meeting? Marty’s brother, Felix, and Carrie, who is Felix’ on and off girlfriend. Six months ago she was tested for an STD, I don’t know the results—Sandy, the broker at Wilson and Wise was also at the meeting—OMG, that could mean the whole company is infected—and Sandy’s dog Tootsie—can animals spread the virus?—then there was a janitor who came into the room, I think his name is Al. He lives down near the docks. He has a brother who I hear is a drug dealer and a compulsive gambler. He owes money to some nasty people, I think…Anything I can do to stop the spread of the virus, let me know…”

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It rips the fabric of social trust.

It blows apart privacy.

It exposes people to government intervention.

It cements the UNITY DICTUM: the epidemic has only one portrait, and the population must bow before it.

An answer? A counter? More citizens must become independent reporters and publish their findings. More citizens must set up blogs and sites that act as old-fashioned street newsstands, posting the work of independent journalists and investigators.

For every ten they censor, a hundred must spring up.

Nothing is riding on this except the immediate future—freedom, slavery, medical dictatorship, a borderless planet operated as one super-corporation, the individual vs. the collective, the energy of the individual soul.

Or people can say doom is upon us and nothing can be done about it.

Or people can sit at home and suck on the lockdown lollipop.

In Ohio, there is a protest see here and here.

SOURCES: [1]: 5G Virus Conspiracy Theory Fueled by Coordinated Effort [2]: Apple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology

-Jon Rappaport

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The Dark Knight: Super Anti-Heroes and Post Modern Cynicism

     A sense of cynical jadedness pervades the post-modern world. What was considered to be the modern world was an era full of ambition and hope for the future. The modern world brought technology such as the printing press and its attendant dissemination of information that helped to foster the free marketplace of ideas. With the free market place of ideas came wishful theories, such as those of Karl Marx and Charles Darwin, envisioning a utopian new dawn that would see the transcendence of human nature and vice. No doubt, there were steps taken in that direction. After all, the French were able to overthrow their indulgent monarch and those American colonists tossed some tea in the harbor which resulted in the "shot heard around the world" and the overthrow of their own tyrannical monarch. Democracy prevailed in its best possible form for a few good centuries in countries such as the United States. The western world and its capitalistic machine soldiered by multi-national corporations seemed as unstoppable as Hitler's panzer divisions. Then something abrupt happened. It wasn't only the failure of humanity to instantiate their philosopher's best visions of a free, bountiful and peaceful existence into reality. The realization that that would likely never happen was a gradual process. But rather, some simple people on one side of the world directly confronted and attacked the world's supposed shining beacon of democracy on the other side of the world: the United States. The paradigm shifted and so did the tactics of the guardians of democracy. Only a unilateral vigilantism would suffice to keep the vestiges of mankind's last great hope of a system alive. Pop culture would soon mimic the form of vigilantism that rose to such a task. In Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, we observe the type of vigilantism that has come to be accepted by a jaded and cynical post-modern world in the hopes of preserving the vestiges of normalcy and prosperity.     In The Dark Knight, Batman is an "unstoppable force" pitted against an "immoveable object" personified in The Joker. The Joker goes to great lengths to disrupt the plans of those other "logical" criminals. "Some men just want to watch the world burn," remarks Batman's loyal butler Alfred. Indeed, the only aim of The Joker is to wreak non-sensical havoc on the citizens of Gotham, its criminals, and it law enforcement apparatus. This type of violence conveniently mimics the type we might expect from an al-Qaeda terrorist. But, even the al-Qaeda terrorist has a certain method to his madness. To combat such extremism a new game had to be played by the good guys.     Shortly after the 9/11 attack, what some would call Draconian measures were implemented by the Bush administration mostly cloaked in that conveniently named piece of legislation called The Patriot Act. Rendition of American Citizens, surveillance, and drones would become the norm for a grateful and jaded public. After all, who cares if you have your e-mail sifted through as long as you can acquire a Fossil watch and a pair of Nikes at a good price, right? Expectedly, the Dark Knight incorporated his own little bit of Draconian technology into his fight against the chaos. Without prior approval from Wayne Enterprise's chief of R&D, Batman himself configures a previously developed sonar technology to spy on every citizen of Gotham that owns a cell phone. Either this was a prophecy (Edward Snowden would expose the NSA's Prism Program 5 years after the movie's release), or it is the comprehensive encompassment of the times in what Shaun Treat labels the "superhero zeitgeist" (Treat 103). Treat, explores the notion of  "Super Antiheroes who must endlessly battle blow back from their outlaw excesses...[in which] Batman similarly presents a dark "knight of Faith" exploring the "monstrosity of heroism" when fidelity to the Cause compels us to transgress the threshold of our humanity" (Treat 104). This type of transgression is likely to be accepted by the general public, however. After seeing many of the dreams and visions of the past not coming to fruition, a cynical citizen of the post-modern world may settle for a transgression here or there as long as the status quo can be maintained and a sense of normalcy is preserved. Despite Benjamin Franklin's admonitions, many would willingly trade freedom for security even if security is provided in a reckless way.    The post-modern world entree of cynicism has best been served with a side dish of humor. Humanity has mostly realized that their own human nature and its attendant vices will never be overcome in any substantial manner. We can only smile and hope for the best as our own Dark Knight preserves some form of prosperity and order through his strong arm and questionable tactics. We are able to laugh as we realize that we are on the far end of a linear cycle of  history living in the best possible conditions that millenniums of wars, a few enlightenments, numerous revolutions, religious movements, and countless political systems have provided to us. Our footing is firm in the realization that this is it and the "unstoppable forces" will always collide with the "immoveable objects."

                                           Works Cited 

Nolan, Christopher.  The Dark Knight. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video, 2008.

Treat, Shaun. “How America Learned to Stop Worrying and Cynically Enjoy!

     The Post-9/11 Superhero Zeitgeist.” Communication and Critical/Cultural

     Studies. 6.1 (2009) 103-109.  Web.  28 Apr. 2015       

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Awe and Repugnance: East Meets West in “Marco Polo.”

         Mankind has always had a penchant for fear and amazement toward the unknown, unfamiliar, and newly discovered. When the earliest explorers bravely ventured into an unknown world and united the East with the West, the documentation of their journeys clearly exhibited the attitudes that were felt towards the “other." An example of a concept that captures the way in which the “other” was understood by early Europeans is that of scholar, Edward Said, and what he calls “Orientalism.” One of the earliest travel journals published is Pierto Martire d’Anghiera’s The Decades of The New World. Translated into Old English in 1555, it contains some downright bizarre and reverent conceptions of what lay "out there." One passage reads as follows:  

              There are also people without heades, called Blemines, hauyng theyr

              eyes and mouth in theyr breste. Lykewyse Strucophagi, and naked

             Ganphasantes: Satyrs also, which haue nothyng of men but onely

             shape. Moreouer Oripei, great hunters. Mennones also, and the

             region of Smyrnophora, which bringeth forth myrre. After these is the 

            region of Azania, in the which many Elephantes are founde (Olesen 5).            Reverential illustrations similar to the one above portraying "great hunters" and putrid descriptions of people "without heades" can similarly be found in the travel diaries of the famous explorer, Marco Polo. Marco Polo's version of the fascinating and terrifying "other" includes his description of the infamous Mongolian tribe of the Tartars. Marco Polo holds the Tartars in high esteem by stating things such as "No people upon earth can surpass them in fortitude under difficulties, nor show greater patience under wants of every kind" (Polo 91). He counters this with abhorring statements such as, "Their disposition is cruel" and "The men are allowed the indulgence of taking as many wives as they choose" (Polo 93, my emphasis).

     Marco Polo's depiction of the "other" has made its way into popular culture by way of the new Netflix series Marco Polo. In that series, a fascinating conception of the "other" is portrayed through the concept of "Orientalism." "Orientalism" is a way of looking at The East and Asia by in large as an exotic world inhabited by sinful and seductive men and women that don't subscribe to the traditional Christian values and way of life that is central to The West (Said). One example of how the modern writers of this new series are able to portray the Old World's view of the Orient is seen in one episode of the series entitled The Wayfarer. In that episode, the oriental women are exotic and sensual creatures that are nearly always scantily clad, performing enticing sexual acts, and even participating in orgies.This over exaggeration highlights the juxtaposed manner in which men of the western world viewed their women compared to the women they believed inhabited the unexplored, strange lands that lay somewhere "out there." Women of the western world epitomized Christian values and chastity while eastern women were objects of sexual lust and conquest.The Netflix series also depicts "Orientalism" by use of traditional Asian music and the incorporation of fascinating oriental architecture. All of these elements demonstrate the sense of awe and repugnance in which the Christian people of the Old World viewed the exotic Orient.

                                                Works Cited 

Olesen, Jan. “The Persistence of Myth:Written Authority in the Wake of New

    World Discovery.” Canadian Review of American Studies. 41.2 (2011)

    Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

Polo, Marco. “The Travels of Marco Polo.” Trans. William Marsden

      ed. Manuel Komroff. New York: Boni & Liveright 1926. Print. 90–95.

Said, Edward W. Orientalism. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978. Print.

“The Wayfarer.” Prod. Jon Fusco, Marco Polo Netflix. December 12, 2014.

     Netlifx. Web. January 21, 2015.

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The Burdens and Blessings of a 1950′s Housewife in “The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit.“

      Tom Rath, the main character in Sloan Wilson's 1955 novel The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, is an estranged family man and WWII war hero struggling against the conformity that is thrust upon him by the 1950's consumerist and corporate landscapes. In order to provide for his wife Betsy and 3 young children, Tom must participate in the corporate "rat race." Tom reluctantly catches the commuter train every morning from his home in Connecticut to his boring job in nearby New York City in order to provide the trappings of a comfortable suburban life for his family. The demands to conform to the environment of the corporate world are largely forced upon Tom by his wife Betsy and her longing to possess the objects that comprise the "American Dream." Indeed, Tom's conformity cannot be understood completely without taking account of his wife's desires. As Jürgen Martschukat notes, "After all, she urges her husband Tom to apply for a better-paid job because she longs for a bigger and more costly house. It is her desire to move on in the feminized world of consumerism that forces Tom to play according to the rules of the conformist game. Yet, as soon as he has learned to sidle through the world, please his boss, and advance in an unobtrusive way, Betsy complains about her husband having lost his drive and his self-determination. She wants a good father for her children, a good provider, and “a real man” at the same time" (4). The dynamic that is quite obviously observed through Tom's family life is one that places tremendous pressure on him to perform as a bread winner and to capture the 1950's idealized lifestyle. In the midst of it all, it is uncertain if Tom will ever be able to find his own serenity while struggling to provide his wife with what makes her happy.      All along there is a clear recognition that Tom wants more in his life than to just conform to the corporate world. He longs for a return to that self- determination that he once possessed and the ferocity that enabled him to make it through the war. Ironically, it is from the same quarter that drove him to adequately perform in and conform to the corporate world that he receives a lion's share of his liberation: his wife Betsy. It is her, after all, that instructs her husband to tell it like it is to his boss and to not resort to saving face. She points out the cynicism and smugness that pervades her husband's navigation of the corporate world. Betsy's remarks help Tom to realign his focus and get honest with himself. He is eventually able to candidly tell his boss that "I can't get myself convinced that my work is the most important thing in the world" (Wilson 251). After the death of his grandmother, it is also Betsy that convinces Tom that the property that has been willed to him may also be the key to their financial freedom. She urges Tom to participate in the zoning board meetings and all of the other necessary business contracting that is required to build upon their newly acquired land and carve out their own little piece of the American Dream. Finally, it is Betsy's understanding of a difficult situation that allows Tom to free his conscience and regain his lost individuality. After a heated discussion, Betsy permits Tom to take responsibility for a child that was fathered as a result of a wartime affair. As Martschukat puts it, "Tom earns Betsy’s understanding and even her support for the decision to take responsibility for his child in Italy. This is Tom’s coming out as father and self-directed man because he consciously decides to live for family and fatherhood. After having taken that decision, his life as father is not an expression of other-directed conformity any more but of autonomous self-control" (4). While there are many other themes that can be taken from Wilson's novel, the theme that is observed through all of this are the burdens and blessings that are central to the average domestic partnership. Even though Betsy was the source of Tom's greatest pressures, she was also his biggest asset.   

                                               Works Cited

Martschukat, Jürgen. “Men in Gray Flannel Suits. Troubling Masculinities in

     1950s America.”  Gender Forum: An Internet Journal for Gender Studies

     20. (2011) 1-6. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.

Wilson, Sloan. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. Cambridge: De Capo Press. 

     1955. Print.

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The Timeless Themes of Ecclesiastes as found in T.S. Eliot’s “The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock.”

      Of the many themes and references interwoven into the fabric of T.S. Eliot’s widely acclaimed poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, the Book of Ecclesiastes taken from the Bible is the most prevalent. King Solomon is the narrator of Ecclesiastes and offers his listeners jaded and melancholic advice acquired after living a long and bountiful life. In his life as king he has accomplished many great things and exclaims that he “has undertook great projects” and lavished himself decadently with  "silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces“ (New International Version Eccl. 2.8)  After experiencing all of this, he claims that "all is vanity” save for the pursuit of wisdom and the enjoyment of the fruits of one’s labor (Eccl 1). It is this same attitude and vice that is expressed by Prufrock throughout the poem as he speaks to himself.         Eliot plunges into Ecclesiastical analogies right at the start of the poem by including an epigraph taken from Dante’s Inferno. The narrator of Ecclesiastes is commonly referred to as “The Preacher.” Guido da Montefeltro, speaking in the passage taken from the Inferno, takes on a preacher’s role by offering advice to the transient of hell to whom he is speaking and has heard will be sharing in his same fate of not returning to the world of the living. Likewise, “The Preacher” in Ecclesiastes knows he is speaking to those who share in his same mortal fate (Johnson 8). The message delivered in both instances pertains to life and the deeds done “under the sun” by both the good and the evil.         Exposing vanity is one of the central themes in Ecclesiastes. Prufrock gives into much vanity as he obsesses over how he looks and how others will portray him when he comes into contact with them. This is seen most clearly in the lines where he states, “With a bald spot in the middle of my hair / (They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”) / My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin, My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin / (They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”       Ecclesiastes exudes its essence in a very obscure manner with the poem’s imagery of  “yellow smoke” and “yellow fog.” Brandon Johnson illustrates that these yellow vapors take on cat-like qualities as they lick, linger, rub, and curl (Johnson 13). By taking on such feline characteristics, the smoke and fog portray the fleeting and elusive nature of life and youth. The preacher in Ecclesiastes reflects upon the fleetingness of life and the somberness that comes with old age. Johnson, further draws out this symbolism by explaining that “The sleep of the fog implies its disappearance, much like the disappearance of ephemeral worldly gain and the accomplishments that Ecclesiastes points out” (Johnson 13).       Finally, in what is the most recognizable Ecclesiastical reference Prufrock proclaims, “And indeed there will be time.” This directly parallels Chapter 3, Verse 1 of Ecclesiastes which reads, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” The intents of the speakers in each instance are different from one another, however. Prufrock uses his reference to time so that he can make excuses not to act on his desires to speak to the women that “come and go and speak of Michelangelo,” while King Solomon names the various occasions that life affords us such as, “a time to be born and a time to die.”        More could be said about the use of Ecclesiastical references in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock . Ecclesiastical elements can also be found in Thomas Wolfe’s works Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River as Johnson demonstrates (Johnson 3). In either case, the use of such references makes each work richer and incorporates the timeless themes that Ecclesiastes has to offer.

                                                  Works Cited

Johnson, Brandon. “Echoing Attitudes: The Echoes of Ecclesiastes and T.S.

    Eliot in Look Homeward, Angel and Of Time and the River.” Master’s

    Thesis, Appalachian State University, 2012.

The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973.

     Revised 1978 and 1984. 

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Freud’s Taming of the Unconscious

     Few modern thinkers have shifted the paradigm as much as Darwin, Marx and Freud have.  Darwin provided demonstrable evidence that challenged the status quo of our origins offered by the religious establishment for centuries. He riveted the modern world by postulating that all life had evolved through a "survival of the fittest" struggle from a common ancestor. Humans were characterized by Darwin as instinctual creatures that would eventually transcend their primordial and savage natures in such a way that they would be able to embrace all life in a complete loving-kindness. Karl Marx then came along and described the social environment that defined the modern human version of the survival of the fittest. To Marx, it was really a survival of the "fattest" competition seen through a class conflict in which the wealthy bourgeoisie exploited the labor of the struggling proletariat. Marx envisioned a future in which the ravenous, capitalist machine would stretch its tentacles to the uttermost parts of the earth destroying any last vestiges of natural man and consuming any and all resources that were to be found. Sigmund Freud agreed with Darwin's assessment that man was an animal driven by instinct, however, he did not endorse the notion that we would ever be able to transcend our instincts because that is just the reality of who we are to the very core. Despite lacking the kind of optimism Darwin envisioned for the future in that man would cast off his instinctual vices, Freud offers a different type of hope on an individual basis.     Freud had the modest aim of turning the "neurotic misery" of his patients into "common unhappiness" (Appignanesi and Zarate 40). His psychoanalytic theory came under much scrutiny because of the strong emphasis he placed on sexual drives and desires. Specifically, Freud developed the analysis of the "Oedipus Complex" in which he believed that everyone is subject to the same childhood incest fantasy in which we are in love with our mothers and jealous of our fathers (Appignanesi and Zarate 59). Behind all of this, however, was one of Freud's greatest contributions to modern thinking, the psychology of the unconscious. To Freud, the conscious only constitutes a portion of our mental makeup. The other portion of our minds, the unconscious, is comprised of involuntary drives and irrational impulses that influence our thinking and behavior (Appignanesi and Zarate 101). Digging deep within the unconscious and releasing these malignant mental occurrences provides a sort of liberation. Herein lies the hope that Freud offers to us all. As philosopher Gordon Marino contends, searching into the depths of our unconscious helps us to fulfill the Socratic maxim to "know thyself." More importantly, it is not good enough to merely carry out an "intellectual self-examination," but rather we should seek to understand our feelings too,  and parse any ambivalences we may have (Marino). Freud explained this metaphorically in his work Civilization and its Discontents by contending that much like "Rome is built upon the ruins of past Romes," so too are our emotions stratified (Freud qtd. in Marino). By recognizing this law of our internal selves we can sift through the complexities and take hold of and understand the mixed emotions that drive our behaviors and influence our reactions to the world around us (Marino). The result is a much more balanced mental makeup and happier life. Unlike the Darwinian hope that we may transcend these underlying instincts and emotions, Freud helps us to recognize them and lead us to a proper realistic balance. In doing so, we will avoid becoming trapped in what Marino deems a "snarling Rottweiler of a conscience."

                                                 Works Cited

Appignanesi, Richard, and Oscar Zarate. Freud For Beginners. New York:

     Pantheon.1979. Print.

Marino, Gordon. “Freud as Philosopher.” The New York Times.  9 Oct. 2011

     Web. 6 Mar. 2015

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Marxism: It all sounds good on paper.

     Out of the rubble of what remains of capitalism rises the shining beacon of communism. It is a new society in which there are no classes and everyone's labor reaps fruit equal to that of his fellows. The factories and farms are all owned by everyone communally. Exploitation in society no longer has its place. This was the hope of the future for the 18th Century German philosopher Karl Marx. Marx embraced the idea of "historical materialism." This is the notion that society is an ever evolving war between the classes that results in one political system being cast off for another. The patricians and plebeians of Roman times were dissolved into the feudal system of the Middle Ages with its attendant nobles and peasants. Likewise, the capitalistic system of Marx's time and its bourgeoisie and proletariat classes would be dissolved in a violent revolution spawned by the proletariat workers to make way for a communist utopia in which there would no longer be any division of classes. As the cliché goes, "It all sounds good on paper." Who wouldn't want a society in which everyone is equal and there is no possibility of exploitation? It seems that every reasonable person would embrace such an existence. The problem with Marx's theory is that once it is thought through well enough, it falls apart. Marx's theory is not feasible in practice because it does not provide members of society any incentive to work above and beyond a subsistence level and it provides no rational mechanism for the distribution of resources and a guarantee of fairness in distributing those resources.

    Under communism, it is said that everyone would gladly take up the role of working and producing that which is needed for the rest of society as a whole. Laborers would most likely even be employed in positions that they excelled at. This idea is captured in the communist maxim, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Even so, in such an arrangement, there is no motivation to work harder than what is needed to secure living at a subsistence level. No matter how hard one worked, the return would always be the same. This could imaginably lead to workers not even producing what is needed for society. In this event, there would also be no motivation for workers to innovate and produce technologies that benefit everyone, something that capitalism motivates exceedingly well. The lackadaisical atmosphere inherent in a communist system and the proper motivation to be found in capitalism was captured clearly by John Stuart Mill when he spoke of people in stating that they have "their tendency to be passive, to be the slaves of habit, to persist indefinitely in a course once chosen. Let them once attain any state of existence which they consider tolerable, and the danger to be apprehended is that they will thenceforth stagnate; will not exert themselves to improve, and by letting their faculties rust, will lose even the energy required to preserve them from deterioration. Competition may not be the best conceivable stimulus, but it is at present a necessary one, and no one can foresee the time when it will not be indispensable to progress"(Mill).

    Marx provides no rational basis for how goods would be distributed in his imagined system. It would necessarily be the collective decision of a central economic planning office that decided how much of what to produce and whom to allocate it to. There is no possible way even a remarkably economically savvy group of individuals could make the proper decisions regarding distribution in such a scheme. A good example of the problems associated with a socialist scheme of goods distribution is seen in the economy of Venezuela where toilet paper is scarce and butter costs $17.00 per kilo (Toro). Capitalism mostly avoids these problems. Operating within a capitalist economy is the price mechanism. This mechanism allows for consumers to ensure the efficient and adequate distribution of goods through their readiness to exchange currency for the desired goods. Embodied in the price of a good are indications of the abundance or scarcity of that good and a determination of how attractive that good is to consumers. All of these indications serve to provide a stable availability and distribution of all the goods needed by consumers (Hayek 38).

   Marx envisioned a classless society but this does not appear to be as much of a possibility as he had wished. There would most assuredly need to be people that have some sort of privilege within the system. These people would most likely include the previously mentioned economic planners, the people in charge of administering justice, and any others that have important decisions to make. Each of these groups would have its own measure of elevated status in society. As Marx took great care in explaining, where there is an elevated status there is room for corruption and exploitation. How would there be any guarantee that these groups would not exploit other members of society? Marx believed that the answer to this question was inherent in his belief that there was no such thing as "human nature." It was his contention that once the proletariat had thrown off the shackles of their oppressors and implemented communism the habits of those in society would conform to society's new communal conditions. Everyone will just naturally start to treat everyone fairly. It intuitively seems that this is just unrealistic. It has always been the case that some, but not all people, will take an opportunity for the greater when it presents itself. Historically, even in non-capitalistic societies, such as the Native American tribes, there were always struggles for scarce resources, violence, and forms of exploitation. Maybe it did not take the same form as in capitalism, but the propensities of the human heart have always shown a capability for avarice.  

    While the idea of Marxism has many attractive elements, in the end it is completely impractical. There is no incentive for hard work nor motivation for innovation. Marxism provides no rational basis for distribution nor a guarantee against corruption. In the end, the ideas of Karl Marx just sound good on paper.

                                               Works Cited

Hayek, Friedrich A. Von, and N. G. Pierson. Collectivist Economic Planning;

     Critical Studies on the Possibilities of Socialism. London:   

     G. Routledge.1935. Print.

Mill, John Stuart . Principles of Political Economy. New York: A.M. 1848.

     Print. Book IV. Chapter 7

Toro, Francisco. "How Venezuela Turns Butter Vendors Into Currency

     Manipulators: The Reason for Those Epic Supermarket Lines." New

     Republic. 4 Mar. 2014. Web. 6 Mar. 2015.

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What Race Meant to Darwin

        Does race exist? This is a very contemporary, controversial, and seemingly undecided question in the world of science and academia. In our modern climate of tolerance and its associated struggle to extend equality to all people regardless of ethnicity, creed, religion, political beliefs, gender, and sexual orientation this question has certain implications. Ann Morning, in her article, "Everyone Knows It's a Social Construct," does an excellent job of summarizing the various contemporary positions on this very question. She notes that many prominent anthropologists, biologists, sociologists and others in the arena of the hard sciences claim that the there should no longer be any doubt that race is anything but a social construct. However, this is "juxtaposed" to the popular mainstream cultural belief in countries such as the U.S. that race does exist. There are, as she goes on to explain, many scientists that also endorse this view (437-440). Judging by the evidence gathered by Morning, the verdict is still out. But, what would Darwin say about race and its implications?

     In his works, The Descent of Man and Origin of Species, Charles Darwin makes it abundantly clear that he did believe in the existence of various races of men. In The Descent of Man he makes mention of the "Melanian races," "Caucasian races," and  "savage races" such as the Australians (Darwin 267- 271). For Darwin, these differences were attributable to epochs of time and "natural selection" (Darwin 271). It is critical to understand that Darwin meant no harm in separating man into various categories of race while others used his theory as an impetus to act ghastly to their fellows.

     Darwin's attitude about race is clearly seen through his recollections about his voyage aboard the Beagle. There is one occasion in which he recalls having a disagreement about slavery with the skipper of the Beagle. Captain Fitz-Roy lauded praise on a "great slave owner" for his slaves having claimed they had no desire to be set free while in the presence of their master. Darwin mockingly asserted that the opinion was mere lip service while in the company of their master. Slavery was an institution that he "abominated" (Darwin 17). In other places, he goes on to describe the great cruelty of slavery in locations such as Brazil and the hopelessness of those ensnared by it. The people that he laments for were most likely the black and mulatto slaves of Portuguese masters and ones in which he would have taken great notice to their differing characteristics that designated them as a different "race." However, these differences did not equate to Darwin as ones in which would make permissible institutions such as slavery and other unfair treatment.

     There are others, however, that have used Darwin's theory as a springboard for unspeakable acts against humanity. Most everyone is quite familiar with the eugenics program of the Third Reich. Hitler's eradication program has become synonymous with the term "Social Darwinism." This is a consequence that Darwin might not have anticipated. It does seem unfair, however, to place blame on Darwin for the development of a theory that he believed would allow us to better understand the world. Whether race exists or not is still a hotly contested issue. What everyone should agree on though is that the things that make us different are not an excuse to treat each other differently. As we can see, Darwin strongly endorsed this view.

                                               Works Cited

Darwin, Charles. “The Dawrwin Reader.” ed. Bates, Marston, and Philip S.

     Humphrey. London: Macmillan, 1957. Print.

Morning, Ann "Everyone Knows It's a Social Construct." Sociological Focus  

     40.4 (2007): 436-54. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 

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A Revolutionary Parallel in Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss

     The guillotine, bloodthirsty mobs, and die-hard idealists clamoring for fundamental social and political change. These are some symbols of that most momentous period in history that is the French Revolution. It was a revolution that embodied a hatred for the crown and the outdated feudal system. As a result, the king's head and many, many others would meet the guillotine. Responsible for the ghastly and numerous beheadings, were fanatical revolutionary figures such as Jean-Paul Marat of the Jacobin Party. Others tried to temper the flames of the revolutionary inferno. None attempted to temper the flames more than Charlotte Corday. She was a young woman that earned her notoriety as Marat's assassin. Her deed would earn her a place alongside the biblical Judith as a vigilante of her own people. In the mix of all the revolutionary fervor was Marquis De Sade. He would become a target of the various succession of regimes for his plays depicting the darker and more brutal side of human nature. All of these characters converge in a "play within a play" written by Peter Weiss entitled The Persecution And Assassination Of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed By The Inmates Of The Asylum Of Charenton Under The Direction Of The Marquis De Sade. A parallel can be drawn between the mental patients of the institution that perform this play and the masses of the French Revolution calling for heads, freedom and other rights.

     The peculiar setting of the play can be attributed to the fact that Sade himself was incarcerated at the Asylum of Charenton between 1801-1814 and was allowed to stage some of his productions there (Weiss 105). Weiss's play depicts this scenario. Weiss's production is comprised of loosely associated events and at times even more loosely associated personalities of the revolution. It is performed by interns of the asylum afflicted by a number of mental ailments ranging from outright lunacy and sleep disorders to sexual mania. At times the actors become quite unruly and exhibit climatic outbursts of nervousness and frenzy. Without much insight, it is quite easy to see that the unintentional fervor whipped up by the incarcerated mental patients mirrors quite nicely the hysteria that swept the mob filled streets of Paris during the French Revolution. It makes one wonder if Weiss had intended the patients to be representative of this or if the setting and actors worked out to serendipitous effect. The patients/actors would be quite unaware of their encapsulation of the feeling that swept the times. An ironic parallel can be drawn. This is best expressed by Sybil Wuletich in his review of the play when he states "As though spontaneously demonstrating Sade's beliefs, the insane of Charenton, vaguely comprehending their roles as revolutionaries and unaware of the distinction between art and life begin to march threateningly towards the audience" (97). A further parallel can be drawn with what Wuletich describes next. Wuletich states, "Coulmier, in hysterical self-defense, orders the curtain lowered" (97). Coulmier was the bourgeoisie administrator of the Charenton and a Napoleonic sympathizer. His role in the play serves to bring the parallel full circle if it is thought that he represents the various nobility and other leaders of the revolution that would like to "lower the curtain" and put an end to the revolution. Whether Weiss intended these parallels is not clear, but it fits quite well.

                                             Works Cited

Weiss, Peter. The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as

     Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction 

     of the Marquis De Sade; [a Play]. New York: Atheneum, 1966. Print.

Wuletich, Sybil. "The Depraved Angel of "Marat/Sade.""Contemporary 

     Literature 9.1 (1968): 91-99. Web. 20 Feb. 2015

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Shakespeare’s Portrayal of the Customs Concerning Magic in the 17th Century Seen through his Play “The Tempest”

      Stranded on an island with his daughter, Miranda, the magician and deposed former Duke of Milan, Prospero, summons a storm that overtakes and sinks a ship floating just offshore. Onboard the ill-fated ship is Prospero's untrustworthy brother,  Antonio, his daughter's future husband, Ferdinand, the  King of Milan, and various other crewmembers. Also, present on the island, much to Prospero's advantage, are two spirits that serve differing roles for Prospero's cunningly devised plans. This is the backdrop to the plot of what is thought to be William Shakespeare's last play, The Tempest. Among the motifs that are most prevalent in this work of Shakespeare's are the subjugation of peoples newly discovered by Europeans, colonization, romance, the exotic New World, and magic. Among these motifs, Shakespeare's depiction of magic as used by the main character, Prospero, has drawn much interest by critics. One of these critics, William Rolfe, has argued that Shakespeare has ever so delicately portrayed the use of magic so as not to offend the sensibilities of his day regarding occult practices.

     Prospero has differing relationships with the island's two spirit creatures, Ariel and Caliban. Ariel, a fire or air-type spirit, with his very soft and musical presence obediently carries out the plans of his conjuring acquaintance in hopes of eventually being set free. The earthbound and grotesque, Caliban, reluctantly performs menial tasks for Prospero that exudes a master/servant type of dynamic. Without much effort, it can be seen in the Prospero/Caliban relationship an exhibition of the subjugating role Europeans played on the conquered and colonized people of the New World.

     In the character of Prospero is a magician of the highest order, according to Rolfe. For certain, this is how his character would have been viewed in Shakespeare's day. He is a magician of the type that gives exhortations to celestial "superior intelligences" who abide by his domineering will. This can be viewed clearly through his interactions with Ariel. A magician of his kind was thought to be more honorable than others that might have traded their soul to Satan for the enjoyment of limited and temporal power. Shakespeare would not have been wise to portray Prospero in the latter fashion. Shakespeare also abided by the sensibilities of the day concerning the use of magic by only maintaining the reference and use of Prospero's magic on the very surface of the dialogue. What is left out, is what would have been considered the vulgar and ritualistic demonstrations of the spells themselves. All of the accoutrements of the magical arts were properly handled by Prospero. Prospero's cloak was a symbol of righteousness, and once he laid down his magical arts, great care was taken that his powerful magic books and accompanying staff were handled in such a way that they may not fall into the wrong hands. All of these elements were blended together in such a way as to not arouse the powerful anger of those in Shakespeare's day that had a fascination with the magical arts such as King James I. 

Finally, in parallel, once Prospero renounced his magical arts, so too did Shakespeare put down his playwright pen never to resume writing plays again.   

                                                  Work Cited

 Rolfe, William J. "Magic, Books, and the Supernatural in Shakespeare's      

     The Tempest." Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug 2009. Web. 13 Feb. 2015

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The Enchantment Motif in Don Quixote

     Miguel de Cervantes’s seventeenth century novel Don Quixote is a humorous and sometimes pitiful tale of a Spanish hidalgo whose imagination is adrift in a sea of chivalric adventure brought upon him by carousing his library filled with tales of knighthood. While many would agree that there is nothing wrong with a lively and creative imagination, the imagination of Don Quixote’s main character forces him to cross the borderline between fantasy and reality.  On more than one occasion throughout the novel, Don Quixote protects himself from suggestions that he is insane by claiming that he and others in his company have been duped by nonexistent evil enchanters. Although, it may be obvious that Don Quixote wards off claims of his obvious insanity by making use of the idea of evil enchanters, some critics have made a more controversial claim that it is Cervantes’s way of incorporating Platonic and Aristotelian thought that regained its prominence during the Renaissance era.

     A most famous and well known example of Quixote maintaining his illusions by blaming enchantment is his supposition that an evil magician named Frestón had turned the giants he attempted to battle into windmills in order to deprive him of the glory of battle. The same magician that burned his chivalric novels in the previous scene!  What follows is adventure after adventure meddled with and perpetrated upon by a “throng of enchanters” that alter reality in whichever way they see fit. This is done conveniently to the benefit of Don Quixote.

     A critic of Don Quixote, Bryant Creel, argues that the enchantment motif has been so enlarged and developed in Cervantes’s work that it suggests much more is being embodied within the text than just the plot itself. Creel, posits that in other literature by Cervantes an intimate knowledge of the theories of reality of both Plato and Aristotle is made manifest. Further, Creel believes that it was Cervantes’s aim to use the enchantment motif as a vehicle to comprehensively elaborate on the respective theories of each of these ancient Greek philosophers. Although extremely nuanced and arcane, an earnest study of the writings of Plato and Aristotle could easily support Creel’s claim.

                                            Work Cited    

Creel, Bryant. "Theoretical Implications in Don Quijote's Idea of Enchantment." 

     Cervantes: Bulletin of the Cervantes Society of America 12.1 (1992): 19-44.

     The Cervantes Society of America. Web. 5 Feb. 2015.