...Adultery is an age-old social problem. History records have multiple accounts where kingdoms fell; leaders stumbled, careers ended, and children suffered as adultery was committed. Consider the issues caused by infidelity in the workplace, courts, and nation. There are different types of infidelity. The definition of adultery includes sexual infidelity intimate exchange with no romantic involvement, and sexual and romantic relationship. Adultery is a pronounced problem in today’s society. It’s spreading faster than many people could imagine and by some almost uncontrollable. OMG….I can’t wait to watch SCANDAL tonight. Sound familiar? This show has broken down barriers but also has created an interesting dialogue concerning one of the most tumultuous plots on television. The primary leads to the show, The married President of the United States and a single Washington hotshot fixer are in the erotic love affair that has millions glued every Thursday on ABC. Married!!! Affair! SUPPORTIVE AUDIENCE??? How is this possible? Yes, this is television, but “the other woman” is usually considered a home wrecker. The cheating husband is a scoundrel. Why is this the exception? There now seem to be progressions of “just how wrong is it?”? The forbidden love between Olivia and Fitz, and millions of viewers that cheer them on at the expense of the First Lady. It’s the “cheering on” that intrigues me. It has created a long-standing debate on fidelity and how we as a society have become desensitized...
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...women were the owned property of a man. Men ruled over women and their children. Women had very few, if any, rights, and men often bought women from their families or at an auction, usually at age twelve and a half. The fathers owned the women (daughters, wives, concubines, handmaidens, servants etc.) and if you wanted to have intercourse with one of his properties, then you had to ask his permission. If a father sold a daughter, he would get more money for her if she was a virgin. Non-virgins were less expensive to buy. If a man purchased a daughter at a virgin price, and she was not, or she did not bleed during intercourse, then he could return her to her father and get his money back. Most marriages were arranged for financial reasons. Many couples never even met until the day of the marriage. On the day of marriage the proposed husband would give a dowry, or monetary compensation, to the father of a bride. The price of the dowry was different from woman to woman, was determined by the father, and was based on the woman's beauty, ability to bear children, strength, household skills, and status as a virgin. In the Old Testament, many verses that people site for being against premarital sex are actual verses against stealing another man's property. In Exodus 22:16 - 17, "If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with...
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...The question that I wish to address is if any U.S. states have criminal laws regarding adultery or conception out of wedlock. Many Americans know that a long, long time ago, adultery was a sin and that the adulterer or adulteress would have been punished severely, even killed. Even in the 21st century, there are religions that stone people to death for cheating on their spouses. This is common knowledge. However, what most Americans do not realize is that adultery is still considered illegal in some states. In most states, committing adultery is shameful and looked down upon, but it is not a felon. However, “adultery remains illegal in 21 states across the U.S.” (“Adultery Laws”); although, it might not be strictly enforced. The punishment...
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...he understands that to love her would be to commit adultery, he does so anyways. The seneschal's wife also explains why it would be toxic for them to love each other: “love wouldn’t be shared equally/ between the two of us… Love is worthless if it’s not mutual” (131-137). The apprehension the wife has foreshadows that their love will end poorly. After the two fall in love, Equitan suggests that they try and kill the seneschal; however, their plan backfires when Equitan and the woman fall victim to their own trap: “And there he was scalded to death,/ caught in his own evil trap” (298-299). The author ha both Equitan and the seneschal’s wife die at the end of the book to explore how adultery can also be harmful. There love was not pure and it was not reciprocal, as it required the king to coerce the seneschal’s wife. Equitan also intervened on a relationship that the seneschal had with his wife that was mutual relationship, thus, Equitan selfishly stole a woman for his own love, and was punished for it. Selfish love is similarly explored in other...
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...Throughout history, humans have struggled with the issue of morality. In America during the 1920’s, the time Period in which F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby, morality took a back seat to living a vapid life full of alcohol, adultery, and anything that would grant immediate gratification. Throughout the novel three characters, Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby show the effects of materialism, dishonesty, infidelity, and adultery. Tom shows adultery and infidelity, Daisy and Gatsby show dishonesty, and all three show the effects of materialism. The themes expressed in The Great Gatsby, as shown by the actions of Gatsby, Daisy, and Tom show us the flaws in living a life free of ethical values. Tom Buchanan truly embodies the wasteful, morally corrupt spirit of the 1920’s. He is arrogant, racist, prodigal, and has more family money than he could ever spend. Tom...
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...John Proctor from the beginning of this play was a man who was well respected and trusted in Salem. “I nailed the roof upon the church, I hung the door,” Proctor says on p.54 further shows his loyalty and connection with the village and the community. However, as the play goes on and the mess of accusations (especially the accusation of his wife) begins to unravel John Proctor himself begins to unravel. Through his actions, he is serving a social cause. Sacrificing himself in order to save others and to stage a protest against his persecutors. He is driven by the impulse to preserve his integrity, and by the need to expiate his sins of adultery with Abigail Williams. Proctor is faced with a dilemma he can save his life if he confesses and betrays others, or he can sacrifice his life to his ideals....
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...Saturday, June 16, 2007 Concubinage Meaning: Commonly refers to a relationship between a man (usually of higher social status) and a woman, where the man has an “official” wife, and possibly more than one concubine. Concubines had limited rights though any children are acknowledged, though their status is second to that of children born unto the “official” wife. Concubinage was usually an “exclusive” arrangement between two parties. Biblical: With the tolerance of polygamy, a concubine was only defined in terms of her disparity in position or rank with the principal wife. A legitimate spouse, of an inferior social grade or a bondwoman, is often given the appellation of concubine. This term did not invalidate her marriage, it did, however, indicate that she was not equal to her husband in rank, nor did she share in her husband’s property or in the administration of his household. From Genesis 21:9-14, we see that the dismissal of a concubine and of her children was permissible. Ancient Greece: Concubines were permitted in ancient Greece and their children were legitimate if recognized by their fathers. Roman Empire: A concubine was recognized by law in the absence of a legal wife. She was usually from a lower social rank than her husband, and her children, though not considered the equals of those of the legal wife (uxor) were nevertheless termed natural (naturales) to distinguish them from spurious offsprings (spurii). The father of these children was required...
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...Dariela Colon AP English Senior Thesis Mr. Noel Sexual Liberation in a Patriarchal Society The American feminist writer, Kate Millet, once said that “We’re more sexually repressed than men, having been given a much more strict puritanical code of behavior than men ever have”. Throughout history, women have often been viewed as the “weaker” gender and have been expected to behave a certain way. Women are seen as submissive and docile because of societal expectations, these expectations eventually became the societal norm. This “norm”, according to Sigmund Freud, is the repression of several archaic and primitive desires. Females have often had to repress these desires more than males. Males have been the dominating species throughout history and have expected women to repress their nature. For the most part, females kept their place in society and played their role but there were some who broke the norm. There have been serious consequences for females who have attempted to liberate themselves, especially when they attempt to do so sexually. Females have the ability to achieve their sexual liberation despite the patriarchal societies in which they live. Two females which have attempted to achieve sexual liberation are Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar named Desire. Both Hester Prynne and Blanche Dubois’s attempts to achieve sexual liberation were hindered by the patriarchal societies in which they lived in; making only one of them...
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...kids wear, and who they hang out with as well as many other things. And these kids allow that to affect their performance and happiness at school. The opinions of others should not be allowed to consume anyone's lives. It should only be used for beneficial reasons. That's how I connect it to this society we live in. 3.How does the tittle relate to the book? I had to investigate about it a little bit more to really understand and answer this question but here it goes.When religion and law were inseparable,when a women cheated on her husband, even if the husband had been missing for two years,she had to be punished by law, by having to wear a big red "A" on her dress.In the book, Hester does wear the letter "A" on her dress, meaning "adultery". So scarlet letter, that's what the book talks about. 4.Which character in the book was your favorite and why? Hester of course, even thought she comitted...
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...In chapter 6, the narrator says, "But she named the infant 'Pearl,' as being of great price- purchased with all she had- her mother's only pleasure." Illustrating how Pearl is the only good outcome from the adultery. Pearl is the only treasure her mother has but Pearl gets the same consequences as her and seems to act like a devil’s child because of what she symbolizes. In addition, the text says, "One little gray bird with a white breast...had been hit by a pebble, and fluttered away with a broken wing" (168). This conveys how Pearl is being assaulted or being accused of being a child of Satan and is trying to run away but can’t. Pearl is represented by the little gray bird since she has always been treated as the Devil’s work and can’t break free of it so ends up giving in but still has strength. Pearl is the figure of the crime her mother and her father did and can’t do anything since she...
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...Section #1: The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, starts off by introducing how the book was written. The anonymous narrator stumbled upon some manuscripts labeled with a red “A”, all of which happened some 200 years before his time. He decided to write a fictional story about the facts he found in the manuscripts and thus, The Scarlet Letter was born. The story begins in a Boston Puritan Settlement in the 17th century. Hester Prynne and her young daughter, Pearl, are being led from the town prison, bearing the infamous “scarlet letter”. A man in the crowd said she was being tried for adultery, after her husband left and was supposed to be “lost at sea”, and gave birth to a child. She will not, however, give the identity of her lover, and the red “A”, along with her public shame, is punishment for her sin and secrecy. The man in the crowd turns out to be Hester’s long lost husband, who is now practicing medicine and is going by the name Roger Chillingworth. Several years pass and, being banished by the town, Hester and Pearl live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. The town repeatedly tries to take Pearl away from Hester, but with the help of the young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, the two manage to stay together. Chillingworth has his suspicions about Dimmesdale’s health and the fact he may be hiding a secret, so he decided to move in with him to give him constant care. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the man’s chest...
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...used together to mean the same. However, some people have argued that the terms might not be the same. They believe that capital punishment might not necessarily result into a death penalty since the penalty might be translated into life incarceration. Throughout history, people have found wise to repay a victim by death for wrongs committed against them. For purposes of personal retribution and religious influence, death was seen as the best punishment one can be handed for committing a crime. However, this notion has significantly changed over time with some countries abolishing it completely while others have reduced the offences punishable by death. Historically some of the common crimes that were punishable by death included murder, adultery, robbery with violence, apostasy, rape, treason and some military offenses. These crimes are however different among countries. China, for example, punishes serious corruption crimes by death. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Qatar, which derive their legal system from Sharia law, also have different crimes, which are subjected to a death penalty. Such countries are most likely to have wider pools of crimes punishable by death. The Death Penalty in the United States The American capital punishment heavily traces back to the British law when America was still a British colony. Primitive Westernizers out of personal retribution could openly kill their offenders. The British masters in fulfilling their personal retribution went ahead...
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...THE NATIVE AMERICAN PERSPECTIVE Introduction: Listed below are perspectives attributable to the Indians of the Plains and the American Southwest through the 19th century. Some of these perspectives may be appropriate to other Native American tribes within North America. 1. The Pueblo culture is characterized by collectivistic, ritual emphasis under priestly direction. 2. The Plains Indians emphasize individual self-realization through aggressive fighting against outsiders and hallucinatory vision experiences. 3. The Pueblo Indians were gardeners, the Navaho practiced pastoralism, and the Plains Indians were hunter/gatherers depending on the buffalo for survival. The Comanche later engaged in horse herding. 4. Pueblo Indians reside in compact masonry villages with communal land ownership and ownership restricted to the privilege of use. The Navaho lived in widely dispersed hogans or lodges. The Plains Indians lived in tipis that could be easily disassembled and moved. 5. The Plains Indians treated the hunting grounds a public domain. Some tribes engaged in communal sharing of killed animals, particularly for the elderly, the infirm, and the wives of hunters who brought back nothing. 6. Trade was essential to survival. The Navaho traded in wood and wool, the Pueblo in maize, and the Plains Indians in tobacco, meat, and skins. 7. The Pueblo were noted for pottery making, the Navaho for weaving, the Plains Indians for buffalo hides...
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...For selling arms and gunpowder to Indians in 1632, Richard Hopkins was sentenced to be "whipt, & branded with a hott iron on one of his cheekes." Joseph Gatchell, convicted of blasphemy in 1684, was ordered "to stand in pillory, have his head and hand put in & have his toung drawne forth out of his mouth, & peirct through with a hott iron." When Hannah Newell pleaded guilty to adultery in 1694, the court ordered "fifteen stripes severally to be laid on upon her naked back at the Common Whipping post." Her consort, the aptly named Lambert Despair, fared worse: He was sentenced to 25 lashes "and that on the next Thursday Immediately after Lecture he stand upon the Pillory for ... a full hower with Adultery in Capitall letters written upon his brest." Corporal punishment for criminals did not vanish with the Puritans -- Delaware didn't get around to repealing it until 1972 -- but for all relevant purposes, it has been out of fashion for at least 150 years. The day is long past when the stocks had an honored place on the Boston Common, or when offenders were publicly flogged. Now we practice a more enlightened, more humane way of disciplining wrongdoers: We lock them up in cages. Imprisonment has become our penalty of choice for almost every offense in the criminal code. Commit murder; go to prison. Sell cocaine; go to prison. Kite checks; go to prison. It is an all-purpose punishment, suitable -- or so it would seem -- for crimes violent and nonviolent, motivated by hate or by...
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...The Preacher's Priority: Protect His Family from the Peril of Pornography Pornography has long been a destructive element in our society but since the arrival of the Internet, it has grown to proportions that no one could ever have imagined. Unfortunately, it has infiltrated our churches through the lives of Christian men and women and it is clearly undermining the development of godly character and leadership. The human body has become an object of worship, a god in our society. In his book Sexual Healing: a Biblical Guide to Finding Freedom from Sexual Sin and Brokenness, David Kyle Foster is right when he says, “One of the greatest problems that we have in dealing with pornography is that we do not recognize that it is evil. We minimize, rationalize, and deny the truth behind it. We do not repent for being idol worshipers and grieving the heart of our God” (205). Pornography not only destroys the man but it is ruining marriages, families, and even churches. It has created such a stronghold on men within the body of Christ that many have become neutralized from being any kind of force for the kingdom of God. Ephesians 6: 12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (NASU). Pornography and sexual immorality are from the supreme ruler of darkness. It is one more device to draw men away from serving God. Pornography...
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