The Character Of Sarah Develope From The Film Labyrinth (...

How does the character of Sarah develope due to those surrounding her in the film labyrinth? â€Å"A complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one s way; a maze:† (Oxford Dictionaries:2017) In the 1986 fantasy/action film Labyrinth (Jim Henson:1986) The plot closely follows the story of the protagonist Sarah in this coming of age film. The story follows Sarah on her quest to find her younger brother Toby, who has been kidnapped by the Goblin King, Jareth. Sarah is introduced to a variety of fantasy creatures on her travels through the Labyrinth.(Wikipedia 2017). A few of which assist her on her quest. I am going to analyse how the characters in, labyrinth impact Sarah s character development.The†¦show more content†¦Throughout the first act of the film, just by being introduced to Sarah s family the audience can see that Sarah is a stubborn and selfish character. However, as Sarah is first implied as being elaborate and mean we also see Sarah s considerate side come out as she begs the Goblin King to give Toby back to her. The first character from the labyrinth Sarah is introduced to is the Goblin King Jareth himself, who is the antagonist in the film. Jareth takes Toby as he believes this is what Sarah wants. Throughout the film we see that Sarah is drawn to the character of Jareth, however she also shows annoyance towards the character. We see she initially has an connection to Jareth at the start of the film as she s reading the book. Jareth gives Sarah the opportunity to grow courage and heroic characteristics throughout the film. He does this by taunting her. We see that Sarah s character develop as she gains courage and becomes heroic in the last act when she defeated Jareth. Jareth says at the beginning of the second act when they are both outside the labyrinth â€Å"Go back to your room, play with your toys. When Jareth says this, it suggests Sarah is childish. However this can also be perceived as Jareth taunting Sarah into taking up his challenge of the labyrinth. We then see Sarah pluck up the courage to follow out this challenge. Another example of Jareth testing Sarah is when he makes Hoggle give Sarah the peach. Sarah eats the peach

The Bitch Manifesto By Joreen Freeman - 898 Words

Feminist Movements started long before 1960, with the advancement of women earning the right to vote. However, it did not stop with that change. There were many other items that the women in history hoped to change, not only to better their own lives, but also the women of the future. With the use of many documents, such as flyers, letters, and boycotts, women of the past changed many different aspects of life for women in the world today. Boycotting the Miss America Pageant in 1968 and 1969, circulating flyers around America, was just the beginning of this second movement. They also used to write to convey their thoughts. One of which was titled â€Å"The Bitch Manifesto† and was written in 1968 by Joreen Freeman. The second was a spin- off from a children’s book entitled â€Å"There was a Young Women Who Swallowed a lie† which was written in 1970 by Meredith Tax. â€Å"Slavery Exists!† Reported by a flyer that circulated around America in 1968. At this time, slavery as we remember was over, so to many at the time, what the women were proclaiming may have been confusing to some. This circulated around before the Miss America pageant. The Washington Women’s Liberation were portraying the pageant to slavery because Miss America was a slave to cultural norms of the time, â€Å"the image of sex, virginal prettiness, glory of war, mindless conformity, acceptance of racism, cult of youth, the competitive spirit, and the capitalistic system.† With this flyer, they were hoping to gather others who

The Hunters Moonsong Chapter Forty-One Free Essays

string(27) " from one foot to another\." It seemed like he and Bonnie had been waiting forever in the tiny back office of the library, Matt thought. They had strained to catch a sound, to try and learn anything at al about what was happening down there. Bonnie paced, wringing her hands and biting her lips, and he leaned against the wal , head lowered, and kept a good grip on Samantha’s stave. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Forty-One or any similar topic only for you Order Now Just in case. He knew about al the doors and passages and tunnels down there, many of which he had no idea where they led, but he didn’t realize the soundproofing was so good. They hadn’t heard a thing. Then suddenly the trapdoor was pushing up, and Matt tensed, raising the stave, until he saw Elena’s face. Meredith, Elena, Stefan, and Damon climbed out, covered in blood, but basical y fine, if the eager way Elena and Meredith were tel ing Bonnie what happened, their words tumbling over each other, was any indication. â€Å"Ethan’s dead,† Stefan told Matt. â€Å"There were some other Vitales down there in the fight, but none of the pledges. He’d sent them out to hunt.† Matt felt sick and weirdly happy at the same time. He’d pictured them dead at Damon and Stefan’s hands, Chloe, al his friends from pledging. But they weren’t. Not dead, not real y. But transformed, vampires now. â€Å"You’re going to hunt them,† he said, aiming his words at Stefan and Damon, and at Meredith, too. She nodded, her face resolved, and Damon looked away. â€Å"We have to,† Stefan told him. â€Å"You know that.† Matt stared hard at his shoes. â€Å"Yeah,† he said, â€Å"I know. But, if you get a chance, maybe talk to some of them? If you can, if they’re reasonable and no one’s in danger? Maybe they could learn to live without kil ing people. If you showed them how, Stefan.† He rubbed at the back of his neck. â€Å"Chloe was †¦ special. And the other pledges, they were good people. They didn’t know what they were getting into. They deserve a chance.† Everyone was silent, and, after a moment, Matt looked up to find Stefan regarding him, his eyes dark green with sympathy, his mouth pul ed taut in lines of pain. â€Å"I’l do my best,† he said kindly. â€Å"I can promise you that. But new vampires – vampires in general, real y – can be unpredictable. We might not be able to save any of them, and our priority has to be the innocent. We will try, though.† Matt nodded. His mouth tasted sour and his eyes burned. He was beginning to realize just how tired he was. â€Å"That’s about the best I can expect,† he said roughly. â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"So there’s a whole room ful of dead vampires down there?† Bonnie asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust. â€Å"Pretty much,† said Elena. â€Å"We chained the doors closed again, but I wish we could close the chamber off more permanently. Someone’s going to go down there eventual y, and the last thing this campus needs is another murder investigation, or another gruesome legend.† â€Å"Ta-da!† Bonnie said, grinning brightly and pul ing a little bag out of her pocket. â€Å"Final y something I can do.† She held the bag up. â€Å"Remember al the hours Mrs. Flowers made me spend studying herbs? Well, I know spel s for locking and warding, and I’ve got the herbs to use right here. I thought they might come in handy, as soon as Matt told us we were going to a secret underground chamber.† She looked so pleased with herself that Matt had to smile a little despite the heaviness inside him at the thought of Chloe and the others somewhere out in the night. â€Å"They might not work for more than a day or two,† she added modestly, â€Å"but they’l definitely discourage people from investigating the trapdoor for that long.† â€Å"You’re a wonder, Bonnie,† Elena said, and spontaneously hugged her. Stefan nodded. â€Å"We can get rid of the bodies tomorrow,† he said. â€Å"It’s too close to dawn to do it now.† Bonnie got right to work, sprinkling dried plants across the trapdoor. â€Å"Hyssop, Solomon’s seal, and damiana leaves,† she said when she saw Matt watching her. â€Å"They’re for strengthening of locks, protection from evil, and general protection. Mrs. Flowers dril ed me on this stuff so much I final y got them al down. It’s too bad I didn’t have her helping me with my homework in high school. Maybe I would have learned some of those French verbs.† Damon was watching them, his eyes half hooded. â€Å"We should look for the new vampires, too,† he said. â€Å"You know vampires aren’t pack animals. They won’t hunt together for long. Once they split up, we can pick them off,† he told Stefan. â€Å"I’m coming, too,† Meredith said. She looked at Damon chal engingly. â€Å"I’l just walk Matt home and then meet up with you both.† Damon smiled, a peculiarly warm smile that Matt had never seen him direct at Meredith before. â€Å"I was talking to you, too, hunter,† he said. â€Å"You’ve gotten better.† After a second, she smiled back, a humorous twist of her lips, and Matt thought he saw something that might be the beginnings of friendship flickering between them. â€Å"So the Vitales were definitely behind al the murders and disappearances?† Matt asked Stefan, feeling sick. How could he have spent so much time with Ethan and not suspected that he was a murderer? Bonnie’s face went so white that her few freckles showed like little dark dots on plain paper. And then her color came flooding back, her cheeks and ears turning a bright pink. She climbed unsteadily to her feet. â€Å"I should go see Zander,† she said. â€Å"Hey,† Matt said, alarmed, and moved to block the door. â€Å"There’s stil a whole bunch of vampires outside, Bonnie. Wait for somebody to walk you over.† â€Å"Not to mention that you have other commitments,† Damon said dryly, looking meaningful y at the herbs scattered across the trapdoor. â€Å"After you work your witchy mojo, then you can go see your pet.† â€Å"We’re sorry, Bonnie,† Meredith said, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another. You read "The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Forty-One" in category "Essay examples" â€Å"We should have trusted you to know a good guy when you saw one.† â€Å"Right! Al is forgiven,† Bonnie said brightly, and plopped down in front of the trapdoor again. â€Å"I just need to say the spel .† She ran her hands through the herbs. â€Å"Existo signum,† she muttered. â€Å"Servo quis est intus.† As she scooped some of the herbs back into her bag, Bonnie kept smiling, and stopping, and staring into space, and then bouncing a little. Matt smiled at her tiredly. Good for Bonnie. Someone ought to have a happy ending. He felt a strong, thin hand take his and turned to see Meredith beside him. She smiled sympathetical y at him. Nearby, Elena laid her hand tentatively on Stefan’s arm, and they both had their eyes on Bonnie. Damon stood stil , watching them al with an almost fond expression. Matt leaned against Meredith, comforted. No matter what happened, at least they were together. His true friends were with him; he had come home to them at last. The sun was low in the east when Bonnie climbed up the fire escape, her feet clanging on each step. As she came over the side of the building, she saw Zander sitting with his back against the rough concrete wal at the edge of the roof. He turned to stare at her as she came toward him. â€Å"Hi,† she said. She’d been so excited to see him on her way over here, enough so that Elena and Meredith got over their guilt and started to laugh at her, but now she felt weird and uncomfortable, like her head was too big. It was, she realized, total y possible that he wouldn’t want to talk to her. After al , she’d accused him of being a murderer, which was a pretty big mistake for a girlfriend to make. â€Å"Hi,† he said slowly. There was a long pause, and then he patted the concrete next to him. â€Å"Want to sit down?† he asked. â€Å"I’m just watching the sky.† He hesitated. â€Å"Ful moon in a couple of days.† Mentioning the ful moon felt like a chal enge, and Bonnie settled next to him, then squeezed her hands together and jumped right in. â€Å"I’m sorry I cal ed you a kil er,† she said. â€Å"I know now that I was wrong to accuse you of being responsible for the deaths on campus. I should have trusted you more. Please accept my apology,† she finished in a little rush. â€Å"Because I miss you.† â€Å"I miss you, too,† Zander said. â€Å"And I understand it was a shock.† â€Å"Seriously, though, Zander,† Bonnie said, and shoved him a little with her hip. â€Å"You just tel me you’re a werewolf? Did you get bitten when you were a kid or something? Because I know getting bitten is the only way to become a werewolf without kil ing someone. And, okay, I know you’re not the kil er now, but Meredith saw you with a girl who’d just been attacked. And †¦ and you had bruises, real y bad bruises everywhere. I think I had every right to think something was hinky with you.† â€Å"Hinky?† Zander laughed a little, but there was an edge of sadness to it, Bonnie thought. â€Å"I guess it’s kind of hinky, if you want to put it that way.† â€Å"Can you explain?† Bonnie asked. â€Å"Okay, I’l try,† Zander said thoughtful y. He reached down and took her hand, turning it over in his and playing with her fingers, pul ing them lightly. â€Å"As you apparently know, most werewolves are created either by being bitten, or by having the werewolf virus in their family and activating it by kil ing someone in a special ritual. So, either a terrible attack, which usual y screws the victim up, or a deliberate act of evil to grab the power of the wolf.† He grimaced. â€Å"It kind of explains why werewolves have such a bad reputation. But there’s another kind of werewolf.† He glanced at Bonnie with a sort of shy pride. â€Å"I come from the Original pack of werewolves.† Original. Bonnie’s mind raced. Immortal, she thought, and remembered Klaus, who had never been a human. â€Å"So†¦ you’re real y old, then?† she asked hesitantly. It was fine, she guessed, for Elena to date guys who had seen centuries go by. Romantic, even. Sort of. Despite the crush she’d had on Damon, though, Bonnie always pictured dating someone close to her own age. Even Meredith’s cute, smart Alaric seemed kind of old to her, and he was only in his twenties. Zander snorted with sudden laughter and squeezed her hand tight. â€Å"No!† he said. â€Å"I just turned twenty last month! Werewolves aren’t like that – we’re alive. We live, we die. We’re like everybody else, we just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Turn into superstrong, superfast wolves,† Bonnie said tartly. â€Å"Yeah, fine,† Zander said. â€Å"Point taken. Anyway, the Original pack is like, the original family of werewolves. Most werewolves are infected by some kind of mystical virus. It can be passed down, but it’s dormant. The Original pack is descended from the very first werewolves, the ones that were cavemen except during the ful moon. It’s in our genes. We’re different from regular werewolves. We can stop ourselves from changing if we need to. We can learn to change when the moon’s not ful , too, although it’s difficult.† â€Å"If you can stop yourself from changing, do some of you stop being werewolves?† Bonnie asked. Zander pul ed her closer. â€Å"We would never stop being werewolves, even if we never changed at al . It’s who we are. And it hurts to not change when the moon is ful . It’s like it sings to us, and the song gets louder and clearer the closer it gets to being ful . We’re aching to change by the time it happens.† â€Å"Wow,† said Bonnie. Then her eyes widened. â€Å"So, al your friends are members of the Original pack, too? Like, you’re al related?† â€Å"Um,† Zander said. â€Å"I guess. But the relationship can go back pretty far – it’s not like we’re al first cousins or anything.† â€Å"Weird,† Bonnie said. â€Å"Okay, Original pack, got it.† She snuggled her head comfortably against Zander’s shoulder. â€Å"Tel me the rest.† â€Å"Okay,† Zander said again. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and wrapped one arm around Bonnie. It was getting a little cold sitting on the concrete, and she nestled grateful y against the warmth of his side. â€Å"So, Dalcrest is on what’s sort of a hot spot for paranormal activity. There’s these things cal ed ley lines, see†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Already know it,† Bonnie said briskly. â€Å"Go on with your part.† Zander stared at her. â€Å"O †¦ kay,† he said slowly. â€Å"Anyway, the High Wolf Council sends some of us to Dalcrest every year as students. So that we can monitor any dangers. We’re kind of like watchdogs, I guess. The original watchdogs.† Bonnie snorted. â€Å"The High Wolf Council.† Zander poked her in the ribs. â€Å"Shut up, it’s not funny,† he said. â€Å"They’re very important.† Bonnie giggled again, and he elbowed her gently. â€Å"So, with al the disappearances and attacks, things have been bad on campus this year,† he continued, sobering. â€Å"Much worse than they usual y are. We’ve been investigating. A pack of vampires in a secret society on campus is behind it, and we’ve been fighting them off and protecting people when we can. But we’re not as strong as they are, except at the ful moon, even if we change. And so the bruises. And your friend seeing me guarding a girl who’d just been attacked.† â€Å"Don’t worry. We took care of the Vitale Society tonight,† Bonnie said smugly. â€Å"Well, the leader at least, and some of the others,† she amended. â€Å"There’s stil a bunch of vampires on campus, but we’l get rid of them.† Zander turned and stared at her for a long moment before he spoke. â€Å"I think,† he said at last in a careful y neutral voice, â€Å"that it’s your turn to explain.† Bonnie wasn’t actual y that great at properly organized, logical explanations, but she did her best, going back and forth in time, adding side notes and remembering things as she went along. She told him about Stefan and Damon, and how everything had changed when the vampire brothers came to Fel ‘s Church last year and Elena fel in love with them. She told him about Meredith’s sacred duty as a vampire hunter, and she told him about her own psychic visions and her training as a witch. She left a lot of stuff out – everything about the Dark Dimension, and Elena’s bargain with the Guardians, for instance, because that was real y confusing, and maybe she should tel him about it later so he didn’t just overload – but the tel ing stil took a long time. â€Å"Huh,† Zander said when she was finished, and then he laughed. â€Å"What?† Bonnie asked. â€Å"You’re a weird girl,† Zander said. â€Å"Pretty heroic, though.† Bonnie pushed her face into his neck, happily breathing in the essential Zander smel of him: fabric softener, worn cotton, and clean guy. â€Å"You’re weird,† she said, and then, admiringly, â€Å"and the real hero. You’ve been fighting off vampire attacks for weeks and weeks, to protect everybody.† â€Å"We’re quite a pair,† Zander said. â€Å"Yeah,† Bonnie said. She sat up and faced him, then reached out and ran her hand through his soft pale hair, pul ing his head closer to her. â€Å"Stil ,† she said, just before their lips touched, â€Å"normal is overrated.† How to cite The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Forty-One, Essay examples

Notes on Torts free essay sample

This intent is not harm but rather to engage in a specific act, which ultimately results in injury, physical or economical, to another. Motive is not required to prove liability in an intentional court case. Assumes that people intend the normal consequences of their actions. * Intentional torts are divided into three types: 1. Intentional torts against persons intentional acts that harm an individual’s physical or mental integrity. A. Assault and Battery – An assault occurs when one person places another in fear or apprehension (apprehension does not equal fear) of an immediate, offensive bodily contact. An assault is often (not always) followed by a battery, an intentional, unwanted, offensive bodily contact. A limited number of defenses are available to an action for a battery; consent mitigates (lessens) the element of the unwanted, self- defense (most common) is responding the force of another with comparable force to defend yourself, defense of others, or defense of property where you can use reasonable force to defend your property from an intruder. We will write a custom essay sample on Notes on Torts or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page B. Defamation defamation is the intentional publication (or communication to a third arty) of a false statement harmful to an individual’s reputation. Anyone who, in any matter, repeats the defamatory statement is also liable for defamation, even if he or she cites the original source of the defamation. If the defamation is published in a permanent form, such as in a magazine or on the radio (since everything is recorded), it is known as libel. If it is made orally it is slander. If there is no harm to the slandered person, there is not cause for compensation. Slander per se are statements so inherently harmful that general damages are presumed. A person accused of defamation can raise two defenses: truth is frequently considered an absolute defense and privilege is an affirmative defense (occurs when the defendant admits to the accusation but argues that there is a reason he should not be held liable) in a defamation action. A privilege is either absolute or conditional. A person with absolute privilege cannot be sued for defamation for any false statements made, regardless of intent or knowledge of their falsity. In conditional privilege, a party will not be held liable for defamation unless the false statement was made with actual malice (with either knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard to its truth). Another conditional privilege is the public figure privilege, where we do not hold people liable for making false statements about them as long as the statements were not made with malice. C. Privacy Torts a. False light occurs when publicity about a person creates an impression about that individual that is not valid. b. Public disclosure of private facts occurs when someone publicizes a private fact about another that a reasonable person would find highly offensive c. Appropriation for commercial gain occurs when someone uses another person’s name, likeness, voice, or other identifying characteristic for commercial gain without that person’s permission. d. Intrusion on an individual’s affairs or seclusion occurs when someone invades a person’s solitude, seclusion, or personal affairs when the person has the right to expect privacy D. False Imprisonment false imprisonment occurs when an individual is confirmed or restrained against his or her will for an appreciable period of time. It may occur by physical restraint, physical force, a threat to use immediate physical force, or refusal to release the plaintiff’s property. The use of moral pressure is not enough to establish a false imprisonment. Providing damages in false-imprisonment is not easy. Typically, plaintiffs request compensation for time lost form work and for pain and suffering from mental distress and humiliation. E. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress intentional infliction of emotional distress occurs when someone engages in outrageous, intentional conduct likely to cause extreme emotional distress to another party. F. Misuse of Legal Procedure e. Three separate torts protect those unreasonably subject to litigation: malicious prosecution, wrongful civil proceedings (both seek to compensate those wrongfully charged with either criminal or civil matters), and abuse of process (a civil and criminal matter in which a legal procedure is misused to achieve a different goal than it intends) 2. Intentional Torts Against Property G. Trespass to Realty – trespass to realty (also called trespass to real property) occurs when a person intentionally enters the land of another without permission, causes an object to be placed on the land of another without the landowner’s permission, stays on the land of another when the owner tells him to depart, or refuses to remove something he placed on the property that the landowner asked him to remove. H. Private Nuisance – a private nuisance occurs when a person uses her property in an unreasonable manner that harms a neighbor’s use or enjoyment of his property. I. Trespass to Personal property – trespass to personalty occurs when someone temporarily exerts control over another’s personal property or interfering with the owner’s right to use it. J. Conversion – conversion occurs when a person permanently removes personal property from the owner’s possession and control. 3. Intentional Interference with Contract In an intentional interference with contract tort, the plaintiff must prove that a valid and enforceable contract between the two parties existed, the defendant knew of the existence of the contract and its terms, the defendant intentionally undertook steps to cause one of the parties to breach the contract, and the plaintiff was injured in result of the breach. Unfair Competition – exists because U. S. law protects businesses acting on the profit motive. So when someone enters an industry with the sole intent of driving another firm out of business, the law punished this act as unfair competition. Fraudulent Misrepresentation occurs when a party uses intentional deceit to facilitate personal gain. To prove this the injured party must demonstrate: 1. Someone knowingly, or with reckless disregard for the truth, misrepresented material facts and conditions 2. The defendant intended to have other parties rely on the misrepresentations 3. The injured party reasonably relied on the misrepresentations 4. The injured party suffered damages because of this reliance 5. A direct link exists between the injuries suffered and a reliance on the misrepresentations * III. Damages Available in Tort Cases A. Compensatory Damages – are designed to compensate the victim for all the harm caused by the person who committed the tort, often called the tortfeasor. They usually are rewarded for pain and suffering, costs of repairing damaged property, medical expenses, and lost wages. B. Nominal Damages – are awarded both to punish conduct that is extremely outrageous and to deter similar activity by the defendant and others. * Legal Principle : In general, in deciding whether to strike down a punitive-damage award as unconstitutional, the court will look at the (1) the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant’s misconduct, (2) the disparity between the actual or potential harm suffered by the plaintiff and the punitive damage award, and (3) the difference between the punitive damages awarded by the jury and the civil penalties authorized or imposed in comparable cases. CAFA ( Class Action Fairness Act) is the one successful tort reform legislation at the national level that limits the conditions under which class action suits can be brought, as opposed to limiting damage awards. It grants original jurisdiction to the federal courts over any civil action in which (1) the amount in controversy is in excess of $5 million, (2) the action is brought as a class action with at least 100 class members, (3) any one of the plaintiffs is a citizen of a state different from that of any defendant, and two-thirds or more of the class members and the primary defendants are not citizens of the state in hich the action was filed. I. Introduction to Negligence and Strict Liability * Negligent and strict liability torts are generally committed when an individual fails to maintain a duty of care to another individual II. Elements of Negligence * Negligence is behavior that creates an unreasonable risk of harm to others. * Sometimes however, harm occurs because an individual suffers an unfortunate accident, an incident that simply could not be avoided. To prove negligence, the plaintiff must prove: 1. Duty – The standard of care a reasonable person owes to another. The reasonable person standard is a measurement of the way members of society expect an individual to act in a given situation. How likely was it that the harm would occur? How s erious was the harm? How socially beneficial was the defendant’s conduct that posed the risk of harm? What costs would have been necessary to reduce the risk of harm? The law holds that individuals have no duty to rescue strangers from perilous situations, although, there are some exceptions Landowners have a duty of care to protect individuals on their property Businesses have a duty of care to protect their customers against foreseeable risks about which the owner knew or reasonably should have known Businesses and corporations are also obligated to provide products to consumers that are safe from foreseeable harm or injury Professionals hold a higher duty of care to clients than does the ordinary person 2. Breach of Duty – Failure to live up to the standard of care 3. Causation – (a) Actual cause (aka cause in fact)–the determination that the plaintiff’s harm was a direct result of the defendant’s breach of duty and (b) proximate cause (aka legal cause)- the extent to which, as a matter of policy, the defendant will be held liable for the consequences of his actions. In some states, proximate cause is the same as actual cause 4. Damages – A compensable loss suffered by the plaintiff Compensatory damages are damages intended to reimburse a plaintiff for his or her losses In typical negligence cases, courts rarely award punitive damages, or exemplary damages, which are imposed to punish the offender and deter others from committing similar offenses Instead, courts usually award punitive damages in cases in which the offender has committed gross negligence, an action committed with extreme reckless disregard for the property or life of another person III. Plaintiff’s Doctrines Direct evidence of negligence by the defendant is not always available, so two doctrines have been adopted by courts to aid plaintiffs in establishing negligence claims: 5. Res Ipsa Loquitor literally means â€Å"the thing speaks for itself. † The plaintiff uses this doctrine to allow the judge or jury to infer that more likely than not, the defendant’s negligence was the cause of the plaintiff’s harm, even though there is no direct evidence of the defendantâ€℠¢s lack of due care. The plaintiff must demonstrate that (1)the event was a kind that ordinarily does not occur in the absence of negligence, (2) other responsible causes, including the conduct of third parties and the plaintiff, have been sufficiently eliminated, and (3) the indicated negligence is within the scope of the defendant’s duty to the plaintiff. Once the plaintiff has proved those three elements, the proof shifts to the defendant. 6. Negligence Per Se literally means â€Å"negligence in or of itself. Applies to cases in which the defendant had violated a statute enacted to prevent a certain type of harm from befalling a specific group to which the plaintiff belongs. A defendant who complies with legislative statutes can still be held liable if a reasonable person would have exercised a more stringent duty of care toward the plaintiff. 7. Special Plaintiff’s Doctrines and Statutes * Danger invites rescue doctrine * Dram shop acts allow bartenders and bar owners to be held liable for injuries caused by individuals who become intoxicated at the bar. Other states have passed laws that hold hosts liable also. IV. Defenses to Negligence * Contributory Negligence 8. Contributory negligence applies in cases in which the defendant and the plaintiff were both negligent 9. The defendant must prove that (1) the plaintiff’s conduct fell below the standard of care needed to prevent unreasonable risk of harm and (2) the plaintiff’s failure was a contributing cause to the plaintiff’s injury. 0. If the defendant can prove contributory negligence, no matter how slight the plaintiff’s negligence was, the plaintiff will be denied any recovery of damages, which brings up: 11. Last-clear-chance doctrine allows the plaintiff to recover damages despite proof of contributory negligence as long as the defendant had a final clear opportunity to avoid the action that injured the plaintiff * Comparative Negligence Since it seems unfair that an extremely careless defendant can cause a great deal of harm to a plaintiff who is ba rred from recovery due to minimal contributory negligence, most states have replaced contributory negligence with either pure comparative negligence (where the court determines the percentage of fault at the defendant, where then, the defendant is liable for that percentage of the plaintiff’s damages) or modified comparative negligence (is in the same manner, but the defendant must be at least fifty percent at fault before the plaintiff can recover * Assumption of the Risk 2. In, assumption of the risk, a defendant must prove that the plaintiff voluntarily and unreasonably encountered the risk of the actual harm the defendant caused 13. Express assumption of the risk occurs when the plaintiff expressly agrees (usually in a written contract) to assume the risk posed by the defendant’s behavior 14. Implied assumption of the risk means that the plaintiff implicitly assumed a known risk 15. The most difficult part of establishing this defense is showing that the plaintiff assumed risk of the actual harm she suffered * Special Defenses to Negligence 16. Good Samaritan statutes attempt to encourage selfless and courageous behavior by removing the threat of liability. 17. A superseding cost is an unforeseeable event that interrupts the casual chain between the defendant’s breach of duty and the damages the plaintiff suffered V. Strict Liability * Strict liability is liability without fault. The law holds an individual liable without fault when the activity in which she engages satisfies three conditions: 18. It involves a risk of serious harm to people or property 19. It is so inherently dangerous that it cannot ever be safely undertaken 20. It is not usually performed in the immediate community * Instead of banning these activities, the law allows people to engage in such activities but holds them liable for all resulting harm