The Motive Of Imposters Essays - Italian Films, British Films

The Motive of Imposters William Shakespeare attained literary immortality through his exposition of the many qualities of human nature in his works. One such work, The Merchant of Venice, revolves around the very human trait of deception. Fakes and frauds have been persistent throughout history, even to this day. Evidence of deception is all around us, whether it is in the products we purchase or the sales clerks' false smile as one debates the purchase of the illusory merchandise. We are engulfed by phonies, pretenders, and cheaters. Although most often associated with a heart of malice, imposture varies in its motives as much as it's practitioners, demonstrated in The Merchant of Venice by the obdurate characters of Shylock and Portia. We frequently see the intent of greed and selfishness covered up by the words and face of virtue. Such exploit is displayed by the exceptionally stingy Shylock, an unpopular Jew who makes his living through the practice of usury. When confronted about his unsympathetic trade, he resorts to citing scripture, thus comparing his selfish trade with the actions of holy men (I, iii, 73-87). Antonio, a well respected and honorable merchant, sees right through the falsehood of the justification and asks Shylock, "Was this inserted to make interest good? Or is your gold and silver ewes and rams?" (I, iii, 91-92). The response from Shylock to the question reveals a glimpse of his true meaning. "I cannot tell; I make it breed as fast" (I, iii, 93-94) is a rather boastful reply of his wealth than a righteous rationalization. To which Antonio can only turn to his friend and say "The devil can site Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling chee k" (I, iii, 95-97). Words alone are not the only means by which imposters operate. A far more effective mode is one that fools the eye for it cannot pierce through the surface. Portia, the new wife of Antonio's friend, dresses as a lawyer in order to deceive the court. However, unlike Shylock's motive, Portia's intent is far more noble and selfless. She manipulates the law in such a way to save Antonio from certain death by the hand of Shylock. Through the eyes of the law, the imposture of a lawyer, especially by a woman at that time, was seen as extremely illicit. But Portia saw impersonation as the only means by which to save a man's life. The action more than warranted the cause. Unquestionably a motive of honorable ethical values. The distinction between the intentions of Shylock and Portia is clear. Even though Portia did save the life of a noble man, she did use deception in order to do so. Nevertheless, one may argue that imposture of any form is dishonesty and the motive behind it cannot change that. The only way to preserve absolute truth would be with steadfast integrity. -Stan Szubiak, 9/22/99

Top 8 Free Online Style Guides in English

Top 8 Free Online Style Guides in English Sensible is probably the highest praise that can be given to a style guide. Neither a comprehensive documentation manual (such as the MLA or APA guides) nor a self-improvement book (along the lines of Strunk and Whites The Elements of Style), a publishers style guide should provide practical and consistent advice about matters ranging from abbreviations and preferred spellings to punctuation standards and acceptable terminology. If youre not already committed to one particular code of conventions- such as The Associated Press Stylebook, the journalists bible- consider befriending one of these free online style guides. Each has its eccentricities and limitations, and no two of them agree on every fine point of usage. But theyre all sensible and reasonably consistent.   American Styles National Geographic Style Manual  Online since 1995 and frequently updated by a team of editors, this is an alphabetically arranged guide to preferred National Geographic Society style and usage.​The Tameri Guide for Writers: Generalized Stylebook  Maintained by Susan D. Schnelbach and Christopher Scott Wyatt, the Tameri Stylebook is based on the Associated Press Stylebook, which is the primary style guide for reporters and editors at daily newspapers and many periodicals.​Wikipedia: Manual of Style  This style guide for all Wikipedia articles is intended to help editors write articles with consistent, clear, and precise language, layout, and formatting. British Styles The BBC News Styleguide (pdf) Written by John Allen, a BBC reporter and editor for the past 40 years, this popular manual is not a do and dont list but a guide that invites you to explore some of the complexities of modern English usage.​Economist.com Style Guide  John Grimonds online guide is based on the stylebook followed by journalists at The Economist magazine. The 11th edition of the paperback version of the guide will be published in 2015.​The Guardian and Observer Style Guide  Edited by David Marsh and Amelia Hodsdon, this is the online version of Guardian Style. The third edition of this witty handbook was published in December 2010.​Telegraph Style Book  Augmented by monthly style notes from associate editor Simon Heffer, this is the official guide to house style for The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, and Telegraph.co.uk. Canadian Styles The Canadian Style  Compiled by the Canadian governments Translation Bureau, Canadian Style includes useful advice for drafting letters, memos, reports, indexes and bibliographies along with concise answers to questions concerning written English in the Canadian context.