Jean Jacques Rousseau And The Declaration Of Independence...

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an Enlightenment thinker during the eighteenth century and is most noted for his work The Social Contract. The Social Contract published in 1762 and is a philosophical document that expresses the ideas of popular sovereignty. Popular Sovereignty is a form of government in which â€Å"the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that those chosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will.† This is basically a fancy way of saying that the people have the power of authority of their government and the people should decide how they are governed. Like The Social Contract, the Declaration of Independence is a document that sets out to explain the relationship between a government and its people based on an an understanding of that relationship. The Declaration of Independence was composed by Thomas Jefferson in 1766, and shares many of the same ideals as The Social Contract. The Social Contra ct and the Declaration of Independence are more similar than different because Jean-Jacques Rousseau influenced John Locke, whose Social Contract Theories directly influenced Thomas Jefferson during the writing of the Declaration of Independence. The First example of how The Social Contract is more similar than different to The Declaration of Independence is how both documents express the responsibility of liberalism to the people. Rousseau believed that the government’s power should come from the people. HeShow MoreRelatedJean-Jacques Rousseau Influence on the Declaration of Independence743 Words   |  3 PagesThe Declaration of Independence is the foundation of America. It contains â€Å"the words that made America,† (Fink, 9). Five of the founding fathers got together and penned this important document. As they penned this document, they were inspired by a number of European philosophers and writers. One of these philosophers was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. â€Å"Jean-Jacques Rousseau played a significant role in three different revolutions: in politics, his work inspired and shaped revolutionary sentiment inRead MoreSimilarities and Differences Between the Origin of Civil Society and Declaration of Indepe ndence1445 Words   |  6 PagesComparison: Jean-Jacques Rousseaus The Origin of Civil Society and Jeffersons Declaration of Independence The Origin of Civil Society, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Declaration of Independence are two important historical documents. They have many similarities. They also have many differences. Rousseaus article is an essay. It talks about his version of civilized society. Jeffersons document is a declaration of independence. In it, Jefferson talks about why the colonists are seeking freedomRead MoreJefferson and Rousseau Influences786 Words   |  4 Pagesexpands on the philosophies of the great European writers of that era - Rousseau, Locke, Hume, and Leibniz. In â€Å"The Declaration of Independence,† Jefferson directly adopts several themes found in the work of French writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau’s â€Å"The Origin of Civil Society,† provides a foundation for most of Jefferson’s ideas in â€Å"The Declaration of Independence.† In the opening of the â€Å"Declaration of Independence,† Jefferson lays out several main themes that reflect Rousseaus conceptsRead MoreAnalysis Of Emanuel Leutze s Painting967 Words   |  4 Pagescrossing the Delaware River with his men on Christmas night, 1776 in order to surprise attack the Hessians at Trenton. Leutze’s portrait reflects some of the ideals represented by Thomas Jefferson, as well enlightenment thinkers John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau and perfectly demonstrates the role the American Revolution played in the shift from the medieval period into the early modern period. Firstly, Leutze s portrait illustrates Washington’s leadership skills as a commander. For instance, Washington’sRead MoreThe Influence Of The American Revolution And The Enlightenment799 Words   |  4 PagesNeither the United States Constitution, nor the Declaration of Independence, were written in an ideological vacuum. Rather, the ideas expressed by the various philosophers during the century and leading up to the American Revolution had tremendous influence over the Founders of the United States. These ideas came together in the creation of the U.S. constitution, working in tandem to lay the foundation for the way the government should be structured, as well as the core philosophy behind the countryRead MoreEnlightenment : The Age Of Enlightenment And The Enlightenment782 Words   |  4 Pagesdevelopment of the United States Government. The Declaration of Independence, Constitution Bill of rights and The Federalist Papers were all influenced by important enlighte nment ideas of freedom, unavailable rights, and government. Declaration of Independence ideas such as life liberty and property, unavailable rights and inequality were all inspired by John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and, Rousseau ideas.   Thomas Jefferson (writer of the Declaration of Independence) was directly influenced by locke when heRead MoreEvolution and the Modern Social Contract Theory : Essay Outline1050 Words   |  5 Pagesthinkers in the development of the theory by introducing each of them and discussing their respective political theory of the subject. The main thinkers that we will introduce in his essay are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Immanuel Kant and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Thesis Statement: Essentially, the social contract theory states that the individuals have abandoned their freedom to submit to the authority of the state and therefore the majority. The question of equality is also very predominating inRead MoreThe Age of Enlightenment in Society634 Words   |  3 Pagesand no one to stop him, he made destructive decisions. Everyone in the land was imposed with taxes, without any voice given from any personage. Men with lowest income received the highest taxes, and men with highest income received lowest taxes (Declaration). The so called â€Å"mighty rule† was destroying families, killing mothers, fathers, and even children. He made sure that living was the most laborious and strenuous thing the lower class peasants ever did. He pushed and pushed his followers, the furtherRead MoreThe Intellectual Movement of Elightment759 Words   |  3 Pagessystem that limited the power of a king and liked the idea of a government broken into different sections and that each should have some power to control the others. Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that individuals should have certain rights and just like Locke’s ideology, he believed people were good, but were corrupted by society. Rousseau also believed that no government ruled by force was good. Voltaire believed in freedom of thought and respect for all individuals just like the most of major enlightenmentRead MoreLord Of The Flies Character Analysis Essay1414 Words   |  6 Pagesfrom the Declaration of Independence brought forth notion that of all of humanity is to be acknowledged as equal and are guaranteed rights of life which are to be upheld by the society in which they are apart of. A similar philosophy, along with others, is represented as characters in William Goldings novel Lord of the Flies. Jack, Ralph, and Piggy are three characters created by Golding to investigate the different principles brought forth by philosophers Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques

Meaning And Types Of Old Testament Covenants - 1618 Words

This essay attempts to define the meaning and types of Old Testament Covenants and describe The Creation Covenants as seen in the Old Testament. The Creation Covenants will be discussed and their common interpretations will be examined so they will be more easily explained. The Creation Covenants include the Adamic and Noahic Covenants. 1. What is a Covenant? God created humanity as an expression of His loving, relational character. In His wisdom, and because He is the Creator and sustainer of love, God created man with the free will to choose whether or not to love and worship Him in return. Adam and Eve’s choice to disobey initiated sin into the life of man, disconnecting the spiritual union they had with the Lord. From that very moment,†¦show more content†¦Second, in all the covenants of a major character there is a concrete declaration that the conditions and blessings of the covenant apply to the sons and future generations of the person or peoples with whom the original covenant is made. Third, there was a special and easily recognized covenant-language used in the establishing of the compact and in the defining of its promises and conditions. Forth, when in the prophets, or other subsequent writers, mention is made of a covenant which applies to the generations there addressed, it is always possible to go back to t he place where the covenanted relationship was originally established (The Biblical Covenants). 2. Types of Covenants There are three basic types of covenants in the Bible. They can be distinguished by overserving who swears the oath. The three types are Kinship, Vassal, and Grant. Biblical examples of each include: Kinship- Exodus 24 (1st Saini/Mosaic) and Genesis 21 (Abraham and Abimelech); Vassal- Genesis 17 (2nd Abrahamic) and Deuteronomy (Final Mosaic); Grant: Genesis 15 (1st Abrahamic) and Genesis 22 (Final Abrahamic). A Kinship Covenant is mutual and both parties swear to the oath. A Vassal Covenant is imposed and the inferior party swears to the oath. The Grant Covenant is bestowed and the superior party swears to the oath. The covenants mentioned in Scripture are divided into Minor Covenants and Major Covenants. The Minor Covenants have fourShow MoreRelatedEssay on Covenant Throughout The Old and New Testaments1319 Words   |  6 Pagesso formal. During the years the Old Testament was written, agreements and deals were primarily verbal contracts between two participan ts. Those contracts took on many forms and different customs were associated with each. These contracts also called covenants and have many different uses and meanings throughout the bible. Some commitments made in these covenants had been accompanied by self-maledictory oaths or curses that would have been implemented if the covenants were violated (New InternationalRead MoreThe Structure of Biblical Authority998 Words   |  4 Pagesdefends the suzerain-vassal paradigm of the biblical covenant and canon of Scripture. Scripture’s authority, according to Kline is not merely related to its ontology (that God has spoken it); but in its basic economic form, Scripture is a covenantal document and therefore is authoritative. It is through this covenant that God binds himself to his covenant people and they to him. As our covenant suzerain, God sovereignly rules his vassals with covenant stipulations. Part One In chapter one, Formal OriginsRead MoreCovenant : A Special Type Of Relationship919 Words   |  4 PagesCOVENANT N THE PENTATEUCH In the clearest sense a covenant is a special type of relationship. Normally practiced in the ancient Near East, covenant making allowed two parties, who were not related by blood, to enter into a special bond. There is considerable evidence to suggest that the concept of covenantal relationship was common in the ancient Near East. J. Arthur Thompson believes that one should keep the idea of covenant sacred, â€Å"In translating the word it may be helpful to use differentRead MoreResearch Paper1634 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ [Type the document title] A covenant is a promise or an agreement with binding obligations. (Arnold) In relations to the Bible it signifies God’s pledge to bless mankind. The characteristics of a covenant are such that they are irreversible and permanently binding. The Bible contains many covenants, most of which are contained in the Old Testament. One of which is prophesized in the Old Testament, and for Christians the promise is fulfilled in the New Testament. The majorRead MorePuritanism Covenant and the Perfect Society in New England1536 Words   |  7 PagesPuritanism Covenant and the Perfect Society in New England When the Puritans came to New England, they came to settle with a clear society in mind. Not only would this society be free from the persecution that they endured in Old England; it would be free to create what the leader of the religion referred to as a perfect society. In their attempt to escape the persecution they had come so accustomed to, they set up their own rigid belief system based on the inclusion of the human soul andRead MoreA Comparison Of The Tanach And Bible1380 Words   |  6 Pagessacred text, the type of literature is in each canon, authorship of the text and how it is used in daily practice such as food, interpretation of the commandments and how a Torah is used in a synagogue. STRUCTURE OF EACH CANON The Bible is known as ‘authoritative written source’ (Bowley, 1999) and is a library of 66 books and is made of two parts: Old Testament (39 books) and New Testament (27 books). The Bible was only officially put together around the third century. The Old Testament was writtenRead MoreThe Old Testament And The Ancient Near East1543 Words   |  7 PagesTHE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST I. Summary of Scholarly Debate Looking back, we can see glimpses of the lives of those who lived in the Ancient Near East, known as the ANE, through their stories and myths that have survived over centuries of time. Many of these stories contain unique elements that make each one personal to the civilization that they belong to, but there are common themes and ideas that are virtually shared between the traditional stories stemming from this region ofRead MoreAnalysis Of The Messiah And The Psalms By Richard P. Belcher Jr.1398 Words   |  6 Pagescomprehensive nature of Jesus’ reference to the Old Testament is meant to demonstrate that all the Old Testament speaks of Jesus in some way, not merely those texts commonly accepted as ‘Messianic’. Thus Jesus himself gives the divine authorization for reading all the Old Testament in reference to him.† Belcher further explains that because of Jesus’ statement â€Å"in Luke 24:44 that the things written about him in the Old Testamen t must be fulfilled† then the Old Testament should be approached as being preparatoryRead MoreGenesis Chapter 15 : God s Covenant Of A Son And Land918 Words   |  4 PagesGenesis Chapter 15 is God’s covenant of a son and land to Abram’s people as a reward for Abram’s faithfulness. These promises are fulfilled in the later chapters of Genesis and in Exodus. The book of Genesis is the first book of the Old Testament in the Bible, written to the people of Israel. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew; â€Å"Genesis† in Hebrew is translated as â€Å"in the beginning.† Within the book of Genesis, the journeys of God’s creations are explained. The chapters leadingRead MoreMoses The Christ Like Man943 Words   |  4 Pageswas a true man of God, and a type of the coming Christ. According to Deuteronomy 18:15, Amplified Bible (AMP), â€Å"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [Moses] from among you, from your countrymen (brothers). You shall listen to him.† Moses early experience of his life characterizes him as a Christ like man of God that made him victorious of every circumstance in God’s divine plan. Moses, foreshadower of Jesus Christ When discussing the Old Testament, the 1 Corinthians 10:11 Amplified

Mean Girls Free Essays

English 101 11 December 2012 Long Assignment: Mean Girls Discourse Gee’s theory of Discourse is that mushfaking can never be successful without already being native within that Discourse or learning the Discourse early on through apprenticeship. The movie Mean Girls is an example to confirm Gee’s claims, but also the claim of constant resistance and reform to mushfake a dominant Discourse well, needs to be included. If the claim is not included, values will conflict between primary and secondary Discourses. We will write a custom essay sample on Mean Girls or any similar topic only for you Order Now The conflict of values in Mean Girls demonstrates the dangers of mushfaking a dominant Discourse and proves that mushfaking itself is not enough to become successful without resistance and reform efforts, which in consequence, will lead to identity conflicts and a retreat from the dominant Discourse. Gee expressed the primary Discourse as the identity learned early in life from parents and home society (Gee). In the movie Mean Girls, Cady Heron, the main character, is from Africa. Her primary Discourse is that of the values and beliefs instilled upon her from her parents and the society of Africa. The customs are completely different in Africa than they are in America, where Cady moves to attend high school after being homeschooled all her life. Throughout Cady’s journey in high school she is constantly making a reference to the way problems would have been dealt with in Africa. Whenever a problem would arise, Cady would imagine everyone acting like animals and settling the problem through a fight from dominance like actual animals would in Africa. Cady makes this reference because her primary Discourse presented that each problem should be solved in such a manner, that she believed this how a situation in America would be handled. With a strong connection to her primary Discourse, many conflicts and tension arose between Cady’s secondary Discourse and her primary Discourse. The first conflict comes from a test put in place to become part of the dominant Discourse. The dominant Discourse always preforms a Christmas dance at the school’s annual talent show. This dance is a scandalizing performance that showcases the dominant Discourse’s sex appeal and confirms Cady’s cceptance into the dominant Discourse. The short leather skirts, tight low cut leather shirts, and high-healed leather boots, conflict to the modest clothing of Cady’s primary Discourse. Cady’s parents were in the audience to watch the dance and gasped in shock and distaste to the way their daughter was now presenting hersel f to others. For Cady to continue to mushfake her way into the dominant Discourse, she had to perform the ultimate task, adding a person into the infamous Burn Book. The Burn Book is a scrapbook that holds pictures of every girl in the junior class (Mean Girls). A nasty rumor about them is added to make the dominant Discourse seem as though they are above all others. At this point Cady was still not included in the dominant Discourse, but she did go through with adding a new face into the Burn book to be accepted as one of them. In the end the Burn Book, after Cady admitted to being the author, was the main reason Cady was rejected by society as the head of the dominant Discourse and returned to her primary Discourse. The dominant Discourse told Cady through overt instruction how to become like them, which was also a key factor to her imminent downfall from the dominant Discourse. Cady learned how to become part of the dominant Discourse through overt instruction. Overt instruction is strictly telling a person how to become a part of a Discourse, rather than show them how to behave and act, apprenticeship. The dominant Discourse would tell Cady what to wear, when to wear it, who to talk to, and what clubs she could and could not join. By learning the way of the dominant Discourse through overt instruction rather than apprenticeship, Cady was not able to successfully mushfake the dominant Discourse for too long and eventually returned to her primary Discourse. While in Africa, Cady and her family were very close and spent a lot of time together. Once Cady moved from Africa and mushfakes enough to be accepted into the dominant Discourse, her sense of cohesiveness with her family begins to diminish. Cady did well in math while being homeschooled in Africa and was doing well in high-level calculus while in high school. Cady was asked to be a part of the mathletes but the mathletes were deemed as nerds to the dominant Discourse and would bring down their social status (Mean Girls). She then began to fail math tests to impress the dominant discourse and a popular guy, while appearing unintelligent to have the guy tutor her as well as proving worthy to become a part of the dominant Discourse. Her parents on the other hand, knew Cady was intelligent when it came to math, so when Cady started to bring home math tests with failing grades to have her parents sign the tests, they became worried that they pushed her to hard to join the public high school so early into moving. The conflict was that Cady was exceptionally good at math but she had to appear not to be in order to impress the dominant Discourse as well as the guy. She knew she was good at math and knew that she shouldn’t let her grades or parents down, but mushfaking math was a key point to become one in the dominant Discourse. Becoming a part of the dominant Discourse comes with certain responsibilities. Cady had to throw a party to become the head of the dominant discourse, but in order to throw this party she had to lie to her parents and cancel a family trip that had been in place for months. Tension arises when Cady can no longer be trusted by her parents for throwing the party and lying to them. During the party Cady’s main goal is to get together with the popular guy to confirm her place as the head of the dominant Discourse. While Cady is working on her plan for the popular guy, people throw sacred African urns that were given as parting gifts to her family from tribes in Africa. The throwing of the urns is an example of the two Discourses coming together. Cady’s secondary Discourse, the American high school crowd, clashed with her primary Discourse because Cady no longer cared about her primary Discourse or the throwing of the sacred urns, but only cared about her advancement in the secondary and dominant Discourse. In order to mushfake a dominant Discourse well, constant resistance and reform needs to be made. Cady was not willing to continue to reform to the needs of the dominant Discourse, so she fell from her mushfaked head position in the dominant Discourse to retreat back to her primary Discourse. She disassociated from the dominant Discourse and fell back into the non-dominant Discourse, the Discourse that does not bring social goods, but solidarity (Gee). Cady joined the mathletes and returned to the friends she made before she mushfaked her way into the dominant Discourse. Cady also fixes her relationship with her parents and the conflicts and tension with her primary Discourse. Works Cited Gee, James Paul. â€Å"What Is Literacy? † Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics: Introduction and What Is Literacy? Print. Mean Girls. Dir. Mark Walters. Perf. Lindsay Lohan. 2004. DVD. How to cite Mean Girls, Essay examples Mean Girls Free Essays Stacy Gregg Sociology M/W 11:30 Sociological Themes Sociology is everywhere we look, its everything thing we are, and can be described within everything we do. The traditional focuses of sociology have included social stratification, social class, culture, social mobility, religion, secularization, law, and deviance. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further subjects, such as health, medical, military and penal institutions, the Internet, and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge. We will write a custom essay sample on Mean Girls or any similar topic only for you Order Now Looking through films you can see many sociological themes. I chose to look at â€Å"Mean Girls† and pull the sociological themes out. Mean Girls is a movie about a girl, Cady, who moves to the US from Africa and starts at a new school. She immediately befriends two outcasts, who explain the school’s social scene. There are a group of three girls (the â€Å"Plastics†) who are popular, malicious and rule the school. As a trick, these three girls befriend Cady. Her outcast friends encourage her to hang out with the Plastics to see what they do. But as she spends more time with them, she becomes more and more like them, backstabbing, mean, self-obsessed, and superficial. When Cady and the leader of the Plastics go after the same guy, she begins to plot their destruction, and starts sabotaging the girls in worse and worse ways. Eventually she separates from her original friends and her Plastic friends. When the entire school finds out about some of the terrible things the Plastics have said about them by finding a â€Å"Burn Book† everyone turns against the Plastics and Cady. Eventually, she must apologize to everyone she hurt and begin to find a way to become a better person. The first sociological theme I would like to address is stereotypes. A stereotype is defined as a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Mean Girls portrays high school stereo types rather well, at school there are groups such as try-hards, wannabes, burn-outs, band geeks, nerds, the popular girls, the jocks and art freaks. All the girls wants to be a plastic so to speak and they all display it in different ways like how the girls who eat nothing are trying to be thin so they can be like the plastics, but the girls who eat their feelings are also trying to be a plastic but by eating they are showing I don’t care what anybody thinks of me, which is a popular trait. Then when everyone is explaining Regina George and one girl says â€Å"One time she punched me in the face†¦ It was awesome! † this implies that this â€Å"wannabe† made contact with Regina George even though it is contact most people don’t what it is contact nonetheless which she hopes has passed on a bit of Regina George’s popularity. References: (2011, 04). â€Å"Mean Girls† Analysis. StudyMode. com. Retrieved 04, 2011, from http://www. studymode. com/essays/Mean-Girls-Analysis-676080. html How to cite Mean Girls, Essay examples Mean Girls Free Essays Celebrity Culture in Mean Girls Mean Girls, written by Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters, takes Its viewers through high school from the perspective of Caddy Heron, a young girl who never known what â€Å"high school† genuinely meant. Upon arrival, she makes friends with Janis and Diana, who were in the stereotypical â€Å"unpopular† crowd. They warn her to stay away from â€Å"The Plastics†, an exclusive clique that includes three drama-filled girls who are superficial, spiteful, and have vicious attitudes that obtain their power and fame from beauty and glamour. We will write a custom essay sample on Mean Girls or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, â€Å"The Plastics† ask Caddy to Join them. Caddy, Janis, and Diana together plot against the leader of The Plastics, Regina George, the most monstrous of them all. In reality, the more time Caddy spends with The Plastics, the more she starts to actually become one. The Plastics themselves show how monstrous qualities are formed in celebrity culture, while the use of Caddy is the perfect example of how culture builds up celebrities to break them back down. The Plastics took Caddy, someone who was naive and candid, and turned her Into something she Is not through the manipulation of their own standards and rules. Celebrity culture heavily relies on qualities of manipulation. This was done through thru burn book, etc Rumors and lies are one are heavily used in manipulation. This is the epitome of celebrity gossip, shown in Mean Girls through Regina George. Regina finds out Caddy has a crush on Aaron Samuels, her ex boyfriend, and promises Caddy that she would talk to Aaron for her; however, Regina fabricates lies to Aaron; â€Å"She [Caddy] writes all over her notebook ‘Mrs.. Aaron Samuels’. And she made this tee-shirt that says, ‘l heart Aaron’, and she wears it under all her clothes†¦ She saved this Kleenex you used and she said she’s going to do some kind of African voodoo with it to make you like her†. Evidence In nineteenth century literature Is provided In Frankincense, when Victor Frankincense manipulates his monster through lies: He tells his monster he would create a female companion for him, and afterward declares â€Å"Bygone! I do break my promise: never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness† and proceeds â€Å"to [tear] to pieces the thing on which [he] was engaged† (175). Both Regina and Victor broke their promises, developing a kind of behavior that is so focused on policing others, they almost seem to lose track of themselves; they are so busy broadcasting what they hate, and so focused on consumption of their rival with their loathsome fascination, they do not realize their own personalities turn monstrous. They become so engrossed in this idea, they are unable to distinguish that this hate they developed is the sole reason for their viciousness and misery. This happens when one must realize one’s own identity Is crafted from the act of hating. It almost seems Like superficial celebrities In celebrity ultra love, yet hate, to be hated; yet they love the act of hating, and use this hate to surround their world. This kind of â€Å"high school† attitude filled with rumors and Lies that Regina possesses exists in the celebrity world, and if it continues, it will influence animosity and disgust, that a world of peace, accuracy, and love may no longer be accomplished. Another key to manipulation is secrecy. There are countless examples of this in Mean Girls. For example, the scene of The Plastics when they are all on the phone; When Gretchen was on the phone with Caddy, it turned out to be a three-way call with Regina, but Caddy didn’t know. This complexity progress when viewers realize the girls are all interlinked, all on the phone with each other on separate lines; Karen gets a call from Regina, puts her on hold, and proceeds to talk to Gretchen and says, â€Å"It’s Regina, she wants to hang out tonight but she told me not to tell you†. This is similar to the theme of secrecy in Frankincense: Victor states, â€Å"The world to me, is a secret, which I desired to discover† (26), â€Å"l have one secret, Elizabeth, a dreadful one; when revealed to you, it will chill your frame with horror† (218), and he refuses to tell the secret to his audience, telling them to â€Å"listen patiently until the end of [his] story, with which [he] is acquainted with† (44). This is similar to Mantilla, where â€Å"[her father] has a secret grief that destroys [them] both: but [he] must permit [Mantilla] to win this secret from [him]† (47). The fact that one possesses a secret, holds it vital, and purposely shields it from the world acknowledges a kind of unmoral sin, or practical wrongdoing; celebrities allow these secrets to internally eat them alive like in Frankincense and Mantilla, or whether it makes their behavior more aggressive eke in Mean Girls, these secrets have the ability to change and manipulate others. In celebrity culture, a secret is a form of power, yet vulnerability – a secret itself could stand for everything one can’t see. The public blows these secrets up with crazy ideas and provides evidence with the theories they project onto it. The secret could mean nothing, yet everything, at the same time. This is because that a secret exists. It does not matter what the secret actually is, because the people who spread the knowledge of the secret form its monstrosity. The people have ample opportunity to take control, seceding as a whole or individuals whether they want to make up a rumor, lie, tell the truth, say nothing, or contribute to the situation. The people are monsters, because they take complete control over the situation. An example of this is all of Lord’s â€Å"fans† who (most likely) made her miserable because they did not approve of the physical appearance of her boyfriend. [A concluding sentence is needed here] Manipulation is also acquired through self-pity, which is shown in Mean Girls with the Burn Book. The Burn Book, which belongs to Regina George, is a book essentially signed to bully her classmates: it has students’ pictures with mean phrases, secrets, and other things about them. Regina takes her book, puts her own picture on it, and writes something mean about herself. She then reports it to her school’s principal and says, â€Å"l found it in the girl’s bathroom! It’s so mean†. This is similar to when Victor seeks sympathy from Elizabeth in Frankincense: â€Å"If you knew what I have suffered from, and what I may yet endure, you would endeavor to let me taste the quiet, and freedom from despair, that this one day at least permits me to enjoy’ (222). In The Complete Poems and Selected Letters of John Keats, in a short poem called â€Å"When I have Fears†, self-pity is asked for when Keats shows he is in pain, likes the pain, and wants to be acknowledged for his pain: â€Å"Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till love and fame to nothingness do sink† (301). Just like Keats and Shelley, their own needs. Regina did this Just so she could get Caddy in trouble, Frankincense did this to make it look like it wasn’t entirely his fault for the monster’s actions, and Keats uses his fans’ sympathy to become liked. The public falls into a part of this ultra, where one blames someone else; even the victims themselves get blamed for fault. Besides from celebrities’ success, looks, and wealth, it is not uncommon for the public to condone that they are people, humans, Just like them. The public is essentially casting a negative eye upon themselves. Celebrities have people who work with them to help mold their image, but the impossible standards of beauty and perfection they try to fulfill originates from the endless, harsh scrutiny the public places upon them. When a celebrity breaks this image, or differs from the norm, they automatically are seen as monstrous, resulting in sneering and degrading comments from fans. This monstrosity on the celebrities has a counter-effect on the fans; every time there is a mean comment, they are normalizing harsh Judgment, extreme reactions, and offensive language. Celebrity culture takes the blame on how the public has developed a cruel society, through self-pity. Another quality of manipulation used in celebrity culture is feigning their own innocence; this is seen quite often in Mean Girls. Gretchen bullies Regina for violating the rules of their â€Å"girl world† by wearing sweatpants on Monday, and Regina lams she is forced to wear sweatpants because, â€Å"sweatpants are all that fits [her] right now’, implying she is â€Å"innocent† because it is not her fault she has to wear those. Another scene is where Regina claims innocence is during lecture, (â€Å"workshop†), in the gym, after the Burn Book is discovered: Regina claims, â€Å"Can I Just say we don’t have a clique problem at this school, and some of us shouldn’t have to take this workshops because some of us are victims in this situation? Regina implies she is â€Å"innocent†, and she herself is a victim. The teacher responds, â€Å"That’s probably rue, how many of you have ever felt personally victimize by Regina George? † Actual innocence and feigning innocence is a huge role in Frankincense: though Victor blames himself for the monster killing his family, despite his creation, he convinces himself that he is â€Å"innocent† and expresses how he feels like the victim. Victor is a contradiction: he is innocent, yet, uses that to his advantage to feign his innocence. He is innocent because he has never intended his creation to turn into an actual form of monstrosity, but yet, feigns innocence by his hiding his guilt and hiding his knowledge about his family’s deaths. Victor’s innocence decreases over time throughout the novel; his â€Å"UN-innocent† behavior destroys the monster’s innocence. Victor is performing an act that could be considered â€Å"monstrous† in manipulation by taking away the genuine innocence of one who was never given a chance to prove that innocence. At first Victor decides to â€Å"at least listen to [the monster’s] tale† (105), but later on, he decides to â€Å"tore to pieces†¦ The thing on which the creature’s] future existence he depended for happiness† (190), not giving the monster a chance to uphold its promise. Celebrities start out with genuine innocence, become corrupted, and may attempt to feign their innocence through their roles – However, once celebrities feign their innocence they are portrayed as â€Å"monstrous†, they are not given a chance to stick up for themselves properly without media and public interference. Lindsay Loan, off the set of Mean Girls, got into drugs, which could â€Å"feign innocence†, and assume that she had no role in her fans doing drugs. According to Good Charlotte, this kind of manipulation is the price of having a lifestyle of â€Å"the rich and the famous† (song lyrics). The most vital quality in manipulation is the key tactic in order to be able to get away with spreading rumors and lies, maintain secrecy, create self-pity, and feign illness. Control itself is the piece that connects all of these qualities. Throughout Mean Girls, there are many scenes were one of The Plastics are in control: At the talent show at school, Regina demands for Gretchen to switch sides with Caddy. When Gretchen protests, Regina says, â€Å"Right now you’re getting on my last nerve. Switch! † Gretchen acknowledges this control by obeying. Caddy was also acknowledging control hen she fulfills Region’s invite to eat lunch with them â€Å"everyday for the rest of the week†. In the beginning of the movie, Regina took control of Caddy social life. Halfway through, Caddy became the center of attention; she gained control of Region’s previous fame and publicity and made it her own. The previous examples also hint at some aspect of control. Control is also seen in Frankincense, where the monster says, Mimi are my creator, but I am your master;-obey! (174). Victor chooses condone the monster, and the monster responds by taking control, killing all of Victor’s family embers. Control in Charitable is implied when Geraldine takes on a role of masculinity: â€Å"lay down by the maiden’s side: And in her arms the maid she took† (250-251). In The Major Works, â€Å"Farewell to a Lady’ by Lord Byron shows how a womanâ€⠄¢s beauty takes control of his life: â€Å"In flight I shall be surely wise, Escaping from temptation’s snare; I cannot view my Paradise, Without the wish of dwelling there† (1). By the word â€Å"flight†, viewers can assume he is going to commit suicide as a means to control the elimination of all ties with the Earthly Paradise’s temptation. This kind of intro can relate to monstrosity and celebrity culture in a number of ways; first, one can see that the society of celebrity culture is so monstrously powerful, it is out of the control of the public to change it. Only the celebrities themselves have control of their own lives and culture and how they want to live it. Second, celebrity culture has so much control and influence over their audience, that they are not only controlling their own lives, but dominating American culture as a whole. By celebrities constantly sleeping with one another, taking part in the lies, secrecy, self-pity, and feigning their innocence inspires the public to act in the same manner. Third, by the news being so obsessed with the daily lives of celebrities, it almost implies as if they are encouraging the public to become more and more like celebrity stalkers. Lastly, they manipulate the public into believing their redefined definition of happiness, which solely consists of money, fame, and beauty. Rumors, lies, secrecy, self-pity, feigning innocence, and control all tangle together to layer and overlap and form manipulation; celebrity manipulators do not only have control of their own world, but also wish to control the world of others. This allows them to occupy both worlds at the same time, with their rules, in their way: how much more control could a person possibly want? These qualities of manipulation in celebrity culture are allowing people to lose touch with things that are the most important in life, like friends and family. Celebrity culture is so controlling that it even takes over the roles of others. In Celebrity Culture: Are Americans Too Focused on Celebrities, Tompkins, a group an example of how celebrities are taking the roles of [super] heroes: â€Å"When I ask allege and high school students who their heroes are, they usually name celebrities, such as athletes or movie stars, not names that did something heroic or noteworthy. (Tompkins 4). Celebrity culture is now one of our prime sources of entertainment; ultimately, celebrity culture manipulates to control their audience’s society in such a monstrous way so they are not able to distinguish the difference between genuine importance and the importance of celebrity news. One day, I fear genuinely important news, (politics, world news, emergency issues) will be ignored unless it i s presented as a source of entertainment, like celebrity culture. How to cite Mean Girls, Papers