Romeo and Juliet Tragedy Essays

Romeo and Juliet Tragedy Essays Romeo and Juliet Tragedy Paper Romeo and Juliet Tragedy Paper Essay Topic: Romeo and Juliet It is my opinion that no one person can be held responsible for the tragic deaths of the two lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Rather it is a combination of people and circumstances that contrive to form a tragic ending. Obviously, Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy, and thus has all the generic features of a tragedy; that there is a fatal flaw on the part of the main characters, in this case their passionate love at first sight for each other, Did my heart love till now? This passionate love means the two lovers cannot be separated, and their desperation to be together could be the reason for their plight. Alternatively, it could also be argued that Shakespeare built up dramatic expectation, via prophetic fallacy and short scenes accelerating to a climax, that the death was necessary as a dramatic ending. This structure can be clearly seen throughout the play as a whole as Shakespeare uses lower status characters (talking in prose) usually to speed up the pace, using riots and conflicts, whereas he uses the higher status characters (talking in verse) at balls or parties to slow down the pace and deepen the play. Therefore, due to Shakespeares deliberately convoluted plot, it is imperative to discuss each topic in turn, evaluating how and to what extent, each factor was responsible; starting with, arguably, one of the most important reasons; fate, or chance. Fate, or chance, was an accepted philosophical belief in Elizabethan England, and both were linked to astrology; the belief that you can see the future in the planets, Some consequence yet hanging in the stars! The belief that the two lovers have a preordained destiny, i. . that the two, star crossd lovers cannot change their fate, recurs frequently throughout the play. Shakespeares references to fate are, almost without exception, asides, Some consequence yet hanging in the stars, which meant that the character was talking to himself (and therefore the audience), and showed that Shakespeare really wanted to emphasise this point in the play to the onlookers. On looking through the play, I found there were far more references to fate in t he first two acts than the last ones. This may be because these references to fate are coupled with prophetic fallacies; which are used to build tension and dramatic expectation, to maintain interest in the first half and then allow the omniscient audience to see the inevitable consequences. I believe Shakespeare used fate as the classic medium to create the fall from power, another traditional feature of a tragedy, and then used the portents to allow the pair to see their unavoidable downfall. This fateful incurrence provides the struggle of the play; the lovers conflict against their, death-marked loves. As a subsection of fate, the references to chance specifically are fewer, and in a direct contrast to the references to fate, appear mainly at the culmination of the play. This lends rather well to the feeling of chaos, as chance is a much more random idea than fate, and gives the impression that anarchy is at work. This set up has also been chosen as a way of showing that there could be more than one person behind the tragic deaths. That is, Shakespeare has deliberately given the final two scenes a chaotic feel to illustrate the convoluted plot lines and the intertwining motives each character has, especially true of the Friar Lawrence. The only real reference to chance (although it can be argued it is fate at work) is the failure of Friar John to deliver the letter, I could not send it! Linked to Fate, is social pressure, during the play, Shakespeare uses social pressure as an agency for fate; i. e. a way to focus the situation and explaining why the lovers cannot be together. It can be argued that this is the most important reason as without a conflict and inhibitor there would be no play as Romeo and Juliet could just be together. However, social pressure is a more modern idea and as such it is unlikely that Shakespeare purposely decided to use it, and I feel probably thought of it is the feud; indeed it is only with hindsight that we can see its effect. Shakespeare emphasise this point like most of the others from the very beginning of the play, dog of the house of Montague, and even before that in the prologue, ancient grudge break to new mutiny. This first scene cleverly reflects Act 3 scene 1, but Shakespeare has changed the roles so that Romeo discards his pacifist views and is provoked into fire-eyed fury. When Shakespeare draws references to Italy, he may be reflecting the traditional, and rather stereotypical, view of Italians as all having private vendettas or feuds. However, to a certain extent it works as Shakespeare is using a literary technique of setting the events in a place the Elizabethan audience would not know about apart from what theyve been told. In particular, by leaving the facts uncle ar about the ancient grudge, one begins to feel that perhaps there wasnt one, or that it has escalated out f all control. This is used for dramatic irony, as it is in inverse proportion to the amount of destruction incurred by the end of the final scene, all are punished! Another reason which Shakespeare decided to introduce was the Friars own motives. He says, to Romeo, that he wants to turn your households rancour to pure love, but he seems wary to allow the lovers to wed in public and appears more intent of the joining of the two households than that the two lovers are together, for this alliance may so happy prove. I believe that Shakespeare has left this reason in deliberately to offer an alternative view, and to give more variety to the end scene. Shakespeare also displays an ulterior personality trait of the Friar as he appears reluctant to be found with the bodies and hurries from Capels monument rather than be caught, and when he is the language he uses reflects the way that he is prepared to tell all. The language he uses is direct, there are no puns and little imagery and the language is non-theological when compared to his behaviour in his cell, Benedicte! and Holy Saint Francis! which demonstrates how unwilling he is to be dishonoured. Fellow characters echo this sentiment, and Juliet exclaims, What if it be a poison which the Friar subtly hath ministered to have me dead? This statement turns out to be ironical as although the potion is not a poison, the Friars plans do culminate in her and Romeos death. The friar, himself raises an interesting point as a cause, he blames the rude will of human nature (Act 2 scene 3) and disclaims that self-centredness results in evil if it gains priority over grace. Maybe, therefore, it is only human nature to cause such sufferings. Another point, which recurs throughout the play, is the patriarchal dominance of the society which the play is set in. In this community fathers had absolute sway over their daughters and gave them away to whosoever they chose, and were offended if they refused. It could have been the fathers stubbornness that the two were unable to join. This point is linked to the idea about the pointlessness of the feud; it was the fathers as head of the families who were the main upholders of the feud, and they never mention the reason for their doing so. As Elizabethan society was so patriarchal, it would therefore have been a dramatic point that Shakespeare was making when he uses Juliets sarcasm as a device to fight back at her father, It is an honour I dream not of! In the context of this play, this means that Capulet feels it is his right to pressurise Juliet, go with Paris to Saint Peters church, Or I will drag thee on a hurdle thither. The separation between Juliet and her father is repeated in the Lady Capulet, and the two seem uneasy when together. Shakespeare demonstrates this point by splitting a technique such as repetition across the two characters, so the two appear to be interrupting each other for example, Lady Capulet: The county Paris, at Saint Peters Church Shall happily make thee a joyful bride. Juliet: Now by Saint Peters Church and Peter too, He shall not make me there a joyful bride. Such repetition increases the tightening tension of the plot and gives an additional insight into the pairs characters. My final point is perhaps the most obvious, that it is the love or passion of Romeo and Juliet themselves that causes their death. The two lovers are so madly in love that are too hasty and Shakespeare emphasises this by short scenes accelerating to an abrupt climax. It can be argued that the structure of the play therefore reflects the pairs turbulent relations as when they are harmonious the pace is slowed, and this is then sped up when the two are desperately seeking each other. Perhaps the tragic ending is Shakespeares way of rebuking both love at first sight and the artificial, chivalric love between Rosaline and Romeo. In conclusion, as can be seen from the discussed reasons; there are, as with all of Shakespeares plays a multitude of factors, which are all equally valid and viable. Also, all of Shakespeares language is intentional, so he is able to cleverly link both individual passages and whole scenes to the play as a whole. However, Shakespeare emphasises some more than others and in this respect I believe it is fate, which is the most predominantly mentioned of the factors. This is consistently mentioned by Shakespeare and lends itself to the play as a whole well. As previously discussed it lends a feeling of impending doom, and inevitable tragedy to the play. This factor could have become too linear, so Shakespeare introduced the idea of chance, which adds a random and chaotic air to the play. Also, all of Shakespeares language is intentional, so he is able to cleverly link both individual passages and whole scenes to the play as a whole.

Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Article Example It also assists local and state education organizations in advancing their statistical systems, and examine and report on educational activities in different nations. The main focus of this report is to look at gaps in educational participation and attainment between males and females of different races. This report is relevant to my research in that it will also examine children in poverty and minority groups and education. It asserts that postsecondary attendance rates are largely lower for students from various racial and ethnical groups and lower socioeconomic backgrounds in comparison to Asians and Whites. In 2010, as consistently since 1980, a limited number of male than female 18-24 year olds were either enrolled in graduate school or college. There is also a difference in postsecondary attainment for females and males. According to the report, in 2010, 21% of children under age 18 were living in poverty. The poverty rate for people who were non-white was higher than that of t he white population. This prevented the underprivileged population from accessing higher education (Ross & Kena 2012, p. 5). . College Student Alliance, 2011, Breaking barriers: a strategy for equal access to higher education, College Student Alliance. Retrieved from http://collegestudentalliance.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Breaking-Barriers.pdf This is a suitable academic resource because a large number of students from numerous groups are still under represented in colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher learning. According to this resource, students from various groups are not efficiently represented in higher institutions of education in Ontario. In line with the resource, enhancing access to higher education for the underrepresented groups is largely perceived to be necessary in establishing a more equitable society and to challenging in the increasingly knowledge based economy. The last ten years has witnessed a tremendous increase in research on people who are not pursuing higher education, reasons for not attending, and ways to promote their participation. People experience interplay between different complicated barriers. They may be motivational, informational, and financial barriers. Financial barriers comprise debt aversion in an aid system or lack of funds to pursue higher education. Informational barriers entail insufficient information regarding financial assistance, mainly, benefits, and costs. 80% of learners aged between 20 and 24 from households earning more than $100,000 pursue higher education and 60% of learners from households earning below $25,000 pursue higher education. Almost half of youth in the top income quarter attend university in comparison a quarter of the youth in the lower income quartile. Among the recommendations include, one, the Ontario government commit to have secondary school learners visit a campus as part of the curriculum. Two, the government should continue aiding early outreach as a way of acce ssing post-secondary education. Three, the government should set an objective for the education system to augment post-secondary participation rates (College Student Alliance 2011, p. 30). Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, 2013, Higher education: the fair access challenge,

Market Review Exercise Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Market Review Exercise - Dissertation Example Service proliferation comes from the increasing number of services offered by the financial in their search for new avenues of revenue generation. The search for new avenues of revenue generation by the financial sector has also resulted in growing competition among the various financial organizations in the financial sector. A key reason for the proliferation of financial services is the trend in favour of government de-regulation or the loosening of the control strings of the government on the financial sector. One of the reasons for the deregulation of the financial sector is for the ordinary citizen to earn more interest on savings and this has resulted in the trend for interest sensitive mix of funds. Developments in the field of information technology are used as tools for sharpening the competitive edge among the players in the financial, and also allow the many new services offered to ride piggyback on technology changes including automation. Effective use of the automation p ut in place requires generation of high volumes of sales, which means increased customer base and as a result the trend in consolidation and global expansion. ... Differences between Building Societies and Banks Building societies are mutual institutions in which a major portion of the having a savings account in the building society or a mortgage from the building society are members and in essence operate in the financial markets as financial services providers for meeting housing finance needs. Banks on the other financial enterprises in many cases hold public investment as stocks on which revenue has to be derived for paying out to the stock holders and so offer a plethora of financial services in the market towards revenue generation. Building societies are not so strongly governed by profit motives and so their services for housing purposes tend to be offered at lower costs; however they have a drawback in that there is a limit of 50% of their funds that they can seek from the wholesale market. However, in the new millennium these differences are getting blurred, because of the cross provision of financial services that has seen building societies indulging in selling insurance, unit trust and other such long term investment products and banks also offering competition in these services (Spencer, 2000). Current Building Society Trends By incorporating as public limited companies, building societies are able to overcome the limitations that they have in access to capital from the financial markets. This has seen the trend among building societies to become public limited companies. Such a move also helps them to overcome the restrictions of the UK Building Societies Act and face the challenge of reduced demand for housing finance. To offset the reduced demand for housing financial services, the trend after incorporation as public limited companies is to move into new areas of financial services

Mexicans and Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Mexicans and Discrimination Essay Wetback, spic and beaner are a few of the words people use when talking about a Mexican. Mexican Americans have been the victim of discrimination throughout the history of the United States. Mexicans have a very big stereotype against them. One of the main reasons that they are discriminated against is because of their illegal immigration into the United States. Like many other groups Mexicans immigrated to the United States in search of a better life. Many Mexicans are left with no choice but to come to the U. S illegally because of the cost and obstacles that one has to go through to become a citizen. Because many Mexicans come to the U. S. illegally they are often forced to work physically demanding jobs for less money. Mexican Americans have a long history of experiencing nativism and racism which has resulted in a number of discriminatory conditions and consequences such as, social and geographical segregation, employment discrimination, patterns of abuse at the hands of law enforcement officials, vigilante murder and justice, substandard education, electoral fraud, exclusion from petit and grand juries, forced dislocations from their neighborhoods, voter intimidation, and language discrimination. (Galaviz 2007) Mexicans work under the secondary sector of the Dual labor market. The secondary Dual Labor market has low incomes, little job security, and little training. There are also no rewards apart from wages. Mexicans are forced to work for very low wages either because, as non-citizens, they lack options, or because they may realistically perceive themselves as best off here, even at very cheap wages, than they were back home. (Aponte 1990) For example, many companies offer very poor working conditions and minimum wage because they know that illegal immigrants have no choice but to accept these conditions because of their status. After the United States victory in the Mexican-American War in 1848 a forced treaty was signed. The treaty was known as Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty required Mexico to give up over half its land to the United States in exchange for 15 million dollars. Land given up by Mexico included California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo also guaranteed that Mexican citizens living in surrendered lands would be able to keep property rights and would be given United States citizenship if they remained in surrendered lands for at least one year. However, the property rights of Mexicans were ignored by the United States government and local officials. Mexicans were slowly forced from lands which their families had held for generations in many cases. Many organizations, businesses, and homeowners associations had official policies to exclude Mexican Americans. In many areas across the Southwest, Mexican Americans lived in separate residential areas, due to laws and real estate company policies. This group of laws and policies, known as redlining, lasted until the 1950s, and fall under the concept of official segregation. In many other instances, it was more of a general social understanding among Anglos that Mexicans should be excluded. For instance, signs with the phrase No Dogs or Mexicans were posted in small businesses and public pools throughout the Southwest well into the 1960s. Mexicans were also restricted from being jurors, even if the case involved a Mexican. Schools also discriminated against Mexican children and eventually Mexicans were made to open their own schools. Though times have changed Mexicans are still discriminated against because of the stereotype they are associated with. Many believe that all Mexicans come over here illegally and do not deserve the same rights as citizens do. Even now people believe that Mexicans should be sent back to Mexico and an example of that is Phoenix, Arizona and its Immigration Law.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro Essay example -- essays research papers

It is my claim that Ernest Hemingway’s piece, â€Å"The Snows of Kilimanjaro† is most effective at showing how trivial life can be as it regards to what people think is needed to be successful in life for three main reasons. The reasons are that people put too much time into achieving unrealistic goals, people get too involved in obtaining their goals and do not appreciate what they have, and people have the wrong idea about success and can not obtain true success with the wrong vision of what it is. Some people put too much time into achieving their unrealistic goals, and never realize them and then end up wasting most of their life and lively hood in search of their personal success. Those same people also never stop to appreciate what they have in their lives, when all they were trying to obtain could have been in front of them and all they ever wanted. Most goals that people believe make them successful do not, many people have the wrong idea of what success is and when someone dies this is the only time they will realize what actual success is. Hemingway’s story begins with Harry and his wife on Kilimanjaro arguing over many petty things. Harry had gotten into an accident and scraped his leg while they were on their hunting trip. The wound got infected, even though Harry put some medication on it, the wound soon started to become gangrene. He is lying on a cot for the whole story while he continues to bicker with his wife. Many Vultures are around and Harry makes comments on how they must smell the leg, and that is what attracts them to him. Harry has many recollections of events through out his life, he referred to them as the topics he wished he would have written about. Through all of Harry’ recollections of his life he wonders where all his time went. He starts to think about how he has wasted he life and talent with the â€Å"enemy†; money, rich women, and soft living all symbolizing the forces of corruption. The story ends with Harry getting â€Å"rescued† by men in a plane that had landed near them, which the reader soon finds out it was just Harry’s dream as he actually dies. His wife is awoken by a hyena that had fallen off a cliff that was making a human-like cry. When she goes to check on Harry, she finds that he has stopped breathing, and the hyena continues to make the sound that had waken her ... ...e â€Å"good life†, and has painful memories that he will overcome to be rewarded. Harry does share many characteristics with Hemingway’s other characters but he is different in that his profession does not take the form of deep sea fishing or war or bullfighting but of writing. He is also different in that he is rewarded "in the other world." All the other Hemingway heroes must be and are "rewarded" here in whatever private or public form the reward may take. Hemingway’s piece clearly shows how trivial life can be in regards to what is thought to be needed to be successful. The reasons are that people put too much time into achieving unrealistic goals, people get too involved in obtaining their goals and do not appreciate what they have, and people have the wrong idea about success and can not obtain true success with the wrong vision of what it is. Harry clearly illustrates all of those points and the reader can learn from his â€Å"mistakes†. One should have a clear, realistic image of success before they waste their time and effort to obtain it. Success can only be obtain and kept in this world, it can not go with someone when they die.

Etymology Case Essay

The word horticulture is modeled after agriculture, and comes from the Latin hortus â€Å"garden† and cultÃ… «ra â€Å"cultivation†, from cultus, the perfect passive participle of the verb colÃ…  â€Å"I cultivate†.Hortus is cognate with the native English word yard (in the meaning of land associated with a building) and also the borrowed word garden. Understanding horticulture Horticulture is a term that evokes images of plants, gardening, and people working in the horticultural industries. For the public, and policy makers, the term is not completely understood nor is its impact on human activities been fully appreciated. Horticulture impacts widely on human activities, more than its popular understanding as merely â€Å"gardening† would indicate. It needs to be recognized as a matrix of inter-relating areas that overlap, with complex inter-relationships. A wider and more accurate definition will communicate effectively the importance of plants, their cultivation and their use for sustainable human existence. The popular â€Å"gardening activity† sense fails to convey the important role that horticulture plays in the lives of individuals, communities and human societies as a whole. Describing its impact on the physiological, psychological and social activities of people is key to expanding our understanding; however â€Å"the cultivation of a garden, orchard, or nursery† and â€Å"the cultivation of flowers, fruits, vegetables, or ornamental plants† as well as â€Å"the science and art of cultivating such plants† will suffice to sketch the outline of a short description. Expanded the traditional understanding of horticulture beyond â€Å"garden† cultivation. Turkey (1962) gave an overview of those involved in the field of horticulture, in stating that there are those who are concerned with the science or biological side, those concerned with the business side and finally those who are concerned with the home or art side, which enjoy plants simply for the satisfaction they get from them. Primarily it is an art, but it is intimately connected with science at every point. Relf highlighted the fact that, in limiting the definition of horticulture severely limits an understanding of what horticulture means in terms of human well-being. Relf provided a comprehensive definition of horticulture as; the art and science of plants resulting in the development of minds and emotions of individuals, the enrichment and health of communities, and the integration of the â€Å"garden† in the breadth of modern civilization. In addition, Half acre and Barden (1979), Janick and Goldman (2003). Further extended the scope of horticulture when they agreed that the origins of horticulture are intimately associated with the history of humanity and that horticulture encompasses all life and bridges the gap between science, art and human beings. This broader vision of horticulture embraces plants, including the multitude of products and activities (oxygen, food, medicine, clothing, shelter, celebration or remembrance) essential for human survival; and people, whose active and passive involvement with â€Å"the garden† brings about benefits to them as individuals and to the communities and cultures they encompass Greenhouse effect A representation of the exchanges of energy between the source (the Sun), the Earth’s surface, the Earth’s atmosphere, and the ultimate sink outer space. The ability of the atmosphere to capture and recycle energy emitted by the Earth surface is the defining characteristic of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions. Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases. Solar radiation at the frequencies of visible light largely passes through the atmosphere to warm the planetary surface, which then emits this energy at the lower frequencies of infrared thermal radiation. Infrared radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which in turn re-radiate much of the energy to the surface and lower atmosphere. The mechanism is named after the effect of solar radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse, but the way it retains heat is fundamentally different as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow, isolating the warm air inside the structure so that heat is not lost by convection. If an ideal thermally conductive blackbody was the same distance from the Sun as the Earth is, it would have a temperature of about 5.3  °C. However, since the Earth reflects about 30% of the incoming sunlight, the planet’s effective temperature (the temperature of a blackbody that would emit the same amount of radiation) is about −18  °C,[7][8] about 33 °C below the actual surface temperature of about 14  °C.[ The mechanism that produces this difference between the actual surface temperature and the effective temperature is due to the atmosphere and is known as the greenhouse effect. Earth’s natural greenhouse effect makes life as we know it possible. However, human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests, have intensified the natural greenhouse effect, causing global warming. MODERN ELECTRONICS Home appliance Numerous appliances are found in the kitchen. Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into: * Major appliances, or White goods * Small appliances, or Brown goods * Consumer electronics, or Shiny goods This division is also noticeable in the service area of these kinds of products. Brown goods usually require high technical knowledge and skills (which get more complex with time, such as going from a soldering iron to a hot-air soldering station), while white goods need more practical skills and â€Å"brute force† to manipulate the devices and heavy tools required to repair them. Electric blanket In the US the electric blanket is a blanket with an integrated electrical heating device usually placed above the top bed sheet. In the UK and Commonwealth, electric blanket commonly refers to an electric mattress pad, which is placed below the bottom bed sheet. Electric blankets usually have a control unit which adjusts the amount of heat the blanket produces. Blankets for larger sized beds often have separate controls for each side of the bed. The electric blanket may be used to pre-heat the bed before use or to keep the occupant warm while in bed. Modern electric blankets have carbon fibre wires. These blankets usually work on 24 volts instead of the 110/240 volts. Therefore, they are advertised as being a safer, more efficient and more comfortable alternative. Zhangjiajie, China : The Bailong Elevator is the world’s largest exterior elevator. At over 1,000 feet tall, this elevator looms high midway up a cliff overlooking a valley far below. Moreover, the elevator is mostly glass, affording passengers a dizzying view to the depths below. There is some concern, however, about the elevator’s long-term impact on the surrounding natural environment. Yangtze, China :The Three Gorges Dam has drawn fire from people around the world for its role in raising water levels and displacing millions of Chinese residents in the area. As a work of engineering, however, it is unparalleled. It will be the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, 600 feet high and holding 1.4 trillion cubic feet of water behind 100 million cubic feet of concrete. This engineering wonder will also eventually provide as much as 10% of China’s vast power needs. Technology By the mid 20th century, humans had achieved a mastery of technology sufficient to leave the atmosphere of the Earth for the first time and explore space. Technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a preexisting solution to a problem, achieve a goal or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures. Technologies significantly affect human as well as other animal species’ ability to control and adapt to their natural environments. The word technology comes from Greek Ï„Î µÃâ€¡ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ »ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ± (technologà ­a); from Ï„Î ­Ãâ€¡ÃŽ ½ÃŽ · (tà ©chnÄ“), meaning â€Å"art, skill, craft†, and -ÃŽ »ÃŽ ¿ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ± meaning â€Å"study of-â€Å".[1] The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include construction technology, medical technology, and information technology. The human species’ use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistorical discovery of the ability to control fire increased the available sources of food and the invention of the wheel helped humans in travelling in and controlling their environment. Recent technological developments, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. However, not all technology has been used for peaceful purposes; the development of weapo ns of ever-increasing destructive power has progressed throughout history, from clubs to nuclear weapons.

400 Million Years of Shark Evolution

If you went back in time and looked at the first, unremarkable prehistoric sharks of the Ordovician period--about 420 million years ago--you might never guess that their descendants would become such dominant creatures, holding their own against vicious marine reptiles like pliosaurs and mosasaurs and going on to become the apex predators of the worlds oceans. Today, few creatures in the world inspire as much fear as the Great White Shark, the closest nature has come to a pure killing machine--if you exclude Megalodon, which was 10 times bigger. Before discussing shark evolution, though, its important to define what we mean by shark. Technically, sharks are a suborder of fish whose skeletons are made out of cartilage rather than bone; sharks are also distinguished by their streamlined, hydrodynamic shapes, sharp teeth, and sandpaper-like skin. Frustratingly for paleontologists, skeletons made of cartilage dont persist in the fossil record nearly as well as skeletons made of bone--which is why so many prehistoric sharks are known primarily (if not exclusively) by their fossilized teeth. The First Sharks We dont have much in the way of direct evidence, except for a handful of fossilized scales, but the first sharks are believed to have evolved during the Ordovician period, about 420 million years ago (to put this into perspective, the first tetrapods didnt crawl up out of the sea until 400 million years ago). The most important genus that has left significant fossil evidence is the difficult-to-pronounce Cladoselache, numerous specimens of which have been found in the American midwest. As you might expect in such an early shark, Cladoselache was fairly small, and it had some odd, non-shark-like characteristics--such as a paucity of scales (except for small areas around its mouth and eyes) and a complete lack of claspers, the sexual organ by which male sharks attach themselves (and transfer sperm to) the females. After Cladoselache, the most important prehistoric sharks of ancient times were Stethacanthus, Orthacanthus, and Xenacanthus. Stethacanthus measured only six feet from snout to tail but already boasted the full array  of shark features: scales, sharp teeth, a distinctive fin structure, and a sleek, hydrodynamic build. What set this genus apart were the bizarre, ironing-board-like structures atop the backs of males, which were probably somehow used during mating. The equally ancient Stethacanthus and Orthacanthus were both fresh-water sharks, distinguished by their small size, eel-like bodies, and odd spikes protruding from the tops of their heads (which may have delivered jabs of poison to bothersome predators). The Sharks of the Mesozoic Era Considering how common they were during the preceding geologic periods, sharks kept a relatively low profile during most of the Mesozoic Era,  because of intense competition from marine  reptiles like ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. By far the most successful genus was Hybodus, which was built for survival: this prehistoric shark had two types of teeth, sharp ones for eating fish and flat ones for grinding mollusks, as well as a sharp blade jutting out of its dorsal fin to keep other predators at bay. The cartilaginous skeleton of Hybodus was unusually tough and calcified, explaining this sharks persistence both in the fossil record and in the worlds oceans, which it prowled from the Triassic to the early Cretaceous periods. Prehistoric sharks really came into their own during the middle Cretaceous period, about 100 million years ago. Both Cretoxyrhina (about 25 feet long) and Squalicorax (about 15 feet long) would be recognizable as true sharks by a modern observer; in fact, theres direct tooth-mark evidence that Squalicorax preyed on dinosaurs that blundered into its habitat. Perhaps the most surprising shark from the Cretaceous period is the recently discovered Ptychodus, a 30-foot-long monster whose numerous, flat teeth were adapted to grinding up tiny mollusks, rather than large fish or aquatic reptiles. After the Mesozoic After the dinosaurs (and their aquatic cousins) went extinct 65 million years ago, prehistoric sharks were free to complete their slow evolution into the remorseless killing machines we know today. Frustratingly, the fossil evidence for the sharks of the Miocene epoch (for example) consists almost exclusively of teeth--thousands and thousands of teeth, so many that you can buy yourself one on the open market for a fairly modest price. The Great White-sized Otodus, for example, is known almost exclusively by its teeth, from which paleontologists have reconstructed this fearsome, 30-foot-long shark. By far the most famous prehistoric shark of the Cenozoic Era  was Megalodon, adult specimens of which measured 70 feet from head to tail and weighed as much as 50 tons. Megalodon was a true apex predator of the worlds oceans, feasting on everything from whales, dolphins, and seals to giant fish and (presumably) equally giant squids; for a few million years, it may even have preyed on the equally ginormous whale Leviathan. No one knows why this monster went extinct about two million years ago; the most likely candidates include climate change and the resulting disappearance of its usual prey.