Creons Downfall Essay Example for Free

Creons Downfall Essay It is clear that Creon’s tragic flaw was his pride, arrogance and beliefs of a leader that cause his downfall. His downfall began when he denied the burial of Polyneices and was firm when he condemned Antigone for her objection to his law. Creon represents the laws of the land and the divine ruler of society. He remains loyal in upholding his laws and trying to overpower the laws of the gods, until the end when he realizes that the divine laws are stronger than his own. His regards for the laws of the city cause him to abandon all other beliefs. He feels that all should obey the rules set forth by him, even if other beliefs, moral or religious, state otherwise. This is proven when he says, â€Å"As long as I am King, no traitor is going to be honored with the loyal man. But whoever shows by word and deed that he is on the side of the State-he shall have my respect while he is living and my reverence when he is dead† (pp. 40) This proves that no one should disobey his rules even if the people that he rules for thinks his morals are wrong. But no one wants to speak out or stand up to Creon because they all fear him and afraid to loose their life going against his words. Creon showed his stubbornness by not wanting to be proved wrong because of pride. He did not want to listen to the people of Thebes who tried to tell him that Antigone did the right thing, but for fear of him, they could not really say anything. Creon thought by making an example of Antigone’s execution, everybody would get scared and won’t try to break his laws. He abused his power by thinking that he can change or break the laws of the god’s and not allowing other people to break his laws. He did not want to burry Polyneices’ body, but one of the god’s law was that every human deserves to be buried after death not depending on what that certain person did in his lifetime. Creon caused fear among his people by making a public announcement that nobody is allowed to burry Polyneices. He said that the state of Thebes consists of only him, and that there are no other laws than his. The major actions that Creon took to cause the downfall of Thebes are that he did not want to burry Polyneices nor did allow any body to do it. He broke the burial law of the god’s and punished Antigone for following their laws. The people of Thebes knew that Creon made a mistake but still were too afraid to speak up. Antigone thought that she should get honored for that what she did, but Creon did not think that way. Conclusion The downfall of Thebes was caused by Creon’s stubbornness and abuse of power. He thought by being King he can do whatever he pleases and have everything going his way. Creon’s role as a King made him believe that he has the right to brake the laws of god’s and makeup his own. He caused the corruption of Thebes by trying to measure his powers with the powers of the god’s which Teiresias foreshadowed that it won’t have a good ending. References Antigone: Creon’s Flaws. Dec 2004.

Microsoft: Trust or Antitrust? :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument

Microsoft: Trust or Antitrust? "Oh, come on, just trust me." Those six simple words have been the pleadings of many when, for whatever reason, they find themselves in a situation, where others don't give their actions or claims any credibility. They have nothing left to fall upon, except the hope that they can be thought of as trustworthy, and that others are willing to give them an opportunity. This is the situation Microsoft has found itself in, and in response, they have launched "Trustworthy Computing," a campaign to help gain credibility and respect in the marketplace. Why, you might ask, is a company that controls 90 percent of its market worried about public perception? Why would such a major influence in the computer industry shut down production of new software, in an attempt to correct countless errors? Why did Bill Gates hire Wieden and Kennedy, the advertising agency that gave us such things as the Nike Swoosh, to change Microsoft's public image? It is because the people at Microsoft have realized that consumers use their software not because they want to, but because they have no other choice. As I sit here writing my paper in Microsoft Word, listening to a CD play in Windows Media Player, surfing the internet for sources in Microsoft Internet Explorer, all parts of my Windows XP setup, it might seem that Microsoft has itself entrenched in my life and that of the computer industry. Yet, the powers that be at Microsoft aren't just sitting around watching their MS Office licensing fees come in, they've sounded the alarm. "There must have been a moment of crisis, either they were feeling insecure, or Microsoft was putting pressure on them," Erik Adigard, a former consultant for Microsoft, suggests. The root of the problem may be, as Sara Basse observed, "Programmers and system designers are often overconfident too, and do not give enough thought to the potential consequences of errors or poor design." Those oversights are the reason that Microsoft shut down most of its production of programs, and instead shifted resources to correct bugs and errors in pre-existing programs. One might then, wonder why Microsoft has sold programs with errors, and instead of taking the time to correct the mistakes of past versions, they have moved on to completely new concepts. It appears that Microsoft has gotten the message from its consumers. They have begun unprecedented disclosures of their codes to their competitors, so that they are better able to integrate their programs into Windows.

The Frightful Abuse of Human Rights

Violence or education as forms of oppression carried out by political groups in Latin America is a reoccurring theme as seen in Argentina and Cuba from earlier essays. Government sponsored â€Å"cloaks of fear† take over the nation and keep the common citizen subdued as seen in Argentina. The process of educating the common person so that he/she would not only understand, but be able to participate in political affairs was a major force in the Cuban revolution. In the 1980's, Central America saw both violence and education used as political devices to promote or prevent political change. The most common and horrific form of oppression in Central America is violence. Violence can be used to eliminate political competition as seen in El. Salvador â€Å"In November 1980 Alvarez and five top associates were killed by government forces, an act hat eliminated an entire cadre of reformist politicians† (Skidmore & Smith: 350). Another example of eliminating a potential threat to the government can be seen in the movie â€Å"Men With Guns†. In this movie a religious leader (Bishop Romero) with some control of people and their political thoughts was considered dangerous by the El. Salvadorian government. Therefore he was assassinated by the military in an attempt to silence his voice and maybe even spread fear throughout the country as others feared what would become of them if they spoke out against the government. This imposement of fear, was another method of using violence to prevent political change. Argentina is the most dominant example of government created ‘fear' as a weapon against the voice of the people. The acting government or Junta, randomly kidnapped citizens and offered no reason for their actions. In many cases the kidnapped (disappeared) were tortured and killed, their bodies and explanations for what happened never found. The actions of the Guatemalan government during its politically unstable period are a clear example of using violence and fear to repress change as seen in Skidmore and Smith (1997: 357) â€Å"One feature of this entire period†¦ was the frightful abuse of human rights. Paramilitary death squads most notoriously Mano Blanca and Ojo por Ojo, carried on a murderous campaign against political dissenters. No fewer then 80,000 people were killed or â€Å"disappeared between the 1960's and 1990†. Because people feared that if they spoke out against the government they would face death/torture, many would-be activists sat quietly as the government did whatever it wanted. The only weapon against this ‘cloak of fear' was to bring in the help of outside nations and expose the atrocities being committed. For example this is what the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo were famous for. They petitioned at a time nobody else would leave their house and they brought the attention of the United Nations and other human rights groups to the current situation in Argentina. However in the case of Guatemala, the government continues their oppression until they see fit to stop it themselves as illustrated by Skidmore & Smith (1997: 357-358): â€Å"The government bore at least indirect responsibility for these killings, but world wide protests did not bring much respite†¦By the mid-1980s the Guatemalan military judged their campaign against the Marxist Guerrillas successful enough to allow the election of a civilian president†¦ Under a patina of electoral democracy, the military force continues to predominate in Guatemala†. Violence does not have to be only used as a form of oppression. Violence is sometimes used as a form of combating represent by groups of revolutionary solders. These groups of indigenous (local) solders combine to fight for their political and social rights are called Guerillas. Guerillas and guerilla tactics are spattered all throughout the history of Central America. They live in the mountains or jungles and rely on the locals for food, recruits, and information. Guerillas typically share the same ethnic background and social class, these are the chains that link them together. They use violence and military strategy to combat the unjustness or oppressing governments. Another form of oppression in Central America is education and lack of it. Much of Central America is poverty-stricken and underdeveloped (Skidmore & Smith: 1997), this leads to a lack of literacy. By not having the ability to read and understand what is going on politically in their country, the common citizen lacks the knowledge necessary to participate in political affairs. Domineering governments do little to educate the common citizen because doing so would/could make them a dangerous adversary as seen in Hammond (1998: 15) â€Å"To acquire knowledge is to acquire power, or at least it is a necessary first step. Popular education fosters specific skills, personal growth, and critical consciousness among the poor and oppressed. Learning empowers poor people because they prove they can do something they were always told was beyond them†. Education can also be used as a weapon against oppression, as discussed in the book Fighting to Learn. Hammond (1998: 61) describes meetings between solders and their leaders where they discussed political issues and current events. Another issue often stressed in these meetings was the need to spread propaganda and knowledge into civilian communities. Educating the common people can produce many effects, all useful in combating an oppressive government regime. Knowledge and education expose people to multiple views of common issues, therefore allowing them to decide for themselves what is right and wrong. This creates a sense of political and social awareness that combined with the desire for change and the willingness to use violence can be an explosive combination in the fight against oppression.

The Economic Concept of Elasticity