The Role of the Mirabal Sisters in the Attempts to Challenge the Patriarchy

Nowadays, it is not always possible to find a powerful book written by a modern writer who makes a decision to discuss the inequalities which bother people, human challenges, and inabilities to live in society with a strict political regime. However, the work by Julia Alvarez created in 1994 is one of the literary treasures that has to be considered by the reader as well as evaluated from a variety perspective.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Role of the Mirabal Sisters in the Attempts to Challenge the Patriarchy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More While reading the book, a number of questions may appear in the reader’s mind, and one of the most captivating is all about the reasons of why young girls, the Mirabal sisters, decided to challenge the existing patriarchy at expense of their own freedoms, happiness, and lives. Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies is considered to be a powerful educat ive novel about the events from the past which teach to become more confident in personal demands and desires; the image of the Mirabal sisters is characterized by the necessity to challenge the already set political regime and change the idea of the patriarchy in order to provide all citizens of the country, both women and men, with the equal rights and possibilities to organize their lives. Unfortunately, three of four sisters did not get the chance to enjoy the governmental improvements they strived for as they were terribly killed, and the story of the one survived sister Dede helps to understand true intentions which made the girls to challenge the regime. In the Time of the Butterflies is a novel those success is predetermined by several things: first, the story is based on true events which took place in the middle of the 20th century in the Dominican Republic; second, the story teaches people all the important human virtues which fulfill human lives; and, finally, the novel raises a variety of significant themes from gender roles to political strategies used to gain power. It is hard to discuss all the themes mentioned in the novel in one paper as each issue considered has its own impact on the reader as well as disclose a true nature of the character. There are many people involved in the story: the Mirabal sisters, Maria, Patria, and Minerva, the cruel dictator Rafael Trujillo, Enrique Mirabal, the father of the sisters, Dede, the second-oldest and the only surviving sister of the famous family, and others. The destiny of Dede seems to be forecasted by the father in the early ages. In the novel, Dede shares her story, experience, emotions, and lessons, and the key point of her life was the phrase said by her father: â€Å"Dede will bury us all in sink and pears† (Alvarez 307).Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Her father’s predict ion had a significant power and pain that tracks Dede the whole life. With the help of Dede’s perspective, the events described in the story become more or less clear and coherent as she provides the reader with a chance to see and understand why her sisters wanted to change their lives, the current political regime, and the attitude to the minorities. One of the central themes of the novel is gender roles and the inability to change something in order to follow personal dreams and principles (Reichardt 9). The Mirabal sisters faced a serious challenge in their lives at the very beginning: their desires to get education, to develop their skills, and choose appropriate careers were hard to achieve as even their father was dependent on the ideas of male domination and female belonging to domestic affairs. Though Alvarez’s characters â€Å"are neither real women of fact nor mythic women of popular legend†, they are still â€Å"true to the spirit of liberty† (Shuman 35). The girls find it obligatory to resist a real regime, a real system called â€Å"patriarchy† in order to prove their worth, dignity, and ability to control their own lives. Unfortunately, the world they have to live in is not ready to accept the changes and consider the opinions of each citizen; this is why girls’ steps to destroy the boundaries of traditional female behavior lead them to death. Women rights have been always under hot discussion in different counties; the author admits that women of Dominican Republic were ready to change their lives, still, she fails to underline that to be ready does not mean to succeed. The already established and working system cannot be removed, and even more, it has to survive because not all people are ready to understand the necessity of changes. In fact, patriarchy is the system that has its roots in the past and cannot be eradicated because of the activities of several groups of people.Advertising We will wr ite a custom essay sample on The Role of the Mirabal Sisters in the Attempts to Challenge the Patriarchy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In spite of the fact that the results of rebellions and fights against the existing system were not that successful for the Mirabal sisters, their motives and ideas remain to be considerable for society. The success of the story is the explanation of why young girls found it necessary to destroy the rules and conditions they were obliged to live under. Patria, Minerva, and Maria could not accept their roles as traditional women any longer. The girls understood that they could not get what they want but had to agree that â€Å"just what we need, skirts in the law!† (Alvarez 10). As soon as they realized that nothing could be done, they decided to achieve another goal in their lives and make all women â€Å"come out of the dark ages† (Alvarez 51). Women had to follow their husbands in an y way; still, women should be also able to consider their own interests but not use the idea of traditional female behavior as the only excuse of their inaction. However, the example of Dede life shows that the decision to avoid protests and illegal activities may lead to the feeling of guilt that cannot be neglected or forgotten. The girls from the Mirabal family chose their own ways to their happiness and self-improvement. They could not imagine their lives under the pressure of dictator. They made an attempt to declare their rights and show other people how it is possible to follow own dreams and have at least an independent mind and spirit. In general, Alvarez’s novel is a powerful stimulus for the reader to evaluate his/her own place in the world. The peculiar feature of the story is that it does not have a pure positive or negative attitude to the revolution and people’s sacrifices. This work helps to understand that any person has the right of choice: it is poss ible to have a free and bright still not too long life or to be dependent on the conditions and circumstances and live long without considering personal ideas but follow the others. People are free to choose and be responsible for their activities, and this book teaches the reader how important personal opinion should be. Works Cited Alvarez, Julia. In the time of the butterflies. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 1994.Advertising Looking for essay on american literature? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reichardt, Mary, R. Catholic women writers: A bio-bibliographical sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. Shuman, R. Baird. Great American writers: Twentieth century. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2002. This essay on The Role of the Mirabal Sisters in the Attempts to Challenge the Patriarchy was written and submitted by user Giana Logan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

buy custom George Bush and his influence on History essay

buy custom George Bush and his influence on History essay George W. Bush is widely remembered as the 43rd president of the United States having served for two terms from 2001-2009. Bush was born on 6th July in New Haven, Connecticut and lived an interesting life that characterized his journey to the most powerful office on the planet. He is also considered as lucky for the fact that his father George H Bush was the 41st president of the United States. Their terms at the helm were separated by the two terms served by Bill Clinton from 1994-2001. Bush graduated from Yale University back in 1968 and went ahead to serve in different capacities before he eventually became president (Ivins Lou, 2000). He served as a pilot in the Texas National Guard and later enrolled in the Harvard School of business where he attained his MBA. He is actually the only American President to ever get an MBA, especially from such a reputable institution. He also worked in the gas and oil industry until the year 1986 when he got interested in politics and settled on campaigning for his father. He successfully campaigned for his father in a process that ensured George Bush senior was elected as the American president. After this achievement, Bush went to Texas where he successfully vied for the governors post in 1994 and 1998. Perhaps as a result of successful stints in politics, Bush declared that he was more than ripe to go for presidency (Ivins Lou, 2000). The first indicator of a possibility in attaining the presidency was embodied in his triumph during the republican nominations in the year 2000. Bush then chose Dick Cheney as his running mate and they arguably won against Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman, who represented the democrats. Everybody now remembers the election as one that was closely contested with controversial sideshows that characterized the scene. The outcome of the general election and that of the popular votes were totally different but nevertheless, Bush was announced as the elections winner. The electoral vote favored Bus h with a total of 271 against 267 for Al gore. He repeated the same feat four years down the line in the same controversial manner. One remarkable observation about Bush was the fact that his popularity was always on the decline given several contributing factors (Sufry Serf, 2003). The Iraqi War, the handling of the Katrina Disaster and the economic recession of 2008, were the main factors leading to popularity decline. Bush is also remembered for a closely knit family that consists of a wife and twin daughters. He got married to Laura Welch in 1977 after courting for a period of about three months. Together, they have twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara who were born in 1981. Jenna and Barbara both graduated in 2004, in the University of Texas and Yale respectively. Bush is also remembered for his participation in the organization of Texas Rangers professional baseball team. His participation served as a probable indicator of his worth in regard to issues of management and leadersh ip. The most outstanding incident during his tenure was perhaps the September 11 bombings of the twin towers in 2001. Osama bin Laden and his terror outfit the al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the bombing. Bush then declared war on terrorism and most of his policies were extremely controversial and subsequently caused more harm than good (Bush Bill, 2004). The whole situation was overshadowed by the Iraqi war, the war in Afghanistan against the Taliban, and the mistreating of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. In association with his closest ally and friend, Bush and Tony Blair, launched several attacks against Saddam Husseins government. Iraq was greatly suspected of having weapons of mass destruction in its possession. This led to Saddams ousting but the weapons were never found. A closer look at the prospects and policies designed by Bush indicates that he probably had the right intentions at the beginning but most of his designs were eventually hit by uncertainties . America certainly stands out as the most wealthy and influential country in the world in regard to very many aspects. It is regarded as the watchdog and caretaker of other nations, especially in the developing world. Due to these and many other positions, the country is therefore considered as a world superpower. From this angle we therefore conclude that being able to hold the highest office in terms of power and control, Bush made his first mark as an important figure in the society (Ivins Lou, 2000). He will thus be remembered for the fact that he ascended to the presidency at the beginning of the 21st century (Bush Bill, 2004). While in office, it is evident that Bush did implement or show the intention of achieving certain things that would transform the lives of Americans in many ways. The policies and issues he raised specifically touched on both positive and negative dimensions but were still significant. One of the factors that contribute to his acknowledgement is the mann er in which certain policies were affected. For instance, Bush was on the frontline in rooting for the acceptance of millions of illegal immigrants into the country. Traditions and constitutional approaches in the US have always been strict and previous leaders were particularly careful in tackling issues. Bushs character thus qualifies as daring in this case and he shall always be remembered for these feats. He argued that the law was not precisely clear on the issue of immigrants and reasonable measures ought to have been taken to save the lives of millions of people (Sufri Serf, 2003). He did not support amnesty for this group of people, but he acknowledged that America heavily relied on their services. The country witnessed the highest number of illegal entries in its history during Bushs first term in office. The issues culminated in the immigrant reform act that took effect in the year 2007 having been written by senators from both sides of the government. The aim was to impr ove the services of the National Guard at the Mexican border and to also provide avenue that would justify and authenticate the entry of immigrants into the country. Serious reforms were targeted including the revamping of the green card but the presidents intentions were however rubbished by the senate vote. He was again relentless and went for reforms that did not require serious executive considerations in the law. Another landmark activity that was emphasized during the Bush administration, was the attention accorded to educational matters and the general welfare of children. Bush clearly saw the need for balancing the educational abilities of those students perceived to be bright, and that of students believed to be somehow disadvantaged in certain ways. The initiative was dubbed No Child Left Behind and it generally received considerable support from both parties in government at the time. Apart from reducing the gap between the poor and rich students through the spectrum of p erformance, the bill targeted the empowerment of parents from poor backgrounds. The bill also recognized the need for additional funding especially for children in the disadvantaged category. The bill was eventually signed into law in the year 2002 despite heated debates and emerging controversies (Bush Bill, 2004). Bush also used his second term in office to bring the biggest reforms to the health care sector. His stipulations ensured that the welfare of a greater part of the population was given due consideration. The Medicare bill composed of measures that would facilitate easier acquisition of prescription drugs by the most vulnerable in the society. Older people and the children were generally targeted in this proposal. When the September 11 attacks took place in 2001, Bush had just occupied office for a few months. Obvious implications suggest that he was supposed to deal with the situation in the capacity of a president (Bush Bill, 2004). Thousands of Americans lost their lives and the consequences of terror were evidently looming in the entire nation. The terrorists had successfully instilled fear in the masses and the people were yearning for a considerable course of action. He was the first president to ever declare a massive war on terror in many years. Together with his closest ally the British Prime minister, Tony Blair, Bush declared a war on terror and immediately swung into action. He began by targeting several countries in the Middle East that were thought to be supportive of terrorists (Sufry Serf, 2003). Afghanistan and Iraq emerged as the major casualties of the Bush crusade against terror. He received significant support in the initial stages of his moves from Americans and the whole world in general. However, the same course of action was responsible for his decline in popularity after many people realized that his invasions were not justified. His plans were definitely ill-advised or they included making wrong choices with the right intention. The global war on terror nevertheless made its mark but eventually failed to materialize into tangible effects. For instance, he could not prove that Iraq actually had weapons of mass destruction after a long stint of invasions that resulted in several deaths in the country. Collin Luther Powell was born in 1937 in New York City and remains an influential figure in the US, in the field of politics and also as a writer (Oren, 2002). He served in different capacities in the US before finally being appointed as the secretary of state by President Bush. Among the positions he served in, was the prestigious military leadership that basically catapulted his recognition on the political scene. He achieved his MBA at the University of Washington after a previous stint of attaining education in public schools at primary levels. He is also remembered as being the one of the few black leaders who had an outstanding say in the Bush Administration. He is a firm leader who is always guided by principle and does not believe in pleasing people at the expense of public matters (Oren, 2002). His good reputation in politics and the military were however stained by his involvement in the Iraqi war. He supported Bushs war in Iraq but has since regretted his involvement since the war turned out to be worthless. As a matter of fact, he was very close to President Bush and took part in the passing of several policies. He is also regarded as a household name in the US just like his former boss. George Victor Voinovich was born in 1936 and served in different capacities before eventually serving as the senator for Ohio. He is currently retired and leaves behind a legacy that is worth the attention. He was born and bred in Cleveland where he also began his education. His father was a Serbian while his mother came from Slovenia. He obtained his Law degree at the University of Ohio and went on to become the mayor of Cleveland from 1981 to 1989. He is known for his strict opposition for certain policies that were put forward by President Bush. This is despite the fact that they all belonged to the Republican Party. Bush was actually born in Connecticut but his parents moved him to Texas at a very tender age. It is therefore appropriate to identify him with the background that is Texas since it then became his home for most of his life. Texas was first founded by Spanish missionaries in the 16th century under unclear social circumstances. Hostile natives and some form of isolation resulted in under population until the revolutionary war broke out. It was previously owned by the Mexican government but a series of wars and revolutions ensured that the US took it away from the Mexicans. By the time Americans took the state from Mexicans in1845, population had undergone significant explosion. The state consists of vast fertile lands in the densely populated regions of the coastal plains, and also mountains in the northwest. The fertility of the entire region is generally favorable for farming and ranching activities. As a matter of fact, this region is known to harbor very rich individuals who own t he ranches and big farms in the country state. The econoomy of the state is basically supported by farming and ranching activities. It is also evident that array of weather pattern do appear in Texas with the driest region being Trans-Pecos. Different precipitation levels in the regions soils also serve to ensure that the area gets a variety of vegetation. Basically, farming activities take place in fertile conditions. Bush operated in a historical setting of a place that is believed to be the land of opportunities. The US is the biggest country in the world in terms of economic, social, and other ventures, and other countries look up to it for inspiration. The country commands a big influence in world politics and offers financial assistance to other countries owing to its position in world economics. Americans also expect a whole lot of accountability from their leaders in order to ensure that their country is not led astray. Figure 1. A photo of former US president George W. Bush Bush had a great influence in the 20th century in terms of political matters and other related fields. He therefore remains popular amongst the masses in America and also in other parts of the world for the same reason. However, as stated earlier his presidency began on a high note and ended on a low note. The trend is certainly common with many leaders and influential figures in modern societies and this case was not an exception. The economic situation in the United States was brighter in the beginning but after only seven years as president, many aspects had undergone deterioration and destruction. The US had staged a worthy fight to become a world economic superpower by the end of the 20th century by toppling Britain from the position. But by the time the 21st century began, the Bush administration had probably messed up the whole situation. The country had engaged in the most expensive war with Iraq and everything was seemingly in shambles. The banking industry became exploitati ve and the president only sat and watched. The banks not only participated in predatory tactics of lending but they also included deceitful practices that left everybody in danger. The banks basically preyed on Americans but the president did not take make any effort to salvage the American people. The resultant issue was the loss of homes, and other properties or the threat of being victimized by such dimensions. The war also drove up the general cost of living in the US due to expensive nature and significant allotment of funds. The military was heavily funded at the expense of education, health care, social welfare and environmental concerns (Sufry Serf, 2003). Bush was fighting for a good cause in terms of eliminating weapons of mass destruction and stamping out terrorism by all means possible. He will be remembered for that fact and his desire to ensure that the world remained a safe place to stay for every American and nonAmerican. He chose to engage in a just war with the support of other countries. However, this war had negative implications on economical and social aspects of the US, and it serves as the focal point in unraveling major sources of concern in the whole situation. The costs of gas and food were on the rise at a tremendous speed and the Bush administration also had to increase many fees in the country to facilitate the war. Effects of the war and the evident economic downfall all had effects on the welfare of farmers, home builders, and industries. There was a mortgage crisis that reigned in the entire nation in the name of a shattered economy, illegal lending practices, and the Iraqi war. During the mortgage crisis, many American citizens lost their jobs. As a result unemployment rates were at a high and this served as a key indicator of an economic crisis. There were possible beneficiaries of the situation who threatened to rise in terms of the economy, like China, but the American situation was generally controlled. Social aspects in the country were also subject to some upheavals especially after the September 11 bombings in 2001. Fear loomed over the country and it took such a long time for things to go back to normal. Bush responded in the best way possible by putting in place laws that would salvage the situation. In this case, the department of homeland security was founded and reforms were also enforced on the bill of rights. He clearly had an intention of helping out the situation for the sake of all Americans. I believe that George W. Bush actually made a mark in world politics and his contribution should be recognized even though scrutiny is welcome. He rose to the highest occupation as a result of his deep ambitions and a visionary approach (Mitchell, 2000). This fact is supported by considering that he only took a short time to ascend to that position unlike other Presidents who take a longer route. He reached his zenith at a young age considering the fact that his term and that of his father were separated by President Clintons two terms (Bush Bill, 2004). In other words he became president a few years after his father. People might argue that his fathers influence had some role in his achievement but evident facts suggest otherwise. Bush employed uncanny tactics and experience gained from campaigning for his father in ensuring that he ascended to the helm. His achievements were however short lived and this gives me reason to believe that Bush never invested his intellectual ability in running the government. He was only driven by passion and belief but never had, or ignored the implications of intellectual ability. As a result he made many unwarranted choices that drove the country into the dangers of collapsing. The Iraqi war and the handling of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay brought some great deal of bad blood for America in other countries. America was also driven into the biggest economic crisis since the great depression and this can be attributed to lack of intellectual ability that eventually led to the grave mismanagement of a nation. Buy custom George Bush and his influence on History essay

10 TED Talks to inspire teachers

10 TED Talks to inspire teachers Summer is on the way out, and the school year is underway. Everything is shiny and new. But if you’ve taught before, you know it’s not long until the gleam wears off and the grind of the school year sets in. These 10 Ted Talks from teachers who are changing the world around them will inspire you long after September has passed. Watch when you’re feeling burned out, and know that you, too, have a personal hand in molding the lives of the kids you see every day.1. Rita F. Pierson: â€Å"Every Kid Needs a Champion†Pierson has been a teacher for the past 40 years. Her bottom line: you have to connect with your students on a human, personal level. Her response to a colleague who said he wasn’t paid to like the kids? The kids can tell.2. Linda Cliatt-Wayman: â€Å"How to Fix a Broken School†Her answer to this question? â€Å"Lead fearlessly, love hard.† This principal of a once-failing North Philadelphia school has a lot to say about the com plexities of running â€Å"low performing and persistently dangerous† schools and how a true love of the students is the only foundation for any change.3. Sakena Yacoobi: â€Å"How I stopped the Taliban from shutting down my school†The Taliban shut down every girls’ school in Afghanistan. Yacoobi set up new ones- secret schools to educate thousands of girls and boys. This inspirational talk shows just what a teacher is capable of in the face of terrifying obstacles.4. Nadia Lopez: â€Å"Why open a school? To close a prison.†Lopez is the founder of Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brownsville, Brooklyn- one of the most violent and underserved neighborhoods of New York City. Here, she talks about finding out what each child is capable of and how they can plan for a bright future.5. Christopher Emdin: â€Å"Teach teachers how to create magic†Emdin’s focus is making learning come alive. Whatever gets a kid interested and engaged allows you to teach- anything from rap songs to barbershop banter to church sermons. He’s also the founder of Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S. with GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan.6. Ramsey Musallam: â€Å"3 rules to spark learning†Musallam was jarred awake after 10 years of what he calls â€Å"pseudo teaching† by surgery and the surgeon who saved his life. Here, he talks about the three principles he used to turn his classroom around.7. Fawn Qiu: â€Å"Easy DIY projects for kid engineers†Trying to figure out how to get kids into STEM? Qiu’s practical advice gives great ideas to teachers hoping to find low-cost, innovative ideas for projects for students of all levels to get them excited by STEM fields.8. Reshma Saujani: â€Å"Teach girls bravery, not perfection†Girls are often socialized to be perfect- and not just that, but to meet impossible standards of perfection. If they feel they can’t live up to these impossible ideals, they’ll often give up. Saujani wants to teach girls to respond to challenges with bravery and confidence.9. Eduardo Briceà ±o: â€Å"How to get better at the things you care about†No matter how much you want to be good at something, there will always come a time when your work will stagnate, no matter how persistently you’re working. These times require a bit of extra determination. Briceà ±o also offers up a strategy- alternating between learning and performance modes- to keep things fresh and forward moving.10. Stephen Ritz: â€Å"A teacher growing green in the South Bronx†A tree grows in the Bronx? Ritz focuses on urban landscaping and agricultural projects that help his students learn new skills effortlessly while improving an underserved community’s access to nutritious food. He’ll help you learn how to think outside the box. Prepare to be inspired.

The Future of Nursing in an Evolving Health Care System Essay - 1

The Future of Nursing in an Evolving Health Care System - Essay Example Nurses are effective in pushing for these agendas because they are in a position to focus on the background of a patient. Nurses can offer recommendations that are evidence based to their patients. These recommendations motivate individuals to adjust their lifestyle and behavior changes to avoid getting sick. Nurses are also trained in behavioral and clinical sciences which means that they are capable of providing support self-care and self-management training (Olshansky, 2009). For the healthcare reform to shift focus to prevention and wellness, nurses need to teach the public on simple and low-cost strategies that can assist them in preventing diseases. Some of these strategies include engaging in physical activity, practicing deep breathing and laughing and also practicing meditation. These techniques are simple and lead towards behavioral change. The health reform centers on creating a patient-centered structure. This structure will foster personal health and self-care in patients. The reform will also engage the support of health workers such as nurses to ensure that the entire community to be served inputs by following the strategies laid out to them by the health workers (Mitchell,

STD Education Campaign Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

STD Education Campaign - Case Study Example 4. Public education: The campaign should be able to teach the students how transmission of STDs occurs and the potential preventive measures. The campaign should also teach the students the importance of knowing ones HIV status. Hygiene should also be part of the teaching during sexual activities (Aral, Fenton, & Lipshutz, 2013). 5. Promoting openness: Most of the people that have contracted STDs feel shy to seek doctors’ help. The campaign team should make the students understand that keeping STD as a secret is risky to an individual’s life. They should be encouraged to seek a doctor’s help as soon as they realize some of the symptoms. By doing that cure would be easier than waiting for the disease to worsen. 6. STD patients care: During the campaign‚, the students should accomplish services such as STD, HIV and pregnancy test. The campaign team should advance health care to STD, HIV and Pregnant patients. Moreover, the team should provide the patients with medicine to fasten the healing process and preventive process. 7. Motivating the students; Notably, students would always appreciate and remain motivated when given gifts. For a student, issuance of a participation certificate could be the most precious thing in the campaign. The certificate would assist them remember the teachings about STD and act as a professional

Why Literature Essay Example for Free

Why Literature Essay It has often happened to me, at book fairs or in bookstores, that a gentleman approaches me and asks me for a signature. It is for my wife, my young daughter, or my mother, he explains. She is a great reader and loves literature. Immediately I ask: And what about you? Dont you like to read? The answer is almost always the same: Of course I like to read, but I am a very busy person. I have heard this explanation dozens of times: this man and many thousands of men like him have so many important things to do, so many obligations, so many responsibilities in life, that they cannot waste their precious time buried in a novel, a book of poetry, or a literary essay for hours and hours. According to this widespread conception, literature is a dispensable activity, no doubt lofty and useful for cultivating sensitivity and good manners, but essentially an entertainment, an adornment that only people with time for recreation can afford. It is something to fit in between sports, the movies, a game of bridge or chess; and it can be sacrificed without scruple when one prioritizes the tasks and the duties that are indispensable in the struggle of life. It seems clear that literature has become more and more a female activity. In bookstores, at conferences or public readings by writers, and even in university departments dedicated to the humanities, the women clearly outnumber the men. The explanation traditionally given is that middle-class women read more because they work fewer hours than men, and so many of them feel that they can justify more easily than men the time that they devote to fantasy and illusion. I am somewhat allergic to explanations that divide men and women into frozen categories and attribute to each sex its characteristic virtues and shortcomings; but there is no doubt that there are fewer and fewer readers of literature, and that among the saving remnant of readers women predominate. This is the case almost everywhere. In Spain, for example, a recent survey organized by the General Society of Spanish Writers revealed that half of that countrys population has never read a book. The survey also revealed that in the minority that does read, the number of women who admitted to reading surpasses the number of men by 6. 2 percent, a difference that appears to be increasing. I am happy for these women, but I feel sorry for these men, and for the millions of human beings who could read but have decided not to read. They earn my pity not only because they are unaware of the pleasure that they are missing, but also because I am convinced that a society without literature, or a society in which literature has been relegatedlike some hidden viceto the margins of social and personal life, and transformed into something like a sectarian cult, is a society condemned to become spiritually barbaric, and even to jeopardize its freedom. I wish to offer a few arguments against the idea of literature as a luxury pastime, and in favor of viewing it as one of the most primary and necessary undertakings of the mind, an irreplaceable activity for the formation of citizens in a modern and democratic society, a society of free individuals. |[pic] | e live in the era of the specialization of knowledge, thanks to the prodigious development of science and technology and to the consequent fragmentation of knowledge into innumerable parcels and compartments. This cultural trend is, if anything, likely to be accentuated in years to come. To be sure, specialization brings many benefits. It allows for deeper exploration and greater experimentation; it is the very engine of progress. Yet it also has negative consequences, for it eliminates those common intellectual and cultural traits that permit men and women to co-exist, to communicate, to feel a sense of solidarity. Specialization leads to a lack of social understanding, to the division of human beings into ghettos of technicians and specialists. The specialization of knowledge requires specialized languages and increasingly arcane codes, as information becomes more and more specific and compartmentalized. This is the particularism and the division against which an old proverb warned us: do not focus too much on the branch or the leaf, lest you forget that they are part of a tree, or too much on the tree, lest you forget that it is part of a forest. Awareness of the existence of the forest creates the feeling of generality, the feeling of belonging, that binds society together and prevents it from disintegrating into a myriad of solipsistic particularities. The solipsism of nations and individuals produces paranoia and delirium, distortions of reality that generate hatred, wars, and even genocide. In our time, science and technology cannot play an integrating role, precisely because of the infinite richness of knowledge and the speed of its evolution, which have led to specialization and its obscurities. But literature has been, and will continue to be, as long as it exists, one of the common denominators of human experience through which human beings may recognize themselves and converse with each other, no matter how different their professions, their life plans, their geographical and cultural locations, their personal circumstances. It has enabled individuals, in all the particularities of their lives, to transcend history: as readers of Cervantes, Shakespeare, Dante, and Tolstoy, we understand each other across space and time, and we feel ourselves to be members of the same species because, in the works that these writers created, we learn what we share as human beings, what remains common in all of us under the broad range of differences that separate us. Nothing better protects a human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism, and exclusivist nationalism than this truth that invariably appears in great literature: that men and women of all nations and places are essentially equal, and that only injustice sows among them discrimination, fear, and exploitation. Nothing teaches us better than literature to see, in ethnic and cultural differences, the richness of the human patrimony, and to prize those differences as a manifestation of humanitys multi-faceted creativity. Reading good literature is an experience of pleasure, of course; but it is also an experience of learning what and how we are, in our human integrity and our human imperfection, with our actions, our dreams, and our ghosts, alone and in relationships that link us to others, in our public image and in the secret recesses of our consciousness. |[pic| |] | his complex sum of contradictory truthsas Isaiah Berlin called themconstitutes the very substance of the human condition. In todays world, this totalizing and living knowledge of a human being may be found only in literature. Not even the other branches of the humanitiesnot philosophy, history, or the arts, and certainly not the social scienceshave been able to preserve this integrating vision, this universalizing discourse. The humanities, too, have succumbed to the cancerous division and subdivision of knowledge, isolating themselves in increasingly segmented and technical sectors whose ideas and vocabularies lie beyond the reach of the common woman and man. Some critics and theorists would even like to change literature into a science. But this will never happen, because fiction does not exist to investigate only a single precinct of experience. It exists to enrich through the imagination the entirety of human life, which cannot be dismembered, disarticulated, or reduced to a series of schemas or formulas without disappearing. This is the meaning of Prousts observation that real life, at last enlightened and revealed, the only life fully lived, is literature. He was not exaggerating, nor was he expressing only his love for his own vocation. He was advancing the particular proposition that as a result of literature life is better understood and better lived; and that living life more fully necessitates living it and sharing it with others. The brotherly link that literature establishes among human beings, compelling them to enter into dialogue and making them conscious of a common origin and a common goal, transcends all temporal barriers. Literature transports us into the past and links us to those who in bygone eras plotted, enjoyed, and dreamed through those texts that have come down to us, texts that now allow us also to enjoy and to dream. This feeling of membership in the collective human experience across time and space is the highest achievement of culture, and nothing contributes more to its renewal in every generation than literature. |[| |p| |i| |c| |]| t always irritated Borges when he was asked, What is the use of literature? It seemed to him a stupid question, to which he would reply: No one would ask what is the use of a canarys song or a beautiful sunset. If such beautiful things exist, and if, thanks to them, life is even for an instant less ugly and less sad, is it not petty to seek practical justifications? But the question is a good one. For novels and poems are not like the sound of birdsong or the spectacle of the sun sinking into the horizon, because they were not created by chance or by nature. They are human creations, and it is therefore legitimate to ask how and why they came into the world, and what is their purpose, and why they have lasted so long. Literary works are born, as shapeless ghosts, in the intimacy of a writers consciousness, projected into it by the combined strength of the unconscious, and the writers sensitivity to the world around him, and the writers emotions; and it is these things to which the poet or the narrator, in a struggle with words, gradually gives form, body, movement, rhythm, harmony, and life. An artificial life, to be sure, a life imagined, a life made of languageyet men and women seek out this artificial life, some frequently, others sporadically, because real life falls short for them, and is incapable of offering them what they want. Literature does not begin to exist through the work of a single individual. It exists only when it is adopted by others and becomes a part of social lifewhen it becomes, thanks to reading, a shared experience. One of its first beneficial effects takes place at the level of language. A community without a written literature expresses itself with less precision, with less richness of nuance, and with less clarity than a community whose principal instrument of communication, the word, has been cultivated and perfected by means of literary texts. A humanity without reading. untouched by literature, would resemble a community of deaf-mutes and aphasics, afflicted by tremendous problems of communication due to its crude and rudimentary language. This is true for individuals, too. A person who does not read, or reads little, or reads only trash, is a person with an impediment: he can speak much but he will say little, because his vocabulary is deficient in the means for self-expression. This is not only a verbal limitation. It represents also a limitation in intellect and in imagination. It is a poverty of thought, for the simple reason that ideas, the concepts through which we grasp the secrets of our condition, do not exist apart from words. We learn how to speak correctlyand deeply, rigorously, and subtlyfrom good literature, and only from good literature. No other discipline or branch of the arts can substitute for literature in crafting the language that people need to communicate. To speak well, to have at ones disposal a rich and diverse language, to be able to find the appropriate expression for every idea and every emotion that we want to communicate, is to be better prepared to think, to teach, to learn, to converse, and also to fantasize, to dream, to feel. In a surreptitious way, words reverberate in all our actions, even in those actions that seem far removed from language. And as language evolved, thanks to literature, and reached high levels of refinement and manners, it increased the possibility of human enjoyment. Literature has even served to confer upon love and desire and the sexual act itself the status of artistic creation. Without literature, eroticism would not exist. Love and pleasure would be poorer, they would lack delicacy and exquisiteness, they would fail to attain to the intensity that literary fantasy offers. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that a couple who have read Garcilaso, Petrarch, Gongora, or Baudelaire value pleasure and experience pleasure more than illiterate people who have been made into idiots by televisions soap operas. In an illiterate world, love and desire would be no different from what satisfies animals, nor would they transcend the crude fulfillment of elementary instincts. Nor are the audiovisual media equipped to replace literature in this task of teaching human beings to use with assurance and with skill the extraordinarily rich possibilities that language encompasses. On the contrary, the audiovisual media tend to relegate words to a secondary level with respect to images, which are the primordial language of these media, and to constrain language to its oral expression, to its indispensable minimum, far from its written dimension. To define a film or a television program as literary is an elegant way of saying that it is boring. For this reason, literary programs on the radio or on television rarely capture the public. So far as I know, the only exception to this rule was Bernard Pivots program, Apostrophes, in France. And this leads me to think that not only is literature indispensable for a full knowledge and a full mastery of language, but its fate is linked also and indissolubly with the fate of the book, that industrial product that many are now declaring obsolete. |[pic| |] | his brings me to Bill Gates. He was in Madrid not long ago and visited the Royal Spanish Academy, which has embarked upon a joint venture with Microsoft. Among other things, Gates assured the members of the Academy that he would personally guarantee that the letter - would never be removed  from computer softwarea promise that allowed four hundred million Spanish speakers on five continents to breathe a sigh of relief, since the banishment of such an essential letter from cyberspace would have created monumental problems. Immediately after making his amiable concession to the Spanish language, however, Gates, before even leaving the premises of the Academy, avowed in a press conference that he expected to accomplish his highest goal before he died. That goal, he explained, is to put an end to paper and then to books. In his judgment, books are anachronistic objects. Gates argued that computer screens are able to replace paper in all the functions that paper has heretofore assumed. He also insisted that, in addition to being less onerous, computers take up less space, and are more easily transportable; and also that the transmission of news and literature by these electronic media, instead of by newspapers and books, will have the ecological advantage of stopping the destruction of forests, a cataclysm that is a consequence of the paper industry. People will continue to read, Gates assured his listeners, but they will read on computer screens, and consequently there will be more chlorophyll in the environment. I was not present at Gatess little discourse; I learned these details from the press. Had I been there I would have booed Gates for proclaiming shamelessly his intention to send me and my colleagues, the writers of books, directly to the unemployment line. And I would have vigorously disputed his analysis. Can the screen really replace the book in all its aspects? I am not so certain. I am fully aware of the enormous revolution that new technologies such as the Internet have caused in the fields of communication and the sharing of information, and I confess that the Internet provides invaluable help to me every day in my work; but my gratitude for these extraordinary conveniences does not imply a belief that the electronic screen can replace paper, or that reading on a computer can stand in for literary reading. That is a chasm that I cannot cross. I cannot accept the idea that a non-functional or non-pragmatic act of reading, one that seeks neither information nor a useful and immediate communication, can integrate on a computer screen the dreams and the pleasures of words with the same sensation of intimacy, the same mental concentration and spiritual isolation, that may be achieved by the act of reading a book. Perhaps this a prejudice resulting from lack of practice, and from a long association of  literature with books and paper. But even though I enjoy surfing the Web in search of world news, I would never go to the screen to read a poem by Gongora or a novel by Onetti or an essay by Paz, because I am certain that the effect of such a reading would not be the same. I am convinced, although I cannot prove it, that with the disappearance of the book, literature would suffer a serious blow, even a mortal one. The term literature would not disappear, of course. Yet it would almost certainly be used to denote a type of text as distant from what we understand as literature today as soap operas are from the tragedies of Sophocles and Shakespeare. |[pic| |] | here is still another reason to grant literature an important place in the life of nations. Without it, the critical mind, which is the real engine of historical change and the best protector of liberty, would suffer an irreparable loss. This is because all good literature is radical, and poses radical questions about the world in which we live. In all great literary texts, often without their authors intending it, a seditious inclination is present. Literature says nothing to those human beings who are satisfied with their lot, who are content with life as they now live it. Literature is the food of the rebellious spirit, the promulgator of non-conformities, the refuge for those who have too much or too little in life. One seeks sanctuary in literature so as not to be unhappy and so as not to be incomplete. To ride alongside the scrawny Rocinante and the confused Knight on the fields of La Mancha, to sail the seas on the back of a whale with Captain Ahab, to drink arsenic with Emma Bovary, to become an insect with Gregor Samsa: these are all ways that we have invented to divest ourselves of the wrongs and the impositions of this unjust life, a life that forces us always to be the same person when we wish to be many different people, so as to satisfy the many desires that possess us. Literature pacifies this vital dissatisfaction only momentarilybut in this miraculous instant, in this provisional suspension of life, literary illusion lifts and transports us outside of history, and we become citizens of a timeless land, and in this way immortal. We become more intense, richer, more complicated, happier, and more lucid than we are in the constrained routine of ordinary life. When we close the book and abandon literary fiction, we return to actual existence and compare it to the splendid land that we have just left. What a disappointment awaits us! Yet a tremendous realization also awaits us, namely, that the fantasized life of the novel is bettermore beautiful and more diverse, more comprehensible and more perfectthan the life that we live while awake, a life conditioned by the limits and the tedium of our condition. In this way, good literature, genuine literature, is always subversive, unsubmissive, rebellious: a challenge to what exists. How could we not feel cheated after reading War and Peace or Remembrance of Things Past and returning to our world of insignificant details, of boundaries and prohibitions that lie in wait everywhere and, with each step, corrupt our illusions? Even more than the need to sustain the continuity of culture and to enrich language, the greatest contribution of literature to human progress is perhaps to remind us (without intending to, in the majority of cases) that the world is badly made; and that those who pretend to the contrary, the powerful and the lucky, are lying; and that the world can be improved, and made more like the worlds that our imagination and our language are able to create. A free and democratic society must have responsible and critical citizens conscious of the need continuously to examine the world that we inhabit and to try, even though it is more and more an impossible task, to make it more closely resemble the world that we would like to inhabit. And there is no better means of fomenting dissatisfaction with existence than the reading of good literature; no better means of forming critical and independent citizens who will not be manipulated by those who govern them, and who are endowed with a permanent spiritual mobility and a vibrant imagination. Still, to call literature seditious because it sensitizes a readers consciousness to the imperfections of the world does not meanas churches and governments seem to think it means when they establish censorshipthat literary texts will provoke immediate social upheavals or accelerate revolutions. The social and political effects of a poem, a play, or a novel cannot be foreseen, because they are not collectively made or collectively experienced. They are created by individuals and they are read by individuals, who vary enormously in the conclusions that they draw from their writing and their reading. For this reason, it is difficult, or even impossible, to establish precise patterns. Moreover, the social consequences of a work of literature may have little to do with its aesthetic quality. A mediocre novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe seems to have played a decisive role in raising social and political consciousness of the horrors of slavery in the United States. The fact that these effects of literature are difficult to identify does not imply that they do not exist. The important point is that they are effects brought about by the actions of citizens whose personalities have been formed in part by books. Good literature, while temporarily relieving human dissatisfaction, actually increases it, by developing a critical and non-conformist attitude toward life. It might even be said that literature makes human beings more likely to be unhappy. To live dissatisfied, and at war with existence, is to seek things that may not be there, to condemn oneself to fight futile battles, like the battles that Colonel Aureliano Buenda fought in One Hundred Years of Solitude, knowing full well that he would lose them all. All this may be true. Yet it is also true that without rebellion against the mediocrity and the squalor of life, we would still live in a primitive state, and history would have stopped. The autonomous individual would not have been created, science and technology would not have progressed, human rights would not have been recognized, freedom would not have existed. All these things are born of unhappiness, of acts of defiance against a life perceived as insufficient or intolerable. For this spirit that scorns life as it isand searches with the madness of Don Quixote, whose insanity derived from the reading of chivalric novelsliterature has served as a great spur. |[pi| |c] | et us attempt a fantastic historical reconstruction. Let us imagine a world without literature, a humanity that has not read poems or novels. In this kind of atrophied civilization, with its puny lexicon in which groans and ape-like gesticulations would prevail over words, certain adjectives would not exist. Those adjectives include: quixotic, Kafkaesque, Rabelaisian, Orwellian, sadistic, and masochistic, all terms of literary origin. To be sure, we would still have insane people, and victims of paranoia and persecution complexes, and people with uncommon appetites and outrageous excesses, and bipeds who enjoy inflicting or receiving pain. But we would not have learned to see, behind these extremes of behavior that are prohibited by the norms of our culture, essential characteristics of the human condition. We would not have discovered our own traits, as only the talents of Cervantes, Kafka, Rabelais, Orwell, de Sade, and Sacher-Masoch have revealed them to us. When the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha appeared, its first readers made fun of this extravagant dreamer, as well as the rest of the characters in the novel. Today we know that the insistence of the caballero de la triste figura on seeing giants where there were windmills, and on acting in his seemingly absurd way, is really the highest form of generosity, and a means of protest against the misery of this world in the hope of changing it. Our very notions of the ideal, and of idealism, so redolent with a positive moral connotation, would not be what they are, would not be clear and respected values, had they not been incarnated in the protagonist of a novel through the persuasive force of Cervantess genius. The same can be said of that small and pragmatic female Quixote, Emma Bovary, who fought with ardor to live the splendid life of passion and luxury that she came to know through novels. Like a butterfly, she came too close to the flame and was burned in the fire. |[pic| |] | he inventions of all great literary creators open our eyes to unknown aspects of our own condition. They enable us to explore and to understand more fully the common human abyss. When we say Borgesian, the word immediately conjures up the separation of our minds from the rational order of reality and the entry into a fantastic universe, a rigorous and elegant mental construction, almost always labyrinthine and arcane, and riddled with literary references and allusions, whose singularities are not foreign to us because in them we recognize hidden desires and intimate truths of our own personality that took shape only thanks to the literary creation of Jorge Luis Borges. The word Kafkaesque comes to mind, like the focus mechanism of those old cameras with their accordion arms, every time we feel threatened, as defenseless individuals, by the oppressive machines of power that have caused so much pain and injustice in the modern worldthe authoritarian regimes, the vertical parties, the intolerant churches, the asphyxiating bureaucrats. Without the short stories and the novels of that tormented Jew from Prague who wrote in German and lived always on the lookout, we would not have been able to understand the impotent feeling of the isolated individual, or the terror of persecuted and discriminated minorities, confronted with the all-embracing powers that can smash them and eliminate them without the henchmen even showing their faces. The adjective Orwellian, first cousin of Kafkaesque, gives a voice to the terrible anguish, the sensation of extreme absurdity, that was generated by totalitarian dictatorships of the twentieth century, the most sophisticated, cruel, and absolute dictatorships in history, in their control of the actions and the psyches of the members of a society. In 1984, George Orwell described in cold and haunting shades a humanity subjugated to Big Brother, an absolute lord who, through an efficient combination of terror and technology, eliminated liberty, spontaneity, and equality, and transformed society into a beehive of automatons. In this nightmarish world, language also obeys power, and has been transformed into newspeak, purified of all invention and all subjectivity, metamorphosed into a string of platitudes that ensure the individuals slavery to the system. It is true that the sinister prophecy of 1984 did not come to pass, and totalitarian communism in the Soviet Union went the way of totalitarian fascism in Germany and elsewhere; and soon thereafter it began to deteriorate also in China, and in anachronistic Cuba and North Korea. But the danger is never completely dispelled, and the word Orwellian continues to describe the danger, and to help us to understand it. |[pic| |] | o literatures unrealities, literatures lies, are also a precious vehicle for the knowledge of the most hidden of human realities. The truths that it reveals are not always flattering; and sometimes the image of ourselves that emerges in the mirror of novels and poems is the image of a monster. This happens when we read about the horrendous sexual butchery fantasized by de Sade, or the dark lacerations and brutal sacrifices that fill the cursed books of Sacher-Masoch and Bataille. At times the spectacle is so offensive and ferocious that it becomes irresistible. Yet the worst in these pages is not the blood, the humiliation, the abject love of torture; the worst is the discovery that this violence and this excess are not foreign to us, that they are a profound part of humanity. These monsters eager for transgression are hidden in the most intimate recesses of our being; and from the shadow where they live they seek a propitious occasion to manifest themselves, to impose the rule of unbridled desire that destroys rationality, community, and even existence. And it was not science that first ventured into these tenebrous places in the human mind, and discovered the destructive and the self-destructive potential that also shapes it. It was literature that made this discovery. A world without literature would be partly blind to these terrible depths, which we urgently need to see. Uncivilized, barbarian, devoid of sensitivity and crude of speech, ignorant and instinctual, inept at passion and crude at love, this world without literature, this nightmare that I am delineating, would have as its principal traits conformism and the universal submission of humankind to power. In this sense, it would also be a purely animalistic world. Basic instincts would determine the daily practices of a life characterized by the struggle for survival, and the fear of the unknown, and the satisfaction of physical necessities. There would be no place for the spirit. In this world, moreover, the crushing monotony of living would be accompanied by the sinister shadow of pessimism, the feeling that human life is what it had to be and that it will always be thus, and that no one and nothing can change it. When one imagines such a world, one is tempted to picture primitives in loincloths, the small magic-religious communities that live at the margins of modernity in Latin America, Oceania, and Africa. But I have a different failure in mind. The nightmare that I am warning about is the result not of under-development but of over-development. As a consequence of technology and our subservience to it, we may imagine a future society full of computer screens and speakers, and without books, or a society in which booksthat is, works of literaturehave become what alchemy became in the era of physics: an archaic curiosity, practiced in the catacombs of the media civilization by a neurotic minority. I am afraid that this cybernetic world, in spite of its prosperity and its power, its high standard of living and its scientific achievement would be profoundly uncivilized and utterly soullessa resigned humanity of post-literary automatons who have abdicated freedom. It is highly improbable, of course, that this macabre utopia will ever come about. The end of our story, the end of history, has not yet been written, and it is not pre-determined. What we will become depends entirely on our vision and our will. But if we wish to avoid the impoverishment of our imagination, and the disappearance of the precious dissatisfaction that refines our sensibility and teaches us to speak with eloquence and rigor, and the weakening of our freedom, then we must act. More precisely, we must read. MARIO VARGAS LLOSAs new book, The Feast of the Goat, will be published by Farrar, Straus Giroux in November. He is professor of Ibero-American Literature and Culture at Georgetown University.

Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District Essay -- Church State Argumen

In cases having to do with constitutionality, the issue of the separation of church and state arises with marked frequency. This battle, which has raged since the nation?s founding, touches the very heart of the United States public, and pits two of the country's most important influences of public opinion against one another. Although some material containing religious content has found its way into many of the nation's public schools, its inclusion stems from its contextual and historical importance, which is heavily supported by material evidence and documentation. It often results from a teacher?s own decision, rather than from a decision handed down from above by a higher power. The proposal of the Dover Area School District to include instruction of intelligent design in biology classes violates the United States Constitution by promoting an excessive religious presence in public schools. The Dover Area School District of Dover, Pennsylvania is seeking approval from the General Assembly of Pennsylvania House to include the theory of intelligent design in the instruction of biology. Intelligent design, also known as I.D., is a theory that seeks to refute the widely-accepted and scientifically-supported evolution theory. It proposes that the complexity of living things and all of their functioning parts hints at the role of an unspecified source of intelligence in their creation (Orr). For all intents and purposes, the evidence cited by I.D. supporters consists only of the holes or missing links in evolutionary theory; it is a widely-debate proposal, not because ?of the significant weight of its evidence,? but because ?of the implications of its evidence? (IDnet). House Bill No. 1007?the bill in question?propos... ...20Biology%20Curriculum--011005.pdf ?Dover Area School District Biology I Planned Instruction/ Curriculum Guide.? Dover Area School District. http://www.dover.k12.pa.us/3598_7352811954/lib/3598_7352811954/Biology%20Curriculum.pdf ?Edwards v. Aguillard, 482 U.S. 578.? Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. 1987. http://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/academics/faculty/lloyd/projects/conlaw/ed_v_ag.htm ?House Bill No.1007.? The General Assembly of Pennsylvania. 2005. http://www2.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/BI/BT/2005/0/HB1007P1153.pdf ?Lemon v. Kurtzmann 403 U.S. 602.? FindLaw for Legal Professionals. 1971. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=403&invol=602 ?Walz v. Tax Commission of City of New York, 397 U.S. 664.? FindLaw for Legal Professionals. 1970. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=397&invol=664

How far do you agree that the death of Lennie is inevitable? Essay

There are many factors, throughout the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men† that lead to the death of Lennie. These factors also lead to how the book is structured. The objective of John Steinbeck, who wrote this book, was to convey fragility of life in the 1930’s in the area of Salinas. The Scottish poet Robbie Burns wrote a poem including the line â€Å"The best laid plans of mice and men / Gang aft a-gley†. This poem is about a mouse, whose home is ruined by a farmer ploughing a field. The mouse then dies over the winter, having no protection. This is a literary allusion, as Burn’s mouse parallels George and Lennie’s dream, which inevitably will never be achieved. This also reflects Lennie’s life, as inevitably, he will die, and this is also implied through details and events throughout the novella, such as through the death of Curley’s dog. There are also numerous factors that lead to Lennie’s death within the plot. The writer presents Lennie as a character in the novel who is colossal and is physically strong but as seen mentally he is totally opposite. In the novel, he appears to be immature and infantile; â€Å"He heard Lennie’s whimpering cry and wheeled about. ‘Blubberin’ like a baby?’ Lennie’s lip quivered and tears started in his eyes.† This quote suggests that Lennie holds a childish behaviour, which also contributes towards his immaturity. This also leads him to be substantially dependent on George. In fact George particularly appears to be an essential requirement for Lennie as a caretaker who can look after him and keep him out of trouble. This is evident in the text as George says, â€Å"You ain’t gonna get in no trouble now, Lennie. But if you do, hide in the brush till I come for you.† This quote highlights George’s responsibility towards Lennie as his best friend and his attitude of caring and preventing him from troubl e. Lennie is very affectionate towards petting soft things and enjoys having fun with it. The first, being Lennie’s nature. Lennie is an incredibly strong man, however, he seems to be a ‘child trapped in mans body’. This is because he is constantly petting, and stocking things that only a child would pet, as it says â€Å"Lennie reluctantly reached into his pocket†¦ ‘I don’t know why I can’t keep it†¦ I wasn’t doin’ nothing bad with it, George. Jus’ stroking it'†. He also causes trouble in weed where he wanted to touch the girl’s red dress, as he wanted to feel it, very similar to what small children like to do. In result, the girl accuses him of raping her and men on the ranch lynch him. George, being his best friend, takes him to Soledad to escape from the men. Another thing that Lennie does is that he used to kill the mice that Aunt Clara used to give him earlier and also kills a mouse and a pup by petting them so hard. These events also relate back to his capability of getting in trouble. In addition to that, Lennie also breaks Curley’s wrist, which highlights his physical strength and how can he potentially harm a person without even knowing about it. â€Å"Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie’s big hand. Curley sat down, looking at in wonder at his crushed hand.† This quote shows us that how Steinbeck chooses to introduce this event to foreshadow the forthcoming trouble by Lennie. In context to Lennie’s behaviour to other characters, he is presented as a very polite and soft person. He considers important enough to listen to and follow George and his instructions; â€Å"Of course, George, I can remember that. I am gonna hide in the brush till you come.† This quote reveals Lennie’s faith and dependence on George and tells us that he does not have the ability to keep him safe from trouble. Therefore his personal behaviour and characteristics contribute effectively towards the serious trouble, which Lennie will get in to later in the novel. The author tends to be keen while setting up Lennie and the ways in which he tries to make Lennie’s death unavoidable. Repetition of Lennie doing bad things one after another and increasing trouble from time to time represents the serious trouble, which Lennie might get in to very soon. Lennie killing mice and a pup shows his own ability of killing a living organism; â€Å"You always kill ’em. Lennie said, ‘They was so little.’ I’d’ pet’em, and pretty soon the bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and they were dead.† The quote highlights Lennie’s unawareness of his physical strength, which is the major reason for most of his own created troubles. Furthermore, Steinbeck tries to come across the following key point in the novel. Lennie prefers to panic when in case of trouble instead of using his mind to know what to do. His inability of using his mind in different situations shows that trouble is almost inevita ble for him. Another factor which could have lead to Lennie’s death is Curley’s wife, and her nature. This shows isolation, as she has no friends on the ranch, and even her husband â€Å"owns† her, as she is only known as â€Å"Curley’s wife†. She seeks attention, through appearing in the bunkhouse, as it says â€Å"Both men glanced up for the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off†. Curley’s wife is attracted to Lennie’s petting tendencies, showing she is soft, and although jailbait, is also purity as it says â€Å"Curley’s wife laughed at him. ‘ You’re nuts,’ she said. But you’re a kinda nice fella.'† The structure of the novella is also very fateful for Lennie. The incident in Weed took place early on in the novella. This is because this was the reason for George and Lennie had to move to Salinas. The relationship with George highlights precarious position for Lennie – he has no place in society. From the very beginning in fact, the very title of the novella symbolises doom for Lennie. Burns’ poem, is about is about a mouse, whose home is ruined by a farmer ploughing a field. The mouse then dies over the winter, having no protection. All these previous events of Lennie foreshadows that his death is unavoidable as he could do anything for pleasure to get in trouble without even knowing about what he has done. All these things also give us a clue that all his activities would end him up in big trouble and probably lead him to his death. George always feared for Lennie as he thought that Lennie could end up in big trouble for himself and for him too. He also tries to prevent him from any possible trouble to his best. Despite of George’s protection from trouble, Lennie at last kills Curley’s wife by twisting her neck. This event secures Lennie’s destruction and promotes death for him, which he cannot choose to avoid. During this tragic event, Steinbeck shows that Lennie panics and breaks Curley’s wife’s neck accidentally instead of using his brain to know why is she screaming. â€Å"‘Don’t you go yellin’, he said, and shook her; and her body flopped like a fish, for Lennie had broken her neck.† This quote highlights how Lennie’s inability of using his mind and how using his physical strength, which he is not aware of, leads him to the serious trouble, which the author tries to present and emphasise in the novel. In conclusion, the main factor that led to Lennie’s was in fact Steinbeck’s fundamental message. Also, intolerance, and misunderstanding in society did not help Lennie, as he has been given no place, and people don’t know how to treat Lennie, as he is so misunderstood. The structure also leads to Lennie’s death. We see his death as inevitable, due to the main title of the novella, and also how it is organised. Lennie’s death was not unexpected, especially when we have read the last chapter, with Lennie’s visions. The giant rabbit tells us that Lennie has done wrong, and that he will be punished for it, by not having George and his dream ranch, and him tending the rabbits. Lennie’s innocence and his inability to use his mind, secures his inevitable destruction. These factors all point, very obviously throughout the novel; hence Lennie’s death was inevitable.

Son of God

Page 1 Marrisa Lumia Jesus Across the Millennium March 29, 2012 Jesus: The Son of God A meaning behind a name can be very significant. It can be a way to interpret someone, describe him or her, and see who he or she really is. Jesus is a man who has numerous names and various meanings to them. He is the known as a teacher, a famous prophet, a miracle worker, and a wonderful example. One significant name that Jesus is known for is the Son of God. At the heart of the Nicene Creed it states â€Å" the only- begotten Son of God†. The Son of God is to be of the same nature as God and the Son of God is â€Å"of God†.Out of all the names for Jesus, Son of God has had one of the most lifelong impacts in Christian history and has become part of the profession of faith by many Christians. But according to the theological view, Jesus is known as a respected prophet, but not as the Son of God. The Son of God is extremely significant in the historical context, Christianity, and to t he theological view. What exactly does the Son of God mean? Literally speaking, it does not mean that God procreated him, it is much more spiritual than that. Jesus was â€Å"chosen to be† the â€Å"Son of God† by the Resurrection from the dead.This was not in human flesh, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. This means because of the Resurrection from the dead, Jesus Page 2 was not just another physical offspring of David. Jesus was the divine Son of God who went sent down from God to save us. There is disagreement about Jesus’ nature and his relationship with God the Father. Many believe in the trinity and use expressions God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in attempts to express this saying as all three persons. On the other hand, many believe that there is only one highest being who expressed Himself in three different ways.They believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are purely forms of God. While others trust that God is the o nly divine being and that Christ is only a created being. It is taught in the Bible that the Messiah was Jesus, whose â€Å"mortal† parents were Joseph and Mary of Nazareth. Jesus was a man who lived a sinless life and then gave His life on the cross in order to redeem mankind from their sins. According to John 1:11-12, â€Å"He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. The historical view of Jesus had many names and meanings, but in the Scriptures Christians referred to Jesus as the Son of God. In both the Old and New Testament Jesus was referred to as the Son of God. In the Old Testament Son of God is recurrent. According to NewAdvent. org , the word â€Å"son† was used by many of the Semites to represent close connection or intimate relationship. A hero or warrior was known as the â€Å"son of strength†, a wicked man â€Å"son of wickedness†, and a possessor â€Å"son of possession†. In the Old Testament the label â€Å"Son Page 3 of God† was applied to persons having any special relationship with God.The title â€Å" Sons of God† were referred to as Angels, leaders of the people, kings, princes, and judges because they withheld authority from God. In the Old Testament, Jesus was not only known as the Son of God but he was also called Emmanuel (which means God with us), Wonderful, God the Mighty, Prince of Peace, Counselor, the Father of the world to come. In the New Testament, the Son of God is referred to Jesus Christ in both the Gospels and Epistles. By expressing His Divinity this shed light on many of the meanings attached to passages of the Gospels.In the New Testament, an angel announced: â€Å"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High†¦ the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God† (Luke 1:32, 35). Also it states that Nathaniel, at his first meeting, called Him the Son of God (John 1:49). Ironically the Devils and Jews also referred to Him as the Son of God. In each one of these cases, the meaning of Son of God was equivalent to the Messiah. A puzzling question from the theological standpoint that raised conflict was, â€Å"How could Jesus be The Son of God, and God at the same time? The question has been on the minds of many Theologists for centuries. Christian theology depends on the Father-Son language to correctly describe the connection between Jesus and God. For thousands of years, Christians have believed that there is one God, and three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each of them being one with God. According to Christian theology, there is a problem with the doctrine of trinity. The doctrine states that there is precisely one God; which means that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God; and that Father, Son, and Spirit are separate.T his could mean that ‘is God’ Page 4 either means ‘is identical God’ or ‘is divine’. Either way there is a problem to this puzzle. One way it opposes the doctrine is if the Father is equal to God and the Son is equal to God, then it would conclude that the Father is identical to the Son. Another way this opposes the doctrine is if the Father is divine and the Son is divine and the Father is separate from the Son, then there are at least two divine persons, which means there would be two Gods. According to theology, either way the doctrine would be missing pieces to its puzzle.Jesus was a man of wonder with many names and meanings to them. He was known for being a teacher, a famous prophet, a miracle worker, and a wonderful example. One significant name that Jesus was known for is the Son of God. Throughout Christian history the title Son of God has had a lifelong impact on Christian and became part of their profession of faith. The development o f the theological view was very different. Jesus maybe known as a respected prophet, but he was not as the Son of God. The title of Jesus as the Son of God is very significant.He is a man of glorious wonder and faith. Although through the theologists eyes Jesus maybe the Son of God but is not God himself. But in the historical view and the Bible, the Son of God is extremely significant and respected. Page 5 Bibliography Dunn, James Douglas Grant. , and Scott Mcknight. â€Å"Chapter 4. † The Historical Jesus in Recent Research. Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns, 2005. 271+. Print Borg, Marcus J. , and N. T. Wright. The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions. [San Francisco, CA]: HarperSanFrancisco, 1998. Print.Aherne, Cornelius. â€Å"Son of God. † The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 13 Apr. 2012 http://www. newadvent. org/cathen/14142b. htm Dunn, James Douglas Grant. , and Scott Mcknight. â€Å"Chapter 4. † The Historical Jesus in Rec ent Research. Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns, 2005. 271+. Print â€Å"Son of God. † Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Dec. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. . Murray, Michael, and Michael Rea. â€Å"Philosophy and Christian Theology. † (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Web. 13 Apr. 2012.

Marine Corp 14 Leadership Traits Essay Example

Marine Corp 14 Leadership Traits Essay Example Marine Corp 14 Leadership Traits Essay Marine Corp 14 Leadership Traits Essay I believe the LT judgment is the ability to weigh the starting, midway, and outcome of any decision and decide which would be best for his junior marines, which way would be able to incorporate the strength of his marines, be open for other suggestions too because there are so many angles that a situation can be looked at and you might miss something when someone might see it, and most of all be able to carry out the mission the most successful way possible. Next is justice, I believe that justice is a good thing to have when it’s not corrupt. Justice is being fair to all is someone messes up they must be held accountable for what they did, and hopefully learn from that mistake and not make it again. No matter the rank, billet, or relationship everyone should be treated the same. After that would be dependability. This is pretty clean cut, if you don’t have a dependable leader how are you supposed to trust him and how is he or she supposed to believe that the marines will follow them into combat and give them their 100% best? You can’t, yeah they might follow orders but they will half ass it and that’s how people get hurt and get killed. Next would be initiative, the drive to do the unsaid orders. Doing what should be done. It’s usually best when it’s done with good judgment. Good initiative and good judgment are the way to success. Next would be decisiveness, a good leader should be able to choose the path that they want for the correct course of action and stick with it. Following that would be tack. Tack is a good way to show that you are mature and know when it’s time for fooling around and when to be serious and how to get your point across with the proper wording and respect. After that would be integrity. Something that I hold dear to myself, I’ve been wronged plenty of times in the past because someone had a lack of integrity this is a big topic for me, if you loss all integrity with me then it’s hard to get it back. I try my best to be honest and keep my integrity no matter the consequence because as we know bad news does not age well with time, it gets worse. Enthusiasm is a great thing as well, no matter how hard things get if you have enthusiasm and a positive attitude you can pretty much over come anything that is thrown at you, and it’s also contagious even if you have to fake it, it will bring up the moral of your arines and they will in turn motivate you so it no longer is a fake motivation it’s a reality. Baring is important in ways. I don’t really have much to say on it because there isn’t much to it and I personally think it’s not something that is dire to have 100% down pat I guess. I mean yes it’s good to be able to have when the time comes but I guess I don’t find it that important. Next would be unselfishness. It’s a great this when you have junior marines, it shows them that you care about them and that you are willing to bend over backwards for them in they are in need. It makes it easy on the junior marines to approach their leader when they should. Courage is a also a great thing to have its like I said in enthusiasm if you show courage to stand up for what is right and what should be done other will follow and you will make a good name for yourself rather than your name be dragged through the dirt for the not so courageous actions. Knowledge is always a good thing to have for any marine not just leaders; knowledge is the strongest weapon and the most reliable. After that is loyalty. Loyalty to the Corp and your marines shows great leadership skills showing that you won’t leave a marine behind. If you are loyal to your marines they will be loyal to you in turn. Finally there is endurance. The drive to never quit, never stop, to keep going and overcome all odds. Everyone can learn and gain from having improved endurance. Those are what a leader is to me and what I believe a good leader has, obviously they can’t have them all and they will have them in their own way which also would work. There are many ways you can approach this and still be a great leader and maybe not have all of them. Every leader is different. But all in all this is what I would like to be when I grow in the ranks I want to be there for my marines, I want them to be able to come to me with their problems and I’ll do my best to help them in their problems and set their mind at ease with so they can focus on the mission at hand which should be the goal of all leaders. This is what I hope to achieve and be able to grow in this way to better myself and the marines below me.

Atomic

Atomic Essay BombThen a tremendous flash of light cut across the sky . Mr. Tanimotohas a distinct recollection that it traveled from east to west, from the citytoward the hills. It seemed like a sheet of sun. à John Hersey, fromHiroshima, pp.8 On August 6, 1945, the world changed forever. On that day theUnited States of America detonated an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. Never before had mankind seen anything like. Here was something that wasslightly bigger than an ordinary bomb, yet could cause infinitely moredestruction. It could rip through walls and tear down houses like the devilswrecking ball. In Hiroshima it killed 100,000 people, most non-militarycivilians. Three days later in Nagasaki it killed roughly 40,000 . The immediateeffects of these bombings were simple. The Japanese government surrendered,unconditionally, to the United States. The rest of the world rejoiced as themost destructive war in the history of mankind came to an end . All while thesurvivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki tried to piece together what was left oftheir lives, families and homes. Over the course of the next forty years, thesetwo bombings, and the nuclear arms race that followed them, would come to have adirect or indirect effect on almost every man, woman and child on this Earth,including people in the United States. The atomic bomb would penetrate everyfabric of Ame rican existence. From our politics to our educational system. Ourindustry and our art. Historians have gone so far as to call this period in ourhistory the Ã’atomic ageÓ for the way it has shaped and guided worldpolitics, relations and culture. The entire history behind the bomb itself isrooted in Twentieth Century physics. At the time of the bombing the science ofphysics had been undergoing a revolution for the past thirty-odd years. Scientists now had a clear picture of what the atomic world was like. They newthe structure and particle makeup of atoms, as well as how they behaved. Duringthe 1930Õs it became apparent that there was a immense amount of energythat would be released atoms of Gioielli 2certain elements were split, or takenapart. Scientists began to realize that if harnessed, this energy could besomething of a magnitude not before seen to human eyes. They also saw that thisenergy could possibly be harnessed into a weapon of amazing power. And with theadvent of World War Two, this became an ever increasing concern. In the earlyfall of 1939, the same time that the Germans invaded Poland, President Rooseveltreceived a letter from Albert Einstein, informing him about the certainpossibilities of creating a controlled nuclear chain reaction, and thatharnessing such a reaction could produce a bomb of formidable strength. Hewrote: This new phenomena would lead also lead to the construction of bombs, andit is conceivable, though much less certain-that extremely powerful bombs of anew type may thus be constructed (Clark 556-557).The letter goes on to encouragethe president to increase government and military involvement in suchexperiments, and to encourage the experimental work of the scientists with theallocation of funds, facilities and equipment that might be necessary. Thisletter ultimately led to the Manhattan Project, the effort that involvedbillions of dollars and tens of thousands of people to produce the atomic bomb. During the time after the war, until just recently the American psyche has beenbranded with the threat of a nuclear holocaust. Here was something so powerful,yet so diminutive. A bomb that could obliterate our nations capital, and thatwas as big as somebodies backyard grill. For the first time in the history ofhuman existence here was something capable of wiping us off the face of theEarth. And most people had no control over that destiny. It seemed like peopleslives, the life of everything on this planet, was resting in the hands of acouple men in Northern Virginia and some guys over in Russia. The atomic bomband the amazing power it held over us had a tremendous influence on AmericanCulture, including a profound effect on American Literature. After the war, thefirst real piece of literature about the bombings came in 1946. The workHiroshima, by Jon Hersey, from which the opening quote is taken, first appearedas a long article in the New Yorker, then shortly after in book form. The bookis a non-fiction account of the bombing of Hiroshima and the immediateaftermath. It is told from the point-of-view of six hibakusha, or Ã’survivorsÓof the atomic blast. In four chapters Hersey traces how the these peoplesurvived the blast, and what they did in following weeks and months to pulltheir lives together Gioielli 3and save their families. The book takes on a toneof sympathy and of miraculous survival à that these people were luckyenough to survive the blast. He focuses not on the suffering of the victims buton their courage (Stone, 7). The following passage from the first chapter showsthis:A hundred thousand people were killed by the bomb, and these six were amongthe survivors. They still wonder why they lived when so many others died. Eachof the counts many small items of chance or volitionà a step taken in time,a decision to go indoors, catching one streetcar instead of the nextà thatspared him. And each that in the act of survival he lived a dozen lives and sawmore death than he ever thought he would see. At the time, none of them knewanything (4). Hersey was attempting to chronicle what had happened at Hiroshima,and to do so fairly. And in emphasizing the survival instead of the suffering hedoes not make his book anti-American or something that condemns the dropping ofthe bomb. He simply gives these peoples accounts of how they survived in a tonethat is more journalistic than sensationalistic. The book empathizes with theirplight while it also gives an American explanation for the bombing (Stone, 7). That it was an act of war to end the war as quickly and as easily as possible,and to save more lives in the long run. Hersey did all this to provide what heconsidered an evenhanded portrayal of the event, but he also did not want tocause much controversy. Although it could be criticized for not giving a moredetailed account of the suffering that occurred, and that it reads more like ahistory book than a piece of literature, HerseyÕs book was the first ofits kind when it was published. Up until then all accounts of the Hiroshimabombing writings about it took the slant that Japanese had Ã’deserved whatwe had given themÓ, and that we were good people for doing so. Theseaccounts were extremely prejudicial and racist. (Stone, 4) Hersey was the firstto take the point of view of those who had actually experienced the event. Andhis work was the transition between works that glorified thedropping of theatomic bomb, to those that focused on its amazing destructive powers, and whatth ey could do to our world. During the period immediately after the war, notmuch information was available to general public concerning what kind ofdestruction the atomic bombs had actually caused in Japan. But starting withHerseyÕs book and continuing with other non-fiction works, such as DavidBradleys No Place To Hide, which concerned the Bikini Island nuclear tests,Americans really began to get a picture of the awesome power and destructivenessof nuclear weapons. They saw that these really Gioielli 4were doomsday devices. Weapons that could change everything in an instant, and turn things into nothingin a moment. It was this realization that had a startling effect on Americanculture and literature. Some Americans began to say Ã’At any time we couldall be shadows in the blast wave, so whatÕs the point?Ó. Thisviewpoint manifested itself in literature in something called the Ã’apocalyptictemperÓ; an attitude or a tone dealing with a forthcoming end to theworld. Also, many people, because of this realization of our impending death,were beginning to say that maybe their was something inherently wrong with allof this. That nuclear weapons are dangerous to everyone, no matter what yourpolitical views or where you live, and that we should do away with all of them. They have no value to society and should be destroyed. This apocalyptic temperand social activism was effected greatly in the early Sixties by the CubanMissile Crisis. When Americans saw, on television, that they could be undernuclear attack in under twenty minutes, a new anxiety about the cold warsurfaced that had not been present since the days of McCarthy. And this newanxiety was evidenced in works that took on a much more satirical tone. And oneof the works that shows this satiric apocalyptic temper and cynicism is KurtVonneguts Cats Cradle. Vonnegut, considered by many to be one of Americasforemost living authors, was himself a veteran of World War Two. He, as aprisoner of war, was one of the few survivors of the fire-bombing of Dresden. InDresden he saw what many believe was a more horrible tragedy than Hiroshima. Theallied bombs destroyed the entire city and killed as many people, if not more,than were killed in Hiroshima. He would eventually write about this experiencein the semi-autobiographical Slaughterhouse-Five. This novel, like Cats Cradle,takes a very strong anti-war stance. But along with being an Anti-war book, CatsCradle is an excellent satire of the Atomic Age. It is essentially the story ofone man, an author by the name of John (or Jonah) and the research he is doingfor a book on the day the bomb exploded in Hiroshima. This involves him withmembers of the Dr. Felix Hoenikker familyà the genius who helped build thebombà and their adventures. In the book Vonnegut paints an imaginary worldwhere things might not seem to make any Gioielli 5sense. But there is in fact anamazing amount of symbolism, as well as satire. Dr. Hoenikker is an extremelyeccentric scientist who spends most of his time in the lab at his company. He isinterested in very few things, his children not among them. His children arealmost afraid of him. One of the few times he does try to play with his childrenis when he tries to teach the game of cats cradle to his youngest s on, Newt. READ: The Harrapan Civilization EssayWhen he is trying to show newt the game Newt gets very confused. In the book,this is what Newt remembered of the incident:Ã’And then he sang, ÔRockabyecatsy, in the tree topÕ;he sang, Ô when the wind blows, the cray-dullwill fall. Down will come cray-dull, catsy and all.Õ Ã’I burst intotears. I jumped up and ran out of the house as fast as I could.Ó(18)WhatNewt doesnÕt remember is what he said to his Father. Later in the book wefind this out from Newts sister, Angela that newt jumped of his fatherÕslap screaming Ã’ No cat! No cradle! No cat! No cradle!Ó(53) With thisscene, Vonnegut is trying to show a couple of things. Dr. Hoenikker symbolizesall the scientists who created the atomic bomb. And the cats cradle is the worldand all of humankind combined. Dr. Hoenikker is simply playing, like he has allhis life, that game just happens to involve the fate of the rest of the world. And little Newt, having a childs un-blinded perception, doesnÕt understandthe game. He doesnÕt see a cat or a cradle. Like all the gamesDr.Hoenikker plays, including the ones with nuclear weapons, this one ismislabeled. This is just one of the many episodes in the book that characterizesDr. Hoenikker as a player of games. He recognizes this in himself when he giveshis Nobel Prize speech:I stand before you now because I never stopped dawdlinglike an eight year on a spring morning on his way to school. Anything can makeme stop and wonder, and sometimes learn (17). And the Doctors farewell to theworld is a game he has played, with himself. One day a Marine General asked himif he could make something that would eliminate mud, so that marines wouldnÕthave to deal with mud anymore. So Dr. Hoenikker thinks up ice-nine, an imaginarysubstance that when it comes in contact with any other kind of water, itcrystallizes it. And this crystallization spreads to all the water moleculesth is piece of water is in contact with. So to crystallize the mud in an entirearmed division of marines, it would only take a minuscule amount of ice-nine. Dr. Gioielli 6Hoenikkers colleagues see this as just another example of hisimagination at work. But he actually does create a small chink of ice-nine, andwhen he dies, each of his children get a small piece of it. They carry it aroundwith themselves in thermos containers the rest of their lives. At the end ofbook one small piece of ice-nine gets out , by mere accident, and ends upcrystallizing the whole world. The game Dr. Hoenikker was playing with himselfdestroyed the whole world. The accident that caused the ice-nine to get outcould be much like the accident that could cause World War III. One small thingthat sets off an amazing series of events, like piece of ice-nine just fallingout of the thermos. And Dr. Hoenikker, like the scientists of the world, wasplaying game and caused it all. Here is a description of the world after theice-nine has wreaked its havoc:There were no smells. There was no movement. Every step I took made a gravelly squeak in blue-white frost. And every squeakwas echoed loudly. The season of locking was over. The Earth was locked up tight(179).This description eerily resembles what many have said the Earth will looklike during a nuclear winter (Stone, 62). In addition to Dr. Hoenikker and hisdoomsday games, Vonnegut provides an interesting analysis of atomic age societywith the Bokonon religion. This religion, completely made up by Vonnegut andused in this novel, is the religion of every single inhabitant of San Lorenzo,the books imaginary banana republic. This is the island where Jonah eventuallyends up, and where the ice-nine holocaust originates. (It also, being aCaribbean nation, strangely resembles Cuba.) Bokonon is a strange religion. Itwas created by one of the leaders of San Lorenzo, a long time ago. Essentially,Bokonon is the only hope for all inhabitants of San Lorenzo. Their existence onthe island is so horrible that they have to find harmony with som ething. Bokononism gives them that. It is based on untruths, to give San Lorenzans asense of security, since the truth provides none. This concept can be summed upin this Bokononist quotation: Ã’Live by thefoma* that makes you brave andkind and healthy and happy. *Harmless untruths (4)Ó The inhabitants of SanLorenzo do not care what is going on in their real lives because they have thefoma of Bokonon to keep them secure and happy. And Vonnegut is trying to saythat is what is happening to the rest of us. Americans, and the rest of theworld for that matter, have this false sense of security that we are safe andsecure. That in our homes in Indiana with our dogs and Gioielli 7our lawnmowers,we think we are invincible. Everything will be okay because we are protected byare government. This is the foma of real life, because we are trying to denywhat is really going on. WeÕre in imminent danger of being annihilated atany second, but to deny this very real danger we are creating a false w orld sothat we may live in peace, however false that sense of peace may be. Throughoutthe entire novel Vonnegut gives little snippets of Ã’calypsosÓ :Bokonon proverbs written by Bokonon. Verse like:I wanted all things To seem tomake some sense,So we could all be happy, yes,Instead of tense.And I made upliesSo that they all fit niceAnd made this sad worldA par-a-dise (90).Thiscalypso expresses the purpose of Bokonon and why it, with its harmless untruths,exists. The following one is about the outlawing of Bokonon. To make thereligion more appealing to the people, the leaders had it banned, with itspractice punishable by death. They hoped that a renegade religion with a rebelleader would appeal to the people more.So I said good-bye to government,and Igave my reason:That a really good religionIs a form of treason (118)Thesecalypsos, and the rest of the book, express the points Vonnegut in a moreabstract , symbolic manner. They only add to the impact of the books messageexpressin g it in a very short, satirical way. The black humor used when talkingabout the end of the worldà the nuclear endà was pioneered by Vonnegut. But what many consider to be the the climax of this pop culture phenomena isStanley Kubricks movie, Dr. Strangelove(Stone 69). Subtitled Or How I learnedto Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb , this movie was Kubricks viewpoint on howmad the entire Cold War and arms race had become. Based a little known book byEnglish science fiction writer Peter George, Red Alert, the movie is about howone maverick Air Force general, who is obviously suffering a severe mentalillness, concocts a plan to save the world from the Gioielli 8Communists. Hemanages to order the strategic bombers under his command to proceed to theirtargets in the Soviet Union. They all believe it is World War Three, and theGeneral, Jack Ripper, is the only one that can call the planes back. Kubrickscharacters: Dr. Strangelove, President Mertin Muffley, Premier Kissof andothers, go through a series a misadventures to try and turn the planes around. READ: Human Sexuality EssayBut the one, plane piloted by Major Ã’KingÓ Kong, does get through,and it drops its bombload. This is where Kubrick tries to show the futility ofeverything. The governments of both the worlds superpowers have thousands ofsafeguards and security precautions for their nuclear weapons. But one manmanages to get a nuclear warhead to be hit its target. And this warhead hits theÃ’Doomsday DeviceÓ. The Doomsday device is the ultimate deterrent,because if you try to disarm it it will go off. It has the capability to destroyevery living human and animal on Earth, and it does So it is all pointless. Wehave these weapons, and no matter how hard we try to control them everyone stilldies. And so to make ourselves feel better about all this impending doom,Kubrick, like Vonnegut, satirizes the entire system. By making such moroniccharacters, like the wimpish President Mertin Muffley, Kubrick is saying,similar to Vonnegut with Dr. Hoenikker, that we are ev en worse off because theseweapons are controlled by people that are almost buffoonish and childish. General Ripper, the man who causes the end of the world, is a portrait of aMcCarthy era paranoid gone mad. He thinks the communists are infiltrating andtrying to destroy are country. And he says the most heinous communist plotagainst democracy is fluoridation of water:Like I was saying, Group Captain,fluoridation of water is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communistplot we have ever had to face . . . They pollute our precious bodily fluids!(George 97)And General Rippers personal prevention of the contamination of hisbodily fluids is equally perplexing. He drinks only Ã’ . . . distilledwater, or rain water, and only grain alcohol . . .Ó Kubrick uses this kindof absurd reasoning in his movie to show the absurd reasoning behind nuclearweapons. Both him and Vonnegut were part of the satirical side of theapocalyptic temper in the early Sixties. They laughed at our governments, ourleaders, the Cold War and the arms race, and tried to show how stupid it allreally was. Bu t as time moved on, the writers, and the entire country, startedto take a less narrow minded view of things. The counterculture of the Gioielli9sixties prompted people to take a closer look at themselves. As thinkers,teachers, lovers, parents, friends and human beings. And people concerned withnuclear weapons started to see things in a broader context as well. Nuclearweapons were something that affected our whole consciousness. The way we grewup, our relationships with others and what we did with our lives. One of theauthors who put this new perspective on things was the activist, social thinkerand poet Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg first made a name for himself in the 1950Õsas one of the foremost of the Beat writers. The Beats in the Fifties were aforerunner of the more widespread counterculture of the late Sixties and earlySeventies. And Ginsberg evolved into this. He became a devoted leader in thecounterculture, who set many precedents for the Hippie generation. He lived invarious communes, delved deeply into eastern religions and experimented withnumerous hallucinogenic drugs. In the earlier part of his life Ginsberg had beena rebel against society. He was still a rebel but now he was taking the form ofactivist. By the Seventies he was involved in many causes that promoted peaceand world harmony. What separated Ginsberg from other activists is that he wasone of the first and original members of many of these movements. Now he was thefather figure to many in the non-mainstream world. While teaching at his schoolof poetry in Naropa, Colorado, Ginsberg became involved in protests against thenearby Rock Flats Nuclear Weapons Factory. During the Summer of 1978 he wasarrested for preventing a shipment nuclear waste from reaching its destinationand for numerous other protests against the facility (Miles 474). From theseexperiences came two poems Ã’Nagasaki DaysÓ and Ã’ Plutonium OdeÓ. Both these poems exhibit Ginsbergs more mature style of writing (Miles 475). The poems are more scholarly, containing many mythological and religiousallusions. But both these characteristics show how post war apocalypticliterature had evolved. By the Seventies many writers, instead of taking thedefeatist, satirical view like Vonnegut, were beginning to take a make activiststandpoint, like Ginsberg. Apocalyptic literature also took on a more mature,scholarly tone, and was more worldly and had a broader viewpoint. This stanzafrom Ã’Nagasaki DaysÓ shows how Ginsberg is putting nuclear weaponsinto the context of the universal:2,000,000 killed in Vietnam13,000,000 refugeesin Indochina 200,000,000 years for the Galaxy to revolve on its core 24,000 theBabylonian great year24,000 half life of plutoniumGioielli 102,000 the most Iever got for a poetry reading80,000 dolphins killed in the dragnet4,000,000,000years earth been born (701)The half life of plutonium is brought together withdolphins and Indochinese refugees. Also, Ginsberg makes a reference to theBabyl onian great year, which coincides with the half life of plutonium. Thiscosmic link intrigued Ginsberg immensely. That fact alone inspired him to rightÃ’Plutonium OdeÓ. The whole poem expands on this connection toplutonium as a living part of our universe, albeit a very dangerous one. Here hementions the Great Year:Before the Year began turning its twelve signs, ereconstellations wheeled for twenty-four thousand sunny yearsslowly round theiraxis in Sagittarius, one hundred sixty-seven thousand times returning to thisnight. (702) Ginsberg is also relating the great year, and the half life ofplutonium, to the life of the Earth. The life of the Earth is approximately fourbillion years, which is 24,000 times 167,000 (Ginsberg 796) In Ã’PlutoniumOdeÓ, Ginsberg talks to plutonium. By establishing a dialogue he gives theplutonium almost human characteristics. It is something, and is near us everyday, and is deadly. In this passage he is asking how long before it kills usall:I enter your secret places with my mind, I speak with your presence, I roamyour lion roar with mortal mouth.One microgram inspired to one lung, ten poundsof heavy metal dust, adrift slowly motion over gray Alpsthe breadth of theplanet, how long before your radiance speeds blight and death to sentientbeings. (703) In putting his nuclear fears and worries on the table, and sayingthat these things have pertinence to us because they affect how we live ourlives and the entire the universe, Ginsberg is showing how intrigued he is withplutonium in this poem. By the time Ginsberg was publishing these poems in late1978, post war literature had evolved immensely. At first people had no ideaabout the bomb and its capabilities. Then, as more information came out aboutwhat the bomb could do, they began to began to start to live in real fear ofnuclear weapons. The power of it, a creation by man that could destroy theworld, that was terrifying. Then some artists and writers began to see theabsurdity of it all. They saw that we were under control by people we did not,or should not, trust, and were a constant state of nuclear Gioielli 11fear. Sothey satirized the system unmercifully, and were very apocalyptic in their tone. But then things evolved from these narrow minded viewpoints, and people began toenvision nuclear weapons in the context of our world and our lives. The atomicbomb and nuclear proliferation affected all facets of our lifestyle, includingwhat we read. Literature is a reflection of a countryÕs culture andfeelings. And literature affected Americans curiosity, horror, anxiety, cynicismand hope concerning nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons raised questions that noone had dare ever asked before, and had given them answers that they were afraidto hear. They have made us think about our place in the universe, and what itall means. 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