Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story of forbidden love Essay Example

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story of forbidden love Paper Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story of forbidden love. The whole play from Romeo and Juliet meeting, falling in love, marriage and tragic end, all happens within five days. It is a story of intense love and all consuming hatred between two families. The two families involved, the Montagues and the Capulets, despise each other. Romeo, a Montague and Juliet, a Capulet, meet at a feast and instantly fall in love. However due to the hatred between the two families we know at the beginning that their relationship is doomed and that the love story will not have a happy ending. Act three scene five is the basis of the story. It is during this act that Romeo and Juliet meet, so intense is their attraction to each other that they secretly marry the next day. The marriage alone would cause enough trouble but the situation is made worse when Tybalt, a Capulet and Juliets cousin murders Romeos best friend Mercutio (a Montague) Romeo takes revenge and murders Tybalt, He is caught and banished. Juliet does not know at this stage that it is her husband who has killed her cousin. We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story of forbidden love specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story of forbidden love specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Romeo and Juliet is a tragic story of forbidden love specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer During this scene Juliets parents have been arranging her marriage to the County Paris. Juliet is unaware of this, as are her parents unaware of her marriage to Romeo. The scene is set in Juliets bedroom where she is weeping. Lady Capulet presumes her tears are for her dead cousin and informs Juliet that the murderer is known to be Romeo. Juliet is even more upset by this news. The words spoken by Juliet during this scene all have double meanings for example Oh how my heart abhors to hear him named and cannot come to him, to wreak the love I bore my cousin upon his body that hath slaughtered him! The real meaning being that she wants to be able to love and comfort Romeo and be with him in his hour of need. Lady Capulet delivers the news of the forthcoming marriage Marry, my child early next Thursday morn, that has been arranged for Juliet the coming Thursday, expecting Juliet to be delighted and lifted from her sad mood. During this scene Lady Capulet would be happy and excited bestowing such an honour upon her daughter her demeanour would be softer and favourable towards her daughter. Shall happily make thee there a joyful bride Juliet is absolutely horrified by the news he shall not make me there a joyful bride. I wonder at this haste, that I must wed she tells her mother that she is too young and is too upset following her cousins death to contemplate marriage. Juliet is stalling here, as she needs more time to sort out the dreadful position she finds herself in, she refuses to marry. Again delivering lines that have double meanings, I will not marry yet, and when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris This is a good example of double irony as the audience will know that she would rather be married to Romeo where as her mother would believe the opposite. Capulet appears on the scene and is initially the caring Father, he is sympathetic of his daughters grief, as he is unaware of the truth behind it, but for the sunset of my brothers son it rains downright. How now, a conduit, girl? What, still in tears? He also believes his daughter will be overjoyed at the news of her marriage as he sees it as a great honour and a tremendous opportunity for her for which she should be grateful. After Juliets mother washes her hands of her she turns to the nurse expecting comfort, as the nurse is the only person who knows the truth of the situation with Romeo. However the nurse also turns and tells Juliet to marry the county Paris. She insults Romeo comparing him unfavourably with the county Paris. Romeos a dishclout to him. An eagle, Madame, hath not so green, so quick, so fair an eye as Paris hath. She is disappointed with the nurses words and feels betrayed by her, as the nurse knows how much she loves Romeo and how unhappy she would be to marry Paris. I feel the nurse is thinking of whats best for Juliet knowing that Romeo is as good as dead because if Romeo was to return he would surely be killed but she is also thinking of her self and whats best for herself, her own position, if she sided with Romeo she would also be banished and loose her place in the capulet house hold. Marriages during Elizabethan high class families were more often than not arranged by the parents, mainly as business deals to keep wealth, land and power within certain families. The audience of this era would not be shocked by this story line, as it was normal for their time. A modern day audience would find this shocking and unfair as in todays society we are free to choose who we marry and do not need our parents consent once we reach the age of sixteen. Most marriages today are based on love not business. The Elizabethan audience would be more shocked by Juliet disobeying her parents and that she would have the courage to marry Romeo without their knowledge or consent. Females of this period were subordinate and should not have a mind of their own let alone act of their own free will. Today we would admire her courage and applaud her for standing by her beliefs. Women today have equal rights to men and are free to make their own decisions. It would be normal practise today to meet and marry a person we fell in love with without obtaining permission from our Fathers. When Lady Capulet tells her husband that Juliet has refused the marriage his whole persona changes as has hers. Capulet becomes very angry and feels let down, how, will she none? Doth she not give us thanks? Is she not proud? Doth she not count her blest, he is shocked that his daughter would dare to go against his wishes and turn down the honour of such a good match.unworthy as she is, that we have wrought so worthy a gentleman to be her bride? He also sees that this will cause him immense embarrassment as he should be able to control his daughter and in not doing so will look weak. During this scene I think that Juliet should be dressed in a white night gown, with her long hair hanging down. This would make her look young and innocent. She should be sitting on the bed with her shoulders slumped and hands entwined, this would give an image of vulnerability so getting the sympathy of the audience. Her Father should be dressed in dark clothes, looming above her, thus making her look small and frightened again evoking sympathy. He should then begin pacing the room throwing his arms around and shouting. How how, how how, chopt-logic? What is this? Proud, and I thank you, and I thank you not and yet not proud, mistress minion you? This would make him seem foreboding and the audience would begin to dislike him and side even more with Juliet. Lady Capulet would add to this image if she to were dressed in severe clothing and stood with a severe look on her face condemning her daughter in a disappointed and angry voice that she is not exited about the marriage ay, sir, but she will none, she gives you thanks. I would the fool were married to her grave. The audience would feel that Juliet was overpowered by her domineering parents, and want her to be the victor. Once Capulet and Lady capulet have left the nurse should sit beside Juliet on the bed the audience would see this as a sign of comfort to Juliet. Juliet is looking for sympathy comfort me, council me. Because she expects it because the nurse is the only one who knows Juliets true thoughts and feelings. The nurse isnt showing much comfort to the way Juliet feels completely the opposite she tells Juliet to forget Romeo Romeo is banished, and the world to nothing that he dares neer come back to challenge you; or if he do, it needs must be by stealth. Juliet feels alone thinking that the nurse was on her side and that she could confide in the nurse at this point in the scene the nurse goes to put her arm around Juliet to reassure her its for the best but Juliet disagrees and should stand to her feet and move away and sit at her dressing table this would show she feels forsaken she should stare at her reflection sticking to her own opinion so many thousand times? Go, counsellor, thou and my bosom henceforth shall be twain. Ill to the Frair to know his remedy; if all else fail, myself have power to dies. I feel that when Shakespeare wrote this play that he told us of the pending tragedy at the beginning of the story to make us sympathise with Romeo and Juliet throughout the play. It makes the audience want things to work out for them even though they know the relationship is doomed. We find ourselves looking for someone to blame throughout the play although I felt it was easier to blame the era rather than one particular character. As for Shakespeare believing in arranged marriages; I think he didnt, reason being it is shown throughout Romeo and Juliet how arranged marriages dont work and make bad things happen. In this case Juliet runs away.

How British Cultural History Influenced Jk Rowling’s Hp Series Essays

How British Cultural History Influenced Jk Rowling’s Hp Series Essays How British Cultural History Influenced Jk Rowling’s Hp Series Essay How British Cultural History Influenced Jk Rowling’s Hp Series Essay How British cultural history influenced JK Rowling’s HP series JK Rowling’s choice of settings, quest and battles in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is closely connected with cultural history of Britain. These elements influence Rowling’s narrative much more than the average reader would think. Throughout the next paragraphs in this paper I will support my thesis that JK Rowling used British cultural history facts as an inspiration for her book. With that in mind JK Rowling made her book so realistic that readers digest her story easy and with ease and joy. To begin, let’s talk about the location of the novel. I’m sure that readers at one point asked themselves â€Å"Why London and England? † It’s not just coincidence; it is because the author has grown up under strong historic, patriotic influence of Britain and their huge role in WWII in resisting Nazi-Germany’s plans of conquering the world. England was the only nation in Europe that successfully fought the Nazis and was not defeated. With such a background setting, writing a book with such a thematic focused on the everlasting battle between good and evil in England was a natural choice. If we go back to WWII and Nazi Germany we can find many elements that are related to the novel. One of the main points of Adolf Hitler’s ideology was that the German race has roots to the Aryan race with pure blood and that this fact will make them better than the rest of the world. This ideology has a clear connection with the theories of Voldemort and his followers. The Death Eaters’ treatment of Mudbloods and others direct relates to the treatment that the Nazis regime gave to Jews, Slavs and any other nations they thought to be less worthy then the German race. This is the best place to quote JK Rowling when she fallowed Harry to the Ministry of Magic and says, â€Å"He examined it beneath the Invisibility Cloak. Its pink cover was emblazoned with a golden title: MUDBLOODS and the Dangers They Pose to a Peaceful Pure-Blood Society. (249)† The author represents and dresses them in the black that directly relates to what the Nazis used for their elite troops called SS. Just to be sure and clear with history facts, regular German army was called Wermacht and they wore green brown uniforms. But SS elite troops were only for chosen ones, dressed in the black and easy to recognize by skull and crossbones insignia on their hats and uniforms. Hitler’s closest personal guards were made from handpicked SS soldiers with clear German blood, brainwashed and ready to follow any order from their leader. This black color is associated with death, cold and darkness. People already have prejudices of what this color stands for and that is a reason why the author chooses this sense to guide readers in right directions. Because this black and suspicious color reader expect something bad to happen and automatically will question if their actions have any support in ethical and moral grounds. These guided directions from author will bring readers to the conclusion that all people deserve to be treated in same way with respect if they wish to receive the same treatment and respect. Based on all this facts I believed that JK Rowling choose same color as Nazi-German’s SS troops and the Hitler’s ideology from WWII to represent evil in already â€Å"known† color and ideology that Death Eater’s stand for. At very beginning of the novel we witness Harry’s attempt to run away from Dursleys home before his seventeenth birthday and the end of his mother’s protective spells. Harry and his followers faced air battle against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. I believe that Rowling chose this kind battle because she was very well aware of great importance this kind of battle has for England. Just to refresh our memory I need to say little bit a more about this battle. In fact, plans for a German invasion, named Operation Sea Lion, were in the works. The key to this plan was the establishment of German air superiority over southern England and the English Channel. That task fell to Goering and his Luftwaffe. What ensued would be the worlds first strategic bombing campaign and the worlds first battle entirely decided in the air, the Battle of Britain. Young pilots were dying daily in those fights showing a high moral and ethical values in time of crisis and making enormous psychological impact on rest of population. Rowling did a great job with bringing the readers into the battle. We see how serious the situation is with so many friends willing to sacrifice their lives in order to keep Harry alive for the final battle with the evil Voldemort. In every war there are losses, and they are present in novel when Harry lost his owl Hedwig and Mad-Eye in this opening battle. But life goes on and they have to continue their mission. This was one more fact to support my thesis of how JK Rowling used British history for inspiration in her work. Another very interesting point is trough the character Snape Severus and his role in everything that is happening in and around Hogwarts. Up to the very end of novel readers are not sure what to think about Snape. They share many question with Harry and one of them is, â€Å"Why Dumbledore trusted Snape so much? † And then at the very end he reveals his secret to the readers so they will see Snape in different light. Snape represents a double agent almost as a double spy like ones back in WWII, ones that risk their life for greater good. He played his role as a Death Eater so good that he tricked even Lord Voldemort and kept his secret for all this time, even in the middle of the final battle. Isn’t that example of heroic sacrifice similar to the spy’s from WWII when they valued the greater good more than theirs lives? I’m aware that is very hard to prove this statement, simple because there is no country that will reveal all details about their double agents assignments and private life. If we look at Snape as a mysterious person living a strange life and then take into consideration fact that there were nobody close to him to know his secrets and demons from past and understand his actions, that is only one thing from WWII that he remind me of. It is the Enigma Code Machine made by Germany. Secret machine used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. British and American code breakers were able to decrypt code and use messages for their advantage. In my eyes Snape looks and act very much like this machine with Death Eaters but on another side he gave all information to the Dumbledore. To show how situation in novel is complex, Rowling needed more mystery around Snape character and that was best done in a way that I already explained. Unexpectedly Snape will earn a lot of sympathy for his actions based on everlasting and never returned and completed love, which makes him a tragic character. Dumbledore’s Army† looks very much like the freedom resistance against Nazis in Europe during WWII. Yes again theme from WWII that Rowling incorporated in novel and use it to make picture of resistance more realistic. Freedom resistance was very strong in a France and rest of the Europe and actually helped allies to fight against Nazi-Germany. Network of resi stance helped many that escaped labor camps of to hide allies’ survived pilots taken down by Nazis. This resistance all over Europe was very active and not limited only on adults but attracted youth also. Freedom resistance from WWII brought people from different classes of society, genders and age groups together for one great cause, to protect freedom and defeat tyranny. I believe that based on these facts Rowling decide to make it more realistic and to organize Hogwarts students, their families and even Dumbledor’s brother in the resistance against Lord Valdemort. We have very interesting meeting and discussion of Harry and Dumbledore’s Army in room of requirement: â€Å"We haven’t come back to stay,† said Harry, rubbing his scar, trying to soothe the pain. There’s something important we need to do-â€Å" â€Å"What is it? † â€Å"I-I can’t tell you. † There was a ripple of muttering at this: Neville’s brows contracted. â€Å"Why can’t you tell us? It’s something to do with fighting You-Know-Who, right? † â€Å"Well, Yeah-â€Å" â€Å"Then we’ll help you. â€Å"The other members of D umbledore’s Army were nodding, some enthusiastically, other solemnly. A couple of them rose from their chairs to demonstrate their willingness for immediate action (580). † Very complicated and hard experience for young souls also many sacrifices and losses but not for nothing as those in WWII This is my another argument that support thesis of JK Rowling using British historical facts to made book more accessible and realistic to readers. I start with defending my statement with fallowing arguments, location choice of JK Rowling, opening battle, than Nazi ideology and their favorite color, mysterious Snape-Enigma and to finish with Dumbledore’s Army. With all these facts presented in this paper I believe that is more clear now to readers how JK Rowling used British cultural history as a proven recipe success for her Harry Potter series.

Discuss how federal policies towards band government (Aboriginal Essay

Discuss how federal policies towards band government (Aboriginal Band's) have changed over time, especially during the 20th c - Essay Example Apparently, it is evident that the development of the Indian status has sidelined the recognition of communities that were historically identified as aboriginals from their rightful status. This status may be considered essential to the identification of an individual, however it does not carry the main concerns centred along the governance if the aboriginal bands. Evaluation There exists an overwhelming list of aboriginals in the records of Canada. The subsequent treatment accorded to these individuals formulates the centre of attention that accords its evaluation. However, the first concern that calls for address is the interference if the federal government tone the running of the policies adopted by the aboriginals developed programs. Such programs are developed at the central governance level. The general contribution imposed by this perception is that the central government constantly fails to allocate sufficient funds that are necessitated in the realization of policies adopte d towards the favour of the aboriginals and other ancient groups. An evaluation on the performance of the aboriginal programs initiated at the lower governance levels seems to be fully out of existence. This includes policies that seek to ensure political, social and economical stability of these individuals in the nation. Evaluations of the policies that can be identified at the regional government level are identified at the commencement of the late phase of the 20th century. This century had witnessed the developed of the Indiana act that sought to identify and address the challenges experiences by the members of various aboriginal bands in the nation. Apparently, there exists a differing perception on the contribution of the governing authority towards the realization of these policies. The chief question is centred on the exact input that should be pegged to the execution of the authorities, especially the central government. Initially, the central government was tasked with th e role of ensuring that the regional governance access funds to support various aboriginal programs. Unfortunately, hiccups in logistics and delivery of services marred the whole process. Apparently, the bureaucracies of accessing the funds designated for the funding of aboriginal programs had proved to a rather cumbersome effort. This implied that there desired a need to establish a new set of instruction upon which the realization of the aboriginal programs can be ascertained. This may be described as the fuelling factor that has promoted the development and the subsequent adoption of various legislation that seek strengthen the Indiana Act. Several new assumptions have been enlisted into the act. The central concern has been the diversity of the act in terms of covering the stretching needs of the aboriginal community. The central challenges that were first addressed by the evaluation team include the quantification of the groups that fall under this category. Apparently, some co mmunities shared the perception that their constitutional and national privileges were challenged upon the failure of their inclusion in the list of the recognized members of the aboriginal community. The intense efforts of enlisting all the communities that are interlinked under the aboriginal recognition bracket has been placed in consideration all along. The previous century has witnessed increased

Winner-Take-All Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Winner-Take-All Economy - Essay Example This has been fueled by capital gains such as dividend and investment income, the shares have increased significantly from 9 percent to 23.5 percent (Hacker & Pierson 16). The more exclusive the group the group, the more stratospheric the gains have been.  This has been fueled by capital gains such as dividend and investment income, the shares have increased significantly from 9 percent to 23.5 percent (Hacker & Pierson 16). The more exclusive the group the group, the more stratospheric the gains have been.  Gains Have Been SustainedThe income tax statistic reveals that the move of income towards the top has been sustained, and it increases steadily since around 1980. The ever increasing national income shares captured by the richest Americans are a long-term trend which is obviously not related to either the shifting partisan occupation of the White House or business cycle (Hacker & Pierson   17). The rapid increase in a number of shares captured by the richest Americans occur red during the drives on the stock market that occurred between 1980 and 2000.  Gains Have Resulted in Few Trickle-Down Benefits for the Non-rich The average income of the poorest American households increased by 6 percent, while the middle quintiles of households increased by 21 percent. This research study took inflation and government benefits and taxes into account (Hacker & Pierson 17). Most of the richest Americans gain from the struggle and sweat of the middle class and poorest Americans.

The Operational Process of Al-Hassan Group of Companies of Oman Essay - 3

The Operational Process of Al-Hassan Group of Companies of Oman - Essay Example This paper illustrates that Al-Hassan Group of Companies is one of the largest corporations in Oman. They operate mainly in the energy sector and are engaged in catering services as well as products to their customer base. The market of Al-Hassan is not only confined to the domestic consumers but they also export products to other Gulf nations. They are also trying to enhance their operations in the European and Asian markets for further increasing the profit generation process and organizational development. The operational process of the business is thus developed in a complex manner which encompasses service as well as product management. The services are majorly dependent on the demand of the local marketplace of Oman whereas the product manufacturing process considers the demand at a multinational level. The manufacturing segment of the company can be segmented mainly to three groups which are Al-Hassan Switchgear Manufacturing Co. LLC (AHSG), Al-Hassan Power Industries LLC (AHP R) and Al Hassan Lighting and Fan Industries LLC. The activities of all three production units are maintained with the help of strict monitoring and performance development processes. Al-Hassan’s operational functions are not responsive or fixed, rather they are adaptive in nature which allows the company to adjust to the changes in demand of the consumers and accordingly develop their supply processes. The regular flux in the operations no doubt reduces the market risks but this also can disrupt the production processes. Also, it was noted that in comparison to the ratio of changes being implemented in the supply chain system, the implementation of change management procedures is limited in Al-Hassan.

Person centred theory and its application in practice

Person centred theory and its application in practice Person-centred therapy is one of the humanistic approaches and derives from the work of Carl Rogers. It is based on the assumption each individual/client has the potential to understand themselves and the ability to solve their own problems. Rogers (1953/1967 p92, cited in Embleton Tudor et al 2004) firmly believed that, the inner core of mans personality is the organism itself, which essentially is both self-preserving and social and through this belief Rogers developed several key theoretical concepts of the person-centred approach. The organismic self, as Rogers saw it, is the human being, the sensory, bodily and visceral functions (Embleton Tudor et al 2004). The organismic self is essentially trustworthy and strives to grow and achieve its full potential, it experiences the inner feelings and deep seated desires and knows what it needs, both mentally and physically from the environment and other people in order to develop to its full potential. The tendency towards growth is known as the actualising tendency. Rogerss theory suggests that it is in human nature to grow, as it is for a plant, an example Rogers used to explain his theory. A plant does not need to be made to grow, it is innate. Given the right conditions the plant will thrive to be the best that it can be. As with people, if they are given the right conditions they will thrive to reach their potential and become the best person they can be (Embleton Tudor et al 2004). However, for people it means more than just growth and survival, it is the satis faction of physical and psychological needs. This theory was also supported by Abraham Maslow (1970, cited in Bernstein et al 2003), who developed a hierarchy of motives that need to be satisfied in order to reach self-actualisation. In essence the hierarchy can be split into two levels; physiological needs such oxygen, food, keeping warm, avoiding danger etc and psychological needs such as love, acceptance, and respect will lead to self actualisation (Bernstein et al 2003). Rogers believed that in order to satisfy the actualising tendency, we need to have experiences that will enable us to grow, and be able to accept these experiences into our self-structure and awareness (Tolan 2003). Rogers suggested that the environment an individual finds themselves in is the only constraint on the actualizing tendency (Thorne 2006) and the progress of people whose experiences of the self become distorted is likely to slowed or even stopped. The need for positive regard and approval from others can become overwhelming and eventually could take precedence over the thoughts and feelings of the organismic self. Rogers saw that from an early age children learn to need other peoples approval, or positive regard and the child will evaluate themselves as good for having earned approval. However, if a behaviour arising from what the individual is actually experiencing fails to earn positive regard then a conflict arises. The individual must either do without the positive regard or re-evaluate the self-experience and change their behaviour in order to receive positive feedback (Bernstein 2003). These experiences form the self-concept, which is the way that individual thinks of them. The self-concept is another key concept of the person-centred approach. It is the individuals conceptual representation of themselves, developed over time and is mainly dependent on the attitudes and behaviour of significant people in an individuals life and the environment they are in. Once a self-concept is established it is usually reinforced through behaviour that will elicit approval and suppress feelings, though ts or behaviours that bring about negative judgment from others. Experiences which challenge the self-concept are likely to be distorted or even denied altogether in order to preserve it. (Thorne, 1996). Difficulties can occur if a persons overwhelming need for positive regard from others is not met or is conditional upon their behaviour. Psychological disturbance occurs when the individuals self-concept contradicts with the thoughts or feelings that the individual organismically experiences (Mearns and Thorne, 2008). The ability to weigh up and to value experiences positively or negatively is known as the organismic valuing process. It is a fluid process by which experiences are valued according to how beneficial they are for enhancing towards self-actualisation. This means that experiences which are beneficial are sought after, however, experiences that are not seen as beneficial are valued as bad and avoided, this can lead to a distrust or disassociation with the organismic self (Mearns and Thorne 2008). The distrust in the organismic self can also be due to repeated messages that an individual has received or perceived from their environment. When we take something in from our environment, such as we evaluate it in relation to our internal valuing process, this kind of internalisation is called introjection. Introjects are the beliefs, attitudes, judgements or values of another person which are taken into the individual and become part of their self-concept (Thorne, 1996). By seeking approval from others individuals will introject attitudes or beliefs that are contradictory to their own feelings. When we take in something that doesnt fit into our self-concept we may reject it, or we may deny or distort some other aspect of our experience. In a therapeutic setting introjects can usually be identified by statements such as I ought to be or I should this can lead to a negative self-concept and cause the individual to become incongruent. (Tudor Embleton 2004). The organismic valuing process can also be disturbed by self-concepts that have been based on conditional positive regard, or conditions of worth. Conditions of worth are the feelings an individual experiences when the person is evaluated, instead of the persons behaviour. When the significant people in a persons life appear to value certain aspects of a behaviour or trait, the individual also learns to do this. Subsequently the individual will seek out some experiences and avoid others because they have learned to regard themselves in a particular way, for example if a parent says to their child I dont like you when you cry, the child may learn not to cry even if they are feeling genuine distress. (Tudor Embleton et al 2004). Through conditions of worth and negative self-concepts an individual can lose touch which their organismic self and become reliant on others to dictate the actions, according to Rogers this person would have an external locus of evaluation. A person with an external locus of evaluation will usually have been surrounded by people who are critical and judgemental. In order to receive approval and positive regard the individual will develop ways to behave. This is usually contradictory to the organismic self, which ceases to be effective as a source of knowledge or guidance for the individual. As a result the individual begins to rely on others to make their decisions and loses touch with what they really think and feel. (Mearns and Thorne 2008). In a therapeutic setting a counsellor/therapist must be aware if a client is presenting with a highly externalised locus of evaluation, as the client could interpret what the therapist says as advice or validation for behaviour. For example: Client: I just dont know what to do, I want to be a good mum and spend time with my children, but I also want my own social life, thats not wrong is it? Therapist: So you feel by having a social life you arent being a good mum Client: Exactly, I feel I am being selfish. What should I do? This client is incongruent due to her inner desires to have a social life and the conflict with her self-concept of what a good mum should be. The client asks the therapist for their opinion, which also suggests an external locus of evaluation. In contrast to this is the internal locus of evaluation. Psychologically healthy people are those who have been fortunate to live be surrounded by people whose acceptance and approval has enabled them to develop self-concepts that allow them to be in touch with their deepest feelings and experiences (Mearns and Thorne 2008, p11). This will enable them to move towards what Rogers (1963, cited in Mearns and Thorne 2008) describes as a fully functioning person. A fully functioning person is open to experiences and is not overly concerned with the opinions of others. This person would be able to trust their own ability to know what is good or bad for their development, they would be able to listen to themselves and make their own decisions, this person would have an internal locus of evaluation. A significant moment in therapy is when a client recognises their inner feelings and begins to operate using an internal locus of evaluation. Importance of the therapeutic relationship In a speech at the University of Minnesota Rogers said: Therapy is not a matter of doing something about himself. It is instead a matter of freeing him for normal growth and development so that he can again move forward. (Rogers, 1942, p29, cited in Dryden Mytton, 1999, p75) A key difference from other types of therapy is that the person-centred approach is non-directive and a greater emphasis is placed on the quality of the relationship rather than the use of techniques. The personal qualities and attitudes of the therapist are often seen as more important than their formal education or qualifications. The person-centred approach believes that it is the therapeutic relationship that can liberate the client from blockages to the actualising tendency (Dryden Mytton 1999). The aim of the counsellor in the therapeutic relationship is to create conditions where the growth or actualising process is encouraged, in turn this will free the client from their restrictions created by conditions of worth and introjects and enable them to listen to their inner voice (Mearns and Thorne 2008). Rogers believed that in the therapeutic relationship clients, often for the first time, experience acceptance rather than evaluation and feel free to recognise their organismic self. The therapist does not create an assessment of the client, nor do they label the client, Rogers regarded this as detrimental as the labelling process places the evaluation in the hands of an expert. In person-centred counselling the client is viewed as the expert about him/herself and the therapist is the expert only in maintaining the attitudinal conditions in the relationship with the client, not as an expert on the client (Dryden Mytton 1999). If the therapist was to be viewed as the expert this would create a power imbalance in the relationship and the person-centred approach regards it as essential that the client realises that they can trust their own experiencing and the validity of their own perceptions. Thorne (1996) believed that those who gain the most from person-centred therapy are those who are willing to change and recognise their role and responsibility in the therapeutic process. The person-centred approach is process orientated and Rogers believed if certain necessary conditions are present then changes will occur and the process of growth can take place. Rogers listed what he regarded as the necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change (Rogers, 1957 p95, cited in Dryden Mytton 1999 p76): Two persons are in psychological contact. Rogers (1959) described this as the least or minimum experience which could be called a relationship (p. 207, cited in Embleton Tudor et al 2004) meaning that the therapist and client have to be mutually aware of each other before the process can begin. There does not need to be an emotional connection or closeness for there to be psychological contact, it is a simple contact between two persons (Rogers, 1959 p207, cited in Embleton Tudor et al 2004, p40). The first, whom we shall term the client, is in a state of incongruence, being vulnerable and anxious. One implication of client incongruence being one of the necessary and sufficient conditions is that the client is needs to have some self-identified problem in order to be motivated to seek therapy. Furthermore, if the client is vulnerable to anxiety this, in theory, would motivate them to stay in the therapeutic relationship (Mearns and Thorne, 2008). The second person, whom we shall term the therapist, is congruent or integrated in the relationship. According to Rogers (1973, p186) congruence or genuineness is the realness of the therapist in the relationshipWhen the therapist is natural and spontaneous he seems to be most effective (cited in Mearns Thorne 2008 p119). Rogers believed that if the therapist was outwardly showing warmth and acceptance, but was inwardly feeling irritation, the client would sense this and it would have a negative effect on the therapeutic relationship (Dryden Mytton 1999). Wilkins (1997) stated that the therapist needs to be open to their feelings and inner experiences, but does not need to communicate their feelings to the client (Embleton Tudor et al 2004). Congruence enables the client to be able to trust the experience of the counsellor, which in turn can help to establish a therapeutic relationship whereby the client feels genuinely understood and accepted (Tolan, 2003). The therapist experiences unconditional positive regard (UPR) for the client. UPR is the attitude of the therapist towards the client. If the therapist accepts the client unconditionally, without judgment, disapproval or approval. Bozworth (1996) argued that the clients experiencing of UPR is the most therapeutically effective of the necessary and sufficient conditions. The client does not need to distort their inner feelings to receive acceptance, therefore they can begin to become aware of organismic experiences and hopefully reduce the feelings of internal conflict (Embleton Tudor et al 2004). The therapist experiences an empathic understanding of the clients internal frame of reference and endeavours to communicate this experience to the client. The key characteristic of empathy is being able to understand another persons subjective reality as they experience it. This requires an orientation toward the clients frame of reference (Cooper et al 2007). To be able to communicate empathically the therapist must accurately reflect what the content or affect of what the client conveyed, or the intended meaning of what was said. The importance of this is that it conveys to the client that the therapist understands what they are saying, it also gives the clients the opportunity to reflect on what they have said and the possibly find meaning in it (Josefwitz Myran 2005). The communication to the client of the therapists empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard is to a minimal degree achieved. The therapist has a responsibility to communicate empathetic understanding and UPR to their client in order for the client to feel that they are in an environment where they are accepted and understood. Rogers (1957, p 99) stated unless some communication of these attitudes has been achieved, then such attitudes do not exist in the relationship as far as the client is concerned (cited in Embleton Tudor 2004, p44). The core conditions and the application of theory to practice Of the six necessary and sufficient conditions that have just briefly been described, congruence, UPR and empathy have come to be described as the core conditions. I shall describe these core conditions in more depth and aim to demonstrate their application in practice. Congruence Congruence can be described using terms such as, transparent, genuine or authentic, but the essence of congruence in a therapeutic relationship is that the therapist relates to the client in a way that reflects their inner awareness and feelings. The therapist should have an ongoing awareness of their experiencing (Mearns Thorne 2000). Rogers (1957) stressed that congruence is a state of being, and a therapist should only communicate their feelings when they are persistent and of great strength and when communication of them assists the therapeutic process. Result: Endeavouring to be so open the counsellor acts as a role model sending the message that its ok to feel and communicate feelings. In order to develop and maintain congruence counsellors need to constantly work at being aware of their underlying feelings and also to realise the importance of having supervision and working on their own personal growth.

T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land - The Most Influential Work in Modern Liter

T.S. Eliot’s "The Waste Land" - The Most Influential Work in Modern Literature T.S. Eliot’s "The Waste Land" is considered by many to be the most influential work in modern literature. First published in 1922, it captures the feelings and sentiments of modern culture after World War I. Line thirty of "The Waste Land," "I will show you fear in a handful of dust," is often viewed as a symbol of mankind’s fear of death and resulting love of life. Eliot’s masterpiece—with its revolutionary ideas—inspired writers of his era, and it continues to affect writers even today. In the first two lines of "The Waste Land," Eliot says, "April is the cruellest month, breeding/Lilacs out of the dead land" (l. 1-2). Eliot shows the connection between death (emptiness) and life (fulfillment). Flowers and trees awaken and grow after the long, harsh winter months. The plants receive nutrients—and life—from the decayed remains of past vegetation. Yulisa Maddy’s No Past No Present No Future begins with the same ideas of new life beginning out of death. Joe Bengoh, after witnessing the fire that destroys his house, mumbles, "My parents dead?" (3). His callous words hardly conceal his true feelings of contempt for his parents. Joe’s suppressed jubilation is apparent in his next few thoughts. He thinks that, after the tragic death of his parents, Father O’Don will surely accept him at the mission house. In an attempt to make himself look troubled and distraught, Joe sticks his finger into his mouth and then rubs his eyes. Joe "kept on d oing this until his eyes went red and felt as if he had been crying" (6). Joe ends up being accepted to the mission house, and he becomes inseparable from his new friends, Ade John and Santigie Bombolai. Joe’s new, positi... ...ecognize these changes in his work. The works of Ernest Hemmingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald follow Eliot’s, and America’s, ideas and trends. Hemmingway’s A Farewell to Arms (1929) also deals with World War I and the modern ideas toward sex. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) portrays the alcoholism and sexual promiscuity of the Jazz Age. In No Past No Present No Future, The "Brothers Three" use alcohol and drugs quite frequently, and they all tended to sleep around as well. The revolutionary ideas described in Eliot’s "The Waste Land" influenced many great writers in the past and continue to have an impact on authors today. Works Consulted Bible, The. New International Version. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1996. Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land, Prufrock and Other Poems. Mineola, NY: Dover, 1998. Maddy, Yulisa Amadu. No Past No Present No Future. Oxford: Heinemann, 1996. T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land - The Most Influential Work in Modern Liter T.S. Eliot’s "The Waste Land" - The Most Influential Work in Modern Literature T.S. Eliot’s "The Waste Land" is considered by many to be the most influential work in modern literature. First published in 1922, it captures the feelings and sentiments of modern culture after World War I. Line thirty of "The Waste Land," "I will show you fear in a handful of dust," is often viewed as a symbol of mankind’s fear of death and resulting love of life. Eliot’s masterpiece—with its revolutionary ideas—inspired writers of his era, and it continues to affect writers even today. In the first two lines of "The Waste Land," Eliot says, "April is the cruellest month, breeding/Lilacs out of the dead land" (l. 1-2). Eliot shows the connection between death (emptiness) and life (fulfillment). Flowers and trees awaken and grow after the long, harsh winter months. The plants receive nutrients—and life—from the decayed remains of past vegetation. Yulisa Maddy’s No Past No Present No Future begins with the same ideas of new life beginning out of death. Joe Bengoh, after witnessing the fire that destroys his house, mumbles, "My parents dead?" (3). His callous words hardly conceal his true feelings of contempt for his parents. Joe’s suppressed jubilation is apparent in his next few thoughts. He thinks that, after the tragic death of his parents, Father O’Don will surely accept him at the mission house. In an attempt to make himself look troubled and distraught, Joe sticks his finger into his mouth and then rubs his eyes. Joe "kept on d oing this until his eyes went red and felt as if he had been crying" (6). Joe ends up being accepted to the mission house, and he becomes inseparable from his new friends, Ade John and Santigie Bombolai. Joe’s new, positi... ...ecognize these changes in his work. The works of Ernest Hemmingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald follow Eliot’s, and America’s, ideas and trends. Hemmingway’s A Farewell to Arms (1929) also deals with World War I and the modern ideas toward sex. Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) portrays the alcoholism and sexual promiscuity of the Jazz Age. In No Past No Present No Future, The "Brothers Three" use alcohol and drugs quite frequently, and they all tended to sleep around as well. The revolutionary ideas described in Eliot’s "The Waste Land" influenced many great writers in the past and continue to have an impact on authors today. Works Consulted Bible, The. New International Version. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1996. Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land, Prufrock and Other Poems. Mineola, NY: Dover, 1998. Maddy, Yulisa Amadu. No Past No Present No Future. Oxford: Heinemann, 1996.

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 2~3

Chapter 2 Death Warmed Over She heard insects scurrying above her in the darkness, smelled burned flesh, and felt a heavy weight pressing down on her back. Oh my God, he's buried me alive. Her face was pressed against something hard and cold – stone, she thought until she smelled the oil in the asphalt. Panic seized her and she struggled to get her hands under her. Her left hand lit up with pain as she pushed. There was a rattle and a deafening clang and she was standing. The dumpster that had been on her back lay overturned, spilling trash across the alley. She looked at it in disbelief. It must have weighed a ton. Fear and adrenaline, she thought. Then she looked at her left hand and screamed. It was horribly burned, the top layer of skin black and cracked. She ran out of the alley looking for help, but the street was empty. I've got to get to a hospital, call the police. She spotted a pay phone; a red chimney of heat rose from the lamp above it. She looked up and down the empty street. Above each streetlight she could see heat rising in red waves. She could hear the buzzing of the electric bus wires above her, the steady stream of the sewers running under the street. She could smell dead fish and diesel fuel in the fog, the decay of the Oakland mudflats across the bay, old French fries, cigarette butts, bread crusts and fetid pastrami from a nearby trash can, and the residual odor of Aramis wafting under the doors of the brokerage houses and banks. She could hear wisps of fog brushing against the buildings like wet velvet. It was as if her senses, like her strength, had been turned up by adrenaline. She shook off the spectrum of sounds and smells and ran to the phone, holding her damaged hand by the wrist. As she moved, she felt a roughness inside her blouse against her skin. With her right hand she pulled at the silk, yanking it out of her skirt. Stacks of money fell out of her blouse to the sidewalk. She stopped and stared at the bound blocks of hundred-dollar bills lying at her feet. She thought, There must be a hundred thousand dollars here. A man attacked me, choked me, bit my neck, burned my hand, then stuffed my shirt full of money and put a dumpster on me and now I can see heat and hear fog. I've won Satan's lottery. She ran back to the alley, leaving the money on the sidewalk. With her good hand she riffled through the trash spilled from the dumpster until she found a paper bag. Then she returned to the sidewalk and loaded the money into the bag. At the pay phone she had to do some juggling to get the phone off the hook and dialed without putting down the money and without using her injured hand. She pressed 911 and while she waited for it to ring she looked at the burn. Really, it looked worse than it felt. She tried to flex the hand and black skin cracked. Boy, that should hurt. It should gross me out too, she thought, but it doesn't. In fact, I don't really feel that bad, considering. I've been more sore after a game of racquetball with Kurt. Strange. The receiver clicked and a woman's voice came on the line. â€Å"Hello, you've reached the number for San Francisco emergency services. If you are currently in danger, press one; if the danger has passed and you still need help, press two.† Jody pressed two. â€Å"If you have been robbed, press one. If you've been in an accident, press two. If you've been assaulted, press three. If you are calling to report a fire, press four. If you've – â€Å" Jody ran the choices through her head and pressed three. â€Å"If you've been shot, press one. Stabbed, press two. Raped, press three. All other assaults, press four. If you'd like to hear these choices again, press five.† Jody meant to press four, but hit five instead. There was a series of clicks and the recorded voice came back on. â€Å"Hello, you've reached the number for San Francisco emergency services. If you are currently in danger – â€Å" Jody slammed the receiver down and it shattered in her hand, nearly knocking the phone off the pole. She jumped back and looked at the damage. Adrenaline, she thought. I'll call Kurt. He can come get me and take me to the hospital. She looked around for another pay phone. There was one by her bus stop. When she reached it she realized that she didn't have any change. Her purse had been in her briefcase and her briefcase was gone. She tried to remember her calling card number, but she and Kurt had only moved in together a month ago and she hadn't memorized it yet. She picked up and dialed the operator. â€Å"I'd like to make a collect call from Jody.† She gave the operator the number and waited while it rang. The machine picked up. â€Å"It looks like no one is home,† the operator said. â€Å"He's screening his calls,† Jody insisted. â€Å"Just tell him – â€Å" â€Å"I'm sorry, we aren't allowed to leave messages.† Hanging up, Jody destroyed the phone; this time, on purpose. She thought, Pounds of hundred-dollar bills and I can't make a damn phone call. And Kurt's screening his calls – I must be very late; you'd think he could pick up. If I wasn't so pissed off, I'd cry. Her hand had stopped aching completely now, and when she looked at it again it seemed to have healed a bit. I'm getting loopy, she thought. Post-traumatic loopiness. And I'm hungry. I need medical attention, I need a good meal, I need a sympathetic cop, a glass of wine, a hot bath, a hug, my auto-teller card so I can deposit this cash. I need†¦ The 42 bus rounded the corner and Jody instinctively felt in her jacket pocket for her bus pass. It was still there. The bus stopped and the door opened. She flashed her pass at the driver as she boarded. He grunted. She sat in the first seat, facing three other passengers. Jody had been riding the buses for five years, and occasionally, because of work or a late movie, she had to ride them at night. But tonight, with her hair frizzing wild and full of dirt, her nylons ripped, her suit wrinkled and stained – disheveled, disoriented, and desperate – she felt that she fit in for the first time. The psychos lit up at the sight of her. â€Å"Parking space!† a woman in the back blurted out. Jody looked up. â€Å"Parking space!† The woman wore a flowered housecoat and Mickey Mouse ears. She pointed out the window and shouted, â€Å"Parking space!† Jody looked away, embarrassed. She understood, though. She owned a car, a fast little Honda hatchback, and since she had found a parking space outside her apartment a month ago, she had only moved it on Tuesday nights, when the street sweeper went by – and moved it back as soon as the sweeper had passed. Claim-jumping was a tradition in the City; you had to guard a space with your life. Jody had heard that there were parking spaces in Chinatown that had been in families for generations, watched over like the graves of honored ancestors, and protected by no little palm-greasing to the Chinese street gangs. â€Å"Parking space!† the woman shouted. Jody glanced across the aisle and committed eye contact with a scruffy bearded man in an overcoat. He grinned shyly, then slowly pulled aside the flap of his overcoat to reveal an impressive erection peeking out the port of his khakis. Jody returned the grin and pulled her burned, blackened hand out of her jacket and held it up for him. Bested, he closed his overcoat, slouched in his seat and sulked. Jody was amazed that she'd done it. Next to the bearded man sat a young woman who was furiously unknitting a sweater into a yarn bag, as if she would go until she got to the end of the yarn, then reknit the sweater. An old man in a tweed suit and a wool deerstalker sat next to the knitting woman, holding a walking stick between his knees. Every few seconds he let loose with a rattling coughing fit, then fought to get his breath back while he wiped his eyes with a silk handkerchief. He saw Jody looking at him and smiled apologetically. â€Å"Just a cold,† he said. No, it's much worse than a cold, Jody thought. You're dying. How do I know that? I don't know how I know, but I know. She smiled at the old man, then turned to look out the window. The bus was passing through North Beach now and the streets were full of sailors, punks, and tourists. Around each she could see a faint red aura and heat trails in the air as they moved. She shook her head to clear her vision, then looked at the people inside the bus. Yes, each of them had the aura, some brighter than others. Around the old man in tweeds there was a dark ring as well as the red heat aura. Jody rubbed her eyes and thought, I must have hit my head. I'm going to need a CAT scan and an EEG. It's going to cost a fortune. The company will hate it. Maybe I can process my own claim and push it through. Well, I'm definitely calling in sick for the rest of the week. And there's serious shopping to be done once I get finished at the hospital and the police station. Serious shopping. Besides, I won't be able to type for a while anyway. She looked at her burned hand and thought again that it might have healed a bit. I'm still taking the week off, she thought. The bus stopped at Fisherman's Wharf and Ghirardelli Square and groups of tourists in Day-Glo nylon shorts and Alcatraz sweatshirts boarded, chattering in French and German while tracing lines on street maps of the City. Jody could smell sweat and soap, the sea, boiled crab, chocolate and liquor, fried fish, onions, sourdough bread, hamburgers and car exhaust coming off the tourists. As hungry as she was, the odor of food nauseated her. Feel free to shower during your visit to San Francisco, she thought. The bus headed up Van Ness and Jody got up and pushed through the tourists to the exit door. A few blocks later the bus stopped at Chestnut Street and she looked over her shoulder before getting off. The woman in the Mickey Mouse ears was staring peacefully out the window. â€Å"Wow,† Jody said. â€Å"Look at all those parking spaces.† As she stepped off the bus, Jody could hear the woman shouting, â€Å"Parking space! Parking space!† Jody smiled. Now why did I do that? Chapter 3 Oh Liquid Love Snapshots at midnight: an obese woman with a stun gun curbing a poodle, an older gay couple power-walking in designer sweats, a college girl pedaling a mountain bike – trailing tresses of perm-fried hair and a blur of red heat; televisions buzzing inside hotels and homes, sounds of water heaters and washing machines, wind rattling sycamore leaves and whistling through fir trees, a rat leaving his nest in a palm tree – claws skittering down the trunk. Smells: fear sweat from the poodle woman, rose water, ocean, tree sap, ozone, oil, exhaust, and blood-hot and sweet like sugared iron. It was only a three-block walk from the bus stop to the four-story building where she shared an apartment with Kurt, but to Jody it seemed like miles. It wasn't fatigue but fear that lengthened the distance. She thought she had lost her fear of the City long ago, but here it was again: over-the-shoulder glances between spun determination to look ahead and keep walking and not break into a run. She crossed the street onto her block and saw Kurt's Jeep parked in front of the building. She looked for her Honda, but it was gone. Maybe Kurt had taken it, but why? She'd left him the key as a courtesy. He wasn't really supposed to use it. She didn't know him that well. She looked at the building. The lights were on in her apartment. She concentrated on the bay window and could hear the sound of Louis Rukeyser punning his way through a week on Wall Street. Kurt liked to watch tapes of â€Å"Wall Street Week† before he went to bed at night. He said they relaxed him, but Jody suspected that he got some latent sexual thrill out of listening to balding money managers talking about moving millions. Oh well, if a rise in the Dow put a pup tent in his jammies, it was okay with her. The last guy she'd lived with had wanted her to pee on him. As she started up the steps she caught some movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone had ducked behind a tree. She could see an elbow and the tip of a shoe behind the tree, even in the darkness, but something else frightened her. There was no heat aura. Not seeing it now was as disturbing as seeing it had been a few minutes ago: she'd come to expect it. Whoever was behind the tree was as cold as the tree itself. She ran up the steps, pushed the buzzer, and waited forever for Kurt to answer. â€Å"Yes,† the intercom crackled. â€Å"Kurt, it's me. I don't have my key. Buzz me in.† The lock buzzed and she was in. She looked back through the glass. The street was empty. The figure behind the tree was gone. She ran up the four flights of steps to where Kurt was waiting at their apartment door. He was in jeans and an Oxford cloth shirt – an athletic, blond, thirty-year-old could-be model, who wanted, more than anything, to be a player on Wall Street. He took orders at a discount brokerage for salary and spent his days at a keyboard wearing a headset and suits he couldn't afford, watching other people's money pass him by. He was holding his hands behind his back to hide the Velcro wrist wraps he wore at night to minimize the pain from carpal tunnel syndrome. He wouldn't wear the wraps at work; carpal tunnel was just too blue-collar. At night he hid his hands like a kid with braces who is afraid to smile. â€Å"Where have you been?† he asked, more angry than concerned. Jody wanted smiles and sympathy, not recrimination. Tears welled in her eyes. â€Å"I was attacked tonight. Someone beat me up and stuffed me under a dumpster.† She held her arms out for a hug. â€Å"They burned my hand,† she wailed. Kurt turned his back on her and walked back into the apartment. â€Å"And where were you last night? Where were you today? Your office called a dozen times today.† Jody followed him in. â€Å"Last night? What are you talking about?† â€Å"They towed your car, you know. I couldn't find the key when the street sweeper came. You're going to have to pay to get it out of impound.† â€Å"Kurt, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm hungry and I'm scared and I need to go to the hospital. Someone attacked me, dammit!† Kurt pretended to be organizing his videotapes. â€Å"If you didn't want a commitment, you shouldn't have agreed to move in with me. It's not like I don't get opportunities with women every day.† Her mother had told her: Never get involved with a man who's prettier than you are. â€Å"Kurt, look at this.† Jody held up her burned hand. â€Å"Look!† Kurt turned slowly and looked at her; the acid in his expression fizzled into horror. â€Å"How did you do that?† â€Å"I don't know, I was knocked out. I think I have a head injury. My vision is†¦ Everything looks weird. Now will you please help me?† Kurt started walking in a tight circle around the coffee table, shaking his head. â€Å"I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do.† He sat on the couch and began rocking. Jody thought, This is the man who called the fire department when the toilet backed up, and I'm asking him for help. What was I thinking? Why am I attracted to weak men? What's wrong with me? Why doesn't my hand hurt? Should I eat something or go to the emergency room? Kurt said, â€Å"This is horrible, I've got to get up early. I have a meeting at five.† Now that he was in the familiar territory of self-interest, he stopped rocking and looked up. â€Å"You still haven't told me where you were last night!† Near the door where Jody stood there was an antique oak hall tree. On the hall tree there was a black raku pot where lived a struggling philodendron, home for a colony of spider mites. As Jody snatched up the pot, she could hear the spider mites shifting in their tiny webs. As she drew back to throw, she saw Kurt blink, his eyelids moving slowly, like an electric garage door. She saw the pulse in his neck start to rise with a heartbeat as she let fly. The pot described a beeline across the room, trailing the plant behind it like a comet tail. Confused spider mites found themselves airborne. The bottom of the pot connected with Kurt's forehead, and Jody could see the pot bulge, then collapse in on itself. Pottery and potting soil showered the room; the plant folded against Kurt's head and Jody could hear each of the stems snapping. Kurt didn't have time to change expressions. He fell back on the couch, unconscious. The whole thing had taken a tenth of a second. Jody moved to the couch and brushed potting soil out of Kurt's hair. There was a half-moon-shaped dent in his forehead that was filling with blood as she watched. Her stomach lurched and cramped so violently that she fell to her knees with the pain. She thought, My insides are caving in on themselves. She heard Kurt's heart beating and the slow rasp of his breathing. At least I haven't killed him. The smell of blood was thick in her nostrils, suffocatingly sweet. Another cramp doubled her over. She touched the wound on his forehead, then pulled back, her fingers dripping with blood. I'm not going to do this. I can't. She licked her fingers and every muscle in her body sang with the rush. There was an intense pressure on the roof of her mouth, then a crackling noise inside her head, as if someone were ripping out the roots of her eyeteeth. She ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth and felt needlelike points pushing through the skin behind her canines: new teeth, growing. I'm not doing this, she thought, as she climbed on top of Kurt and licked the blood from his forehead. The new teeth lengthened. A wave of electric pleasure rocketed through her and her mind went white with exhilaration. In the back of her mind a small voice shouted â€Å"No!† over and over again as she bit into Kurt's throat and drank. She heard herself moaning with each beat of Kurt's heart. It was a machine-gun orgasm, dark chocolate, spring water in the desert, a hallelujah chorus and the cavalry coming to the rescue all at once. And all the while the little voice screamed no! Finally she pulled herself away and rolled off onto the floor. She sat with her back to the couch, arms around her legs, her face pressed against her knees, ticking and twitching with tiny convulsions of pleasure. A dark warmth moved through her body, tingling as if she had just climbed out of a snowbank into a hot bath. Slowly the warmth ran away, replaced by a heart-wrenching sadness – a feeling of loss so permanent and profound that she felt numbed by the weight of it. I know this feeling, she thought. I've felt this before. She turned and looked at Kurt and felt little relief to see that he was still breathing. There were no marks on his neck where she had bitten him. The wound on his forehead was clotting and scabbing over. The smell of blood was still strong but now it repulsed her, like the odor of empty wine bottles on a hangover morning. She stood and walked to the bathroom, stripping her clothes off as she went. She turned on the shower, and while it ran worked down the remnants of her panty hose, noticing, without much surprise, that her burned hand had healed completely. She thought, I've changed. I will never be the same. The world has shifted. And with that thought the sadness returned. I've felt this before. She stepped into the shower and let the scalding water run over her, not noting its feel, or sound, or the color of the heat and steam swirling in the dark bathroom. The first sob wrenched its way up from her chest, shaking her, opening the grief trail. She slid down the shower wall, sat on the water-warmed tiles and cried until the water ran cold. And she remembered: another shower in the dark when the world had changed. She had been fifteen and not in love, but in love with the excitement of touching tongues and the rough feel of the boy's hand on her breast; in love with the idea of passion and too full of too-sweet wine, shoplifted by the boy from a 7-Eleven. His name was Steve Rizzoli (which didn't matter, except that she would always remember it) and he was two years older – a bit of a bad boy with his hash pipe and surfer smoothness. On a blanket in the Carmel dunes he coaxed her out of her jeans and did it to her. To her, not with her: she could have been dead, for her involvement. It was fast and awkward and empty except for the pain, which lingered and grew even after she walked home, cried in the shower, and lay in her room, wet hair spread over the pillow as she stared at the ceiling and grieved until dawn. As she stepped out of the shower and began mechanically toweling off, she thought, I felt this before when I grieved for my virginity. What do I grieve for tonight? My humanity? That's it: I'm not human anymore, and I never will be again. With that realization, events fell into place. She'd been gone two nights, not one. Her attacker had shoved her under the dumpster to protect her from the sun, but somehow her hand had been exposed and burned. She had slept through the day, and when she awoke the next evening, she was no longer human. Vampire. She didn't believe in vampires. She looked at her feet on the bath mat. Her toes were straight as a baby's, as if they had never been bent and bunched by wearing shoes. The scars on her knees and elbows from childhood accidents were gone. She looked in the mirror and saw that the tiny lines beside her eyes were gone, as were her freckles. But her eyes were black, not a millimeter of iris showing. She shuddered, then realized that she was seeing all of this in total darkness, and flipped on the bathroom light. Her pupils contracted and her eyes were the same striking green that they had always been. She grabbed a handful of her hair and inspected the ends. None were split, none broken. She was – as far as she could allow herself to believe – perfect. A newborn at twenty-six. I am a vampire. She allowed the thought to repeat and settle in her mind as she went to the bedroom and dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. A vampire. A monster. But I don't feel like a monster. As she walked back from the bedroom to the bathroom to dry her hair, she spotted Kurt lying on the couch. He was breathing rhythmically and a healthy aura of heat rose off his body. Jody felt a twinge of guilt, then pushed it aside. Fuck him, I never really liked him anyway. Maybe I am a monster. She turned on the curling iron that she used every morning to straighten her hair, then turned it off and threw it back on the vanity. Fuck that, too. Fuck curling irons and blow dryers and high heels and mascara and control-top panty hose. Fuck those human things. She shook out her hair, grabbed her toothbrush and went back to the bedroom, where she packed a shoulder bag full of jeans and sweatshirts. She dug through Kurt's jewelry box until she found the spare keys to her Honda. The clock radio by the bed read five o'clock in the morning. I don't have much time. I've got to find a place to stay, fast. On her way out she paused by the couch and kissed Kurt on the forehead. â€Å"You're going to be late for your meeting,† she said to him. He didn't move. She grabbed the bag of money from the floor and stuffed it into her shoulder bag, then walked out. Outside, she looked up and down the street, then cursed. The Honda had been towed. She'd have to get it out of impound. But you could only do that during the day. Shit. It would be light soon. She thought of what the sun had done to her hand. I've got to find darkness. She jogged down the street, feeling lighter on her feet than she ever had. At Van Ness she ran into a motel office and pounded on the bell until a sleepy-eyed clerk appeared behind the bulletproof window. She paid cash for two nights, then gave the clerk a hundred-dollar bill to ensure that she would not, under any circumstances, be disturbed. Once in the room she locked the door, then braced a chair against it and got into bed. Weariness came on her suddenly as first light broke pink over the City. She thought, I've got to get my car back. I've got to find a safe place to stay. Then I need to find out who did this to me. I have to know why. Why me? Why the money? Why? And I'm going to need help. I'm going to need someone who can move around in the day. When the sun peeked over the horizon in the east, she fell into the sleep of the dead.

telescopes essays

telescopes essays The telescope has changed the world greatly by being able to make distant objects appear closer and more distinct. It helped scientists to discover things that could not be seen by the naked eye. For example, a lot of things in space would have not been discovered if it were not for the telescope. Also, it helped the world of eyesight. It would not only let you see objects from far away, it would also help you see if you had a problem with it. It could also be used for other things: hunting, war, and making new discoveries. What would the world be like without the telescope? I dont know what the world would be like, but I some very good reasons why it was good that the telescope was created. Before there was the telescope people had to make discoveries by judgment. They were not very accurate discoveries. They also had to just use the naked eye when they would have to use the naked eye when looking at distant objects that could have been easily seen by the telescope. The telescope was one of the main instruments of what has been called the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. It revealed unsuspected phenomena in the heaves and had a profound influence on the controversy between followers of the traditional astronomy, the cosmos, and those who favored the naked eye. It was the first extension of mans senses and demonstrated that ordinary observers could see things that Aristotle had not dreamed of. It therefore helped shift authority in the observation of nature from men to instruments. In short, it was the prototype of modern scientific instruments. But the telescope was not the invention of scientists; rather, it was the product of craftsmen. For that reason, much of its origin is inaccessible to us since craftsmen were by large illiterate and therefore historically often invisible. Although the magnifying and diminishing properties of the convex and concave transparent objects was known in Antiq...

Information Technology Acts

Information Technology Acts Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000 Almost every home, library and school in the US has computers as well as access to the internet. These have become very important to children’s success in their academic work. However, the internet can expose them to online predators as well as inappropriate material. The increase in use of the internet by children especially teenagers brought in concerns about the need to prevent illegal activities over the internet.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Technology Acts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The US Congress enacted the Children’s Internet Protection Act, 2000 to address access to offensive content through the internet. The Act requires schools as well as libraries to put content filters on their information systems to prevent minors from accessing inappropriate sites and contents (Reynolds, 2006). Content devices are placed to block obsce ne and child pornography pictures, as well as, any other material deemed to cause harm to minors. The passing of this Act was prompted by the increase of global network which enabled minors to chart or communicate through email and chart rooms. This was deemed to pose risks to minors who can still be easily deceived by those who pretend to have good intent. Besides, software for hacking and spyware had become very common, meaning that anybody could easily illegally gain access to minors’ information if they wanted to for any reason. Hacking allows unauthorized access, disclosure as well as dissemination of personal identification information about children and teenagers. This posed great risks to minors who access the internet. There were concerns that some of these software companies develop software which enable them track minors’ web-surfing activities, and as a result sell the information to market research companies (Reynolds, 2006). This is illegitimate and again st the Privacy Act. Marketing companies and other firms use such information to send email advertisements by use of ardware through minors’ email addresses, regardless of their ages and the risks associated with the products or activities. Again, the internet allows those who develop pornography movies and pictures to distribute them online. Some of these contents are freely available online and always attract minors’ attention. Such inappropriate contents contribute to minors being involved in immoral activities which include sex when they are not yet mature. The internet also allows drug gangs to make attractive advertisements which allow them to easily recruit teenagers into their drug and gang activities. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, 1986 The Act was passed to help reduce cracking of information systems as well as to deal with federal computer-related offenses. It governs cases where information systems are used to carry out crimes involving interstate as well as foreign commerce. It also covers the use of computers to commit crimes related to illegal access or use of computers of financial institutions or the federal government.Advertising Looking for essay on it? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The act was passed as a result of the development of electronic funds transfer systems, hacking software, spyware, virus and the increase in adoption of information systems in institutions. The adoption of electronic funds transfers created real concerns about fraud or illegal transfer of funds from financial institutions. Fraudsters are able to maliciously access data and use various techniques to steal money from financial institutions or individual accounts. The development of credit cards, ATM cards and automated machines has increased the risks of fraud. Criminals skim credit card details by swiping them through card reader to copy the information contained in their magnetic str ip, and use them to generate cloned cards (Stamp Walker, 2007). Companies have developed handheld skimmers which can fit into pockets and hands, which allow fraudsters to secretly swipe cards without the knowledge of the owners. Some of these skimmers are attached to ATMs in the card slot. They are used in combination with pinhole cameras to record customers entering PIN. Fraudsters can also take advantage of their powerful encrypting software to encrypt passwords of employees in a financial institution to transfer funds from the institution to a financial institution in another country. The development of online financial transactions has also increased fraud risk. Hackers can hack financial details of an individual or institution through unauthorized leaks in the system and use it carry out fraud activities, which includes illegal transfer of funds and assets across countries. Software companies and individuals continuously develop password hacking software which hackers and crac kers use to view activities of other remotely connected computers. They are therefore able to spy activities of institutions of the federal government or monitor the financial activities of financial institutions. There also software which enables them to capture the activities of these institutions or damage vital data belonging to these institutions (Wienbar, 2004). These software enable them crack passwords since they are stronger than firewall and other filters. They can therefore illegally gain access to confidential information and use it to achieve their own personal interest. Spyware and viruses have been developed to cause damage and to gain unauthorized access to federal information. They can be used to hack, delete files or information stored in protected computers vital to the federal government or institutions. New technologies such as spyware can be used to collect information from corporate or public institutions without the knowledge of the computer users. They can b e used to monitor computer users, collect personal information and take control of the computer of computer systems.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Information Technology Acts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More They can install additional software which may include virus, and interfere with functionality of other computer programs. The development of webcams also poses great risks. Individuals remotely activate webcams embedded in computers used in institutions to secretly capture activities, and therefore illegally monitor activities of individuals and institutions. Reference List Reynolds, G. (2006). Ethics in information technology, 2nd Ed. St Peter Port: Course Technology Inc. Stamp, J., Walker, J. (2007). Money laundering in Australia, 2004: Trends and issues in crime and criminal justice. Australian Institute of Criminology, 342. Wienbar, S. (2004). The Spyware Inferno. News.com. Web.

Socrates Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Socrates - Assignment Example Upon making his defense against those accusing him, Socrates went forward to respond to the charges that were being leveled against him. To begin with, Meletus had indicated that Socrates was an evil doer in that he was found corrupting young people, did not believe in the state gods, and had introduced personal divinities. To defend himself, Socrates asked Meletus to offer himself in order to respond to some questions he wanted to ask to him. Socrates was particularly skillful in his questions, which resulted in Meletus not only contradicting himself but also making accusations that were totally meaningless. His statements meant that Socrates was the only person in Athens who was affecting the young people. At the same time, Socrates admitted that no one would deliberately make people worse and at the same time, live with them. From this point of view, it is difficult to say that Socrates was making or turning the people worse, or Socrates was doing so involuntarily. In either case, Socrates was not responsible for any crime; therefore, ought not to be punished. The Meletus opposition to Socrates was based somehow on grounds of religion because he simply did not confide his faith in the gods associated with the state. In fact, when interrogated about it, Meletus insisted that Socrates was an atheist. Of course, the charge was ridiculous, and Socrates made that clear by indicating that Meletus had disagreed with his earlier statement that Socrates had introduced new divinities and yet did not confide his faith in any supreme being (Plato 3-7). In reality, Socrates, whilst not accepting the widely accepted conceptions of religion, was a religious person. Socrates had a deep belief in the religious meaning of the world and life, along with a strong belief in God as a source of moral obligations. Socrates, for many generations, has been considered as a hero and

The struggle between fear and freedom of Eveline in Eveline by James Research Paper - 1

The struggle between fear and freedom of Eveline in Eveline by James Joyce - Research Paper Example The family, as a social group, seems to be one of the key themes that Joyce presents, in this story. This is evident when Eveline decides to stay back at home and assume a mother’s roles as a promise she made to her dying mother (Joyce 1). Additionally, death is also presented as a significant theme, in this story. Joyce illustrates that a number of Eveline’s family members and friends have died, and this is evident from symbolisms such as painting of Mary Margaret Alocoque, a French nun, and dust collecting around the house, giving the readers a sense of loneliness and death surrounding Eveline (Joyce 1). The author also presents several issues that made Eveline break the promises she made to her mother, and elope with Frank. One of the key reasons, why Eveline decided to run away from their home, is because they were poor, and money was a precious thing in her life. In the story, Eveline expresses her love for money when she holds her purse next to her body as if she was protecting her own life while walking to the market (Joyce 1). The author also illustrates her family’s poverty status when Eveline is perplexed by the leather seats Frank books at the theater. This is because she was used to seating on the back seats due to lack of money to afford better seats (McCarthy 58). Apparently, Eveline perceives Frank as a new and exciting lifestyle she had never had the opportunity to experience since she took a mother’s role after her mother’s death. Her new lifestyle appeared comfortable because of its stability, and Frank was something spontaneous and new, in her l ife. It is also apparent that Eveline is only a materialistic lady, and she is not so much in love with Frank. She is only interested in the new lifestyle that she is anticipating, and one that contradicts all that she had earlier known and experienced (Joyce 1). Eveline falters at the station when it was time for her and Frank to leave. She becomes frozen and unable to make the final