Standing Your Ground: The Life of Joshua L. Chamberlain

Lawrence Joshua Chamberlain was born on September 8, 1828 in Brewer, Maine to Joshua and Sarah Brastow. Perhaps as a portent of things to come, Chamberlain was named after a hero of War of 1812, Captain James Lawrence. Captain Lawrence was known for never giving up the fight, and whose dying words to his men were â€Å"Don't give up the ship!† Chamberlain’s family was a Puritan, and was raised in a household that puts high value on good behavior, good education, hard work, and benevolence.THE DUTIFUL SONLawrence was the eldest of five children and had a strong sense of duty at a very early age, perhaps because he was tasked to look after his younger siblings. A great deal of his childhood was spent outdoors, and he grew up loving and respecting nature. He had a shy and sensitive nature, and was always caring of others. More and more, as Lawrence was growing up, he took to academic studies with great enthusiasm. (Wallace 1995, p. 19) He took to scholarly pursuits even as he worked the farm land to help his father. In the fields, Chamberlain was taught that how much the land gives in harvest depends on how much work one is willing to put into it. The lessons of hard work and industry and relentless determination were values that the land taught him, and one that would carry him through for the rest of his distinguished life. (Cashin 2002, p. 76).When it was time for Chamberlain to set on a course for a lifelong career, his father, a former soldier, wanted his eldest son to follow in his footsteps and serve the country during peacetime. However, while Chamberlain had already been preparing for West Point and a career in the army, Chamberlain’s mother protested because she wanted Lawrence to serve the church and become a minister. In spite her mother’s objection, Lawrence wanted to go to West Point. However, his enthusiasm was dampened by the prospect of holding a military position during a time of relative peace and stability. So in the end, his mother’s desires won, and Chamberlain decided to become a minster in the hopes of getting a commission as a missionary in another country. (Wallace 1995, p. 45)When Chamberlain was nineteen years old, he entered college. For Lawrence, who has been very close to his family, the thought of living away from his family must have been difficult. Thus, he was very shy and stammered during his first years at college at Bowdoin College at Brunswick. Gradually, Chamberlain was able to overcome his shyness and stammering speech and became a champion orator and writer. (Wallace 1995, p. 97) It was also during college that Chamberlain decided to use Joshua for his first name.At college, Chamberlain’s strength of character began showing. He was known for standing firm on his principles, even when he was going against people who had more power and authority than him. He never turned his back on the values that he believed in, and this earned him the respect of the people w ho knew him. This strong sense of honor was a value that stayed with him all his life, even when his life was threatened in the battlefield. Chamberlain also had a great love for music and he turned for it for his relaxation.When not busy with school work, he played the organ for his school chapel, a skill that he learned all on his own. His love for the organ also drew him to Frances Adams, who also played the organ for the Brunswick church choir. Frances was three years older than Chamberlain, but that age difference did not matter to them. Their romance was serious right from the start and they were engaged soon after 1852, just a year after they first met and soon after Chamberlain graduated from college. However the marriage did not happen soon after the engagement. Joshua first pursued both a seminary course and his master's degree. After finishing both, Joshua and Frances became husband and wife, three years after their engagement.THE PROFESSOR BECOMES A SOLDIERHaving disting uished himself as an orator during his college, he became professor of oratory and rhetoric at Bowdoin College a year after earning his master’s degree. Five years after, in 1861, he became the chair of the department of modern languages. Chamberlain’s ascent to chairmanship was well-deserved. He has learned several languages during his seminary course. The languages were taught as part of the preparation for overseas missionary work which was his original intent. Chamberlain was fluent in nine languages namely, Latin, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and Syriac.In 1861, at the same year that Chamberlain was elected the position of chair of modern languages, Civil War broke out. The youthful dreams of serving the military and fighting in the battlefield of war were once again rekindled. Or perhaps they never left at all. It may be said that Chamberlain has always been a noble soldier. When Chamberlain was given a sabbatical, supposedly for study in Europe, he immediately went to Governor Washburn for military service. Thus in 1862, Chamberlain left the halls of the academe to fight in the Civil War. His decision was met with dissent at Bowdoin College, but for Chamberlain the need to serve the country took precedence over anything else. By virtue of his education and mastery of languages, he was commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel of the 20th Regiment of Maine Volunteers.While never having actual military training, Chamberlain soon learned the ropes through keen observation. The fact that he was in charge of an actual regiment was enough reason for Chamberlain to learn as he go. All his life, he has always been a self-starter and capable of learning things by himself. Under Commander Adelbert Ames, a recent West Point graduate, Chamberlain, along with about a thousand men transformed and became trained soldiers. (Ritter & Wakelyn 1998, p. 116) Chamberlain’s youngest brother, Thomas, was also part of the same regiment , and the two would soon distinguish themselves as soldiers of the Civil War.The 20th regiment’s first order of battle was to proceed to the battle at Antietam. However, they did not saw any action in that battle. Their first actual engagement was as a reconnaissance unit at Shepherdstown Ford. In October, Chamberlain was tasked to lead another reconnaissance at the South Mountain pass. It was during this time that Chamberlain saw first hand the horrors of war. He saw dead Confederate soldiers barely out of their youth, and such sights stayed with him during the entire course of the war. (Ritter & Wakelyn 1998, p. 64)A few months after, in December 1862, Chamberlain and his men were right in the middle of the Battle of Fredericksburg, a site of overwhelming defeat for the Union. All around, Chamberlain saw dead men, and when the orders to evacuate came down, Chamberlain was tasked to lead his men to safety. The following months were uneventful for the regiment. In May 1863, a n outbreak of small pox among the regiment kept Chamberlain’s men away from participating in the Battle of Chancellorsville. To keep his men in shape and their morale up, Chamberlain constantly asked for duties and engaged the regiment in positive activities. By the end of May, Chamberlain became Colonel of the 20th regiment, after having proven himself as an able soldier and a great leader.A HERO RISESOn July 1863, the 20th regiment received marching orders to go to Gettysburg. The Union forces faced a formidable opponent in the person of Confederate General John Bell Hood. General Hood was bent on cutting down the Union lines and under his command; the Confederate Brigades advanced and went up the hill. During this engagement, a good number of Union officers were killed, leaving Chamberlain in command. Before he died, commanding officer Colonel Vincent instructed Chamberlain to stand ground. Joshua was now in a very difficult decision. He was given orders to stand ground bu t his men’s ammunition were almost spent. (Martin 2006, p. 213). Chamberlain was left to decide the fate of his men and the fate of this battled. He thus gave quick and firm orders. Having the higher ground, Chamberlain told his men to counterattack. The downhill bayonet charge caught the Confederates by surprise, and the Union held their position.   For this heroic stand, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.Soon after that historic stand, Chamberlain became commander of the 3rd Brigade. By this time, Chamberlain has become a seasoned solider who has survived many battlefields. He was regarded with respect and commanded the loyalty of the men who served under his command, particularly the men of the 20th Maine. While an officer, he never considered himself better than his men and he accorded all of them with equal courtesy and respect. He never asked for special quarters and endured the same sacrifices as his men. All these traits endeared him all the more to th e military and the public as well. He treated the dead with respect and never forgot to attend to the sick after the smoke of battle has cleared.By now an acclaimed hero, Chamberlain never stopped throwing himself into the thick of the battle. He was a natural leader and tactician, able to execute strategic commands under exacting pressure. He never feared for his life and engaged in battle with very little regard for personal safety. For him, the safety of his men and winning the ground was most important.   (Martin 2006, p. 27) At one point, he was severely wounded but refused preferential treatment, insisting that there are others whose wounds are more serious than his. For fear of a mortal wound, General Ulysses Grant, in what is believed to be the only case of promotion on the battlefield, immediately conferred the position of general to Chamberlain. Doctors thought that Joshua had very little chances of surviving his wound, but he did. A few months after, Chamberlain reporte d back to duty in spite some physical limitations brought on by his war injury.Chamberlain became commander of a new 1st Brigade, 1st Division, a unit composed of two large regiments of soldiers from Pennsylvania and New York. Not fully recovered from his injury, he was prevented from seeing any military action. However, after a month of sick leave, he returned to service, much to the dismay of his doctors. Chamberlain returned to military action during the last of General Grant's campaign on March 1865. Chamberlain and his brigade were engaged in a bayonet fight while traveling the Quaker Road and Joshua was again injured. He would have been taken prisoner if not for his fast thinking. He eluded capture by donning a Confederate officer uniform and posing as one of the Confederates. His numerous injuries could not keep him from the call of duty. Under his leadership, Chamberlain claimed the strategic and much coveted lodge on the White Oak Road. For this accomplishment in spite of i njury, Joshua was promoted to Major General by President Lincoln. (Ritter & Wakelyn 1998, p. 128).General Chamberlain survived many injuries and lived to see the end of the Civil War and the Union’s victory. When General Grant designated him to receive the first flag of surrender at Appomattox Court House, in a moving demonstration of his noble spirit, Chamberlain received the surrender with graciousness and honor. He asked that his original 20th Maine regiment be with him in this historic event, believing that all of them deserved the honor that was accorded to him. (Martin 2006, p. 87)For saving his men and the Union’s position, Chamberlain was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration in the United States. He was brave under fire, and magnanimous in victory. After the war, Joshua went back to Bowdoin as president of the college. (Ashby 2003, p. 10). During his tenure, he instituted reforms which shook the foundations of the conservati ve school. Nevertheless, his presidency, like his tour of military duty, was marked with strong leadership and honor. He lived to an old age of 84, seeing the fruits of peace wrought by many years of war. In a poetic death, he died of the old war wound that many thought he has recovered from. He still dies in the battle, as a noble soldier.General Joshua Chamberlain stands tall in an age of greatness. His name will go down in history as among the greatest soldiers. It might be said that times make the hero, but in Chamberlain’s case, the choices that he made and his nobility in and out of the battlefield made him a soldier of life. He was a product of his times, and left just in time to plant the seeds of hope for a better and kinder world. May his nobility inspire all that is good and noble in each and every one of us.ReferencesAshby, R. (2003). Extraordinary People. Black Rabbit Book.Cashin, J. (2002). The War was You and Me: Civilians in the American Civil War. Princeton U niversity Press.Martin, I. (2006). The Greatest U.S. Army Stories Ever Told: Unforgettable Stories of Courage. The Lyons Press.Ritter, C & Wakelyn, J (1998). Leaders of the American Civil War: A Biographical and Historiographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group.Wallace, W. (1995). Soul of the Lion: A Biography of General Joshua L. Chamberlain. Clark Military Books.

Comedy of Errors Essay

â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† Plato states that: â€Å"The measure of a man is what he does with his power. † But is this true? Or does it depend on a person’s money and possessions? Perhaps it is the family they were born into, or even their gender. And how can reputation affect your class standing? In â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† William Shakespeare explores the interplay of these various possibilities that can determine a person’s class. Shakespeare shows us that a persons family can determine their social status. As well as affect how they are treated. Taking for example the twin Dromios, they came from an extremely poor family. â€Å"A mean woman was delivered / Of such a burden, male twins, both alike. † (?.?. 54) Because their mother was so poor they were adopted by Egeon, however as opposed to becoming his children they became servants for his biological children (also twins) with each twin receiving his own minion. Throughout the Dromios lives they remained servants, even when they were split apart they stayed with their master. Being servants for different masters meant that they were treated differently. Dromio of Ephesus was beaten and kept uneducated â€Å"I have some marks of yours upon my pate, / Some of my mistress’ marks upon my shoulders, ( I.?. 83) While Dromio of Syracuse was given an education and treated like a brother as opposed to a servant, Antipholus of Syracuse demonstrates: A trusty villain, sir, that very oft, When I am dull with care and melancholy, Lightens my humor with is merry jests. (I. II. 19) If they had had wealthy parents with much more power then they would never have become servants and would most likely have servants of their own. Another and perhaps more common way to define a person’s social status is by their wealth, that is their money and possesions. Even though in our modern society wealth has little to do with your social status, in William Shakespeare’s time the more money you had the more power you had. For example Adriana and her husband Antipholus of Ephesus, clearly their money and possessions greatly benefited them in life. All this wealth leads them to have a very good reputation. However if their reputation gets tarnished they will lose their money and in consequence their power: If by strong hand you offer to break in Now in the stirring passage of the day, A vulgar comment will be made of it; And that supposed by the common rout Against your yet ungalled estimation. (III. I. 47) Looking at this quote it is clear that if Antipholus goes through with his threat, his reputation will be tarnished. Therefore he decides against it. â€Å" You have prevailed. I will depart in quiet / And, in despite of mirth, mean to be merry. (III. I. 156) An additional example is Solinus the duke of Ephesus. When he is ready to execute Egeon he uses the power he has to grant him one day of freedom. Duke: Now trust me, were it not against our laws, Against my crown, my oath, my dignity, My soul should sue as advocate for thee. But thou art adjudged to the death, Yet will I favor thee in what I can. therefore, merchant, I’ll limit thee this day. By giving Egeon a day of fr eedom the duke boosts his reputation in Ephesus as a sympathetic and selfless leader. All the while knowing that there is no way Egeon will accomplish his goal. The third and perhaps most prominent way of defining a person’s social standing is their gender. A factor that is still entrenched in our modern society. In â€Å"The Comedy of Errors† there are many obligations women have to fill that men do not. For example as Egeon is telling the duke his tragic story he mentions that although his wife was not in love with him and did not want to marry him, they clearly ended up married. â€Å"In Syracusa was I born and wed / Unto a woman happy but for me. (I. I. 37) This quote demonstrates that as a woman one of her obligations was to get married, even if it was to someone she did not love. This also makes evident the fact women were not free to make their own decisions. Furthermore women were often considered lesser beings than men, they were not allowed as much freedom as their spouse was. â€Å" Good sister, let us dine and never fret. / A man is master of his own liberty. † (II. I. 6) This quote highlights that fact that men were free to come and go as they pleased whereas women were not.

Three Sisters

The Three Sisters Summary Act I Act I takes place on May 5th of an unspecified year, in an unspecified provincial town in Russia. It is the twentieth birthday of Irina, the youngest of the sisters mentioned in the play's title. It is also the one year anniversary of the death of their father, Colonel Prozorov, who moved his family there from Moscow eleven years earlier. Irina and her older sisters, Olga and Masha, receive visitors, members of the military battery that is assigned to the town.The sisters discuss how bored they are with the town, how they long to move back to Moscow, and their brother Andrei, who will probably become a university professor. Olga, who is twenty-eight and the oldest sister, expresses interest in the new lieutenant colonel who has been assigned to the town, Vershinin, but is told that he is married, with two children. Chebutykin, the drunken old doctor who had been in love with the girls mother, gives Irina a silver samovar for her birthday, which is cons idered an inappropriate gift.Vershinin arrives, explaining that he knew the sisters' father back in Moscow, and that he remembers them from when they were girls. When he talks philosophically about how time makes all their lives insignificant, Solyony, a rough staff captain, mocks him by spouting gibberish. The sisters explain that they have been teasing their brother Andrei for being in love with a local girl, Natasha, who is married to the chairman of the county board, Protopopov. Masha's husband, Kulygin, arrives to take Masha to a school function, but she angrily refuses to go.Tuzenbach, an army lieutenant, expresses his love for Natasha, but she expresses her disinterest in him. When Natasha enters, Olga feels sorry for her poor fashion sense and suggests that her belt does not match the rest of her clothes. When everyone else leaves for the dining room for the celebration, Andrei tells Natasha of his love for her and asks her to marry him. Act II Almost a year later, in mid-Fe bruary, Andrei and Natasha are married and living in the family house.The sisters have invited their friends and some performers from the carnival that is in town over to the house, but Natasha tells Andrei that she objects to letting them in because she is worried about the health of their baby, Bobik. Ferapont, an old servant, enters with paperwork for Andrei, who is the secretary of the county board. When they leave the room, Masha and Vershinin enter and discuss their love for each other. Irina and Tuzenbach enter; he still is in love with her, and she is still uninterested. They discuss the great gambling losses that Andrei has incurred.Vershinin is called away by a letter from his daughter, saying that his wife has attempted suicide once again. Solyony arrives, is rude to Natasha, and is threatening to Tuzenbach, the reason for which becomes clear later in the scene, when he expresses his love for Irina and vows to kill any rivals. Natasha has the carnival performers sent away when they show up at the door, and, while Irina is upset about Solyony's threatening words, asks her to move out of her bedroom and into Olga's so that the baby can have her room.She goes to the door when she hears a sleigh bell and comes back acting surprised that it is Protopopov, come to take her for a ride, explaining that she feels that she has to accept. Kulygin and Vershinin enter the scene again the former's meeting is over and the latter's wife is all right to find that everyone has gone. The scene ends with Olga complaining of her terrible headaches and Irina repeating her wish to return to Moscow. Act III Act III takes place nearly four years after the opening of the play; Irina, who was twenty then, tells Olga that she is â€Å"almost twenty-four† while explaining how washed up she feels.This act takes place in the bedroom Olga and Irina share, while a fire is spreading across the neighborhood outside. Olga is choosing clothes from her closet to give to the fire victims, who have lost all of their belongings. She has invited people who have been made homeless by the fire, particularly Vershinin and his family, to spend the night there, but when she enters Natasha objects, saying that she doesn't want her son and new daughter to be exposed to the flu. Natasha discussing firing Anfisa, the old nurse who, as Olga explains, has been with the family for thirty years.Kulygin enters, again unable to find Masha, and brings the news that the doctor, Chebutykin, is drunk. When he enters, feeling guilty about a patient that has died, Chebutykin picks up a clock that once belonged to the girls' mother and breaks it: in his embarrassment, while everyone is staring at him disapprovingly, he blurts out that Natasha and Protopopov are having an affair. When Masha arrives, she and Vershinin communicate to each other in code, with musical notes. Kulygin tells Masha how much he loves her, how important she is to him, but she asks him to leave her alone to res t for a short while.When everyone is gone, the sisters talk about how difficult their lives are and about how difficult Natasha has made Andrei's life. Olga's advice to Irina, who hates her job, is to marry Tuzenbach, whether she loves him or not. After Natasha passes through the room with a candle, Masha confesses to her sisters that she is in love with Vershinin. Andrei enters and tells them that he has mortgaged the house to pay his gambling debts and given control of his money to Natasha. Irina announces that she will marry Tuzenbach. Act IVAbout a year after the previous act, in the garden outside of the house. The soldiers have been assigned to a new post and are stopping by throughout this scene to say goodbye. There is gossip about a fight that took place the previous day outside of the theater, during which Solyony challenged Tuzenbach to a duel. Olga is living at the school where she teaches, and Irina is planning on leaving with Tuzenbach later that day for Moscow. Chebut ykin leaves to be a witness to the duel, and Andrei enters, pestered by his assistant to sign more and more paperwork for the county board.As Masha cries over being left by Vershinin, her husband, Kulygin, tries to comfort her, not admitting that he knows what she is upset about. Natasha already has plans for the rooms of the house being vacated: she is moving Andrei down to Irina's room, ever further from her own, so that her baby Irina can have his room. Word comes that Tuzenbach has been killed in the duel, and at the play's end Irina, Olga, and Masha think about the future, hoping that they may one day understand the meaning of it all. The Three Sisters IntroductionChekhov referred to  The Three Sisters  as a â€Å"drama,† preferring to avoid the more confining labels of either â€Å"comedy† or â€Å"tragedy,† although later critics have argued for both of those labels. It is one of the four major plays that he wrote at the end of his life. Chekhov was a n accomplished fiction writer, one of the one of the most influential short story writers of all time. At the time that his plays were being produced there was some criticism that his dramas too closely resembled the style of fiction.Traditionalists found the action too cramped and the characters too inexpressive, noting that there were too many people on the stage at any one time, doing nothing, for audiences to be able to register the significance of it all. Contrary to expectations, though, Chekhov's plays were very popular in Moscow, where they were staged by the famous Moscow Art Theatre under the direction of Constantin Stanislavsky. The Three Sisters  was the first play that Chekhov wrote specifically for the Moscow Art Theatre, having experienced commercial success in his previous collaborations with the company,  The Seagull  and  Uncle Vanya.Like many of Chekhov's works, it is about the decay of the privileged class in Russia and the search for meaning in the moder n world. In the play, Olga, Masha, and Irina are refined and cultured young women in their twenties who were raised in urban Moscow but have been living in a small, colorless provincial town for eleven years. With their father dead, their anticipated return to Moscow comes to represent their hopes for living a good life, while the ordinariness of day-to-day living tightens its hold. First performed in 1901,  The Three Sisters  is a perennial favorite of actors and audiences.The Three Sisters Author Biography Although Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was trained as a physician and practiced as one, he came to dominate not just one field of literature, but two: plays and short stories. He was born in 1860 in Taganrog, a provincial town in the Ukraine area of Russia that was similar to the one described in  The Three Sisters. His family had a small grocery business that went bankrupt, forcing them to move to Moscow in 1876, although Chekhov stayed behind in Taganrog to finish his educatio n. With a scholarship to Moscow University, he studied to be a doctor of medicine, going into practice in 1884.At that time he started publishing short humorous sketches in the Moscow newspapers, though he had no serious artistic aspirations. His writing career became earnest when he moved to St. Petersburg in 1885 and befriended the editor of a literary journal, who recognized his talent and encouraged him. He did write plays, and some of these were produced, but his most memorable work from that period were his short stories, and by late 1880s, he was one of the world's great masters of short story writing. It was in the late 1890s, when Chekhov became associated with the Moscow Art Theatre, that he reached full maturity as a playwright.The theater, under director Constantin Stanislavsky (whose theories about acting method are standard texts for theater students today), producedThe Seagull  in 1896, followed by  Uncle Vanya  (1899),  The Three Sisters(1901) and  The Cher ry Orchard  (1904). Chekhov was very involved in the Moscow Art Theatre's productions of his plays, offering suggestions for the actors and constantly rewriting passages. He courted an actress from the company, Olga Knipper, who played Masha in the original production of  The Three Sisters  (he wrote the part with her in mind); they were married in 1901, just four months after the play opened.During much of their marriage, they were apart, because Chekhov, suffering from tuberculosis since 1884, often went to country retreats for medical treatment. He died of tuberculosis in Yalta in 1904, when he was forty-four years old. Act 1, Part 1 Summary The classic Russian play  The Three Sisters  explores the lives and dreams of three sisters, their brother, their friends and their lovers. The play, like the characters, is moody and atmospheric, gently exploring themes relating to the human capacities for dreaming, inaction in the face of those dreams and despair when those dreams disappear.The first act is set in the drawing room of the home of the Prozoroff sisters, Olga, Masha and Irina. Conversation reveals that they're hosting a party in honor of Irina's Saint's Day. As they wait for their guests to arrive and lunch to be served, Olga recalls in detail the day, exactly a year ago, that their father died. Irina tells her to not think of it. Olga then recalls how the family left Moscow eleven years ago and says that even though it's a beautiful day, she longs to be back there. Tusenbach, Solyony and Chebutykin appear in the dining room, joking about how what is being said is all garbage.Masha whistles quietly to herself as she reads. Olga tells her to stop and says that even though teaching all day gives her headaches and even though she feels her strength draining away, her dreams of – Irina completes her thought, saying that their dreams of going to Moscow are stronger than ever. Chebutykin and Tusenbach laugh as Olga and Irina refer to Masha bei ng the only one who wouldn't be able to go. Irina then talks about how happy she's felt all day, referring to memories of her childhood. Olga talks about how well and happy Irina looks, how lovely Masha is, how their brother Andrei is aining weight and how she herself has gotten older and thinner. She then talks about how being away from the school makes her feel younger and freer. She wishes she'd been married, and she feels she could still be married, saying she'd love her husband. Tusenbach comes in, saying the conversation is nonsense. Tusenbach announces that the sisters will be receiving a visit later that day from their new commander, Vershinin. He describes him as nice but says he talks too much, particularly about his wife and children, and he describes the wife as being half-mad.Solyony comes in, talking to Chebutykin, who ignores him as he makes notes about the components of a medication in a little notebook. Irina goes to him, talking about how happy she is and describin g herself as a little white bird. She has realized that the purpose and happiness of life can be found in hard, physical work. Olga jokes that Irina spends so much time lying in bed thinking, and Irina tells her to think of her as a woman now and not a little girl. Tusenbach talks at length about how he too longs for work.He was born and raised in an aristocratic family, and he feels some kind of storm of change is coming, change that will wipe out laziness, indifference and boredom. He says that in twenty-five years everyone will be working, and Solyony jokes that in twenty-five years Tusenbach will be dead, perhaps even shot by him. Chebutykin talks about how he doesn't really work, saying that since he left university he hasn't read anything but newspapers. A knock is heard, Chebutykin says he's being called downstairs and rushes out.Irina, Tusenbach and Olga talk about how he seems to be up to something, referring to how he always brings Irina extravagant presents. Masha stands and prepares to go, saying she'll be back later and recalling the exciting parties they had when their father was alive. She talks about feeling depressed, and Olga says tearfully that she understands. Solyony jokes about how annoying it is when a woman talks philosophical thoughts, and Masha speaks angrily to them both. Anfisa comes in, followed by Ferapont, who's carrying a large cake. Anfisa announces that the cake came from Protopopov, the Chairman of the District Council.The hard-of-hearing Ferapont can't make out Irina's message of thanks. Olga tells Ferapont and Anfisa to get some lunch in the kitchen, and they go out. Masha says she doesn't like Protopopov, and Irina says he wasn't invited to the party. Chebutykin comes in with a large silver samovar. As the sisters react with embarrassment and Tusenbach laughs, Chebutykin says the girls are all he has in the world. He's an old man, and he loved their mother. Finally, he says that there's nothing wrong with giving expensive presents to people one loves.Act 1, Part 1 Analysis Like most of the full-length plays by this playwright, the dramatic and thematic content of this play is revealed in subtle ways, with its meaning defined by its sense of mood, atmosphere and character. This makes it very different from plays defined by active plots, increasing emotional tension and vivid symbolism. All three elements are present in  The Three Sisters, but they are less relevant to the play's meaning than its overall sense of tone, its gently pointed observations about human nature and its juxtapositions.For example, even though Olga's memories, Irina's dreams and Masha's moods are all very real and very vivid, their true nature is revealed by the repeated comments from the men about conversations being nonsense and garbage. The audience knows perfectly well that they're talking about their own conversations, but because they're carefully juxtaposed with speeches from the sisters, we also know that the playwright is telling us that ultimately, everything the women are saying is nonsense.In other words, their dreams are empty. In spite of the women talking about wanting to go to Moscow, the men are indirectly saying they're never going to get there. As the play continues, we learn why. They're unwilling and/or unable to actually do anything in order to get there. This is the play's central comment about human nature, that extravagant dreams are all well and good but that action must be taken in order to make those dreams reality. Several elements of foreshadowing appear in this scene.These include Solyony's reference to shooting Tusenbach, which foreshadows Tusenbach's death at the end of the play, and also Tusenbach's reference to Vershinin and his family, which foreshadows Vershinin's imminent appearance and the appearance of his family in the sisters' home in Act 3. Other foreshadowing includes the mention of Protopopov, a character who plays an unseen role in the development of the futur e relationship between Andrei and his wife. Two aspects of Russian life play important roles in this scene.The first is the reference to Irina's name day, a celebration of the saint from whom Irina received one of her names. The giving of children the name of a saint is a Russian tradition. The second aspect of Russian life mentioned here is the samovar, a large heated urn in which tea is brewed and served. Because they're usually made of a less expensive metal than silver, Chebutykin's gift is truly extravagant and inappropriate coming from someone who isn't either wealthy or a member of the immediate family. Act 1, Part 2 Summary Anfisa comes in, announcing Vershinin's arrival.As she goes out, urging Irina to behave herself, Vershinin comes in, exclaiming that he's very glad to be there and referring to his memories of having met the sisters when they were little girls. He comments on how time passes. He explains that he knew their father when they were both in Moscow, says he rem embers Masha's face a bit and talks about how he used to visit them all. As Irina and Olga talk about how they'll be back in Moscow by the fall, Masha suddenly recalls Vershinin's visits and how they always used to call him â€Å"the lovesick major† because he was always in love with someone or other.As Vershinin laughs, Masha becomes tearful about how old he now looks. Olga says he doesn't look old at all, and Vershinin says he's only forty-three. He and the sisters talk about which streets they used to live on, with Vershinin recalling a bridge near his home and how â€Å"a lonely man feels sick at heart there. † He quickly changes his mood, talking about the wonderful river running through their small town and how beautiful the climate is. The train station is far away, and nobody knows why. Solyony makes a bad joke, and there is an awkward silence. Then Olga says that she too recalls Vershinin.He says he knew their mother, and Chebutykin talks about how beautiful s he was. Irina mentions that she's buried in Moscow, and Masha says she's starting to forget her face. This leads Vershinin into a long speech about how everyone will be forgotten someday. What's important will one day be insignificant, and their lives will be considered idle. Tusenbach suggests that perhaps their lives will be recalled with respect. Solyony teases him, and Tusenbach asks him to go. When Solyony persists, Tusenbach keeps talking, and Chebutykin jokes about how small people are in general and how small he is in particular.A violin is heard, and the sisters explain that it's being played by Andrei, whom they say is going to be a professor. They also talk about how they've been teasing him for being in love with a local girl, with Masha going on at some length about how vulgar she is and about how she's heard the girl is engaged to Protopopov. She then calls Andrei, who comes in and is introduced to Vershinin. When he hears Vershinin is from Moscow, Andrei jokes that hi s sisters will now never leave him alone. The sisters tease their brother, and he becomes upset.The girls joke that they used to tease Vershinin and that he never minded. Andrei makes them stop, explaining he had an unsettled night and that his lack of sleep has kept him from doing what he really wants to do, translate a book into English. He says their father had high expectations of all his children, and he (Andrei) has gained weight since his father's death as though he's been freed from carrying a heavy load. All the children know several languages, and Andrei refers particularly to Irina knowing Italian. Masha talks about how useless knowing so many languages is.This leads Vershinin to talk at length about how even in their small town, their knowledge will slowly gain influence. Over the years, that influence will grow to the point where the town is populated by people like them. He says that life is meant to be beautiful and that their knowledge is the seed of the beautiful li fe to come. Masha announces she's staying to lunch. Tusenbach starts talking about how that beautiful life must be earned and worked for. Vershinin talks about how beautiful the sisters' home is. Tusenbach tries again to talk about the value of work.Vershinin talks about how he often wonders what would happen if life could be started anew and says that if he had the chance, he'd create a life in which he lived in a house like that of the sisters. Vershinin mentions his wife and daughters and says he wouldn't marry. Act 1, Part 2 Analysis The key element of this section is the introduction of Vershinin and the repeated foreshadowing of his eventual affair with Masha. He and Masha share recollections of each other, and he is also referred to as the lovesick major.His reference to a lonely man, which the audience can easily understand from the context of what he says as a reference to himself, and Masha's sudden change of heart about staying for lunch provide additional foreshadowing. Their relationship is also foreshadowed in Vershinin's comments about wanting to start a new life, something that both he and Masha clearly want to do, as the continuing action of the play reveals. Vershinin's reasons are revealed through his conversation, while Masha's reasons are revealed as the result of the entrance of her husband, who appears at the beginning of the final section of this act.Another piece of foreshadowing is Andrei's reference to Irina's knowledge of Italian, which foreshadows her emotional breakdown later in the play when she laments having forgotten all her Italian. Also, Solyony's continued teasing of Tusenbach continues to foreshadow Tusenbach' eventual death. Finally, the sisters' teasing of Andrei about Natasha foreshadows her entrance and their eventual marriage, while Masha's reference to the rumors about Natasha and Protopopov foreshadow developments later in the play that imply they're having an affair.Vershinin's comments and observations about the f uture can easily be interpreted as some kind of thematic statement. The same point could be made in terms of Tusenbach and Irina's comments about the value of work. They are related to the play's theme, but not in the way they might at first seem. Both men are, in essence, saying that they don't want to live the lives they're living. This state of being, or perhaps non-being might be a better phrase, is also true of the three sisters.Olga and Irina are desperate to live lives in Moscow, and Masha (as we'll see) is equally desperate to live any kind of life as long as it doesn't involve her husband. In short, none of the play's central characters want to live the lives in which they find themselves, a situation that also becomes true of Andrei and Natasha later in the play. The action of the play, such as it is, reveals how these dreams of escape are all futile because, as previously discussed, the characters don't really do anything to bring them to reality. Tusenbach and Irina do g et jobs, and Masha and Vershinin have an affair.However, Irina never does anything to try to get to Moscow, and neither does Olga. By the same token, Vershinin and Masha have their fling, but at the end of the play, they return to life with their respective spouses. Later in the play, the audience also sees how Andrei's dreams of success have evaporated, and he finds himself completely dominated by his wife. Only Natasha, ironically enough, gets everything she wants, but the point here is that she gets it because she works for it, fights for it and doesn't stop until she gets it. She has bad manners. She's pushy, and she's selfish.However, she realizes her dreams. Do the other characters need to be more pushy and more selfish? They may or may not. The dramatic point of the play is not whether selfishness and pushiness are virtues but rather that the characters need to dosomething. The thematic point of the play, therefore, is that all human beings need to work for something. Otherwi se, life will end up as hollow as those of the three sisters and their men. Act 1, Part 3 Summary Kulygin comes in, greets Irina, gives her a little book he wrote detailing the history of the school where he and Olga both teach and introduces himself to Vershinin.Irina tells Kulygin he already gave her a copy of the book. Kulygin takes the book from her and gives it to Vershinin. Vershinin prepares to go, but Olga and Irina insist he join them for lunch. He agrees to stay and goes with Olga into the dining room in the back. Kulygin chatters about the tradition of Sunday rest. He comments on how the rugs should be cleaned, how life must be ordered, how glad he is that Masha loves him, how the curtains should be cleaned and how he and Masha have been invited to join the director of the school for a walk.Masha irritably says she's not going, refusing to explain why. Kulygin talks about his plans to join the director at his home in the evening and comments that the clock is fast. Andrei 's violin is heard as Olga calls everyone in to lunch. As they all go in, Masha sternly tells Chebutykin to not drink. Chebutykin says it's been two years since he was drunk, but Masha says again he shouldn't drink at all. She then complains about having to go to the director's again. Tusenbach and Chebutykin advise her to not go, and she goes into the dining room, complaining about how awful her life is.Solyony teases Tusenbach again. Kulygin drinks a toast to how wonderful Masha is. Vershinin talks about how good he feels being in the house, and they all prepare to sit down to lunch. In the drawing room, Irina comments to Tusenbach on Masha's bad mood, saying she's not happy with Kulygin. Olga calls to Andrei, and he comes in as Irina talks about how uneasy she feels around Solyony. Tusenbach talks about how he feels sorry for Solyony. He's fine when they're alone together, but when they're around people, Solyony becomes crude and bullying.Tusenbach then talks about how much he lo ves Irina, saying his desire for work is bound up with his desire to make a beautiful life for her. Irina tearfully says life isn't beautiful for her or her sisters, saying she feels like grass stifled by weeds. She talks about needing to work, saying she comes from a family that has always despised work. Natasha rushes in, checks herself in a mirror, congratulates Irina and greets Tusenbach. Olga comes in and greets her, commenting that her clothes don't match. Natasha wonders whether it's a kind of omen, but Olga says it just looks odd.She leads Natasha into the dining room as Kulygin toasts a future fiancy for Irina. He and Chebutykin joke about how she's already got a fiancy, and Masha demands a drink. Solyony jokes that the liqueur is made of cockroaches, and Olga invites everyone to come for dinner. Chebutykin jokes about how everyone is made for love, and Andrei loses his temper. Fedotik and Rode arrive. Fedotik takes a lot of pictures, and he offers Irina a toy top. Kulygin jokes about how there are thirteen people at the table, and he says that that means there are lovers there.He jokes that one of them is Chebutykin, who in turn jokes about why Natasha's suddenly embarrassed. Natasha runs into the drawing room, and Andrei runs after her. Natasha says she couldn't help running off, adding that she knows that it's bad manners but just couldn't stay. Andrei comforts her and moves her to a window where they can't be seen. He talks about how wonderful her youth is and how much in love with her he is. Then, he proposes marriage and kisses her. Act 1, Part 3 Analysis The third section of the act develops several key relationships.The first is the romantic triangle involving Vershinin, Masha and Kulygin, whose pedantic boorishness is so vividly portrayed that the audience immediately understands why Masha finds the intelligent and apparently more sensitive Vershinin so attractive. The second is the relationship between Natasha and Andrei, which is something of a mystery. We wonder, as perhaps the three sisters do, why he finds her attractive. The answer might be found in the previously discussed point about Natasha's determination. She may dress badly, but she's got spirit.This is indicated by the way she gets herself away from an uncomfortable situation, as opposed to putting up with it the way that â€Å"ladies† like the three sisters might. The idea is supported later in the play by the way Andrei remains something of a non-entity, with no real career and no personality. In other words, he's attracted to her get up and go, mostly because his own got away. The third relationship developed is that of Tusenbach and Irina. Tusenbach is revealed as a thorough romantic, passionately idealistic in a way none of the characters are. They have dreams and longings, while he has goals and at least a degree of zeal.He believes in his dreams more strongly and actually makes at least some effort to bring them to fruition. He confesses his l ove to Irina and actually gets a job, but like the other characters, he doesn't go all the way. Throughout the play, he seems content to wait for Irina to come to him in the same way as he seems prepared to wait for the future, as opposed to moving directly and determinedly into it. As for Irina, her tearfulness in their conversation suggests that her earlier radiant happiness was actually a mask and that she actually is beginning to despair that her life is never going to be what she dreams.The despair hasn't yet taken over completely. That comes in Act 3, when the world around her is literally destroyed by fire in the same way as her inner, dream-filled world has been destroyed by pointless work, frustrated dreams and the banality of people around her, particularly Natasha. Nevertheless, the seeds of despair are planted in this scene and grow throughout the play. The other key piece of foreshadowing here, aside from the glimpse of Irina's despair, is Masha's reference to Chebutyki n's drinking.This foreshadows his appearance in Act 3, Part 1, in which he refers to having killed a patient after operating on her while drunk. Act 2, Part 1 Summary This act also takes place in the drawing/dining room, some months after the events of Act 1. Natasha comes in, searching to ensure no servants have left any candles burning. She calls to Andrei, who comes in. Conversation reveals that it's Carnival Week. Olga now works at the Teacher's Council office, and Irina works at the telegraph office. Andrei and Natasha now are married and have a child, Bobik, over whom Natasha worries excessively.She tells Andrei she doesn't want the maskers to stop by, saying they'll disturb Bobik's rest. Andrei reminds her they were invited and that the decision is really up to his sisters, who are still mistresses of the house. Natasha says she'll tell them as well and talks about her plans to move Bobik into Irina's room and Irina into Olga's room. After asking why Andrei isn't saying anyth ing, she tells him Ferapont has come with a message from the council. Andrei tells her to tell Ferapont to come in, and Natasha goes. A moment later, Ferapont comes in with some papers and a book.Andrei looks at the papers, commenting as he does about how surprised he is at how life changes. He refers to a book of university lectures he's been reading. He has been named secretary to the council run by Protopopov, and the most he can realistically be now is actually on the council. He still dreams of being a famous lecturer at Moscow University, though. Ferapont comments that he doesn't really hear what Andrei is saying, but Andrei says if he could hear properly, he (Andrei) wouldn't be talking, adding that his wife never listens and that he's afraid his sisters will laugh at them.He reminisces about his days in Moscow, saying that there nobody knows you but you're not a stranger, while here everybody knows him but he's a total stranger. After chatting briefly about whether Ferapont was ever in Moscow, Andrei tells him he can go and then goes back into his own room. Masha and Vershinin come in from another direction, in the middle of a conversation about the bad manners of the people of the town as opposed to the good manners Masha is used to dealing with from her father's fellow soldiers. She also talks about how she married Kulygin when she was eighteen.She was both afraid of him and impressed by him because he was a schoolteacher, but she has since become completely disillusioned. She talks about how miserable she is when she's with his boorish colleagues, leading Vershinin to talk about how everyone in the town, military or otherwise, is as uninteresting as everyone else. He wonders aloud why Russians are such lofty thinkers but live such low, worn out lives. Masha asks why he's unhappy, and he explains that one of his daughters is unwell and that his wife is in a very bad mood.He kisses her hand and apologizes for talking so much, but he says he's got nobo dy in his life other than her. Masha refers to the spooky sound of the wind in the stove, but he goes on talking about how wonderful and beautiful she is and saying how much he loves her. At first she tells him to stop, and then she tells him to keep going. When she sees Irina and Tusenbach coming, she tells him again to stop. As Tusenbach and Irina come in, Tusenbach is talking about how he has a German name but is truly Russian at heart.Irina complains that she's tired, but he doesn't appear to notice, talking about how he'll gladly see her home every night. As he greets Masha and Vershinin, Irina talks about how she was rude to a customer at the telegraph office for no reason, and she asks whether the maskers are coming. Masha confirms that they are, and Irina again says she's tired. Masha jokes that she's starting to look like a boy, and Irina says the mindlessness and soullessness of the work is really starting to get to her. There's a knock on the floor, and Irina understands it to be a signal from Chebutykin, asking if he can come up.She tells Tusenbach to answer and then tells Masha that Chebutykin and Andrei were out gambling again and lost a lot of money. She talks about her continuing dream of going to Moscow, saying she's planning to leave in a few months. Masha comments that Natasha mustn't hear about Andrei's losses, and Irina says it wouldn't matter. Chebutykin comes in and sits at the dining room table. Masha and Irina talk about how he hasn't paid any rent in months. When he calls Irina to join him, she joins him at the table and begins playing solitaire. Act 2, Part 1 AnalysisIn the first part of this section, the audience sees Natasha's previously discussed determination in action as she overrides the wishes of her husband and his sisters about the maskers and makes plans to override their lives even more. In short, she is pursuing what she wants in a way that Andrei has clearly never done. It's also becoming clear that his sisters have neve r done things that way either. The contrast between Natasha and the Prozoroffs is further defined by the way Andrei simply talks about how unhappy he is even while Natasha is acting to improve and/or change her life.Andrei's capacity for, and habit of, talking rather than actually acting is repeated in this section by Irina. It's important to note that even though she talks about leaving for Moscow in a few months, there is no actual evidence that she's doing anything about it. There is no evidence of tickets or packing, and she has no real plans of any kind. The audience sees her being sucked into the same kind of dull, repetitive work that Olga refers to in Act 1 as sapping her of her strength and her will. This is a development in her personality that even Tusenbach's protestations of love and Masha's teasing about her looks seem unable to slow.In contrast to Irina's tiredness, Andrei's dullness and the way they both complain, Masha's flirting with Vershinin stands out as the onl y effort being made by anyone in the Prozoroff family to create desired change in her life. She wants to escape, somehow, from her husband, and she is making carefully modulated overtures to Vershinin so that he will help her get away, whether emotionally, sexually or intellectually. For his part, Vershinin is also making an effort to get out of his misery. His romantic proclamations perform the same unction for him as they do for her, drawing them both out of the lives they can't bear to live and into an existence where there is both excitement and intimacy. As previously discussed, however, they both escape only to a point. Foreshadowing in this scene includes the reference to Protopopov, which foreshadows Natasha's taking a ride with him later in the act, and Irina's despair, which foreshadows her emotional breakdown in the following act. Act 2, Part 2 Summary Vershinin suggests that he, Tusenbach and Masha imagine what life will be like in two hundred years.Tusenbach suggests th at in spite of there being great technological advances, human beings will be exactly the same, complaining about how empty life is and being afraid to die. Vershinin says, as he did in Act 1, Part 2, that life will be very different in two hundred years and that work must begin now to prepare. He adds that there can be no true happiness in the present but there will be in the future, â€Å"for the descendants of [his] descendants. † Fedotik and Rode join Irina and Chebutykin in the dining room as Tusenbach asks what Vershinin would say if Tusenbach claimed to be already happy.Vershinin says he can't be. As Masha laughs quietly, Tusenbach says again life will never change. Birds will migrate the same way, and philosophers will philosophize the same way. Ultimately, he says, life has no meaning. Masha says she believes that life has to have some meaning, or else it's all waste. Vershinin says it's a shame that youth passes, and Tusenbach says it's difficult to argue with them. In the dining room, Chebutykin comments on an article in the paper that he's reading and makes a note in his little book. Tusenbach tells Masha he's resigned from the military.Masha says she doesn't like civilians, and the audience realizes that she's referring back to her earlier conversation with Vershinin, in which she said she prefers soldiers to civilians. Tusenbach talks about how he's looking forward to working hard and joins Irina in the dining room just as Fedotik is giving her some crayons. She complains about how he always treats her like a child, but then she laughs with joy at the pretty colors. The samovar is brought in, and Anfisa pours tea. Solyony comes into the dining room. Natasha also comes in, and several conversations continue at the same time.As Vershinin and Masha talk about the wind, Irina says her game of solitaire will come out, but Fedotik says it won't, joking that it means she won't be going to Moscow. Meanwhile, Chebutykin reads aloud from his newspap er, and Anfisa brings tea to Vershinin and Masha. Natasha chatters to Solyony about how special Bobik is, and Solyony makes a crude joke about how all children should be cooked and eaten. Vershinin tells Masha a story about a prisoner who said he never noticed the beauty of bird song until he was in jail, and who then said once he was released, he went back to not noticing.He says that in the same way, once Masha is in Moscow, she won't notice its beauty, saying again that happiness doesn't exist; we just long for it. Anfisa brings him a note. He reads it and then tells Masha his wife has again tried to commit suicide. He goes out, and Anfisa complains that he hasn't finished his tea. Masha loses her temper and goes into the dining room. Andrei calls for Anfisa, and she goes out to him as Masha messes up Irina's game of solitaire. Irina becomes upset. Chebutykin makes a joke, and Natasha asks why she makes herself look so ugly.She says Irina would be charming if she didn't speak so crudely and that Irina speaks in very bad French. Tusenbach and the others can barely restrain their laughter. Natasha again becomes embarrassed and goes out. Irina asks where Vershinin went. Masha explains that something happened with his wife as Tusenbach goes to Solyony, offers him a drink and offers to make peace and be friends. Solyony says there's no need to make peace, saying there's no quarrel. He goes on to say he's fine when he's alone with someone, but when he's with large groups of people, he can't help behaving strangely.He also says he doesn't dislike Tusenbach and that he makes the comments he does just because he's moody. Andrei comes in, sitting quietly with his book of lectures as Tusenbach tells Solyony he's resigning from the military. Solyony tells him to give up on his dreams and then interrupts as Chebutykin and Irina pass by, talking about the ingredients of a stew. Solyony says Chebutykin has the name of one of the ingredients wrong. He and Solyony argue, an d Andrei asks them to be quiet. Tusenbach asks when the maskers are coming, and Irina says they'll be there soon.Chebutykin and Tusenbach sing and dance in the way the maskers would. Tusenbach then promises to go to the university with Andrei, leading to an argument with Solyony about how many universities there are. After insisting there are two and being ignored, Solyony leaves the room. Tusenbach applauds his leaving and then sits at a piano and plays. As Masha sings and dances by herself, Natasha has a quiet word with Chebutykin and then goes out. Chebutykin then whispers to Tusenbach, who stops playing. Chebutykin tells Irina they need to go.Irina asks why they aren't staying for the maskers, and Andrei sheepishly confesses that the maskers aren't coming because Natasha doesn't want them around when Bobik's not well. Masha suggests it's Natasha who's not well, in the head. Andrei goes out, and Chebutykin follows him. Fedotik and Rode say their farewells and go, and Masha and Ir ina follow them to the door. Act 2, Part 2 Analysis In the same way as the comments of Vershinin, Tusenbach and Irina in Act 1, Part 2 might be interpreted as making thematic statements, comments made by several characters in this scene might be interpreted the same way.These include Vershinin's comments that life will change, Tusenbach' comments that life will never change and is ultimately meaningless, Masha's comments that life must have meaning and Vershinin' story about the prisoner and the birds. The point must be made, however, that philosophical comments made by characters aren't necessarily the philosophical comments of the play. In fact, the point made by all these philosophical conversations is related to the point made earlier – that these characters are talkers rather than doers, intellectuals and dreamers as opposed to actual participants in life.It's true that they participate to a point. Tusenbach resigns from the military, and Vershinin and Masha seduce each other. In general, though, their efforts are pretty minimal. They don't really want to make a change, an idea born out by the way Irina at first resents being treated like a child by Fedotik and then turns around and reacts with very childlike happiness at his little gift. Later in this act, the audience sees again how Natasha is a very different character, doing exactly what she wants and not really thinking at all.Other than the philosophies of the various characters, what's particularly noteworthy about this section of the act is its busyness. Many things seem to be going on at the same time. Aside from creating an effectively realistic portrayal of what happens with large parties – as smaller parties form and individuals move from group to group – the sequence gives a clear sense of the kind of lives these characters live. The audience experiences them becoming involved in petty arguments and minor joys, in discussions about large subjects that actually perform the trivial unction of killing time and in spontaneous music and dancing that is actually an expression of frustration and loneliness. What they're doing is actually important because they're all just waiting, and not just for the maskers. The maskers, in fact, are a symbol of what they're truly waiting for – the future, the chance to feel and hearing someone to say something loving to them. It's no coincidence, therefore, that the maskers come but are sent away. This represents the way the future comes but isn't being faced head on by anyone but Natasha, who faces both the maskers and the future with equal determination.It's this sense of a lack of importance to life, this sense of futility in her activities and those of the people around her, that leads Irina to her moment of climactic frustration at the end of the act and contributes to her emotional breakdown in Act 3. Act 2, Part 3 Summary Chebutykin and Andrei come back in, dressed to go out. Chebutykin talks about how he never married because he never had time and because he was in love with Andrei's mother. Andrei says marriage is boring, but Chebutykin says it's worse to be lonely. Andrei urges him to hurry, saying he's afraid Natasha will stop them.The audience understands that the two of them are going out gambling again. As they go out, Andrei asks Chebutykin what he should do about his shortness of breath. Chebutykin says he doesn't know, adding that he's forgotten everything about being a doctor. After Andrei and Chebutykin are gone, laughter is heard from outside. Irina and Anfisa come in from separate entrances, and Irina says the maskers must be sent away. As Anfisa goes out, Solyony comes in, apologizing for his behavior and saying he deeply loves Irina. Even though she tells him to leave her alone, he talks about how beautiful she is.Finally, her anger gets through to him. He says that even though he's professing noble emotions, it's as though he's not in the room and promises to kill an y rival for her love. He repeats that he loves her. Natasha passes through wearing her dressing gown and becoming embarrassed when she sees Solyony. Solyony goes out, and Natasha comments on how tired Irina looks, suggesting that Irina think about moving in with Olga so that Bobik can have her room. Irina doesn't seem to be listening. A maid comes in and tells Natasha that Protopopov has come to take her for a ride in his carriage.She laughs about how silly men are and tells the maid to tell Protopopov she's coming. She goes out to get ready as Kulygin and Vershinin come in, wondering what happened to the party, looking for Masha and asking why Protopopov is downstairs. Olga also comes in, complaining about how her head aches and talking about how much money Andrei has lost in gambling. Vershinin says his wife is all right. In passing, he mentions the possibility that his regiment will be ordered to leave and asks Kulygin to go out somewhere with him because he can't bear to go home .Kulygin at first says he doesn't want to go but then says he needs to leave, disappointed at the party not happening. He goes out, followed by Vershinin. Olga talks again about her headache. She says the whole town is gossiping about Andrei and she's looking forward to her day off, and then she goes out. Irina comments that everyone has gone. Natasha passes through on her way out, telling her maid she'll be back in half an hour. After she's gone, Irina says to herself, â€Å"To Moscow! To Moscow! To Moscow! † Act 2, Part 3 Analysis Once again in this section the audience sees the characters filling in time.Specifically, Chebutykin and Andrei fill the emptiness and loneliness of their lives with gambling. In their conversation, we also understand for the first time a little more of why Chebutykin is so devoted to the family, and particularly to Irina. His love for them is an outlet for the love he felt for their mother. Love also appears, much more surprisingly, in the conver sation between Solyony and Irina. Up to this point, Solyony might easily have been perceived as being eccentric and angry, but essentially harmless and just a little irritating.At this point, however, he is easily among the most passionate and deeply feeling characters in the play. Unlike the longings of many of the others, which are expressed in terms that come across as either watery or intellectual, Solyony's passion comes across as deeply felt and almost dangerously intense. The fact that Natasha interrupts his conversation with Irina is no coincidence. Natasha and Solyony are both ruthless in their pursuit of what they want and dream of. The fact that Solyony doesn't actually get it is irrelevant.He feels strongly enough to say he'll kill, and he will actually follow through in a way that few of the other characters follow through on their dreams. Irina's crying out for Moscow is a response to everything she's experienced in this act, her fatigue and disillusionment in Part 1, the relative emptiness of the lives lived (including her own) in Part 2 and her distaste for Solyony in this section. She is clearly in despair and sees escape to Moscow as her only hope. Later in the play, however, it becomes clear that she will never actually go.She gets more and more frustrated and disillusioned, but she never, ever goes. The question of why not is answered by the previously discussed idea that she, like so many other characters in the play, is a thinker and dreamer, not a doer. Making her dreams come true is perhaps too hard for her, or maybe she doesn't really know how, her mind having been filled with several languages at the expense of practicality, determination and coping skills. Whatever the reason, her final words represent the present despair felt by Olga, Vershinin, Masha, Solyony and Andrei, and the deeper despair to come for all of them.In fact, in the cries of this idealistic young woman, the audience can hear the cry of every human being that hopes his or her dreams will once, just once, come true. Conversely, in her lack of action we see how the choices of every human being determine whether that actually happens. Act 3, Part 1 Summary The third act is set in what has become Olga and Irina's bedroom, at around three in the morning. Fire alarms ring offstage. Masha lies on a sofa as Olga and Anfisa enter, and conversation reveals that there has been a major fire in the town.As Olga goes through her clothes looking for things she can give to the fire's victims, Anfisa talks about two little girls downstairs, imagining that their father has been killed. Olga comments that Vershinin's house has been almost completely destroyed and that Fedotik's home has burned to the ground. She calls for help with the clothes, and a moment later Ferapont comes in and takes out an armful, commenting as he goes on a fire in Moscow that he survived. After he's gone, Olga tiredly tells Anfisa to give everything away, makes arrangements for the Vers hinin family to sleep there and comments that Chebutykin has gotten very drunk.Anfisa worries that there are plans being made to send her away, but Olga reassures her and tells her to sit and rest. Natasha comes in chattering about how a society for the relief of those left homeless should be formed. Conversation reveals that she's had another child, Sophie, and that Natasha is worried about her catching influenza from one of the many strangers in the house. She looks at herself in the mirror and compliments herself on how well she's kept her figure, and then she shouts at Anfisa for sitting down when she's in the room.Anfisa goes out. Natasha complains to Olga that Anfisa is useless and then comments on how tired Olga looks. Conversation reveals that there's an election coming up for the position of headmistress at the school. Natasha is convinced Olga will get it, and Olga doesn't want it. Olga tells Natasha she was too rude to Anfisa. Natasha apologizes, and Masha goes out, angry at being disturbed. Olga tells Natasha that rude language upsets her, and Natasha again apologizes. Then, she says Anfisa really should be living in the country because she doesn't really work.As the fire alarm bell rings again, Natasha talks at length about how she's running the house while Olga is working at the school. She calls Anfisa names, loses her temper and says that by the next day Anfisa will be gone. As Natasha goes out, Kulygin comes in looking for Masha. Conversation reveals that only one section of town has been destroyed. Kulygin mentions that if he hadn't married Masha he'd have wanted to marry Olga. In a moment of quiet they hear Chebutykin coming, comment on how drunk he is and then hide themselves so that they don't embarrass him.A moment later Chebutykin comes in and washes his hands as he speaks to himself about how he remembers nothing about being a doctor, recalling a patient he was treating recently who died. Olga slips out of the room as Chebutykin looks a t himself in a mirror and wonders whether he's really a man anymore and whether he truly exists. He starts weeping as he wishes he didn't exist. He recalls a conversation at his club during which people were talking about well known writers. He didn't know any of them but pretended he did. He talks about the banality of life and again recalls the patient he killed.Irina, Vershinin and Tusenbach come in, with Tusenbach wearing new and stylish civilian clothes. Vershinin talks about how much of the town was saved because of the efforts of the soldiers, and Irina refers to how many of them, including Solyony, are sitting in the dining room. She also tells Chebutykin to go to bed. Chebutykin says he's all right, and Kulygin comes forward and jokes about how drunk he is. Tusenbach talks about being asked to produce a benefit concert for the refugees from the fire. He suggests that Masha should play the piano as part of it, but Irina says she's forgotten how to play.Kulygin talks about ho w much he loves Masha but says the director of the school might not think her participation is appropriate. Chebutykin picks up a small china clock and studies it as Vershinin mentions that he's heard rumors their brigade is being transferred. Tusenbach says that when they go the town will be empty, but Irina says it won't matter since they're going to Moscow. Chebutykin drops the clock, and it shatters. As Irina says the clock belonged to her mother, Chebutykin suggests philosophically that perhaps it didn't really exist and that nobody really exists.He wonders why people are staring at him, shouts that Natasha is having an affair with Protopopov and nobody knows or cares and then goes out. After commenting on how strange the situation is, Vershinin tells how he ran home when the fire started. He found his wife missing and his little girls terrified and wondered how much more they'd have to suffer. He grabbed them and ran and then discovered his wife at the Prozoroff house. Masha c omes back in and lies down as Vershinin continues, comparing the fire with what happens when enemies at war make sudden raids on each other.He then refers again to his idea that in a few hundred years people will look back on the life they're leading and laugh, and he says again that Irina and her sisters are in the forefront of the process of transformation. He begins to sing. Masha joins in, and Fedotik rushes in, laughing strangely at how everything he owns has been destroyed. Solyony follows, and Irina tells him to go away. Solyony complains about how Tusenbach can come in while he can't, while Vershinin and Masha continue to sing. Solyony makes fun of Tusenbach, and then he, Vershinin and Fedotik go out. Act 3, Part 1 AnalysisAs previously discussed in the analysis of Act 1, Part 3, the destruction caused by the fire represents the destruction of the dreams and hopes of those who continue to have them: the Prozoroff sisters, Tusenbach, Vershinin, Andrei and, to an extent, even Solyony. Those dreams aren't completely destroyed quite yet. Irina still dreams of going to Moscow, and Vershinin and Masha are continuing to flirt with each other, presumably still in the hope that their relationship will alleviate their unhappiness. Also, Solyony is clearly still drawn to Irina, and Tusenbach still has dreams of fulfillment in work and of happiness with Irina.Only Andrei, as will become clear in the second part of this act, has no dreams left at all. Even though the dreams of the others remain, there is the powerful sense in this scene that the destruction of those dreams is both imminent and inevitable, a sense conveyed not only by the fire but also by several other factors. The first factor conveying the hopelessness of the characters' dreams is Natasha's reference to Olga becoming headmistress, which is particularly noteworthy because Natasha seems determined Olga will get the job.The audience has seen what happens when Natasha is determined about something. Th e second factor is the appearance of Chebutykin, which functions on several levels. His drunken musings on his loss of identity represent the way that Irina and the others, who define their identities by their dreams, will lose their identities once their dreams fade away in the same way as Chebutykin's knowledge, which has defined his identity as a doctor. Another level of symbolism in this scene can be found in his accidental destruction of the clock.Because of its association with the Prozoroffs' mother, the woman Chebutykin loved and dreamed of marrying, its destruction symbolizes the destruction of his dreams of happiness and, therefore, symbolizes the destruction of the dreams of the others. Several characters seem to take the fire and its destructive consequences in their stride. This is perhaps because their dreams and goals are being fulfilled (Natasha), because they don't have dreams for a life beyond their own (Kulygin) or because their dreams are so relatively insignific ant to them that their destruction doesn't really matter (Fedotik).For those who continue to dream of a transformed life and continue to have those dreams unfulfilled, the physical devastation caused by the fire and the emotional devastation of its victims clearly and vividly foreshadow the spiritual devastation the many dreamers in this play are about to encounter. Are the characters aware of this connection? It seems as though on a subconscious, spiritual level, they just might be. This is another example of the way meaning in this play can be defined by subtext and juxtaposition, as opposed to overt action and direct comment or revelation by the characters.One final piece of foreshadowing occurs in Vershinin' passing mention of the rumor that he and his brigade are going to be transferred. This is the second time such a rumor has been mentioned, the first being in Act 2, Part 3. The first time the transfer never actually comes to pass, but in Act 4, this time the rumors will prov e to be true. Act 3, Part 2 Summary Irina discovers Tusenbach has fallen asleep. As he wakes, he talks briefly about how he's soon to start a new job at a brickyard. He then talks about how beautiful Irina is, his hopes for living and working with her and his memories of how happy she was on her Name Day (in Act 1).He comments that morning has begun and muses romantically about giving his life for her. As he talks, Masha repeatedly tells him to go out, and finally he does. She also suggests that Kulygin should go home. He repeatedly tells her how much he loves her and how content and happy he is, but Masha talks about how bored she is. She also talks angrily about how much debt Andrei is in and how he's allowing Natasha to control money and property that by rights should be controlled by Andrei and the sisters. Kulygin tells her it doesn't really matter, talking about how he prefers a simple life.Masha tells him justice is important to her and then tells him again to go away. He tal ks again about how much he loves Masha, repeating that he's content, and goes. Irina talks with increasing emotion about how Andrei has changed because of Natasha. His dreams have disappeared, and the whole town is laughing behind his back because of the affair with Protopopov. He just sits in his room and plays violin while the whole town is out fighting the fire. As Olga comes in, Irina begins to weep, saying she can't stand her life. She can't remember anything of her Italian, and she says that they'll never get to Moscow and that she hates her job.She's becoming unattractive and feels no satisfaction or happiness. She also talks about how she feels herself moving away from any kind of beautiful life and towards an abyss of unhappiness, saying she can't understand why she hasn't killed herself. Olga comforts her, suggesting that she marry Tusenbach and talking about h

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Why does ADHD impact on academic perfomance and what can be done to support ADHD children in the classroom - Essay Example th proper identification of factors comprising academic disadvantages, classroom based interventions could be designed to assist and support children diagnosed for ADHD. The strengths of the article come in terms of the authors’ ability to present the discourse in a clear, understandable and well-structured format that could be comprehended by the general audience. By defining terms, citing authoritative sources, and arriving at concise findings, readers from various academic backgrounds could appreciate the contents. The authors used clear language and words, where appropriate examples are provided for clarity and expounded explanations, as needed. On the other hand, the only weakness observed from the article was its lack of tables or illustrations that could summarize findings in a more concise and detailed manner. With the article being presented in literary form all throughout, readers would have tendencies lose focus and interest. Otherwise, the general evaluation is exemplary as the authors were able to achieve their identified objective of reviewing the relationship between ADHD and academic performance. More importantly, by providing â€Å"strategies that are directed towards remediating the academic impairment of individuals with ADHD† (Daley & Birchwood, 2010, p. 455), various practitioners are made aware of the interventions available to address concerns on children with ADHD. on academic performance and what can be done to support ADHD children in the classroom? Child: Care, Health and Development , Volume 36, Issue 4, 455-464. Retrieved 29 August 2011, from

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The increasing relevance of appearance in society Essay

The increasing relevance of appearance in society - Essay Example It was mainly injured soldiers who went under the knife for reconstruction surgery (American Society of Plastic Surgeons 2011). However, since the late 1980s, the number of patients who desired cosmetic surgery began to spike; today, cosmetic surgery patients make up most plastic surgery patients. Dr. David Hargraves stated that the majority of his work now centers on aesthetic or cosmetic surgery, whereas before the 1980s he mainly performed surgeries for burns victims (Elliott 16). So, why has there been an increase in the number of patients looking for aesthetic surgery? The answer is that society has become more appearance-oriented, and many factors have contributed to this shift of thought. We can clearly see that society has moved towards a focus appearances when we consider how beauty standards have affected our lives. These days, there is a certain beauty standard that people are likely to pursue. To start with, people try to meet this standard for social reasons. Henderson-K ing and Brooks (134) state that a motivation for enhancing one’s attractiveness through cosmetic surgery is to develop one’s social status. It is a basic human desire to want to look more attractive to others, including one’s partner; this results in feeling a need to undergo cosmetic surgery (Henderson-King and Brooks 134). ... This pressure drives a person to feel dissatisfied with their body. As a result, having a negative image about their body contributes to their thinking about reshaping their bodies through surgery (Park, DiRaddo, and Calogero 110). Also, Henderson-King and Brooks (135) argue that â€Å"one mechanism through which the internalization of standards of attractiveness is likely to happen is through the influence of close others, such as mothers, fathers, and friends.† A person’s concern about being attractive is formed by their close acquaintances, as their family and friends keep transmitting messages to them through appearance-focused behavior and attitudes (Henderson-King and Brooks 135). Basically, this behavior is likely to lead to someone to feeling insecure and less confident, and this intrapersonal reason, as well as the social reason, promotes someone to change their appearance through cosmetic surgery. Among several beauty standards, the most widespread one is know n as ‘white beauty’. Across the globe, many people believe that white equals beauty. In addition, many people have a perception that white skin will result in a better economic and social status (Hunter 153). Due to these beliefs, many immigrants to the United States, such as Asians, Europeans, and African-American women, are now turning to cosmetic surgery to meet this recognized standard of beauty. This has come to be known as ‘ethnic plastic surgery’. The fact that the number of cosmetic surgeries performed from 2000 to 2008 in the United States for African-Americans increased by 145 percent and for Asians by 290 percent proves that ethnic plastic surgery has become

Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resources or Learning and Development Practitione Essay Example for Free

Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resources or Learning and Development Practitione Essay LO1: Understand the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required to be an effective HR or LD practitioner. Briefly summarize the CIPD Map (i.e. 2 core areas, specialist professional areas, the bands and the behaviors) Comment on the activities and knowledge specified within any 1 professional area at either band 1 or 2 identifying those you consider most essential to your own (or other identified) HR/LD role. The  HR Profession Map  is a framework based on extensive research with  HR professionals  at all stages of their career, and sets out what makes great  HR: the knowledge, skills, and behaviors. An extensive variety of associations and HR experts are currently utilizing the CIPDs Profession Map to benchmark and fabricate their HR ability at the singular, group, capacity and association levels As you can see on the image above CIPD has created LO2: Know how to deliver timely and effective HR services to meet users’ needs. 2.1. Identify the needs of 3 different customers using the HR service and explain how conflicting needs are prioritized. 2.2 Identify 3 different methods of communication and explain the advantages and disadvantages of each. In business, effective communication is vital to remaining competitive, amplifying benefit, keeping workers drew in and cheerful, and ensuring everybody is centered around the correct objectives and targets. At the point when correspondence is done effectively, it implies a similar thing to both the sender and recipient. Type of Communication Advantages Disadvantages Face to Face Eye to an eye is yet the favored correspondence channel if lucidity of a message is an essential factor. Communication in person enables you to connect with the audience in a forward and backward dialog. It likewise enables you to use nonverbal motions, outward appearances, and individual magnetism to upgrade the message. A disadvantage is a potential that a contention could turn out to be more warmed or enthusiastic in an eye to eye channel. Strain or stress is likewise more probable if you have the individual clash with the other individual. Written Email Email is a key correspondence direct in topographically scattered organizations or ones in which representative’s travel. Email considers more adaptable reaction times. You can communicate something specific one day and get a reaction in a couple of hours or the following day. It takes into consideration discussion that isnt time-forced, however, can serve for quick turnaround times. It additionally considers the incorporation of records, for example, archives or pictures. Email is less individual than either vis-à  -vis or telephone. The missing setting of the message may prompt errors or misjudged messages. Also, the greater part of emails and vital data can be lost with a basic hard-drive crash. In the event that email data are stored on another server, at that point information could get lost if that site goes down or bankrupt. Phone Land or cell phones have taken up the correspondence slack in organizations where separation and travel counteract eye to eye discussion. The phone still permits quick connection between two gatherings in the correspondence. Cell phones likewise extend your capacity to speak with removed specialists or workplaces. The absence of nonverbal or outward appearances expel those components from the message. This can repress the capacity to restrain the unique circumstance or feeling of a message sender. The telephone is likewise less personal than an up-close meeting. 2.3 Describe how you can provide effective service delivery. HR gives organization benefits over the representative lifecycle. Delivery perfection implies assembling and keeping up powerful administration, which incorporates: Building connections, which requires to invest energy and to speak with individuals, particularly up close and personal. This can be succeeded by being liberal, having an uplifting disposition, concentrating on passionate insight, listening effectively, promising open correspondence, esteeming others. There are many advantages in growing great connections: the work is more enjoyable and beneficial, it makes a positive domain, it values people and correspondence, it averts issues and enhances performances. Resolving complaints While instinctual a complain produces negative responses, overseeing it is part of the activity. It is significant to assume liability for the issue and to associate with a client on both an expert and individual level, utilizing cautious dialect, listen carefully and feel for the client. Moreover, grievances give the chance to enhance administrations delivery. Managing difficult customers Initially, it is fundamental staying alert that the client is despondent and to change claim attitude. Also, it is expected to listen them act. Right off the bat, it is central remaining ready that the customer is beset and to alter have the viewpoint. Moreover, it is relied upon to listen to them adequately, being empathic and after that repeat their stresses and make a request. Finally, demonstrate an answer and make a move rapidly revealing every movement to take to settle the issue. Finally, being empathic and after that rehash their worries and make inquiries. At last, display an answer and make a move instantly disclosing each progression to take to settle the issue. Managing time and budget constraints Overseeing time and budget successfully serves to deliver magnificence, to be beneficial and to meet desires. A key factor for effectiveness is to organize undertakings, distributing time and money related assets where it is generally required. It is vital to esteem the time and assets. It intends to compose, taking control of the day and arranging costs. Seeking continuous improvement The key to a consistent change in delivering outstanding services is observing the inner process, gaining from clients input, modifying the delivery process and enhancing performances and administrations guidelines. LO3: Be able to reflect on own practice and development needs and maintain a plan for personal development. 3.1 Define and explain the importance of Continuous Professional Development Most of the people once they have got their degree feel that their trip to knowledge has come to an end. They do not realize that the trip just began. Working in HR specifically is a continuous journey to research and expansion of knowledge and skills. This not only benefits the individuals but enhances ‘’Continuing professional development is important because it ensures you continue to be competent in your profession. It is an ongoing process and continues throughout a professional’s career.’’ http://continuingprofessionaldevelopment.org/why-is-cpd-important/Here are some examples explaining why CPD is playing an important role in our careers: CPD guarantees our abilities keep pace with the present principles of others in a similar field. CPD guarantees that we and our insight remain important and progressive. We are more mindful of the changing patterns and headings in our calling. The pace of progress is presumably quicker than its at any point been – and this is an element of the new type that we live and work in. On the off chance that we stop, we will get left behind, as the cash of our insight and abilities winds up plainly outdated. upgrade our certainty and inspiration add to our vocation advancement as we turn out to be more viable in our working environment CPD encourages us to remain intrigued and fascinating. Experience is an extraordinary educator; however, it means that we tend to do what we have done sometime recently. Centered CPD opens us up to new potential outcomes, new information and new aptitude zones. 3.2 Undertake a self-assessment against the CIPD Professional Map at either band 1 or band 2. Identify the areas for development. 3.3 Explain at least 2 of the options you have considered to meet your development needs which have been identified through undertaking 3.2. 3.4 Devise a personal development plan based on the outcome of the self -assessment and any personal aspirations which are relevant. This should cover a period of 6 months. undertaking 3.2. Bibliography Article title: Profession Map for HR and LD | CIPD Website title: CIPD URL: https://www.cipd.co.uk/learn/career/profession-map Author Continuing Development Article title: The importance of continuing professional development (CPD) Website title: Continuing Professional Development URL: http://continuingprofessionaldevelopment.org/why-is-cpd-important/