Watch the film A Taste of Honey (1961). Analyze the film as a work of Movie Review

Watch the film A Taste of Honey (1961). Analyze the film as a work of Kitchen Sink Realism and discuss the work in light of questions of class, gender and race in 1950s Britain - Movie Review Example The director has been very clever in handling the movie because body language says more than meet the words. Tony Richardson is also known for producing other movies like Jean Giraudx’s The Apollo of Bellac. He won an Academy award in 1964 for Best Director of the film Tom Jones. Dora Bryan (Helena), Jo’s mother, is a very selfish woman who is in constant pursuit of her own happiness. You can tell this by the way she combs her hair, puts on her lipstick or light the cigarette. Dora Bryan is also known for her role in Absolutely Fabulous. She won BAFTA awards as Best Actress in A Taste of Honey. Rita Tushingham, also known as Jo, plays the role of an adolescent girl who is also a working class. Her wide eyes show a mixture of fear and innocence. She is aware of her mother’s lack of love and she expresses this by bending her shoulders. She generally carries the weight of being unwanted. Rita Tushingham is known for her supporting roles in The Knack, Doctor Zhivago, just to mention a few. She was nominated Best Actress (BAFTA) in 1966 and also in 1962 Most Promising Newcomer for her role in ‘A Taste of Honey’. This movie is all about black and white people, gay and straight, mothers and daughters. Jo is a 17-year old school girl who lives wither promiscuous and domineering mother, Helen. Jo was longing for love and attention from her mother only for things to get worse between the two of them when her mother enters into a new relationship. This latest ‘romance’ drives Jo out of their apartment and she finds herself in the streets. She later spends the night with a black sailor who ended up impregnating her. Jo’s mother decides to abandon her and move in with her lover after which Jo finds a job and a room for herself. She then meets Geoffrey co-worker who is a shy and lonely homosexual and they agree to share a flat. She discovers later that she is pregnant with the sailor’s child and Geoffrey returns a favor by caring for

Columbine High School Essay Example for Free

Columbine High School Essay You are a sociologist who is interested in studying school violence. Describe how you might approach the study of this phenomenon as a functionalist, a conflict theorist and a symbolic interaction’. â€Å"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.† Martin Luther King Jr. The problem we are facing today with violence in the schools is a major concern with communities everywhere. School violence has escalated from one-on-one weaponless fights for personal disagreements with said person; this is no longer the case. Due to the outward influences of media, video games, and society in general, this has escalated into all-out, deadly weapon assaults on innocent lives for reasons they themselves are usually unaware for example Columbine High School massacre and Montreal, Canada shooting. Sociologist; however have developed different approaches to evaluate the phenomenon through different perspective; functionalist, conflict theorist and symbolic integrationist, which would be aptly discussed in the proceeding paragraphs. Functionalist look at the implications of crime and control polices rather than directly trying to explain the causes of the behavior. According to Parson Model a social system consist of mutually dependant parts, parts contributing to functioning of system and moving equilibrium. However pertaining to the issue of school violence, I would, following the functionalist perspective look at school violence as way to return to stability within a society thus keeping proper balance . Therefore I would view it as a positive, because the disturbance (school violence) exists more dangerously it encourages the society to come up with better solutions to elevate the problem so it encourages progress. For examples the Columbine Massac with occurred lead to new ideas to combat school violence .A number of new programs were introduced, emphasis was placed on better parenting skills, keeping guns out of hands of kids ,better school security, more counseling programs and bett3er preventative measure, etc. When these methods were implemented no action to that extreme occurred within that society so their fore the youth violence was reduced and the society moved and the society in return became a better place and progress was made. Conflict perspective holds that stratification is dysfunctional and harmful in society, with inequality  perpetuated because it benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor. A struggle for dominance among competing social groups (classes, genders, races, religions, etc.). When conflict theorists look at society, they see the social domination of subordinate groups through the power, authority, and coercion of dominant groups. As it results to school violence using the conflict theorist approach, I would say the violence will only exist at level of exploitation and unworthy or treated unfairly compared to other children they felt a level of inequality and they reacted in a way to gain power over the people who inflicted pain upon them. For example let’s take the Columbine shooting, according to the conflict theorist perspective say that the shootings were inevitable as the exploited, bullied kids eventually had enough and rose up against the bourgeoisie, or the kids that did the bullying. Eric Harris one of the boys who participated the shooting opened his journal with the words I hate the fing world. Showing high levels of hatred to which he portrayed, he wanted to get back at every one who did him wrong. After analyzing the two individual’s journals it was clear cut that they both had problem with society and somehow they did them something which infiltrated this hate for them. So we can see the reason for them to perform these atrocious acts were to gain a sense of dominances in their mind over these people. When doing the act we see the boys smiling while people were being hurting showing a sign of relief in their face and sense of happiness to them that they revenge to the world for inflicting so much of pain upon them. Analyzing them for a conflict theorist point of view I would say the reason for the boys committing suicide after was to get away from everything they already accomplished the goal they wanted so they decided to end their life what more is there to live for when victory was served? Symbolic integrationist view relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction. Thus, society is thought to be socially constructed through human interpretation. Symbolic interaction view school violence as

Case Study of Nuclear Disaster | Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

Case Study of Nuclear Disaster | Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant 1. Abstract This assignment purpose is to do analysis case studies and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The purpose of this work is for students to use the appropriate method to verify each problem. To study a range of industries (EAT221), there are several levels of courses. In order to complete this news report, the instructor provides the learning needs of students. It also describes how to improve the Tokyo electric power company management of nuclear power plants, manufacturing and safety. Students study was to create recommendations on the basis of this report the nuclear disaster. This case study is one way to measure the impact or accidents related to the theme of the students in the classroom effectively. In addition, we recommend that the case study, students will analyze the problem in an appropriate way. Introduction Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant also known as Fukushima Dai-ichi is located on a 3.5-square-kilometre (860-acre) between the towns of Futaba and Okuma of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant consists of six boiling water reactors (BWR). These light water reactors drove electrical generators with a combined power of 4.7 GW, making Fukushima Daiichi one of the 15 largest nuclear power stations in the world. First nuclear power plant was designed, built, and was run in conjunction with General Electric, Boise, and Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). March 11, 2011, the 9.0 earthquake and followed by a not expected tsunami to hit at the power plant factory in Japan cause a major damage to the plant. It trigger the evacuation zone of 30 km around the plant which would lead to nuclear radiation leak. The earthquake and tsunami has disabled the cooling system of the nuclear reactor. As of April 2012, Units 1-4 are no longer in operation. In Unit 1 to shut down on April 20, unit 2-4, closed on April 19, 2012 while was the last of these four units. It was the most powerful disaster that have been hit the country so far. It has resulted in a massive tsunami that destroyed many towns and villages, nearly have led to 20 000 people death. 3. Man-Made Disaster From the natural disaster, 9.0 earthquake followed by a tsunami it was truly unfortunately become a man-made disaster when the nuclear reactor melt-function cause many death in the country. The power plant shouldnt have shut down automatically when the earthquake happen because when the plant was build it already have been consider to avoid this accident happen when the natural disaster happen. Japanese parliamentary panel challenged claims by the plants operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), that the triple meltdown at the plant in north-east Japan had been caused solely by a 14-metre tsunami on 11 March last year. The panel said the magnitude-9 earthquake that preceded the waves could not be ruled out as a cause of the accident. It accused Tepco and regulators at the nuclear and industrial safety agency of failing to take adequate safety measures, despite evidence that the area was susceptible to powerful earthquakes and tsunamis. Since 2006, the regulators and Tepco were aware of the risk that a total outage of electricity at the Fukushima Daiichi plant might occur if a tsunami were to reach the level of the site. But it accused Tepco of ignoring warnings going as far back as 2006 that a tsunami could cause a blackout at the plant. (Acton J.M. Hibbs M, March 2012) It is unknown how TEPCO plans to use broken and damaged reactors but they risk damaging the worlds environment to save money and in their greed and stupidity- they could blow us all up. the dangers of nuclear power -it is not cheap and it is highly dangerous especially when you do not study geography very well. The fact that these nuclear plants were wrongly built on a fault line makes it further a danger to the world and not only Japan. In February 2011, Japans regulatory approval to extend the 10 years of continuous operation of the reactor. It is in the northeast in 2011 a major earthquake and tsunami damage. TEPCO bears critical responsibilities to society as a nuclear operator primarily responsible for nuclear power plant safety. Nevertheless, TEPCO was not sufficiently prepared for such an accident, that natural disasters including tsunami may lead to large-scale core damage. Furthermore, TEPCO had not taken adequate preparedness for tsunami risks beyond design basis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPS. Industrial process and operation of the Fukushima nuclear plant. The reactors for Units 1, 2, and 6 were supplied by General Electric, those for Units 3 and 5 byToshiba, and Unit 4 by Hitachi. All six reactors were designed by General Electric. Architectural design for General Electrics units was done by Ebasco. All construction was done by Kajima. Since September 2010, Unit 3 has been fueled by a small fraction (6%) of plutonium containing mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel, rather than the low enriched uranium (LEU) used in the other reactors. Units 1-5 were built with Mark type (light bulb torus) containment structures. 460 MW boiling water reactors was constructed in July 1967 name Unit 1(BWR-3). Electric start commercial production on March 26, 1971, it originally had been scheduled to shut down in early 2011. Unit 1 is designed for peak acceleration of 0.18 g (1.74 m/s2) and based on the 1952 Kern County earthquake response spectra of ground motion for 0.498 g Unit 6 Unit design basis, but rated at 0.45 g(4.41 m / S2) and 0.46 g (4.48 m/s2). In 1978, the Miyagi Prefecture earthquake ground acceleration of 0.125 g (1.22 m/s2) for 30 seconds, check each unit, but found no damage to the key part of the reactor. The design basis tsunami is 5.7 m. An important part of the reactors emergency diesel generators and DC batteries, helps to keep the reactor cool in case of power failure, located in the basement of the reactor turbine room. Plan designated by the General Electric Company generators and batteries placed in the position of the reactor design, but the concern of the construction work of the mid-level engineers factory, which makes backup power systems vulnerable to flooding. Tokyo Electric Power Company elected to strictly follow the design of the General Electric Company, the construct ion of the reactors. How nuclear power station produce electricity? Basically, all power stations use the same method to produce electricity. A turbine rotation is the main as generating electricity. The generator is attached to the shaft of the turbine and turbine turns, electricity will produced in by generator. Electricity is transmitted via a transmission line to the station power distribution agency. In a hydroelectric power plant, the turbine is turned by running water. In thermal power plants, steam is produced by heating the water with the coal and oil burning furnace. In the nuclear power plant, steam is generated by the heat with fission process. Cross-section sketch of a typical BWR Mark I containment, as used in Units 1 to 5. The reactor core (1) consists of fuel rods and moderator rods (39) which are moved in and out by the device (31). Around the pressure vessel (8), there is an outer containment (19) which is closed by a concrete plug (2). When fuel rods are moved in or out, the crane (26) will move this plug to the pool for facilities (3). Steam from the dry well (11) can move to the wet well (24) through jet nozzles (14) to condense there (18). In the spent fuel pool (5), the used fuel rods (27) are stored. How to control the nuclear power plant to generate electricity? Control the operation of the nuclear plant involves two things. Namely the power control generation to maintain the secure and stable level, secondly is to shutdown of the reactor very quickly if needed. In MAPS, the power is kept constant by the use of so-called adjusters. These are stainless steel rods. When these rods are introduced into the reactor vessel, the chain reaction and slows down the production of heat is reduced. If the control rods are slightly pulled out of the reactor vessel, and the chain reaction is the power level increases. When the shutdown is completely, the heavy water is discharged from the reactor vessel in a fraction of a second. In the absence of heavy water in the box, the chain reaction ceasestotally. What are the fuel requirements for a nuclear power station? Compared to the burning of coal, the fission process is far more efficient. One gram of fissionable uranium can produce a million times more heat than one gram of coal. At MAPS which produces 400 MW of electricity, only 20 kg of uranium fuel is required per day, i.e. about one truck load of fuel per month from Hyderabad where the fuel is produced. In comparison, a coal burning thermal power station of the same capacity would require about 2000 tonnes of coal daily, i.e. 2-3 train loads of coal to be transported everyday from the coal mines of Singareni over 1000km away. Also the coal has to be continuously fed to the furnace at the rate of 4 tonnes each minute. At MAPS, fresh fuel is charged into the reactor about once daily. 5. Impact of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Society The emotional trauma of the devastating events in Japan is overwhelming. Radioactivity has been detected in nearly every state, whether it be in the air, rain water, food or in milk. The fear that arises from hearing about radioactivity being found nearby can cause increased stress and, sometimes, an overwhelming sense of loss of control. As for foods that may be imported from Japan, there are three safety nets in place so you can feel safe eating what you buy at the grocery store. The first safety net is the ban on importing food from within Japans evacuation zone (within about 20 kilometers of the nuclear reactors), the second safety net is Japans monitoring of other foods prior to leaving Japan, and the third safety net is the United States Department of Agriculture, which monitors and inspects our imported food. Ecology A rabbit born after the nuclear explosion was born with no ears and sending fear throughout the world of the mutations and deformities to come. The world has been exposed to very high amounts from five nuclear reactors in Sendai off of Japans east coast, and still to this day they are contaminating all of Japans farms, cities and lands with radioactive material-very dangerous and toxic to humans and animals. http://www.politicolnews.com/japan-nuclear-rabbit-born-with-no-ears/ Health According to a study by Stanford University in June 2012, 130 people died from (bound for estimator in the year is 1100 upper and 15 lower) cancer, and 180 radiation emission limit cancer cases (24 radiation exposure to the workers in the factory in. Japan, can lead to the death of up to 2-12 was predicted mainly there is a lower limit 1800) is a possibility. The emission radiation was an order of magnitude lower than that released from Chernobyl, about 80% of the radioactivity from Fukushima has been deposited on the Pacific Ocean. Precautions taken by the Japanese government may have to reduce the health effects of radiation emitting substantially. Radiation causes such as non-mandatory evacuation of about 600 people to death to be caused by such further has been reported. Evacuation procedures after the accident, may have reduced deaths from radiation by example 3-245 potentially, the best estimate is 28, the projected upper limit of the life that was saved from the shelter even i tself evacuation already is lower than the number of deaths caused by. Radiation exposure may cause 1,300 deaths worldwide and 2,500 cases of cancer in Japan. However, there is a bigger issue. The radiation emitted at Fukushima trigger transplant 16,000 people, which, according to the study, also caused mental illness and psychological impact on these people. Stress, fatigue and even being around other sick people are the main contributors to the mental health of many individuals during the evacuation. The study also identifies how these children are more susceptible to radiation because their cells are dividing more rapidly and radiation-damaged RNA may be brought in the younger generation of cells. In addition, DNA damage is also common among people with prolonged exposure to radiation through land, air and food. Actions taken by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) The roadmap shows the three phases leading up to the end of the decommissioning. Phase 1: In 2 years, begin the process of fuel removal from the spent fuel pools Phase 2: In 10 years, begin removing fuel debris (solidified fuels and claddings that had melted). Phase 3: In 30-40 years, complete fuel debris removal and the processing and disposal of radioactive waste. http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/review/review3_1-e.html Improvement TEPCO have to reconsider including the condition of design flaws and the safety systems/measure after the Fukushima nuclear accident analysis and mitigation. TEPCO have to increase the knowledge management, safety culture, and regulatory oversight and the enforcement. Operator/technical people must know technical measurements in operating NPPs based on stress test results and Passive safety systems for nuclear power plant safety enhancement Study the advanced nuclear power plant with the existing design / passive security capabilities to prevent accidents Chernobyl / Fukushima-type Nuclear accident modeling and simulation and prevention action for disaster. Conclusion

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Essay

The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, outlines how a society should be run under communism. The document provides truths to what is wrong with society; what causes these wrongs; how they can be fixed; and how this relates to humans and nature. Marx was a political philosopher of German ancestry. Marx and Engels split the document up into four sections: Section 1: Bourgeois and Proletarians, section 2: Proletarians and Communists, section 3: Socialists and Communist literature, and section 4: Positions of the Communists in relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties. The first section, Bourgeoisie and Proletarians, focuses on the struggle between the classes created in society. Marx refers back to the Middle Ages to show how complicated the class system was. â€Å"In the Middle Ages, feudal lords, vassals, guild-masters, journeymen, apprentices, serfs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (1) all made up different stratas of society. With all of these groups of different trades and economic stability, oppression was bound to happen. Society did not contain many groups and classes as in the middle ages. Society was formed from two basic groups, the Bourgeoisie and Proletarians. The bourgeoisie was a class constructed of people who owned property. These people were the wealthier half of society. The proletarians were those of the lowest class of society. Marx discusses how the bourgeoisie came to be such a strong member of society. This happened through the occurrence of the Industrial Revolution. New machinery changed all of industrial production. With these new advances, Marx describes that the middle class was destroyed and industrial millionaires resu... ...ss†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The fourth and final section, Positions of the Communists in relation to the Various Existing Opposition Parties, talks about how communists work with different parties. Marx describes their relationship by stating that they try to find parties that hold similar beliefs. Communists try to find parties that believe in power to the working class and believe in the overthrowing of the bourgeoisie. Marx concludes by saying that the working class must unite and use force to overcome oppressors. The Communist Manifesto, presents the basic beliefs of communism. Marx puts strong emphasis on the struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletarians. Marx believes that the proletarians must come together by recognizing that they are all alike and fight the bourgeoisie. Once this happens, then such oppressors will not hold down society as the bourgeoisie.

Principles of Sociology Essay

In H. Spencer s Principles of Sociology, he likened society to an organism where its functions and characteristics such as growth, expansion, division and the like, he believed, also occurs in the society and social life, thus coining the term social organism. A novel, likewise takes the form of an organism according to Henry James. He argues in the Art of Fiction (a commentary to Walter Besant’s lecture in the royal institution) that a novel is a personal impression of life. The main issue of the article is representation and how writers should treat it. James clarified that representation takes two forms; one is the direct representation, which according to him is limiting, and another is representation based on a writer’s impression of the experience which he considers what the art of novel is all about. The reality â€Å"colored by the writer’s vision† is the reality of the novel. An organism he believes best describe the complexity of a novel because an organism has in itself the individuality and unity of functions. The totality of the organism is dependent upon both the independence and the unity of its parts. Similarly, Freese in â€Å"Henry James and the application of his theory in ‘What Maisie knew’† believes that James viewpoint is that â€Å"†¦ it is not possible to examine fiction only by its individual parts because these have to be seen as interacting elements. †(p. 2) James believes that the uniqueness of every novel is determined by the â€Å"liberty of interpretation† afforded by the author. The principles of form being dictated by convention only hamper the creation of the being that is the novel. The impression of reality, the personal process of making sense of an experience, is the ultimate measure of achieving the reality. Thus, a novel is not just a product but a creative process as in painting and the other arts where each step contributes to the wholeness of the craft. The writer has the power to determine the shape and complexity of the novel and ultimately the reality that the novel contains. All these elements, as in an organism is determined by a creator and his idea of representation.

Monopoly & monopolistic Essay

There are plenty of companies in America today that are controlled by a monopolistic market. Although there may be a few that are controlled as a monopoly market, while there are a few that are out there such as the Gas and Electric Company, SDG&E and the USPS. It can be difficult when you are going from a monopolistic firm to a monopoly only because the market is completely different from one another. When it comes to Wonks, there are plenty of beneficiaries when we analyze the differences of going from one to another. It is uncommon that a firm will go to a monopoly after being a monopolistic company. But as we dig deeper there can be some advantages as with anything there are disadvantages to the government, companies and society. As stated in our text the definition of the monopolistic is as follows, â€Å"A common form of industry (market) structure in the United States, characterized by a large number of firms, no barriers to entry, and product differentiation† (Case, pg. 304). When we look at a monopolistic company indicates that there are multiple types of the same type or similar companies that create the same product(s). This tends to be a common theme here in America. Wonks changed to a monopoly firm which resulted in â€Å"â€Å"An industry with a single firm that produces a product for which there are no close substitutes and in which significant barriers to entry prevent other firms from entering the industry to compete for profits† (Case, pg. 262). In a monopoly firm there is one main firm that manufactures the product and nobody else can replicate the product. Looking on the brighter side, there are plenty of advantages to having a monopoly company that could be beneficial for the government, other companies as well as customers. The government usually looks at a firm that is considered a monopoly and they are the ones who allow the sense of control over the company. They are able to come in the market as a monopoly with in fact this will allow for them to regulate the competition. For a company there are benefits as well to being a monopoly company. It requires for the company to have a huge amount of products on hand to make sure that they are meeting the customer’s needs. For a company to do that they would need to provide a bigger amount of capital in the production. This is because production cost takes a plunge simple fact that you are now producing in larger amounts. This may be a huge asset for a firm because it will now be lower in cost for the product to be produced. When we analyze price, the firm may have an option to increase or decrease the price depending on the situation. Since Wonk is the only company like itself, the customers have to pay the price that the company puts forth, or they have the choice of not purchasing their products. Lastly, for the customer’s standpoint, they have some advantages as well. A firm that tends to be as the monopoly firm can lower prices to get people in the door. Not always will the prices be low either. Now this is an advantage for one because now the consumer is getting the product at cheaper prices. When it comes to Wonks being a monopoly the government, companies as well as the customers can all benefit from it in one way or another. When looking at the two, a monopolistic and a monopoly firm the pricing and the producing for both are different. In this case the monopoly firms prices tend to be higher because they are the only company that manufactures the item or product. At any given time the company can increase and or decrease the prices when they want and the customers either can purchase the product or not at all. In a monopolistic company, their prices can differ from time to time given that there are many more companies with similar products. One thing to pay attention to is that not just one firm can change the prices because the customers can just simply go to another place to get a similar product at a cheaper price. For a monopoly company when it comes to producing product, it can be different to how prices are determined. For example, if the prices are lower, then more production is needed in order to keep up with consumer demands. We could also consider that the production may not change a whole lot in a monopoly because they are usually the only firm with that particular product. In this case if a customer wanted the item or product then they will pay whatever the manufacturer priced it out as. For a monopolistic company, production can change depending on the prices. If the companies prices happens to be high, consumers will not want to purchase items from this company. Customers do have a choice to shop around and go to another company. Some companies have particular market and target a certain group of individuals. This can be more beneficial to these types more than others. In my opinion, Wonks can benefit more from a monopoly. Considering my research, it appears that there are more opportunities for Wonks as a monopoly as oppose to a monopolistic firm. When a firm is part of a monopoly, they are able to control more of the sales to provide the necessary items for their consumers. A change with Wonks going from a monopolistic firm to a monopoly has many benefits. The government can benefit from Wonks by this firm being a monopoly simply because they are controlling the market. The company benefits and also they are able to reduce the amount of productivity cost because things are being produced in mass quantities. As for as the customers, they are able to get the product they need at a reasonably cheap price. A monopoly company can have some advantages when it comes to the economy if they have the put the consumers needs to make them happy customers. Reference: 1) Case, K. , Fair, R. , Oster, S. , (2009). Principles of Microeconomics, 9th Edition. Person Learning Solutions. Upper Saddle River, NJ.

The Influence of the Renaissance in Shakespeares Work

The Influence of the Renaissance in Shakespeares Work It’s very easy to think of Shakespeare as a unique genius with a singular perspective on the world around him. However, Shakespeare was very much a product of the radical cultural shifts that were occurring in Elizabethan England during his lifetime. When Shakespeare was working in the  theater, the Renaissance movement in the arts was peaking in England. The new openness and humanism are reflected in Shakespeare’s plays. The Renaissance in Shakespeares Time Broadly speaking, the Renaissance period is used to describe the era when Europeans moved away from the restrictive ideas of the Middle Ages. The ideology that dominated the Middle Ages was heavily focused on the absolute power of God and was enforced by the formidable Roman Catholic Church. From the 14th century onward, people started to break away from this idea. The artists and thinkers of the Renaissance did not necessarily reject the idea of God. In fact, Shakespeare himself may have been Catholic. The Renaissance cultural creators did, however, question humankind’s relationship to God. This questioning produced enormous upheaval in the accepted social hierarchy. And the new focus on humanity created new-found freedom for artists, writers, and philosophers to be inquisitive about the world around them. They often drew on the more human-centered classical writing and art of ancient Greece and Rome for inspiration. Shakespeare,  the Renaissance Man The Renaissance arrived in England rather late. Shakespeare was born toward  the end of the broader Europe-wide Renaissance period, just as it was peaking in England. He was one of the first playwrights to bring the Renaissance’s core values to the theater. Shakespeare embraced the Renaissance in the following ways: Shakespeare updated the simplistic, two-dimensional writing style of pre-Renaissance drama. He focused on creating human characters with psychological complexity. Hamlet is perhaps the most famous example of this.The upheaval in social hierarchy allowed Shakespeare to explore the complexity and humanity of every character, regardless of their social position. Even monarchs were portrayed as having human emotions and were capable of making terrible mistakes. Consider King Lear or Macbeth.Shakespeare utilized his knowledge of Greek and Roman classics when writing his plays. Before the Renaissance, these texts had been suppressed by the Catholic Church. Religion in Shakespeares Time Elizabethan England endured a different form of religious oppression than that which had dominated the Middle Ages. When she took the throne, Queen Elizabeth I forced conversions and drove practicing Catholics underground with her imposition of the Recusancy Acts. These laws required citizens to attend worship in Anglican churches. If discovered, Catholics faced stiff penalties or even death. Despite these laws, Shakespeare did not appear to be afraid to write about Catholicism nor to present Catholic characters in a favorable light. His inclusion of Catholicism in his works has led historians to hypothesize that the Bard was secretly Catholic. Catholic characters included Friar Francis ( Much Ado About Nothing),  Friar Laurence (Romeo and Juliet), and even  Hamlet. At the very least, Shakespeare’s writing indicates a thorough knowledge of Catholic rituals. Regardless of what he may have been doing secretly, he maintained a public persona as an Anglican. He was baptized in and buried at  Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon, a Protestant church.