Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Essay on Hiroshima

At 8:15 in the morning of August 6, 1945, a bright, blinding flash ran through the sky in Hiroshima. John Hersey's historical novel, Hiroshima, does a great job of telling the stories of six people that survived the day the bomb was dropped and how it affected their lives. Almost four decades later, Hersey returns to Hiroshima in search of the six survivors who had earlier told him their stories of the days before, during, and after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

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Hiroshima is told by the stories of six people who survived the days of the atomic bomb. Hiroshima was the first city that was destroyed by an atomic bomb. Over one hundred thousand people died during those horrible days. So many people were killed because the air raid siren went off every morning at the time that the bomb was dropped. Everyone was doing what they would normally be doing at that time.

Miss Toshinki Sasaki, a clerk at the East Asian Tin Works, had just sat down at her desk and was about to talk to her co-worker when she saw a blinding white flash. The explosion had knocked Miss Sasaki out of her chair and under a heavy, falling, bookcase. When the bookcase landed on her, it broke her left leg in many different spots. After everything had cooled down, a worker had heard her screams for help and rescued her after thirty minutes of clearing debris. Because her leg was severely broken, she would lay in the same spot for almost three months.

John Hersey's purpose of writing this story was to inform the readers of the lives of some of the people who were affected by the atomic bomb. He tells you the stories of three survivors who helped other wounded people instead of themselves. The main theme in this story is, one, big, disastrous event can change so many peoples lives in an instant. The main problem in this story was how to take care of the thousands of wounded people and how the few survivors would struggle to survive.

Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge, a German priest, was lying on a cot in the mission house in Hiroshima reading a Jesuit magazine. Whenever the air raid siren would go off, he would go outside and scan the sky for any signs of American airplane. On the day the bomb was dropped, he was relieved to only see an American weather plane that flew over Hiroshima every morning. After eating breakfast, he went to his room, where he laid on his cot and started reading a magazine. A few moments after the bomb had been dropped, Father Kleinsorge went out of his mind. He never knew how he happened to end up outside walking only in his underwear. Father Kleinsorge had become a much more caring person than what he had been before the bomb was dropped. Some of his fellow preachers teased him that he cared too much about other people and not enough about himself. Throughout the months following the bomb, he had grown to love the Japanese people and their customs and became a citizen of Japan. Some days he would walk around town in Japanese clothing acting like he was Japanese.

Dr. Terufumi Sasaki, a young Red Cross Hospital surgeon, had just returned from visiting his mother. He reported to the Chief Surgeon and was told to draw blood from one of the patient's arms. Since the incubators for the blood tests were on the third floor, he had to travel up the stairs to the laboratory. As he was on the stairs, he saw a bright, white flash out of the window. He ducked to one knee and said, "Sasaki, gambare! Be brave." Thanks to where he was standing, he was untouched. His glasses flew off of his face and had to take a pair from an old, wounded lady, and would depend on them for five months. Many doctors, nurses, and patients were wounded or killed. He was the only doctor unhurt. This day changed Dr. Sasaki's life forever. It made him appreciate life more. He also lost many good friends that day. Because he helped so many people, he got his license and went to practice medicine on his own.

John Hersey did a great job of telling the stories of six people who survived that horrible day. This book kept my interest the whole time and I think this is probably one of the most interesting novels I have ever read. I would definitely read this book again, and recommend it to all of my friends.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Allegory of the Den Essay

The prisoners of the den are confined to a world that has been created by their masters, by a higher power. They are in a situation where they know only what they are taught and see only what they are shown. The prisoners are content with their surrounding because it is all they have ever known, and therefore know not what they are missing.

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In society today often people are made to feel much like the prisoners. For example, in a communist situation, or strict boarding/religious school people only know what they are taught and are content with that because they know of nothing else. It is when the prisoners or people are exposed to the light, or truth, that problems arise.

The prisoners are pained by the bright sunlight and even bothered by it at first sight not because it is a dreadful sight, but because it is different and overwhelming. Very often people who have been “imprisoned” experience the same feeling when they are released into what we know as the real world and are overwhelmed by a wave of shocking truth and deplorable information, and their new responsibility to make decisions on what is truth and what is not.

The initial shock of truth causes great confusion at first, and in return, the taking away of that same light, or truth, can be equally as confusing because it has become hard to believe and people find it difficult to switch back to the controlled mind set from which they came. In general, the truth is hard to accept at first, but once you have seen the light, there is no turning back.

As for myself, I feel as though I am currently coming into the light. As a high school senior I feel that I have somewhat been a prisoner, though that is not necessarily an erroneous situation. As a child going through school and at home we are taught certain rules and morals. We are given guidelines and showed how to live and learn in our society. It is not until we are adults and we leave that confined situation that we are expose to the light and left to discover things for ourselves.

As I have matured through the years I feel as though I am slowly being brought into the light, rather than being thrown into it. Each day I learn more and more of the work and how it works and am given a little more freedom to explore. As seniors we are on the brink of being thrown fully into the world, with only the lessons we learned as prisoners to guide us.
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

To Autumn Poem Essay

"To Autumn" Analysis Essay

"To Autumn" is a lyrical poem, which propounds the writer's feelings and thoughts on a particularly beautiful day. The poet and the narrator appear to be one and the same and he appears to be the sole spectator of the luscious scenery. Whilst in the first stanza the poem does not speak directly to any one person, but simply describes the scenery, the second stanza seems to be addressing the autumn season itself, "Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?"

In the last stanza the poem seems to be adopting a more rhetorical tone which could be following the poet's own train of thought.

Keats uses an iambic pentameter within the poem to form a gentle and slow peaceful sense of movement throughout the seasons. The poem by telling us that summer is nearly ending "maturing summer" and this is the first reference to the concept of time continuously moving on. Other references to time are then made with a "patient look" and "hours by hours", in stanza two, and "soft-dying day" in stanza three.

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We are told that autumn is a "season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" and the alliteration on the "hints at the soft and mild nature of the season. The phrase "mellow fruitfulness" conjures an image of full flavored and well-matured wine which could by itself, make the scenery appear rather misty. The reference to "fruitfulness" also implies that the summer season has been generous and the harvest plentiful. The metaphor "close bosom friend" refers to the sun and autumn working in close harmony to bring about the abundance of gifts from mother nature. This phrase also conjures in my mind the picture of a bosom, which is ample in size and well fed by plentiful harvest.

Within the first stanza Keat's gives a series of examples all depicting different aspects and experiences of autumn. The first example of this is the use of the double verbs, “load and bless”. Both are emphasizing the extreme generosity and kindness of autumn, suggesting an atmosphere of total comfort and relaxation. This idea is illustrated by the use of the soft sibilant in the verb "bless". It hints at a soft gentle music beneath the text, which is created by the effective use of the text. The "moss'd cottage tress" that "bend with apples" again reinforces the idea of autumn being a season willing to give and produce. This is suggested by the fact that there are so many apples on the tress they are forced to bend under the weight. The adjective "moss'd" hints that the trees are very old, therefore suggesting a certain peaceful wisdom about them.

Autumn will "fill all fruit with ripeness to the core" and will "swell the gourd and plump the hazel shells". These two phrases are both examples of the effective use of language, creating a generous and tranquil atmosphere. For example, there are no half measures as "all" the fruit will be "filled" with ripeness". The adjective "all" suggests that in this season, there are no exceptions and "all" will prosper. The verbs "swell" and "plump" within the context they are used to compliment the season by emphasizing its kindness.

Within the first stanza time moves almost imperceptibly. This slowness of movement is suggested by the long, unbroken sentences. The comparatives in the anti-penultimate line suggest the season to be fooling the bees and the reader into thinking the "warm days will never cease". The sound of the "s" within "days", "cease" and "summer" almost suggest the soft buzzing of the bees hinting again at a subtle musical quality about the poem showing that all is calm. Overall, the musical qualities and rhythms compliment the language within the stanza. The rhythm gives it a pleasant unity but does not become intrusive.

The first two stanzas are linked by the rhetorical question? "who hath not see thee oft amid thy store?" As the second stanza begins we perceive time has moved on. The crops described in the previous verse have been collected, suggested by the reference to "store". The idea behind the second stanza is the collecting and harvesting of the fruits depicted previously. For example, there's a reaper "asleep". This again reinforces the idea of a complete peacefulness as the reaper is asleep, therefore untroubled.

In the second stanza Keats uses personification to portray the season to have human qualities about it. This is shown by phrases such as, "Thee sitting careless on a granary floor" and "thy hair soft lifted by the winnowing wind." The fact that the figure is "sitting careless" tell us the season offers no threats and it is time to relax. In this stanza of the poem, all worries seem to have dis-appeared and there is a feeling of contentment for all. The compound words such as "soft lifted" and "half reap'd", suggest certain softness, created by the placid nature of the poem. Keats tells us there is a "winnowing wind." The alliteration of the "w" suggests the sound of the wind, yet the breeze is gentle and kind, like the season, and all things are treated with care. For example, the hair is "soft lifted", telling us that everything is treated with delicacy and nothing can come to any harm or be disturbed. Keat's use of the poppy in the poem suggests an almost hazy and drug like quality to the atmosphere, which makes all living things feel sleepy. The long vowels and and quiet consonants of the stanza create a gentle almost magical picture. Keats knows, however, that this idyllic moment cannot last forever and the new season will change everything about the scene he has captured for us. For the moment though, everything appears to be static from the sleeping reaper to the figure "sitting careless on a granary floor".

In the third stanza the mood changes and Keats introduces the idea of each season having it's own music. The double rhetorical question, “where are the songs of spring?”To Autumn gives a hint of nostalgia and melancholy and this is emphasized with the day is "soft dying". The reference to death suggests that everything that has blossomed as much as it could be now in the latter stages of nature's cycle and must now wither and die.

The emphasis in the third stanza is on autumn"s range of music and songs - "wailful choir" "full grown lambs loud bleat". It suggest that the sounds of mother nature are a tribute to all the blessings that the "maturing sun" has bestowed on her and the "wailful choir" are now singing a type of requiem mass. For Keats, all aspects of autumn's music are melancholy “even the crickets voices are "treble soft". "Swallows twitter in the sky", hinting that they are saying farewell to autumn and we see that winter is becoming increasingly near as indicated by the appearance of the robin.

The sense of time moving on is implied by the comparatives given. There are now "stubble plains" indicating that the previous "fruitfulness" of the season" has gone and the plants have been cut to "stubble." This harsh additive is softened by the "rosy hue" which "touch the stubble plains". The reference to the plains suggest a vast deserted are, echoing the underlying feeling of emptiness that the stanza is creating. Nothing in the stanza is too vigorous, the wind is always "light", indicating that although the season is ending the mood of gentle kindnesses still prevails.

"To Autumn" ends depicting the symbols of winter. The emigrating birds, previously associated with summer and the "songs of spring" are now leaving and moving on, as is the season itself. Autumn is slowly drawing to a close and a sense of ending and finality is created in the lessening of the familiar comforts of autumn. The style in which "To Autumn" is written is extremely subtle, yet creates a highly effective picture of the season at it's most glorious. The poem is almost romantic in its slow movement through time and Keats gives us a most sensitive account of his thoughts and
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Across Five Aprils Essay

A book that is quite bad is Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. The book involves the trials and stipulations of a boy who comes of age in the years of the civil war.

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The main problem with the book is its extreme brevity. The total number of pages is under 140, and when you account for that the plot is spread out over 5 years, you realize you will never gain interest into the story. The book enthralls the reader just as much at the climax as it does at the beginning; not at all. When reading this, images of an old man recanting his boyhood will come to light.

The plot of this book is this books main downfall. It in both thin and un-engulfing. There are no scenes that action happens in. The element of suspense could be added by putting a few pages in-between the letters from a brother in the army, but instead the letters appeared almost next to each other.

To make matters worse the story is told from a first person point of view. Irene Hunt's abuse of first person is exemplified by that the reader will get a sentence not pertaining to the story, and then get a transitional sentence leading to anther sentence not pertaining to the story, and so on and so forth. It almost seams as if half of the book is transitional sentences.

With all the irrelevant information flooding the reader, it would be expected that important information would at least get a paragraph to themselves. However Irene Hunt never gets over her one sentence a day ration, making it seem almost like an heavily abridged diary.

The already down book is shattered with Irene Hunt's inability to use imagery to describe the events and the small number scenes. She seems to tell you what happened, in as few sentences as possible. The lack of imagery also contributes the plot's lack of appeal.

The already mentioned letter's from the brother in the army are at the edge a believability. They are all one-paragraph letters that sound like quotes from a history textbook about who did what in the battle; even the love letters to the boys sister suffer from this trait.

In conclusion, the book Across Five Aprils is the absolute pinncle of miserable literate. The book is written with the interest of the reader no-were in mind. The book The Red Badge of Courage much more acuitly decribes the feeling of the cival way times then this book, and any reader looking to be informed about the cival war is better of consulting a history textbook.
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Monday, May 23, 2011

Essay on Human Language

Essay on Language

SYNOPSIS:
Human language is a unique communication system which is different from that of other species. It is so complex and perfect that people couldn't help wondering where it comes from. It is believed that language is part of our essential human nature and is therefore neither invented nor handed down as a gift. All humans are innately or genetically equipped with a unique language learning ability. At the same time, people use language in subtle ways to define their relationship to each other, to identify themselves as part of a social group.

Introduction
Let's see what a modern civilized man does a day, from the moment he switches on an early morning news broadcast until he falls asleep over a novel. He talks to his friends, his associates, and his parents. He talks to bus drivers and total strangers. Television and radio further provide more words of talking. Hardly a moment of his waking life is free from talking. He is swimming in words.

Human beings talk, i.e. they use extremely complicated systems of sputtering, hissing, gurgling, clucking, cooing noises called language, to express what goes on in their mind. This is called communication. People communicate with each other. They tell others what they are thinking about and they get others thoughts at the same time. This is a kind of cooperation, to some extent. Scholars believe that widespread interpersonal cooperation through the use of language is the fundamental mechanism of human survival. The principle that if we don't hang together we shall all hang separately was discussed by nature long before it was put into words by man. Most of us probably have had the following experience. When you are walking in the street, someone shouts at you, "Look out!" and you jump just in time to avoid being hit by an automobile. You owe your escape from injury to the fundamental cooperation act by which most of the higher animals survive, namely, communication by means of noise. You did not see the car coming. Nevertheless, someone did, and he made certain noises to communicate his alarm to you. Indeed, most of the time when we are listening to the noises people make, we are drawing upon the experiences of others in order to make up for what we ourselves have missed. Obviously, the more an individual can make use of the nervous systems of others to supplement his own, the easier it is for him to survive.

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In addition to having developed language, man has also developed means of making more or less permanent marks and scratches which stand for language. These marks enable him to communicate with people who are beyond the reach of his voice, both in space and in time. The marks can pass on what one individual has known to other individuals, for their convenience or in the broadest sense, instruction. A human being, then, is never dependent on his own experience alone for his information. Even in a primitive culture he can make use of the experience of his neighbors, friends, and relatives, which they communicate to him by means of language. Therefore, instead of having to discover what others have already discovered, he can go on from where they left off. That is to say, language or communication through language, makes progress possible. Human fitness to survive means the ability to talk and write and listen and read in ways that increase the chances for him and fellow-members of his species to survive together.

Psychological Aspect
If you are a careful observer, you will find that children talk to themselves or to a supposed image when they play by themselves, and even adults sometimes behave the same way. They sing a song when taking a shower or cooking. In this case, the significance of the words used is almost completely irrelevant. People talk simply for the sake of hearing themselves talk; that is, for the same reason that they play golf or dance. The activity gives people a pleasant sense of being alive. People are psychologically contented when enjoying the sound of their own voices.

Most of the time language does convey a certain idea. The language system is neutral with respect to the thoughts it carries. However the content and direction of the particular thoughts of a person can be affected by other persons use of language. Receiving statements which others have constructed and communicated can influence a person, and he will send back the answering statements accordingly. The conversation goes on when the speaker-hearers influence and are influenced. The power is sometimes hidden behind the discourse. People who hold this power at a particular moment have to constantly reassert their power, and those who do not hold power are always likable to make a bid for power. Power is won, exercised, sustained, and lost in the course of a conversation. This process of power maintenance is, of course, psychologically affected.

Here is an interview between a youth (Y) suspected of involvement in a crime, and his headmaster (H):

H: Why didn't you go straight down Queen Street?
Y: I'm not walking down there with a load of coons from St. Hilda's coming out of school.
H: Why's that?
Y: Well, that's obvious, isn't it? I don't want to get belted.
H: Well there isn't usually any bother in Queen Street, is there?
Y: No. None of us white kids usually go down there, do we? What about that bust-up in the Odeon Carpark at Christmas?
H: That was nearly a year ago, and I'm not convinced you lot were as innocent as you made out. So when you got to the square, why did you wait around for a quarter of an hour instead going straight home?
Y: I thought my mate might come down that way after work. Anyway, we always go down the square after school.

There are various ways in which Y exercises more control over the discourse that one might expect. Firstly, he challenges H's question on two occasions(turn 2 and 4) rather than answering them directly, though an answer is implied in 2 and offered after the challenge in 4. Secondly, in turn 6 Y asks a question which H answers: you would expect neither Y to ask nor H to answer questions. Thirdly, the answers which Y does give to H's questions go beyond what is directly relevant in turn 6 and 8. Fourthly, Y shows no sign of adapting his style of talk to the relatively formal setting; he appears to treat the interview to an extent as if it were a conversation. This is evident in his vocabulary (belted, kids, bust-up) and especially in his use of the racist word "coon".

In the conversation H does maintain quite a lot of control nevertheless. Most of the questions are asked by him, and some at least are answered fairly compliantly. H is tactically yielding some ground in order to be able to pursue a longer-term strategy.

Social Aspect
When people use language, they do more than just try to get another person to understand the speaker's thoughts and feelings. At the same time, both people are using language in subtle ways to define their relationship to each other, to identify themselves as part of a social group. To take a simple example, one can communicate more or less the same idea in either of the following two ways:

Bring it over here would ja?
Could I ask you to bring that paintbrush over here?

The two ways of making the request make very different assumption about the speaker's idea of the relationship between him and the person he is talking to, and what kind of social situation he thinks it is. The speaker might use the first utterance either because he is on close personal terms with the person he is talking to, or because he is in a clear position of authority over that person. By putting the speaker's request this way, he shows that he is confident the other person is willing to carry out his request and will not be offended by his words. Using the second request, he is not sure he is close enough to, or has enough authority over the other person. In either case, it is clear enough that the content of the message is that the speaker wants the other person to bring an item, but the social relationship assumptions cause him to convey the message in two strikingly different ways.

Linguistic phenomena are social in the sense that whenever people speak or listen or write or read, they do so in ways which are socially determined and have social effects. Even when people are most conscious of their own individuality and think themselves to be most cut off from social influences, they still use language in ways which are subject to social convention. On the other hand, the ways in which people use language also have social effects in the sense of helping to maintain social relationships.

What do people usually do when they are at a tea or dinner party? They talk---about anything: the weather, the performance, the TV show, the football match. In fact, the remarks made during these conversations are hardly of any informative value, except among very good friends. In such matters as greetings and farewells, "Good morning", "Lovely day", "And how's your family these days", "It's a pleasure meeting you", it is regarded as a social error not to say these things even if we do not mean them. This talk for talk's sake is a form of activity. We talk together about nothing at all and thereby establish friendship. The purpose of the talk is not the communication of information, but the establishment of communion. Human beings may have many ways of establishing communion among themselves: playing games together, working together. But talking together is the most easily arranged of all these forms of collective activity. The togetherness of the talking is the most important element in social conversation; the subject matter is only secondary.

Language use is socially determined. Language as a form of social practice is a socially conditioned process. It may convey the least informative meanings in the above-mentioned social situations; it may also carry some really important information one is eager to draw from another. Language varies according to the socially defined purposes as well as the social identities of people and social settings. The extensive linguistic variation is not a product of individual choice, but a product of social differentiation.

Conclusions
We have considered the psychological and social aspect of language in the course of communication. Language is the unique capacity possessed only by man. Through the use of language, man can communicate with each other. And during the course of communication, psychological and social effects cannot be ignored. Bearing these factors in mind, one can maintain a high competence in communication.

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Essay on Patience

An essential virtue for human beings, patience has an important place in our lives and one of the most critical has been patience in profession. The neck-breaking speed of changes and growth, higher and higher career ambitions and the fire in the belly to deliver the best has led to "Impatient professionalism". We have started measuring professionals by the speed by which they deliver their tasks; we have created our own standards for it. With the speedy expectations and then due to the unmet expectations, speedy conclusions are made which obviously have very high chances of being wrong. A co-worker not responding to my phone-call with the frequency I expect, a co-worker not delivering at the time I thought he/she should, or a co-worker not writing mails to satisfy my expected "mail-contents" is branded as unprofessional and dumb, and is sometimes named a wrong person at a wrong place. Impatiently I start look for a quick-fix solution to make things happen.

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In the race to be the most successful ahead of all, I have forgotten the core values of a workplace. The workplace consists of multiple souls working together to achieve a common goal - a common goal (of profitability and so on) by delivering in time while following the set business processes. Leaders have set the business process and set the time too to complete the tasks. Interestingly, a leader does understand the collective output of these souls within the process and has set the timeline accordingly. This is why he/she is a leader and in fact this is the most important virtue of the leaders; they understand beyond what normal people can. So I see that I am running hard to be a big success, to be a leader, but I am missing the very virtue in the frenzy.

It certainly is not possible within a day or two; there is no quick fix for it. It does require patience to observe and understand before jumping to conclusions. In order to achieve this level of understanding I require a paradigm shift; the way I perceive situations and people in them. Every one of us is different; some are slow in writing mails, some are uncomfortable with phone and prefer meeting in person, some "are" slow in completing their tasks but still they are responsible enough to do their work. Many people haven't had the chance to get into Ivy League schools and rigorous study schedules, and so they cannot analyze situations on the fly. Such backgrounds or many more similar ones do not make people a clumsy worker; in fact, they are probably more meticulous than I think they are because they are aware of their limitations. Eventually, I need to "slow down" and think, and put my analysis to understand the given real-life situation. I need to understand my co-workers, the limitations and the strengths they posses, and that there are ways to do things differently at different pace. Once I am able to see that there are dozens of ways of solving a problem I will be able to understand what could be the best in what situation. Probably I was wrong all the time (I still need to learn a lot and I am learning!) or I was right, and now I can convince a better way through my team.

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Sunday, May 22, 2011

Essay on Floods and its Effects

The Effects of Floods Essay

Flooding can have a large effect on MEDC's therefore it is in there interests to prevent floods from happening in the first place. There are a number of methods that can be used to manage river water.

The first of these is a reservoir, these can be built on the upper part of a river and help to store the water where it can be let out at a steady rate and even used to generate hydro electric power. This not only helps to reduce the risk of flooding but also helps to promote alternative energy sources.

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Engineering to make the channel of the river larger, deeper and wider can also help it to hold more water before it over flows. This can only be useful if there is space to extend the river channel.

However a flood relief channel could also be built. These are artificial channels that can be built to take away surplus water and prevent flooding. The course of the river can also be changed so that it is made straighter. This allows the river to be free from obstructions and to flow faster and thus clear water away more quickly. A flood barrage can also be built across a river to protect a community from floods. This has happened on the River Thames in London however it is expensive to do so it is not a popular option. A cheaper method of planting vegetation around the river channel to reduce the amount of run off and to also prevent soil erosion. This method was successfully used at the source of the river Calder in Calderdale. Trees were planted around the source of the Calder and around the banks. This helped to reduce the amount of water running into the river during heavy rain. The reduction of the effects of flooding can also be reduced by limiting the amount of buildings that are constructed on flood plains.

However if flood defenses do fail and a flood does occur then a number of things can be done to reduce to effect that it has on the community. Public fund relief can be collected. For example after the Lynmouth flood - 1,300,000 had been collected by the summer of 1953. Flood insurance is also taken out by many people who live in an area that is at in a high risk of flooding. This insures that if there property or belongings are harmed by flood waters then compensation can be paid. Forecasting floods has also become increasingly easy. This means that the environment agency can give prior warning to residents in the area allowing them to place sand bags etc around doors and openings to reduce the effects of the flood water. Also in some cases allow them to be evacuated safely before the flood waters are too high. In many areas that have a high risk of flooding an emergency procedure is put in place so that every one is aware of what to do in the case of a flood and therefore no ones life is put in danger.

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Essay on Justice and Injustice

Justice and Injustice Essay

Introduction:
The purpose of this essay is to describe different views on justice. The American notion of justice (Western notion) and the National Socialist notion of justice (non-Western notion) will be described as well as the evolution of the Greek form of justice into the American form. Views of justice from Plato's Republic and Wright's Native Son will also be looked at. My own personal views of what justice and injustice are will also be expressed in this paper.

Western Notions of Justice:
A Greek by the name of Draco introduced the first written code of laws to Greece in 620 BC. The code was based on unwritten laws known only to a few aristocratic judges, who often favored the nobility. Draco's code enabled people to find out for themselves what the laws were. Draco's code was said to be "written in blood" because it made almost all crimes punishable by death. Solon later modified Draco's code, reducing the death penalty. Solon is credited for inventing democracy by creating an electoral system that gave every male citizen exactly one vote. Around a century and a half after Solon modified Draco's code, the Romans issued a written code of law known as the Twelve Tablets of the Decemvirate. The Twelve Tablets of the Decemvirate dealt with trials, debt, rights, guardianship, ownership, and punishment including the death penalty. In 527 B.C., when Roman law was in a sad state Justin took the throne. Justin established the basic Code, also known as the Justin Code, which contained twelve books based on the Twelve Tablets of the Decemvirate. Justin was the one who closed the Academy in Athens, the institution founded by Plato. This Academy was described as the first European university and one of its main focuses was the political theory.

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In around 1100 the world's first school of law was formed, fifty years later the school had over 10,000 students. These students spread the Justinian Code throughout the continent. The Code was later incorporated into the Code Napoleon, which spread throughout Europe. This code was divided into three parts consisting 1) of persons, 2) of things and the different modifications of ownership, and 3) of the different modes of acquiring the ownership of things. English justice also contained three parts including 1) right to trial by a jury of one's peers, 2) the Common Law, and 3) courtroom dueling. The English system of laws spread to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US, and to many former British colonies.

After the US gained its independence, it established the Constitution. It was designed to serve the interests of all people, rich and poor, Northerner and Southerner, farmers worker, and business person. The Constitution contained amendments known as the Bill of Rights. The ten amendments in the Bill of Rights were written to protect individual liberties against possible unjust rule by the national government. The Australian form of Justice is a mixture of American and British influences. (Lawson, 26-28)

National Socialist's Notion of Justice (Non-Western):
National Socialism, also known as Nazism, got its start in Germany. The principals of nazism state that races could be scientifically classified as superior and inferior. (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia) Nazism declared that the highest racial type was the Germanic, while blacks and Jews were at the bottom of the racial pyramid. National Socialist believe only pure races that do not mix with inferior groups are capable of creating lasting civilizations. In order to create the perfect civilization the inferior races need to be destroyed. (Kniesmeyer, 1-2)

Plato's Republic:
In the Republic Plato discusses the question of "what is justice?"; he uses a Socratic dialogue to express his views on the subject. The Socratic dialogue is a process that involves proposal, criticism, and rejection of the subject at hand. The dialogue has the following characters speaking and voicing their opinion on justice and related topics: Socrates, Cephalus, Polemarchus, Thrasymachus, Glaucon, Adeimantus, and Cleitophon . The Socratic dialogue begins when Socrates, Cephalus, and Polemarchus begin to argue the question "what is justice?" Socrates says that justice is something socially beneficial to society. In contrast, Cephalus suggests that justice is telling the truth and repaying one's debts, while Polemarchus implies that justice is helping one's friends and hurting one's enemies. Thrasymachus's definition of justice was that justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger. After Thrasymachus, Cephalus, and Polemarchus speak their opinions Socrates brings up situations which call these views of justice into question.

Plato's ideal republic is composed of three classes; the commoners, the warriors, and the philosophers. The philosophers will be the leaders of the ideal state, because they contain the virtue of wisdom needed to make political decisions. The commoners possess the virtue of temperance, and the warriors possess courage. Plato implies that one is born with their place in society already set. (Grube, Number)

Wright's Native Son:
Native Son by Richard Wright is the story of a young black male, by the name of Bigger Thomas, living in Chicago in the 1930's. Bigger and his family are poverty stricken and they live in what is known as the Black Belt. Bigger is given a chance to make himself a little richer when a rich white family, the Daltons, hires him to be their chauffeur. Bigger has to drive the Dalton's daughter (Mary) and her boyfriend (Jan Erlone), who are both communists, to a political speech. When Bigger returns Mary home she is drunk and Bigger has to carry her to bed. Mary's blind mother comes into the room to check on her daughter while Bigger is still there. Bigger tries to protect himself in this situation by trying to keep Mary quiet. To keep her from speaking Bigger "pushed downward with all of his weight, determined that she must not move or make any sound that would betray him." (Wright, 74) A minute later Mary was dead, Bigger had murdered her. As an attempt to hide his crime, Bigger burns her body in the furnace.

Later the Dalton family discovers their daughter's charred bones. In response Bigger flees with his lover, Bessie. Bigger soon develops a fear that his lover will betray him, so he murders her. Bigger is later captured by the authorities and he admits to the murder of Mary, he is then sentenced to death.

My Interpretation of Justice:
After studying the format of Western justice and then Nazism, I've learned what both systems were trying to accomplish. Both forms of justice had the same goal in mind, to form a civilization that is as just as possible. The National Socialist's goal was to create the ideal state with little or no injustice, where everyone will be created as equals. Unfortunately to accomplish a society where everyone will be created equal, the National Socialism felt all but the Germans should be eliminated.

I do feel that Western justice has tried through history not to create as perfect of a civilization as the National Socialist have. I believe Western justice has tried more to create a system that can last through time.

The National Socialists, in my opinion, were similar to Plato in their view of the ideal republic. Plato implied in the Republic that the ideal city would have certain classes that distinguished ones place in society. The National Socialist also divided people into classes, but their classes were based on race not knowledge. Plato also thought that one was born with their place in society already set. The National Socialists believed one was born with their place in society already set based on their race, Germans being at the top of this ladder of society.

In Wright's Native Son I got the impression Wright was trying to express that justice could not achieved by doing injustice. After killing his white boss's daughter, Bigger tries to account for his act by mentioning the injustice white girls have done to blacks. To me that's like killing all the sharks in the world because three have attacked humans. The girl Bigger kills did not express racism towards Bigger. I think Bigger was nothing but a murderer. He might have been born a murderer, his place in society may have been responsible for him becoming this way, or another part of his life could have resulted in his later development as a murderer. I feel no matter what the reason that Bigger killed Mary is, he still committed an act of injustice.

At the end of Native Son Bigger is sentenced to death. The death sentence is a topic still being debated as just or unjust today. Is killing someone just if they have committed an unjust act, or is it just to let someone spend some time in prison abusing taxpayers money. I believe that it's not just to kill someone because they committed murder themselves, but if someone shot my sister I would be more than willing to shot them. I feel killing someone because they killed someone themselves is unjust, but I do still strongly support it. I feel injustice is necessary sometimes to aid in the creation of a just society. The need for injustice to create justice, is somewhat like what the National Socialists were doing when they tried to eliminate the Jews.

Injustice is a highly beneficial thing to me when done to a certain point. I feel injustice is somewhat crucial to modern day life. I feel doing nothing but just acts in today's society will leave you in a lower class. I believe doing a few unjust acts throughout your life can be the difference of making $15,000 compared to $125,000 a year. If doing an unjust act like fibbing on a job application or cheating on a test can be the difference in $100,000 a year, than do a little injustice. I consider most of the acts law enforcement and the military perform to be unjust, but I feel those unjust acts are needed to aid in the control of injustice.

After viewing Western's, Nazism's, Wright's and Plato's notions of justice, I've became even more unclear on my own definition of justice. Before I looked at justice as doing what is right, no matter who it hurt in the process. Now I've seen justice through new eyes, I can understand where the National Socialists, Wright, and Plato were coming from when they defined justice. Like me the National Socialist believed justice could be achieved by hurting those who stood in its way. I started to support the National Socialist idea of justice over Plato's view more and more. I just hate Plato's class system because of the way it implies that one is born with their class predetermined, but I still do not believe in the National Socialist racial ranking though. I do however feel that some races are born better suited to do task and jobs than others. I feel certain physical characteristics common throughout a race may make them more able to do certain things, such as longer limbs may make a race better at certain sports. Don't get me wrong, I still believe treating people differently because of race is unjust.

Conclusion:
My final interpretation of justice would have to be that justice is doing what is acceptable in a society. I feel that the US army killing other armies who threaten us to be unjust, but at the same time I feel that justice is being done. I think it is unjust to kill someone who committed a crime, however I believe that justice is taking place when that person pays for their crime. I believe doing these few unjust acts aid to control the level of justice in society by making a major proportion of society scared to perpetrate a crime.

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Friday, May 20, 2011

Essay on Health is Priceless

Essay about Health

Adequate health can be considered the basis of an enjoyable life. In the early stages of adolescent development, teenagers should put forth an effort to eat a healthy diet of various foods and exercise regularly. Starting at this key point in life ensures a start towards good health in the years to follow. In those years to follow, good health will be the most priceless thing to have, even if you happen to loose decent financial status.

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It is said, and accepted as a fact, that if you take care of your body at a young age, many health-associated problems can be avoided later in life. Not all complications can be avoided, such as certain kinds that are hereditary in one's family. Proper nutrition and an occasional workout can help in the prevention of the non-hereditary health problems such as, high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Not using tobacco products or drinking alcoholic beverages can also be beneficial in preventing issues having to deal with lung and liver diseases.

If asked, many elderly people suffering from health issues would say they wished that they had taken better care of themselves in their earlier years. These people are, in a way, motivators for young people to see the importance of having good health. It is a lesson that shows when you fail to try at living healthily you would, in time, grow to regret such a decision. This further proves that if you increase your health at a young age, your later years will be enjoyable.

In this modern time of financial success, many people will argue money is everything. Some would agree, but not all health problems caused by poor caring for one's body can be cured with a simple trip to a doctor. The argument then can be switched around to say something different. The new rearranged version could read that as long as you have your health, everything else does not matter. This of which can be reasoned true by many.

As you can see, health is very important and often overlooked by many. One's health is priceless and can not be compared to anything, especially money. Motivation set by the elderly would also agree that good health is the greatest thing to have when all else is lost. All of these reasons and more are stressed now more than ever because of conducted health studies that show the importance to start to take care of one's body at an early age.

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Philosophy Essay on Descartes

Descartes Philosophy Essay

Though Descartes adequately explains the functions of his practical philosophy in the control of the passions using reason, Elizabeth of Palantine more successfully shows the impractical use of reasons in relation to the passions in civil and family life. Descartes basis is reason. It can be used to control the passions and lead to truth. The passions need to be controlled because if they are, true happiness is found and pain can be avoided. Elizabeth argues with this in explaining that only a person with an infinite knowledge of these passions and reason can succeed in this mastery of the passions and it isn't useful in the everyday life of everyday people.

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Descartes argues that one should base their ideas of truth and what exists on reason and not experience. He claims that reason is the foundation for everything we should believe is real. When we base our beliefs on cause and effect we basically base them on experience because cause and effect are merely derived from experience. But there is no reason to believe that our experiences should be consistent with the past. Experience cannot give us truth to what will happen, only what is likely to happen, only an estimate of the future. He claims that it is not experience that should aide in your ideas of the world, but reason . We connect this to Descartes idea of the passions. He says that you must use reason to control your passions and in doing so you will be happier because you can control each aspect of the passions, both good and evil. Descartes argues that a person is an entangled web of passions that are the key to thought. Each passion has the ability to warp rational thought. He believes that each passion can be based on the body and its reaction, the way the heart beats, the blood pumps, and the muscles ache. He believes that if one truly understands these passions they can learn to control them which is the key to happiness and relief of the painful emotions. If a person can control the passions they will only allow the good to get through and avoid evil. This is the key to knowledge.

The main passions are wonder, love, hate, desire, joy and sadness. Descartes believes that each has a separate result from the body. Some cause your heart to beat faster, while some cause your muscles to tense and ache. To regulate these passions the first step is to use reason to understand each physical aspect of them. His whole basis is to keep rational thought even through experiencing passions. One of his most convincing descriptions of controlling the passions is keeping morality which pertains to the passion of desire. He says to control this desire you must only desire the things that are good for you and only desire what depends on your actions, your own free will. To truly believe this you must believe that everything outside of your free will is Gods will and you have no control. Another point he makes about the passions is based on generosity and its counterpart, pride. One who is generous is confident in themselves and willing to give to others because they are secure in what they have. On the other hand pride is not good for the persons soul. It is based on others being less than you and comparing yourself to them. Pity relates to this as well in that pity is only sadness for another because you are thankful that you aren't going through the same thing. Pity is based on believing you are better and not that you are happier. Descartes adds to these passion with sadness, especially when it comes to death. In a letter to a friend who's wife passed away he explains "a soul that is strong and generous, like yours, knows too well to what condition God has made us born into to wish by any ineffectual wishes to resist the necessity of his law... even those who go to their death for the good of persons they love seem happy at the last moment of their life" (Nye, p 92). He is saying that if one controls their sadness with reason and prevents all disagreeable emotions they will achieve clear rational thought and true happiness. If one can look ahead using reason to see the result of the passions, they can control the outcome.

Elizabeth makes good points against Descartes argument about the passions, which causes doubt in the minds of the reader She complains that one cannot truly know the reaction of the body to the passions because the body reacts to so many things at once how is one know which is which. If you can't understand the passions in their entirety how can you have good reason to believe them as true passions and therefore control them? She gives an example of her confusion, "love is always accompanied by desire and joy, or desire and sadness"... How is it then possible to tell the different beating of the pulse, the different digestions of meats, and other changes of the body, which serve to reveal the nature of these movements (Nye, p 93). She looks at herself to discuss the difference, she claims that sadness will cause excessive eating to one person, but lack of eating to another. To continue her argument she begins to tear apart Descartes idea of how to control these passions, and whether or not it is possible. She says that there are so many things in life, an infinite number, that one cannot even come close to anticipating every thing. Reason alone can't help to differentiate which actions will be useful. She also wonders "how (can) we prevent desiring with ardor things which tend necessarily to survival (like health, and the means to live) which nevertheless do not in fact depend on free will" (Nye, p 94). How do we really know good and evil if we can't anticipate all that will happen? Reason alone can't do this. She believes that although Descartes philosophy may relate to himself, an intellectual, it would be very little use to others in life with respect to family and politics.

Elizabeth makes an excellent point here. Descartes puts himself in a life outside of the real world, secluded from everyone around him. Although Elizabeth realizes that she is not the average person either, she isn't claiming that she is right, only that Descartes isn't. The knowledge of family and political life has aided Elizabeth in the realization that "to evaluate goods, it is necessary to be completely acquainted with them and to be acquainted with all those among which we must choose in an active life would require an infinite science" (Nye, p 58). Elizabeth has a broader view of life seeing how people act gives her an advantage over Descartes. Her point about infinite things gives good reason to doubt Descartes. If we are supposed to evaluate every possible outcome of our passions to control them it will be difficult when looking at all the possibilities. Elizabeth makes a good point in that it is difficult to differentiate between a passion and indigestion, and each person probably has a different reaction to each passion than the next person.

Descartes argument for using reason, the foundation to his practical philosophy, in the role he gives to the passions seems good from the initial standpoint but when Elizabeth analyzes his belief she does an excellent job of causing skepticism towards his arguments. In another letter to Descartes Elizabeth claims that under her own experience she has found sometimes using experience to understand life is more beneficial than using reason. For people who aren't very rational Descartes practical philosophy isn't very practical.

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Essay on Identity Change

Identity Change Essay

In what ways is identity formed and constructed in the texts you have studied? Comment on techniques for different text types.

Identity can be created by many different techniques in various text types such as novels, poetry, and film. Identity is a set of characteristics that defines a person, and can include physical appearance and personality. Identity is usually built up throughout a person's lifetime, based on their actions and experiences. However, because how others think of a person is based on the person's identity, they may create a false identity to fit in socially. A person can be confused about who they are, especially in adolescence, especially because of their parents, culture, or relationships. Texts often deal with characters who are confused about identity, who have created it, lost it, and even some from which their identity was stolen from them.

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The film, Shine, deals with a character with a peculiar identity. It is a true story about David Helfgott, a brilliant child prodigy who ultimately becomes mentally ill as an adult. The film shows how he became who he was as an adult. In the film, his father dominates him, and tries to control every aspect of David's life. This dominance by his father is shown throughout the film by filming the father with low angle shots to make him look larger, and shooting David at high angles to make him look diminished. Other techniques used in the film were when David was playing the Rachmanioff, and the camera kept moving around him and the piano, showing his concentration and all his emotions were expressed through the music.

In the novel, Shadowlands, C.S "Jack" Lewis has an identity of an esteemed author, professor and theologian, immensely respected by all around him. After his mother's death when he was 9 years old, he had built a wall around himself that separated him with others, preventing personal relationships. But then, he falls in love with a woman, and undergoes a profound identity change. He realizes that even though he had given countless lectures and wrote several books on faith and love, he actually had no idea what he was talking about because he never experienced love, and the pain that resulted from it.

Identity change is also shown in the April 28, 2001 edition of Leunig, a newspaper cartoon. In it, a wealthy and powerful man progressively goes down materially, while he rises spiritually.

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Fear in The Fall of the House of Usher Essay

"The Fall of the House of Usher" Fear - Essay

Fear... The dictionary defines fear as: a feeling of alarm of disquiet caused by the expectation of danger, pain, disaster, or the like; terror; dread; apprehension. But do you think that the feeling of fear can be defined? Think about it, when watching a scary movie, one may feel scared of uncomfortable, but fear? No, fear is a feeling one gets when a gun is pointed at their head or before going into an intense surgery. Here, I have three examples of fear through literature, art and music.

In Edgar Allen Poe's, "The Fall of the House of Usher", fear is one motif followed throughout the whole story. Fear is greatly showed in this story even before the reader is captured in the words. One passage on the fourth line shows this, "I know not how it was--but, with the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded on my spirit. I say insufferable; for the feeling was unrelieved by any half-pleasurable, because poetic, sentiment, with which the mind usually receives even the sternest natural images of the desolate or terrible." This passage presents a feeling of fear in the reader that increases throughout the whole story, not just when it gets "scary". One critic from the Washington Post writes, Edgar Allen Poe's, "The Fall of the House of Usher", revolves around this realm of fear, and reveals the importance of facing and overcoming our fears." Another critic, Dawn Priegel, says, "Because of Roderick's fear, however, he is restrained from leaving and does not make the attempt to defeat this enduring power that holds him captive." These critics prove that fear is the most powerful motif all the way through the story.

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Salvador Dali shows a motif of fear in his painting, "Visage of War". In fact, this painting was directly related to Edgar Allen Poe's, "The Fall of the House of Usher" on the web site: www.poedecoder.com/essays/fissure/ . The images on this painting show pure fear. Dali created this effect by using dull, dark, gloomy colors and little texture and movement. One critic of Dali, Roy Lichenstein, wrote, "Dali has reached a point of repetition so that his later works were merely imitations of his earlier works." In this painting the look on the images faces is of pure fear. Inside of each eye socket, and his mouth there is the same face, and in their eyes and mouths there is the face again, and so on and so on.

The musical piece I chose to represent fear is "Pictures of You", by The Cure. Here are the lyrics:

I've been looking so long at these pictures of
you that I almost believe that they're real I've
been living so long with my pictures of you that
I almost believe that the pictures are all I can
feel

Remembering you standing quiet in the rain as
I ran to your heart to be near and we kissed as
the sky fell in holding you close how I always
held close in your fear remembering you
running soft through the night you were bigger
and brighter and whiter than snow and
screamed at the make-believe screamed at the
sky and you finally found all your courage to
let it all go

Remembering you fallen into my arms crying
for the death of you heart you were stone
white so delicate so lost in the cold you were
always so lost in the dark remembering you
How you used to be slow drowned you were
angels so much more than everything oh hold
for the last time then slip away quietly open
my eyes but I never see anything

If only I'd thought of the right words I could
have held onto your heart if only I'd thought of
the right words I wouldn't be breaking apart all
my pictures of you

Looking so long at these pictures of you but I
never hold onto your heart looking so long for
the words to be true but always just breaking
apart my pictures of you

There was nothing in the world that I ever
wanted more than to feel you deep in my heart
There was nothing in the world that I ever
wanted more than to never feel the breaking
apart all my pictures of you

This song is about the fear of losing a loved one. One critic from "Rolling Stone" magazine says, "The fear of loving one or losing a loved one is the scariest fear of all." This song shows that fear is not only being afraid of something but also of someone.

Fear. Fear is not something to be defined. It should be discussed, or analyzed, but to say that fear is a feeling of danger or pain is too broad. Also fear can be one being afraid of something concrete, like in "The Fall of the House of Usher", or one being afraid of something abstract, like love, shown in "Pictures of You".

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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Ellen Foster Essay

Kaye Gibbons was born in Nash County, North Carolina in the year 1960. I have decided to concentrate on her first novel titled Ellen Foster published in 1987. I plan to talk about her use of first person narration, the story structure, and character development, along with the idea of family, friendship, and a child's search for love.

From the opening lines of Ellen Foster you are introduced to the voice of Ellen, the young girl to which this story is told by. She takes you through many years of her childhood recounting the ups and downs that she goes through. Her first words are, "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy." She presents a voice not unlike any child that speaks of truth. Throughout the novel she speaks of a truth that is outright hilarious to sometimes depressing and sad. There is a section where she talks about money. She says, "All I really cared about accumulating was money." Who other than a child would admit to something like that? It is this voice that allowed me to fall in love with this character, because she is going through such a rough time and in order to escape it all she plans for the future and starts saving. She was always acting as though she was older than she really was, but come to think of it, maybe a person gains an overall maturity through experience. Throughout the novel Ellen is faced with numerous obstacles. It forces her to become this form of adult built inside a child's body. Gibbons is constantly keeping the reader in side of Ellen's head. All these cynical thoughts and remarks we automatically find out through the use of the first person narration. We slowly start to see that this child is extremely confused and lonely. It is not until the near end that she admits her loneliness and wish for comfort as she is trying desperately to make a deal with Jesus. "I reminded Jesus that this not the way a girl needs to be. I told him again to please settle up with me so I could be a pure girl again and somebody good could love me." For me there is no other way to make this novel a success without having Ellen's voice that which carries the story. Gibbons nails it right on the head and I feel is very accurate in writing the voice of a young girl.

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From the opening couple of pages there is a way in which the story is structured that brings forth a constant suspense in the reader. It constantly jumps from the present back to the past and then back to the present. Gibbons makes the choice to present the reader with two different points in time and jumps back and forth sometimes without you even noticing. This goes on until the final chapter. While I was reading the story, constantly going back and forth made me want to jump to the very end and find out what happens. It became suspenseful because on one page you would be reading about how bad things were and then all of a sudden she was with her new mama and things were great. Its as if there is a part of you that wants things to finally just be good for Ellen and by jumping back and forth it makes you question what the out come will be. Finally in the end when the two story lines meet again there is still this thought in the back of your mind that wonders if something wrong will happen again. By the end I am not completely sure if I can finally smile and say she will be all right, as a result of the constant change back and forth. By using this structure I think Gibbons helps to create an uncertainty in her reader. It almost parallels the uncertainty that Ellen is having as well. By making this choice Gibbons gives her reader a chance to doubt Ellen's future. We can do nothing else but feel for her as she goes through rough times and seems to take it without any emotion.

Throughout the story many of us catch Ellen's eye but the one that stays constant throughout is her only friend Starletta. She a bit younger than Ellen and comes from a "colored" family. Starletta is a quiet girl according to Ellen but when Ellen is having problems with her father it is Sarletta and her family that take her in. Set in a time when colored people were still looked down on Ellen thought she should feel superior to her good-hearted friend. She knew nothing except for the way people in society had acted like since she was born and that was white were above colored. I think she took a big step to even befriend Starletta at that time but there were still those questions coming from people in her own family. She lives in a small house with weeds that grow up from the ground and out the wooden floor along with an outdoor bathroom, something Ellen could not understand. Ellen feels that she is much smarter than her but she thinks that Starletta is able to have more fun. It is Starletta that somewhat inspires Ellen to change, along with her trying to leave her past. Ellen doesn't want to be forgotten and if her only friend didn't remember her than who would. In the end Ellen through her child-like eyes looks through and beyond the color of skin and loves Starletta for who she is.

Julia and Roy are very important characters as well. They serve to show Ellen that there are people who care about her and truly love her. Julia is an art teacher at the school Ellen attends, so when the teachers find a bruise on Ellen and find out that she is being abused it is Julia that welcomes her into her home. Julia further inspires Ellen to her artwork. Being a child of the sixties Julia brings that sense of love and peace to Ellen's complicated life. Ellen also fills in the missing space that is present in Julia and Roy's life. They always wanted a child and Ellen fits right in, but soon enough is taken away from them and placed into the hands of her mama's mama.

Her mama's mama was a very wealthy old women and she despised Ellen's father. Ellen initially thinks that moving in with her would be great because she has a lot of money and she could spend it on Ellen. She also thinks that maybe she will get to know her grandma better, but soon enough that is out of the question when she finds herself working out in the fields with the slaves. This experience sparks a change in the way Ellen looked at colored people because when she was out in those fields it didn't matter what color she was. Out there she meets Mavis. Mavis is the group leader so to speak. She reinforces the idea in Ellen that she resembled her mother a lot and got to learn about her moms' childhood. Unfortunately her grandma thought of Ellen as bad as she did her father and would do almost anything to torture her. She claimed that Ellen had her fathers eyes and that reminded her of him. Ellen cared for her grandmother while she was sick, but deep down she wanted her to die, not because Ellen was a bad person but mostly because her mama's mama was bad. Ellen didn't want to be blamed for a second death, so when she stopped breathing Ellen made her up with her best hat and covered her bed with flowers in hope that it might help her in her after life, because she needed it.

The voice of Ellen in this section is great. The way Gibbons helps us to understand her intentions and a small cry out for forgiveness. It is in this section that we are introduced to God and Ellen trying to prove to him that she was not at fault with her mothers' death. On the page it is just so funny.

"I found her Sunday hat she never wore and tilted it on her head the way a live women might pop a hat on to ride to town in. Then the best part I will always be proud of was the nice frame I made all around her body. I put all the artificial flowers I could find from all those show jars around her end to end so she looked set off like a picture. A still life you might say."

In trying to make something nice she insults everyone around. Gibbons nails it because again that is what a child would do, especially Ellen. Children always have different intentions. She felt that maybe if she handled her grandmothers death well that Jesus and everyone would for give her for what happened to her mother. That is the worst part, that she actually was cornered into feeling guilt for something she had nothing to do with. She was just a child.

Soon after that she is moved over to her aunt and cousin's house. There she had to deal with the idea that she would always be second best and never live up the ideals of aunt Nadine. Dora the spoiled brat of a cousin she had felt it was her job to make Ellen feel increasingly uncomfortable and small, but Ellen with her sense of humor accepted it and made the best of the situation. She had her own plans in mind. She saw a woman at church and decided that she would be a good mama. It was only a matter of time. She planned at the New Year to have a new start, one that she could be happy with. Finally on Christmas aunt Nadine throws Ellen out, so she finds out where the lady from church lived and was on her way.

A very interesting story line that I think says a lot about the writer and even more about people who need someone is Ellen's interaction with God. So far my experience reading southern writers is that the power of God makes his way into a lot of writing. I especially liked it in this story. After all the shit Ellen has to go through the last person she turns to is God. How many children do you know that turn to God at such a young age? Most of them gain their identity from their parents but when little Ellen is faced with constant disappointment she turns to God. Trying to prove herself and gain a sense of being "even". She just wants to start all over with that chance of having something similar to a family and she fills if she proves to God that she is worthy that everything bad will stop. I wonder what Gibbons is trying to say. I feel that having faith and belief in someone like God is very important. Believing allows you to feel like someone is there when in all actuality everything is going to shit. It is very important for Ellen to have that in her life. It helps her subconsciously to become a person that she is happy with in the end.

Ellen from the opening of the book just wants a family. A mother and a father and if one couldn't be there, then one parent that could cover both roles. Instead she is forced in and out of different homes with more disappointment each time. I assume if Kaye Gibbons wanted to tell this story of her experiences and make it one big tearjerker she could easily do it. There would be one thing missing though and that would be the voice of the child. By allowing Ellen to be this tough little girl that doesn't cry, except for the time her mama's mama slaps her, helps to create a different dynamic. One that allows you to laugh and cry at the same time. You want Ellen to have that family and be happy and not witness all this disappointment and loneliness. By having Ellen be that tough little girl that does, thinks, and says outrageous things makes it easier to read a story about neglect and lost-childhood. It mixes in a couple important laughs and allows you to feel for this child more and more.

In ending Ellen Foster talks about racism, child abuse, foster care, and many other subjects relating to human experiences. It takes you places through a child's eyes that are every child's worst nightmare. It takes a child that feels she should be superior to her only colored friend and makes her see equality, most importantly it takes a lonely child and gives her the love and affection of a parent, a "foster" parent and helps to make Ellen Foster the great coming of age novel that it is.

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

A Worn Path Analysis Essay

"A Worn Path" Essay

In "A Worn Path", Eudora Welty portrays a woman on a journey using words and phrases which contain a psychological connection to the story line. The plot alone is that which is not too intense and complex, however the way Welty uses metaphors, irony, stereotyping and implication of words to fit the story is outstanding. Using these ways of spicing up the content, Welty's writing attracts the reader's interest throughout; even at moments which would normally not. Welty's style of writing "A Worn Path" is that which makes the reader really think about her choice of words, for they are twisted with to portray a mental picture.

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Welty sets the tone and feeling of the story using words which create a certain feeling of the situation or setting. The words black and dark are used very often throughout Welty's writing, letting the reader know that the story is a dark one and full of mystery; never knowing what's around the corner. Phoenix Jackson, the main character, is a black woman, described as being dark in tone and wearing a dark, striped dress. The woods Phoenix walks through are dark with dark shadows overcasting. After Phoenix crawled through the barbed-wire fence, she noticed big dead trees, like black men, which were "standing in the purple stalks of the withered cotton field"(2). Welty could have been portraying the sense of black men in slavery times, which were not so long before this story was written. Soon afterwards, Jackson goes through a corn field, noticing something "tall, black, and skinny, moving before her"(2). Phoenix instinctively thought it was a man, scaring her. Welty then describes the "person's" movement "as silent as a ghost,"(2) therefore keeping the dark, eerie tone in this setting. The dog that Phoenix meets up with shortly after is also a black dog, however the owner is a young white man. After leaving the hunter, she continued on her way. "She walked on. The shadows hung like oak trees to the road like curtains"(4) The smell of smoke permeates through the air, now giving a sense of smell to the overall feeling of the situation she's at then. Even when she finally got to town, "Dozens of little black children whirled around her"(4).

Not only does Welty use word choice to set tone and feeling in her story, but she also describes Phoenix Jackson's way of thinking, not necessarily in description, but in word choice as well. The overall view of Jackson's mind and acts are that she's not completely "with it" in her mental state. At points she'll be scared at little things, but when something serious comes around, she is completely calm. Phoenix is very shifty. For example, when Phoenix walked up to the scarecrow, she was very frightened and alarmed. Welty does not just go right out and say this, but it is implied within her word choice. After finding out that it was only a scarecrow, not a man, her face lighted; as to imply that before knowing, she was frightened. After this, she continues talking to the lifeless scarecrow as if it were as real man. She even says, "My senses is gone. I too old"(2). Later, Jackson comes up to a well, which she drank of. "Nobody knows who made this well, for it was here when I was born"(2). This shows that Jackson only thinks according to her being. How does she know that nobody knows who made the well? She didn't, therefore to her, nobody knows. Then, before confronting the black dog, Welty says she was meditating. Obviously, Jackson needs some peace of mind after all the stress she has gone through so far in her journey. After the black dog came up to her, Jackson went into a ditch. "Down there, her senses drifted away"(2). This phrase goes to show that Phoenix Jackson's mental state is unwary. She then was visited by a dream, and reached her hand up. Her sense of reality to dream state is not too keen, confusing the two with where and what she was doing. Later, the dog's owner, the hunter, has a gun pointed directly at Phoenix. She was not frightened in the least bit. "Doesn't the gun scare you?" he said, still pointing [the gun]. "No, sir"(3). Jackson was scared of the scarecrow before, but not scared of a gun pointed at her at point blank range. Phoenix Jackson's feelings and thoughts are different at every situation throughout the story. Her reactions are impossible to guess. Towards the end of the story, Jackson is in the doctor's office to pick up the medicine for her grandson. The nurse was attempting to speak to Phoenix, however Phoenix was not responding. For a moment, Phoenix was just not there (in reality). The story does not describe what in particular she was thinking of, but it definitely was not anything of the situation she was in at the time. Finally, she came to and realized she had forgotten completely why she had even made the trip to begin with. Then, with no further questions asked of her journey and situation, she begins replying to the questions asked her while she was "daydreaming".

The ending of "A Worn Path" alone speaks novels of the psychological aspect of Eudora Welty's story. Phoenix Jackson picks up her medicine from the doctor's office, and goes on her way on the same journey back home. The end. What happens afterward, the reader is not told. The journey back is the same as the one to town. Welty notes that the journey is a familiar one; she does it often. If it was so familiar, however, would she not be scared of certain things such as the scarecrow or have such troubles? Aspects such as this cause the reader to think about what really is going on in Phoenix Jackson's mind and journey. What happens from this point on is for the reader to decide. There is no set events thereafter.

"A Worn Path" is a prime example of a story with many psychological points of view. Much of the story is what the reader makes of it, being led by word choice and events by Eudora Welty. This “darkness of truth” keeps the reader interested, guessing and looking forward to the next incident which will shift the reader's point of view of the journey.
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