Folk tale Genre :: essays papers

People story Genre The best fortune of each country is its language. Fantasies are a piece of the oral conventions of writing everywhere throughout the world. The fantasy is one of the types of the individuals' etymological expressions where life and social framework are reflected. Legends, folklore, tales, tall stories, and other great stories have been passed on, age through age. Innumerable fortunes of human idea experience despite everything gather and live on the planet significantly following thousand of years. Fantasies showed up on the planet quite a while prior. Each culture has it is own assortment of these accounts. In spite of the fact that, fantasies contrast in light of spots, societies, and periods their special effect on instructing and engaging of individuals has not been changed. Each class of individuals, in all pieces of the world, has gone down this incredible custom for ages, giving it prevalence. A few researchers have examined reasons of why fantasies despite everything exist and keep on being told all over the place. They express that accounts may vary in subject here and there, the conditions and motivations behind story telling may change as we move from land to land, from century to century, but then wherever it clergymen to a similar fundamental social and individual needs (15-18). Fantasy permits the peruser and the wrier to go into another fictional universe. There are numerous things to gain from the fantasy. Stories in their least difficult structure have numerous purposes behind being told. The therapist, Bruno Bettelhiem, contemplated what is being gained from people stories. He states: Folk stories tell about the desolations of kin contention, of wishes working out, of the humble being raised, of genuine legitimacy being perceived even covered up under clothes of excellence remunerated and underhanded rebuffed (45-46). In each recounting a fantasy, a crowd of people is anxious to tune in and retell the story to another crowd. The social qualities can be reclaimed to the history, and around to all pieces of the world. The stories take the beat of presence and of man's personnel of dreaming and communing. As indicated by M.K. Thompson: Curiosity about the past has consistently carried energetic audience members to stories of some time in the past which gracefully the basic man with all he is aware of the historical backdrop of this story (484-485).

Compare and contrast Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Thoroughly analyze - Assignment Example ground-breaking client base, extraordinary aptitude in proposal programming, and chances to advertise through cross-selling† (Furtado, Grosman, and de Souza, n.d., p. 2). In spite of its inability to rule the net, Microsoft still has a lot of solidarity to support rivalry. Beside being the most all around unmistakable brand, it has a differing and skilled workforce, a great notoriety as a business, and its own online system division (Hafner and Hibert, 2001). Despite the fact that they have various qualities and items, Amazon and Microsoft share a similar market which makes rivalry unavoidable. Be that as it may, the two organizations can passage better on the off chance that they participate. To begin with, it would expand the introduction and extent of Amazon items. Besides, it would give Microsoft more resources (for example in music retail) and forestall organizations like Apple from commanding their separate markets. All the more critically, Amazon and Microsoft are more similar to complimentary organizations than contenders. For instance, Microsoft could give the product to Amazon’s Kindle (Perlow, 2010).On the piece of the shoppers, be t hat as it may, such association may not be advantageous. As in conventional exchange, online trade can be hoarded. Restraining infrastructures can direct the online market to further their potential benefit, similarly as on account of Google whose â€Å"new formats†¦increase costs for advertisers† (Edwards, 2010). Situations like that would trigger a domino impact that would inevitably trouble

Interesting Topic for Your Alien 1979 Essay

Interesting Topic for Your Alien 1979 EssayThe 1977 movie Alien is one of the most successful science fiction films ever made. It was a box office success, and it also received a lot of critical acclaim. In fact, there have been many different types of essays written about the film over the years. This article will look at some of the most common topic for writing essays about the movie.One of the most famous scene in the movie is a scene between the android and Ripley as they are stranded on a spaceship. They are alone together and begin to argue about the humans. The android states that humans have made them weak. In response, Ripley states that they are strong, but not like her.Another common question asked is why are the humans so powerful. The main characters were of a similar level to the aliens, or so they state. Why are they stronger? Another common question is where did they get the strength? This may be answered with the fact that the G-Self is not the real definition of an android.Aliens often appear, even though it seems that they cannot leave the planet, and they have no biological need to travel. When the first Alien appears, he tells Ripley that there is no civilization on the planet, so he feels very alone. When the G-Self comes aboard the spaceship, he takes the human forms in order to show his loved ones that they are not alone.When the movie ends, the G-Self informs the Alien that he is powerful enough to kill him, since he knows he can not move in the physical world. In response, the Alien destroys the G-Self. But the alien cannot escape, since he is immobile in the physical world. He can only communicate through thought, which is how he finds out about the G-Self.The G-Self also tells the Alien that he can't run away, since he has no way to travel to other planets. The Alien is captured and sent to Earth, but instead of killing the humans, he releases the humans, as he can still not move in the physical world. The G-Self is sent to Earth in stead.The Alien is transferred to a lab on Earth, where he lives for two years. During this time, he is given the chance to reunite with his creators. When he reunites with them, he was able to tell them of the G-Self's existence. He goes on to say that he killed them, since he could not move in the physical world and the G-Self could not convince him otherwise.The Alien eventually returns to the Alien ship and is found in quarantine. The Alien then lets Ripley go. In order to release the Alien from his quarantine, Ripley must be killed by him. To do this, she must seduce him by kissing him.

Italian Relative Pronouns Pronomi Relativi

Italian relative pronouns—pronomi relativi—are called as such because, in addition to substituting for the noun, they connect (or relate) two clauses. The clause introduced by the pronoun is subordinate and is dependent on the main clause.  The relative pronouns in Italian  are  chi,  che,  cui, and  il quale. Read on to learn how these important pronouns are used in this Romance language. The Relative Pronoun â€Å"Chi† Chi in Italian literally means who. It is invariable, is used in the masculine and feminine singular, and refers only to a person. Examples below illustrate the use of this pronoun. For all examples, the Italian sentence is presented first in italics, while the English translation follows  in regular type. Chi  rompe,  paga.He who breaks (it), pays (for it). Chi tra voi ragazze vuole partecipare alla gara, si iscriva.Those of you girls who want to participate in the competition, sign up. In general,  chi  functions as subject and object; in fact, it corresponds to a relative pronoun preceded by a  demonstrative. Non mi  piace  chi  non  lavora seriamente. I do not like those who do not work seriously. Other Uses for Chi Chi can also mean what, as well as who, with both uses in the same sentence, as this example from  Reverso Translation  notes: Hai sempre saputo chi ero... chi sono.  You always knew who I was, what I am. Sometimes  chi  even functions as an indirect  compliment  if it is preceded by a preposition. Mi  rivolge  a chi  parla  senza  pensare.  I was referring to those who speak without thinking The relative pronouns â€Å"Che† and Cui The relative pronoun che generally means that in English, as the following examples show: È molto bello il vestito che hai acquistato.The dress that you bought is very nice. and: I medici,  che  hanno partecipato alla conferenza, erano americani.  The doctors who attended the conference were Americans. By contrast, cui, a pronoun that means which, can take the place of an indirect object, an object preceded by a preposition. Cui never changes; only the prepositions preceding it change, notes  Learn Italian Daily, a website that provides free Italian-language lessons. You can also use the relative pronoun ​cui preceded by an article to join two sentences that have an element in common, an element that expresses a form of possession. The Relative Pronoun â€Å"il Quale† The pronoun  il  quale also means which in English. It is a variable, relative pronoun that is mainly used in written language, such as official documents. Indeed, il quale, and other forms of the pronoun including  la quale, i quali, and  le quali  may replace che  or cui, as in this example: Il documento, il quale à ¨ stato firmato da voi, à ¨ stato spedito ieri.  The document, which has been signed by you, was delivered yesterday. But even though il quali is generally used formally, you can still have some fun with the pronoun, as in this example: Cadrai in un sonno profondo durante  il quale  obbedirai ai miei ordini. Youre falling into a deep sleep under  which  youll obey my every command.

Essay The Fault of the Character Macbeth in Shakespeares...

The Fault of the Character Macbeth in Shakespeares Macbeth Macbeth by William Shakespeare is the story of a brave, honourable soldier who ruins his life due to his own greed for power, respect and wealth. The story starts with Macbeth as the kings favorite soldier, a very respectful, honorable man. Macbeth then is told by the witches his life will change for the better - All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!. In a desperate effort to obtain this promised position of King, Macbeth takes his fate in his own hands. He kills, lies and betrays to get what he wants. This changes him, into a mean, suspicious and evil man. The story ends with the pathetic Macbeth being killed, therefore losing all that he finally had. The†¦show more content†¦The fact he changed his mind is the first example of how his personality changed throughout the play. Macbeth returns to the witches at the beginning of Act 4, desperate for new information - Howeer you come to know it - answer me. This shows he places much faith in the witches, which is his choice, therefore their words are not beyond his control. Lady Macbeths reaction to the news of the witches, which she received in a letter, was outwith Macbeths control. Her love for Macbeth and her ambitions for his happiness were what caused her decision that Duncan should be killed. However, Lady Macbeth realises in Act 3 that noughts had, alls spent - they have what they want but are not enjoying it. I think that after Lady Macbeths decision in scene 5 of Act 1, Macbeth had his own choice to make. He decided to listen and to follow Lady Macbeths instructions, even though he needed further encouraging. I believe that agreeing with Lady Macbeth was not his only choice. Macbeth is an impressionable man, as can be judged by his first reaction to the witches. While Banquo laughed at the witches predictions, Macbeth takes them very seriously and wonders how he can become Thane of Cawdor if the Thane is still alive. Being a soldier, Macbeth has learnt to only trust himself, and I believe that the incident with the first Thane of Cawdor lying to his country only escalates Macbeths urge to only trust himself, and not fate, therefore leading him to believe heShow MoreRelatedCharacterization Of Macbeth1276 Words   |  6 Pages But with this answer comes another question: why would Shakespeare name the main character Macbeth when his monarchs were Elizabeth I and James I? What message was he trying to send by using the name of Macbeth, the king of Scotland in 1040? In Jonathan Goldberg’s essay â€Å"Speculations: Macbeth and source† in Jean E Howard’s anthology on Shakespeare, Goldberg explains how the King Duncan in the play is a refl ection of the real life Duncan I from Scotland in the 1030s when Scotland was going throughRead MoreMichael Attenborough’s Macbeth at the Playhouse by Queensland Theatre Company1199 Words   |  5 Pages QUEENSLAND THEATRE COMPANY’S MACBETH: A CRITICAL REFLECTION Having been much anticipated, Michael Attenborough’s Macbeth was recently shown at the Playhouse by Queensland Theater performed by The Grin and Tonic Theatre Troupe as part of the Arts for all Queenslanders strategy instilled by Newman Government in 2013 (Walker, I. 2014. pg 3). With this in place it’s allowing renowned actors and directors to dazzle Queensland theatregoers with a new waveRead MorePower and Tragedy in Macbeth by William Shakespeare Essay examples768 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s play Macbeth tells the story of the noble thane, Macbeth, becoming corrupted due to his rise of power. Macbeth, who is the centre character, qualifies as a tragic hero. People are able to identify with Macbeth, see his nobility before corruption, and witness him acquire new knowledge from his dark story. Readers and watchers of the play are attracted to Macbeth, despite his faults. Most people would not see Macbeth and say that they want to be exactly like him, yet they cannotRead MoreIs Macbeth A Tragic Hero Or A Tyrant? Essay920 Words   |  4 PagesIs Macbeth A Tragic Hero Or A Tyrant? Macbeth, one of Shakespeares most emotive plays, is set in Scotland during the 11th Century and follows the downfall of a man who is led by temptation to mass murder and cruelty. Macbeth, at different stages in the play, demonstrates many of the characteristics of both an evil tyrant and a tragic hero. However, a tragic hero is defined as a great man who falls because of a fatal flaw and Macbeth bests fits this description. ThereforeRead MoreLady Macbeth Has Been Described as the ‘Fourth Witch.’ Do You Agree with This Statement?1113 Words   |  5 PagesLady Macbeth is an insidious and complex character. Throughout the course of the novel, she manipulates her husband, Macbeth, and spurs him to commit his first murder in order for him to ultimately achieve what she believes he deserves. Lady Macbeth is shown to the audience as a loyal wife who wants the best for his husband, but at the same time, she is portrayed as a malicious character from the very beginning of the play. The line between an evil human being, and a scheming witch, is so fine thatRead More A Comparison of Macbeth and Oedipus the King Essay1572 Words   |  7 PagesA Comparison of Macbeth and Oedipus Rex  Ã‚   The objective of this essay is to compare the Shakespearian tragedy Macbeth to the Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex. Although the plays share similarities, it will be seen that the fall of Macbeth is very different from that of Oedipus. Macbeths downfall is due to his own personal decisions while the downfall of Oedipus is due to fate and the will of the gods. In Greek tragedy plot was always emphasized over character; everyone wore masks. TheseRead More Lady Macbeth of Shakespeares Play, Macbeth Essay1000 Words   |  4 PagesLady Macbeth of Shakespeares Play, Macbeth Lady Macbeth is the most interesting and complex character in Shakespeares play, Macbeth. She is, in fact, the point on which the action pivots: without her there is no play. The purpose of this essay is to describe Lady Macbeth’s role in the play and discuss why this makes her the most fascinating character. Her evil doings are the main reasons why she dominates the plot so greatly. These include the following: considers Macbeth to be a wimp notRead More Macbeth - Kingship Essay1609 Words   |  7 Pages With detailed reference to the characters of Macbeth, Duncan, Malcolm and Edward in the play ‘Macbeth’, analyse William Shakespeare’s ideas and attributes towards kingship and assess what you think the audiences reaction to the play would be at the time. Shakespeare’s ideas towards kingship can be seen throughout the play. He shows that a king should be chosen by divine right and shows the attributes of what a good king should be. The play ‘Macbeth’ is set in medieval Scotland at the fictionalRead MoreOlivia Murillo. Mr. Ortiz . English 12. February 27, 2017.1124 Words   |  5 Pages2017 Comparison of Macbeth and Throne of Blood Shakespeare’s play, â€Å"The Tragedy of Macbeth† and the 1957 movie Throne of Blood are similar in the way the power struggles first commence. As the old saying goes, â€Å"behind every great man, there is an even greater woman.† When a man has potential it is usually his partner that is right there beside him, pushing him towards greatness. That is where Asaji and Lady Macbeth’s character comes into the play and movie. Both female characters are strongly presentedRead MoreShakespeare - His View on Kingship1600 Words   |  7 PagesShakespeares ideas towards kingship can be seen throughout the play. He shows that a king should be chosen by divine right and shows the attributes of what a good king should be. The play ‘Macbeth is set in medieval Scotland at the fictional time of King Duncan. Scotland is currently at war with the Norwegians when news of their victory comes through, with thanks to the two leaders of the army Macbeth and Banquo. On their travel home Macbeth and Banquo stumble upon some old hags, and they predict

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 19 Free Essays

string(26) " reaction to my prodding\." Chapter 19 Another day spent wandering the city with the angel, another dream of the woman standing at the foot of my bed, and I awoke finally – after all these years – to understand what Joshua must have felt, at least at times, as the only one of his kind. I know he said again and again that he was the son of man, born of a woman, one of us, but it was the paternal part of his heritage that made him different. Now, since I’m fairly sure I am the only person walking the earth who was doing so two thousand years ago, I have an acute sense of what it is to be unique, to be the one and only. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 19 or any similar topic only for you Order Now It’s lonely. That’s why Joshua went into those mountains so often, and stayed so long in the company of the creature. Last night I dreamed that the angel was talking to someone in the room while I slept. In the dream I heard him say, â€Å"Maybe it would be best just to kill him when he finishes. Snap his neck, shove him into a storm sewer.† Strange, though, there wasn’t the least bit of malice in the angel’s voice. On the contrary, he sounded very forlorn. That’s how I know it was a dream. I never thought I’d be happy to get back to the monastery, but after trudging through the snow for half the day, the dank stone walls and dark hallways were as welcoming as a warmly lit hearth. Half of the rice we had collected as alms was immediately boiled, then packed into bamboo cylinders about a hand wide and as long as a man’s leg, then half of the root vegetables were stored away while the rest were packed into satchels along with some salt and more bamboo cylinders filled with cold tea. We had just enough time to chase the chill out of our limbs by the cook fires, then Gaspar had us take up the cylinders and the satchels and he led us out into the mountains. I had never noticed when the other monks left on the pilgrimage of secret meditation that they were carrying so much food. And with all this food, much more than we could eat in the four or five days we were gone, why had Joshua and I been training for this by fasting? Traveling higher into the mountains was actually easier for a while, as the snow had been blown off the trail. It was when we came to the high plateaus where the yak grazed and the snow drifted that the going became difficult. We took turns at the head of the line, plowing a trail through the snow. As we climbed, the air became so thin that even the highly conditioned monks had to stop frequently to catch their breaths. At the same time, the wind bit through our robes and leggings as if they weren’t there. That there was not enough air to breathe, yet the movement of the air would chill our bones, I suppose is ironic, yet I was having a hard time appreciating it even then. I said, â€Å"Why couldn’t you just go to the rabbis and learn to be the Messiah like everyone else? Do you remember any snow in the story of Moses? No. Did the Lord appear to Moses in the form of a snow bank? I don’t think so. Did Elijah ascend to heaven on a chariot of ice? Nope. Did Daniel come forth unharmed from a blizzard? No. Our people are about fire, Joshua, not ice. I don’t remember any snow in all of the Torah. The Lord probably doesn’t even go to places where it snows. This is a huge mistake, we never should have come, we should go home as soon as this is over, and in conclusion, I can’t feel my feet.† I was out of breath and wheezing. â€Å"Daniel didn’t come forth from the fire,† Joshua said calmly. â€Å"Well, who can blame him, it was probably warm in there.† â€Å"He came forth unharmed from the lion’s den,† said Josh. â€Å"Here,† said Gaspar, stopping any further discussion. He put down his parcels and sat down. â€Å"Where?† I said. We were under a low overhang, out of the wind, and mostly out of the snow, but it was hardly what you could call shelter. Still, the other monks, including Joshua, shed their packs and sat, affecting the meditation posture and holding their hands in the mudra of all-giving compassion (which, strangely enough, is the same hand gesture that modern people use for â€Å"okay.† Makes you think). â€Å"We can’t be here. There’s no here here,† I said. â€Å"Exactly,† said Gaspar. â€Å"Contemplate that.† So I sat. Joshua and the others seemed impervious to the cold and as frost formed on my eyelashes and clothing, the light dusting of ice crystals that covered the ground and rocks around each of them began to melt, as if there was a flame burning inside of them. Whenever the wind died, I noticed steam rising off of Gaspar as his damp robe gave up its moisture to the chill air. When Joshua and I first learned to meditate, we had been taught to be hyperaware of everything around us, connected, but the state that my fellow monks were in now was one of trance, of separation, of exclusion. They had each constructed some sort of mental shelter in which they were happily sitting, while I, quite literally, was freezing to death. â€Å"Joshua, I need a little help here,† I said, but my friend didn’t move a muscle. If it weren’t for the steady stream of his breath I would have thought him frozen himself. I tapped him on the shoulder, but received no response whatsoever. I tried to get the attention of each of the other four monks, but they too gave no reaction to my prodding. You read "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 19" in category "Essay examples" I even pushed Gaspar hard enough to knock him over, yet he stayed in the sitting position, looking like a statue of the Buddha that had tumbled from its pedestal. Still, as I touched each of my companions I could feel the heat coming off of him. Since it was obvious that I wasn’t going to learn how to reach this trance state in time to save my own life, my only alternative was to take advantage of theirs. At first I arranged the monks in a large pile, trying to keep the elbows and knees out of the eyes and yarbles, out of respect and in the spirit of the infinitely compassionate Buddha and stuff. Although the warmth coming off them was impressive, I found that I could only keep one side of me warm at a time. Soon, by arranging my friends in a circle facing outward, and sitting in the middle, I was able to construct an envelope of comfort that kept the chill at bay. Ideally, I could have used a couple of more monks to stretch over the top of my hut to block the wind, but as the Buddha said, life is suffering and all, so I suffered. After I heated some tea on Number Seven monk’s head and tucked one of the cylinders of rice under Gaspar’s arm until it was warm, I was able to enjoy a pleasant repast and dropped off to sleep with a full belly. I awoke to what sounded like the entire Roman army trying to slurp the anchovies out of the Mediterranean Sea. When I opened my eyes I saw the source of the noise and nearly tumbled over backward trying to back away. A huge, furry creature, half again as tall as any man I had ever seen was trying to slurp the tea out of one of the bamboo cylinders, but the tea had frozen to slush and the creature looked as if he might suck the top of his head in if he continued. Yes, he looked sort of like a man, except his entire body was covered with a long white fur. His eyes were as large as a cow’s, with crystal blue irises and pinpoint pupils. Thick black eyelashes knitted together when he blinked. He had long black nails on his hands, which were similar to a man’s except twice the size, and the only clothing he wore at all were some sort of boots that looked to be made of yak skin. The impressive array of tackle swinging between the creature’s legs tipped me off to his mal eness. I looked around at the circle of monks to see if anyone had noticed that our supplies were being raided by a woolly beast, but they were all deeply entranced. The creature slurped again from the cylinder, then pounded on the side of it with his hand, as if to dislodge the contents, then looked at me as if asking for help. Whatever terror I felt melted away the second I looked into the creature’s eyes. There wasn’t the hint of aggression there, not a glint of violence or threat. I picked up the cylinder of tea that I had heated on Number Three’s head. It sloshed in my hand, indicating that it hadn’t frozen during my nap, so I held it out to the creature. He reached over Joshua’s head and took the cylinder, pulled the cork from the end, and drank greedily. I took the moment to kick my friend in the kidney. â€Å"Josh, snap out of it. You need to see this.† I got no response, so I reached around and pinched my friend’s nostrils shut. To master meditation the student must first master his breath. The savior made a snorting sound and came out of his trance gasping and twisting in my grip. He was facing me when I finally let go. â€Å"What?† Josh said. I pointed behind him and Joshua turned around to witness the full glory of the big furry white guy. â€Å"Holy moly!† Big Furry jumped back cradling his tea like a threatened infant and made some vocalization which wasn’t quite language. (But if it had been, it would probably have translated as â€Å"Holy Moly,† as well.) It was nice to see Joshua’s masterful control slip to reveal a vulnerable underbelly of confusion. â€Å"What†¦I mean who†¦I mean, what is that?† â€Å"Not a Jew,† I said helpfully, pointing to about a yard of foreskin. â€Å"Well, I can see it’s not a Jew, but that doesn’t narrow it down much, does it?† Strangely, I seemed to be enjoying this much more than my two semi-terrified cohorts. â€Å"Well, do you remember when Gaspar gave us the rules of the monastery, and we wondered about the one that said we were not to kill a human or someone like a human?† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well, he’s someone like a human, I guess.† â€Å"Okay.† Joshua climbed to his feet and looked at Big Furry. Big Furry straightened up and looked at Joshua, tilting his head from side to side. Joshua smiled. Big Furry smiled back. Black lips, really long sharp canines. â€Å"Big teeth,† I said. â€Å"Very big teeth.† Joshua held his hand out to the creature. The creature reached out to Joshua and ever so gently took the Messiah’s smaller hand in his great paw†¦and wrenched Joshua off his feet, catching him in a hug and squeezing him so hard that his beatific eyes started to bug out. â€Å"Help,† squeaked Joshua. The creature licked the top of Joshua’s head with a long blue tongue. â€Å"He likes you,† I said. â€Å"He’s tasting me,† Joshua said. I thought of how my friend had fearlessly yanked the tail of the demon Catch, of how he had faced so many dangers with total calm. I thought of the times he had saved me, both from outside dangers and from myself, and I thought of the kindness in his eyes that ran deeper than sea, and I said: â€Å"Naw, he likes you.† I thought I’d try another language to see if the creature might better comprehend my meaning: â€Å"You like Joshua, don’t you? Yes you do. Yes you do. He wuvs his widdle Joshua. Yes he does.† Baby talk is the universal language. The words are different, but the meaning and sound is the same. The creature nuzzled Joshua up under its chin, then licked his head again, this time leaving a steaming trail of green-tea-stained saliva behind on my friend’s scalp. â€Å"Yuck,† said Joshua. â€Å"What is this thing?† â€Å"It’s a yeti,† said Gaspar from behind me, obviously having been roused from his trance. â€Å"An abominable snowman.† â€Å"This is what happens when you fuck a sheep!?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Not an abomination,† Josh said, â€Å"abominable.† The yeti licked him on the cheek. Joshua tried to push away. To Gaspar he said, â€Å"Am I in danger?† Gaspar shrugged. â€Å"Does a dog have a Buddha nature?† â€Å"Please, Gaspar,† Joshua said. â€Å"This is a question of practical application, not spiritual growth.† The yeti sighed and licked Josh’s cheek again. I guessed that the creature must have a tongue as rough as a cat’s, as Joshua’s cheek was going pink with abrasion. â€Å"Turn the other cheek, Josh,† I said. â€Å"Let him wear the other one out.† â€Å"I’m going to remember this,† Joshua said. â€Å"Gaspar, will he harm me?† â€Å"I don’t know. No one has ever gotten that close to him before. Usually he comes while we are in trance and disappears with the food. We are lucky to even get a glimpse of him.† â€Å"Put me down, please,† said Josh to the creature. â€Å"Please put me down.† The yeti set Joshua back on his feet on the ground. By this time the other monks were coming out of their trances. Number Seventeen squealed like a frying squirrel when he saw the yeti so close. The yeti crouched and bared his teeth. â€Å"Stop that!† barked Joshua to Seventeen. â€Å"You’re scaring him.† â€Å"Give him some rice,† said Gaspar. I took the cylinder I had warmed and handed it to the yeti. He popped off the top and began scooping out rice with a long finger, licking the grains off his fingers like they were termites about to make their escape. Meanwhile Joshua backed away from the yeti so that he stood beside Gaspar. â€Å"This is why you come here? Why after alms you carry so much food up the mountain?† Gaspar nodded. â€Å"He’s the last of his kind. He has no one to help him gather food. No one to talk to.† â€Å"But what is he? What is a yeti?† â€Å"We like to think of him as a gift. He is a vision of one of the many lives a man might live before he reaches nirvana. We believe he is as close to a perfect being as can be achieved on this plane of existence.† â€Å"How do you know he is the only one?† â€Å"He told me.† â€Å"He talks?† â€Å"No, he sings. Wait.† As we watched the yeti eat, each of the monks came forward and put his cylinders of food and tea in front of the creature. The yeti looked up from his eating only occasionally, as if his whole universe resided in that bamboo pipe full of rice, yet I could tell that behind those ice-blue eyes the creature was counting, figuring, rationing the supplies we had brought. â€Å"Where does he live?† I asked Gaspar. â€Å"We don’t know. A cave somewhere, I suppose. He has never taken us there, and we don’t look for it.† Once all the food was put before the yeti, Gaspar signaled to the other monks and they started backing out from under the overhang into the snow, bowing to the yeti as they went. â€Å"It is time for us to go,† Gaspar said. â€Å"He doesn’t want our company.† Joshua and I followed our fellow monks back into the snow, following a path they were blazing back the way we had come. The yeti watched us leave, and every time I looked back he was still watching, until we were far enough away that he became little more than an outline against the white of the mountain. When at last we climbed out of the valley, and even the great sheltering overhang was out of sight, we heard the yeti’s song. Nothing, not even the blowing of the ram’s horn back home, not the war cries of bandits, not the singing of mourners, nothing I had ever heard had reached inside of me the way the yeti’s song did. It was a high wailing, but with stops and pulses like the muted sound of a heart beating, and it carried all through the valley. The yeti held his keening notes far longer than any human breath could sustain. The effect was as if someone was emptying a huge cask of sadness down my throat until I thought I’d collapse or explode with the gr ief. It was the sound of a thousand hungry children crying, ten thousand widows tearing their hair over their husbands’ graves, a chorus of angels singing the last dirge on the day of God’s death. I covered my ears and fell to my knees in the snow. I looked at Joshua and tears were streaming down his cheeks. The other monks were hunched over as if shielding themselves from a hailstorm. Gaspar cringed as he looked at us, and I could see then that he was, indeed, a very old man. Not as old as Balthasar, perhaps, but the face of suffering was upon him. â€Å"So you see,† the abbot said, â€Å"he is the only one of his kind. Alone.† You didn’t have to understand the yeti’s language, if he had one, to know that Gaspar was right. â€Å"No he’s not,† said Joshua. â€Å"I’m going to him.† Gaspar took Joshua’s arm to stop him. â€Å"Everything is as it should be.† â€Å"No,† said Joshua. â€Å"It is not.† Gaspar pulled his hand back as if he had plunged it into a flame – a strange reaction, as I had actually seen the monk put his hand in flame with less reaction as part of the kung fu regimen. â€Å"Let him be,† I said to Gaspar, not sure at the time why I was doing it. Joshua headed back into the valley by himself, having not said another word to us. â€Å"He’ll be back when it’s time,† I said. â€Å"What do you know?† snapped Gaspar in a distinctly unenlightened way. â€Å"You’ll be working off your karma for a thousand years as a dung beetle just to evolve to the point of being dense.† I didn’t say anything. I simply bowed, then turned and followed my brother monks back to the monastery. It was a week before Joshua returned to us, and it was another day before he and I actually had time to speak. We were in the dining hall, and Joshua had eaten his own rice as well as mine. In the meantime, I had applied a lot of thought to the plight of the abominable snowman and, more important, to his origins. â€Å"Do you think there were a lot of them, Josh?† â€Å"Yes. Never as many as there are men, but there were many more.† â€Å"What happened to them?† â€Å"I’m not sure. When the yeti sings I see pictures in my head. I saw that men came to these mountains and killed the yeti. They had no instinct to fight. Most just stood in place and watched as they were slaughtered. Perplexed by man’s evil. Others ran higher and higher into the mountains. I think that this one had a mate and a family. They starved or died of some slow sickness. I can’t tell.† â€Å"Is he a man?† â€Å"I don’t think he is a man,† said Joshua. â€Å"Is he an animal?† â€Å"No, I don’t think he’s an animal either. He knows who he is. He knows he is the only one.† â€Å"I think I know what he is.† Joshua regarded me over the rim of his bowl. â€Å"Well?† â€Å"Well, do you remember the monkey feet Balthasar bought from the old woman in Antioch, how they looked like little human feet?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And you have to admit that the yeti looks very much like a man. More like a man than he does any other creature, right? Well, what if he is a creature who is becoming a man? What if he isn’t really the last of his kind, but the first of ours? What made me think of it was how Gaspar talks about how we work off our karma in different incarnations, as different creatures. As we learn more in each lifetime we may become a higher creature as we go. Well, maybe creatures do that too. Maybe as the yeti needs to live where it is warmer he loses his fur. Or as the monkeys need to, I don’t know, run cattle and sheep, they become bigger. Not all at once, but through many incarnations. Maybe creatures evolve the way Gaspar believes the soul evolves. What do you think?† Joshua stroked his chin for a moment and stared at me as if he was deep in thought, while at the same time I thought he might burst out laughing any second. I’d spent a whole week thinking about this. This theory had vexed me through all of my training, all of my meditations since we’d made the pilgrimage to the yeti’s valley. I wanted some sort of acknowledgment from Joshua for my effort, if nothing else. â€Å"Biff,† he said, â€Å"that may be the dumbest idea you’ve ever had.† â€Å"So you don’t think it’s possible?† â€Å"Why would the Lord create a creature only to have it die out? Why would the Lord allow that?† Joshua said. â€Å"What about the flood? All but Noah and his family were killed.† â€Å"But that was because people had become wicked. The yeti isn’t wicked. If anything, his kind have died out because they have no capacity for wickedness.† â€Å"So, you’re the Son of God, you explain it to me.† â€Å"It is God’s will,† said Joshua, â€Å"that the yeti disappear.† â€Å"Because they had no trace of wickedness?† I said sarcastically. â€Å"If the yeti isn’t a man, then he’s not a sinner either. He’s innocent.† Joshua nodded, staring into his now-empty bowl. â€Å"Yes. He’s innocent.† He stood and bowed to me, which was something he almost never did unless we were training. â€Å"I’m tired now, Biff. I have to sleep and pray.† â€Å"Sorry, Josh, I didn’t mean to make you sad. I thought it was an interesting theory.† He smiled weakly at me, then bowed his head and shuffled off to his cell. Over the next few years Joshua spent at least a week out of every month in the mountains with the yeti, going up not only with every group after alms, but often going up into the mountains by himself for days or, in the summer, weeks at a time. He never talked about what he did while in the mountains, except, he told me, that the yeti had taken him to the cave where he lived and had shown him the bones of his people. My friend had found something with the yeti, and although I didn’t have the courage to ask him, I suspect the bond he shared with the snowman was the knowledge that they were both unique creatures, nothing like either of them walked the face of the earth, and regardless of the connection each might feel with God and the universe, at that time, in that place, but for each other, they were utterly alone. Gaspar didn’t forbid Joshua’s pilgrimages, and indeed, he went out of his way to act as if he didn’t notice when Twenty-Two Monk was gone, yet I could tell there was some unease in the abbot whenever Joshua was away. We both continued to drill on the posts, and after two years of leaping and balancing, dancing and the use of weapons were added to our routine. Joshua refused to take up any of the weapons; in fact, he refused to practice any art that would bring harm to another being. He wouldn’t even mimic the action of fighting with swords and spears with a bamboo substitute. At first Gaspar bristled at Joshua’s refusal, and threatened to banish him from the monastery, but when I took the abbot aside and told him the story of the archer Joshua had blinded on the way to Balthasar’s fortress, the abbot relented. He and two of the older monks who had been soldiers devised for Joshua a regimen of weaponless fighting that involved no offense or striking at all, but instead channeled the energy of an attacker away from oneself. Since the new art was practiced only by Joshua (and sometimes myself), the monks called it Jew-d;, meaning the way of the Jew. In addition to learning kung fu and Jew-d;, Gaspar set us to learning to speak and write Sanskrit. Most of the holy books of Buddhism had been written in that language and had yet to be translated into Chinese, which Joshua and I had become fluent in. â€Å"This is the language of my boyhood,† Gaspar said before beginning our lessons. â€Å"You need to know this to learn the words of Gautama Buddha, but you will also need this language when you follow your dharma to your next destination.† Joshua and I looked at each other. It had been a long time since we had talked about leaving the monastery and the mention of it put us on edge. Routine feeds the illusion of safety, and if nothing else, there was routine at the monastery. â€Å"When will we leave, master?† I asked. â€Å"When it is time,† said Gaspar. â€Å"And how will we know it is time to leave?† â€Å"When the time for staying has come to an end.† â€Å"And we will know this because you will finally give us a straight and concrete answer to a question instead of being obtuse and spooky?† I asked. â€Å"Does the unhatched tadpole know the universe of the full-grown frog?† â€Å"Evidently not,† Joshua said. â€Å"Correct,† said the master. â€Å"Meditate upon it.† As Joshua and I entered the temple to begin our meditation I said, â€Å"When the time comes, and we know that the time has come for us to leave, I am going to lump up his shiny little head with a fighting staff.† â€Å"Meditate upon it,† said Josh. â€Å"I mean it. He’s going to be sorry he taught me how to fight,† I said. â€Å"I’m sure of it. I’m sorry already.† â€Å"You know, he doesn’t have to be the only one bopped in the noggin when noggin-boppin’ time rolls around,† I said. Joshua looked at me as if I’d just awakened him from a nap. â€Å"All the time we spend meditating, what are you really doing, Biff?† â€Å"I’m meditating – sometimes – listening to the sound of the universe and stuff.† â€Å"But mostly you’re just sitting there.† â€Å"I’ve learned to sleep with my eyes open.† â€Å"That won’t help your enlightenment.† â€Å"Look, when I get to nirvana I want to be well rested.† â€Å"Don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it.† â€Å"Hey, I have discipline. Through practice I’ve learned to cause spontaneous nocturnal emissions.† â€Å"That’s an accomplishment,† the Messiah said sarcastically. â€Å"Okay, you can be snotty if you want to, but when we get back to Galilee, you walk around trying to sell your ‘love your neighbor because he is you’ claptrap, and I’ll offer the ‘wet dreams at will’ program and we’ll see who gets more followers.† Joshua grinned: â€Å"I think we’ll both do better than my cousin John and his ‘hold them underwater until they agree with you’ sermon.† â€Å"I haven’t thought about him in years. Do you think he’s still doing that?† Just then, Number Two Monk, looking very stern and unenlightened, stood and started across the temple toward us, his bamboo rod in hand. â€Å"Sorry, Josh, I’m going no-mind.† I dropped to the lotus position, formed the mudra of the compassionate Buddha with my fingers, and lickity-split was on the sitting-still road to oneness with allthatness. Despite Gaspar’s veiled warning about our moving on, we again settled into a routine, this one including learning to read and write the sutras in Sanskrit, but also Joshua’s time with the yeti. I had gotten so proficient in the martial arts that I could break a flagstone as thick as my hand with my head, and I could sneak up on even the most wary of the other monks, flick him on the ear, and be back in lotus position before he could spin to snatch the still-beating heart from my chest. (Actually, no one was really sure if anyone could do that. Every day Number Three Monk would declare it time for the â€Å"snatching the still-beating heart from the chest† drill, and every day he would ask for volunteers. After a brief wait, when no one volunteered, we’d move onto the next drill, usually the â€Å"maiming a guy with a fan† drill. Everyone wondered if Number Three could really do it, but no one wanted to ask. We knew how Buddhist monks liked to teach. One minute you’re curious, the next a bald guy is holding a bloody piece of pulsating meat in your face and you’re wondering why the sudden draft in the thorax area of your robe. No thanks, we didn’t need to know that badly.) Meanwhile, Joshua became so adept at avoiding blows that it was as if he’d become invisible again. Even the best fighting monks, of whom I was not one, had trouble laying a hand on my friend, and often they ended up flat on their backs on the flagstones for their trouble. Joshua seemed his happiest during these exercises, often laughing out loud as he narrowly dodged the thrust of a sword that would have taken his eye. Sometimes he would take the spear away from Number Three, only to bow and present it to him with a grin, as if the grizzled old soldier had dropped it instead of having it finessed from his grip. When Gaspar witnessed these displays he would leave the courtyard shaking his head and mumbling something about ego, leaving the rest of us to collapse into paroxysms of laughter at the abbot’s expense. Even Numbers Two and Three, who were normally the strict disciplinarians, managed to mine a few smiles from their ever-so furrowed brows. It was a good time for J oshua. Meditation, prayer, exercise, and time with the yeti seemed to have helped him to let go of the colossal burden he’d been given to carry. For the first time he seemed truly happy, so I was stunned the day my friend entered the courtyard with tears streaming down his cheeks. I dropped the spear I was drilling with and ran to him. â€Å"Joshua?† â€Å"He’s dead,† Joshua said. I embraced him and he collapsed into my arms sobbing. He was wearing wool leggings and boots, so I knew immediately that he’d just returned from one of his visits into the mountains. â€Å"A piece of ice fell from over his cave. I found him under it. Crushed. He was frozen solid.† â€Å"So you couldn’t†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Joshua pushed me back and held me by the shoulders. â€Å"That’s just it. I wasn’t there in time. I not only couldn’t save him, I wasn’t even there to comfort him.† â€Å"Yes you were,† I said. Joshua dug his fingers into my shoulders and shook me as if I was hysterical and he was trying to get my attention, then suddenly he let go of me and shrugged. â€Å"I’m going to the temple to pray.† â€Å"I’ll join you soon. Fifteen and I have three more movements to practice.† My sparring partner waited patiently at the edge of the courtyard, spear in hand, watching. Joshua got almost to the doors before he turned. â€Å"Do you know the difference between praying and meditating, Biff?† I shook my head. â€Å"Praying is talking to God. Meditating is listening. I’ve spent most of these last six years listening. Do you know what I’ve heard?† Again I said nothing. â€Å"Not a single thing, Biff. Now I have some things I want to say.† â€Å"I’m sorry about your friend,† I said. â€Å"I know.† He turned and started inside. â€Å"Josh,† I called. He paused and looked over his shoulder at me. â€Å"I won’t let that happen to you, you know that, right?† â€Å"I know,† he said, then he went inside to give his father a divine ass-chewing. The next morning Gaspar summoned us to the tea room. The abbot looked as if he had not slept in days and whatever his age, he was carrying a century of misery in his eyes. â€Å"Sit,† he said, and we did. â€Å"The old man of the mountain is dead.† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"That’s what I called the yeti, the old man of the mountain. He has passed on to his next life and it is time for you to go.† Joshua said nothing, but sat with his hands folded in his lap, staring at the table. â€Å"What does one have to do with the other?† I asked. â€Å"Why should we leave because the yeti has died? We didn’t know he even existed until we had been here for two years.† â€Å"But I did,† said Gaspar. I felt a heat rising in my face – I’m sure that my scalp and ears must have flushed, because Gaspar scoffed at me. â€Å"There is nothing else here for you. There was nothing here for you from the beginning. I would not have allowed you to stay if you weren’t Joshua’s friend.† It was the first time he’d used either of our names since we’d arrived at the monastery. â€Å"Number Four will meet you at the gate. He has the possessions you arrived with, as well as some food for your journey.† â€Å"We can’t go home,† Joshua said at last. â€Å"I don’t know enough yet.† â€Å"No,† said Gaspar, â€Å"I suspect that you don’t. But you know all that you will learn here. If you come to a river and find a boat at the edge, you will use that boat to cross and it will serve you well, but once across the river, do you put the boat on your shoulders and carry it with you on the rest of your journey?† â€Å"How big is the boat?† I asked. â€Å"What color is the boat?† asked Joshua. â€Å"How far is the rest of the journey?† I queried. â€Å"Is Biff there to carry the oars, or do I have to carry everything?† asked Josh. â€Å"No!† screamed Gaspar. â€Å"No, you don’t take the boat along on the journey. It has been useful but now it’s simply a burden. It’s a parable, you cretins!† Joshua and I bowed our heads under Gaspar’s anger. As the abbot railed, Joshua smiled at me and winked. When I saw the smile I knew that he’d be okay. Gaspar finished his tirade, then caught his breath and resumed in the tone of the tolerant monk that we were used to. â€Å"As I was saying, there is no more for you to learn. Joshua, go be a bodhisattva for your people, and Biff, try not to kill anyone with what we have taught you here.† â€Å"So do we get our boat now?† Joshua asked. Gaspar looked as if he were about to explode, then Joshua held his hand up and the old man remained silent. â€Å"We are grateful for our time here, Gaspar. These monks are noble and honorable men, and we have learned much from them. But you, honorable abbot, are a pretender. You have mastered a few tricks of the body, and you can reach a trance state, but you are not an enlightened being, though I think you have glimpsed enlightenment. You look everywhere for answers but where they lie. Nevertheless, your deception hasn’t stopped you from teaching us. We thank you, Gaspar. Hypocrite. Wise man. Bodhisattva.† Gaspar sat staring at Joshua, who had spoken as if he were talking to a child. The old man went about fixing the tea, more feebly now, I thought, but maybe that was my imagination. â€Å"And you knew this?† Gaspar asked me. I shrugged. â€Å"What enlightened being travels halfway around the world following a star on the rumor that a Messiah has been born?† â€Å"He means across the world,† said Josh. â€Å"I mean around the world.† I elbowed Joshua in the ribs because it was easier than explaining my theory of universal stickiness to Gaspar. The old guy was having a rough day as it was. Gaspar poured tea for all of us, then sat down with a sigh. â€Å"You were not a disappointment, Joshua. The three of us knew as soon as we saw you that you were a being unlike any other. Brahman born to flesh, my brother said.† â€Å"What gave it away,† I said, â€Å"the angels on the roof of the stable?† Gaspar ignored me. â€Å"But you were still an infant, and whatever it was that we were looking for, you were not it – not yet, anyway. We could have stayed, I suppose, and helped to raise you, protect you, but we were all dense. Balthasar wanted to find the key to immortality, and there was no way that you could give him that, and my brother and I wanted the keys to the universe, and those were not to be found in Bethlehem either. So we warned your father of Herod’s intent to have you killed, we gave him gold to get you out of the country, and we returned to the East.† â€Å"Melchior is your brother?† Gaspar nodded. â€Å"We were princes of Tamil. Melchior is the oldest, so he would have inherited our lands, but I would have received a small fiefdom as well. Like Siddhartha, we eschewed worldly pleasures to pursue enlightenment.† â€Å"How did you end up here, in these mountains?† I asked. â€Å"Chasing Buddhas.† Gaspar smiled. â€Å"I had heard that there lived a sage in these mountains. The locals called him the old man of the mountain. I came looking for the sage, and what I found was the yeti. Who knows how old he really was, or how long he’d been here? What I did know was that he was the last of his kind and that he would die before long without help. I stayed here and I built this monastery. Along with the monks who came here to study, I have been taking care of the yeti since you two were just infants. Now he is gone. I have no purpose, and I have learned nothing. Whatever there was to know here died under that lump of ice.† Joshua reached across the table and took the old man’s hand. â€Å"You drill us every day in the same movements, we practice the same brush strokes over and over, we chant the same mantras, why? So that these actions will become natural, spontaneous, without being diluted by thought, right?† â€Å"Yes,† said Gaspar. â€Å"Compassion is the same way,† said Joshua. â€Å"That’s what the yeti knew. He loved constantly, instantly, spontaneously, without thought or words. That’s what he taught me. Love is not something you think about, it is a state in which you dwell. That was his gift.† â€Å"Wow,† I said. â€Å"I came here to learn that,† said Josh. â€Å"You taught it to me as much as the yeti.† â€Å"Me?† Gaspar had been pouring the tea as Joshua spoke and now he noticed that he’d overfilled his cup and the tea was running all over the table. â€Å"Who took care of him? Fed him? Looked after him? Did you have to think about that before you did it?† â€Å"No,† said Gaspar. Joshua stood. â€Å"Thanks for the boat.† Gaspar didn’t accompany us to the front gate. As he promised, Number Four was waiting for us with our clothes and the money we had when we arrived six years before. I picked up the ying-yang vial of poison that Joy had given me and slipped the lanyard over my head, then I pushed the sheathed black glass dagger into the belt of my robe and tucked my clothes under my arm. â€Å"You will go to find Gaspar’s brother?† Number Four asked. Number Four was one of the older monks, one of the ones who had served the emperor as a soldier, and a long white scar marked his head from the middle of his shaved scalp to his right ear, which had healed to a forked shape. â€Å"Tamil, right?† Joshua said. â€Å"Go south. It is very far. There are many dangers along the way. Remember your training.† â€Å"We will.† â€Å"Good.† Number Four turned on his heel and walked into the monastery, then shut the heavy wooden gate. â€Å"No, no, Four, don’t embarrass yourself with a sappy good-bye,† I said to the gate. â€Å"No, really, please, no scenes.† Joshua was counting our money out of a small leather purse. â€Å"It’s just what we left with them.† â€Å"Good.† â€Å"No, that’s not good. We’ve been here six years, Biff. This money should have doubled or tripled during that time.† â€Å"What, by magic?† â€Å"No, they should have invested it.† He turned and looked back at the gate. â€Å"You dumb bastards, maybe you should spend a little less time studying how to beat each other up and a little more time on managing your money.† â€Å"Spontaneous love?† I said. â€Å"Yeah, Gaspar’ll never get that one either. That’s why they killed the yeti, you know that, don’t you?† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"The mountain people. They killed the yeti because they couldn’t understand a creature who wasn’t as evil as they were.† â€Å"The mountain people were evil?† â€Å"All men are evil, that’s what I was talking to my father about.† â€Å"What did he say?† â€Å"Fuck ’em.† â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"At least he answered you.† â€Å"I got the feeling that he thinks it’s my problem now.† â€Å"Makes you wonder why he didn’t burn that on one of the tablets. ‘HERE, MOSES, HERE’S THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, AND HERE’S AN EXTRA ONE THAT SAYS FUCK ‘EM.'† â€Å"He doesn’t sound like that.† â€Å"FOR EMERGENCIES,† I continued in my perfect impression-of-God voice. â€Å"I hope it’s warm in India,† Joshua said. And so, at the age of twenty-four, Joshua of Nazareth did go down into India. How to cite Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 19, Essay examples

Spring And Fall Essays - English-language Films, Open University

Spring And Fall Annonymous The play Educating Rita by Willy Russell gained great popularity especially during the early eighties. There has also been a movie made from it starring Julie Walters and the more famous Michael Caine. As so often the case, the movie was more elaborate with additional scenes, some of which were spoken of or retold by the actors in the play. The movie also included several actors while the play only featured two, Frank and Rita. After having read the play and seen the movie I am struck by a number of differences. Seemingly subtle, many small details have a great impact on how the story can and is being perceived. The movie offers much more background information on other characters and events that are important to the story. 'The Screenwriter's Bible' by David Trottier offers a good insight in script writing and story structure. It deals with the basic elements of a typical screenplay, and explains what it actually is that an audience craves. Many of the principles can and should be applied to any story whether a screenplay, theatric play, novel or short story. The play is much more predictable in the sense that a great many things are bound not to happen on stage. In fact nothing taking place outside Frank's office can be seen by the audience. All action is inevitably confined within these four walls. When Frank invites Rita to his home for dinner in the play the audience are not set up for suspension as to how it will turn out since they already know that whatever happens will not take place before them, but will be retold. The movie is several scenes richer. Some of these scenes are in the play retold by the actors and some of them are not there at all. Scene three in act two begins with Frank cursing Sod them-no fuck them! Fuck them, eh, Rita? Neither Rita or the audience have the first clue as to what he is referring to. As the dialogue progresses they audience is informed that he is upset because the students reported him since he had been very drunk while giving his last lecture. The audience never get to see the actual scene where this happens. The can never witness Frank staggering and slurring in front of the class. They are not given a fair chance to make an assessment whether they accept Frank's behavior and side with him, or if they think it serves him right to be reported. David Trottier claims Never tell what you can show. Be as visual as possible. Rather than two ladies at tea commenting on the fact that Darla skydives for relaxation, show us Darla actually jumping from a plane, or show her coming home with a parachute and trying to stuff it into the closet. The fact that the audience meet with only two characters in the play is limiting in the sense that a lot of information is implicit or even withheld. David Trottier says One key to making a drama dramatic is to create a strong central character with a powerful goal, and then provide a strong opposition character who tries to stop the central character from achieving this goal. This assures us of conflict. And conflict is drama. Denny, Rita's husband strongly opposes her spending time on education. He wants her to have a baby and become a house-wife and throughout most of the play he is trying make her quit what she is doing. Denny is definitely the opposition character. In the play Rita tells Frank that Denny has burnt all her books, and again the action is retold. In the movie we actually get to see the anger and frenzy of Denny, which gives a much more clear background and perhaps a deeper understanding of Rita's conflict with her husband. Another thing that sheds more light on things is the ending of the movie which makes for a more definite resolution. In the end of the last scene of the play Rita says I'm gonna take ten years off you... and then proceeds to cut Frank's hair. The movie takes us a little further. We get to see Frank's new haircut when he is at the airport and Rita has come to see him off. They hug tenderly and part as friends with smiles on their faces. What is perhaps even more important for the resolution is that Frank actually gets on the plane to Australia. When reading the play there is room for doubt whether he really took the plunge

Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft Essays

Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft Essays Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft Paper Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft Paper Essay Topic: Bad Boy a Memoir Jean Jacques Rousseau and Mary Wollstonecraft were both born in the 18th century, within 47 years of each other, and both were regarded as important philosophical thinkers of their time. Jean Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva, Switzerland in 1712; his father was a watchmaker and his mother died while giving birth to him. His father Isaac, who taught him to read, and appreciate the countryside, consequently brought up Rousseau. His father had to leave Geneva when Rousseau was 10 years old to avoid going to prison; he was then brought up by his aunt and later by an uncle. In his writings The Confessions he recalls only happy memories of his childhood, although to the reader it does have some strange features such as not being allowed to play with children of his own age, Never once, until I left my fathers house, was I allowed to run out alone into the road with the other children (The Confessions: Book 1, 1953, pp21). When Rousseaus father had to leave Switzerland, he was put into the care of his Uncle Bernard, who had a son of Rousseaus age. Together they were sent to a place called Bossey to board with a pastor called M. Lambercier, for an education. Up until this point Rousseau had had a childhood with no formal education at all. Rousseau also recalls his time at Bossey with fond memories, and claims; The manner of my life at Bossey suited me so well that if only it had lasted longer it could not have failed to fix my character for ever. (The Confessions: Book 1, 1953, pp25). After leaving Bossey and spending a few years living with his uncle, he was sent at the age of thirteen to be an apprentice engraver. He lived here for about three years before running away at the age of sixteen to travel across Europe, where he becomes a Catholic briefly before converting back to Protestantism. Rousseau ended up in Paris, leading a somewhat unsettled life, where he eventually died in 1778. He left behind him a cult following, his name and writings became infamous during the French revolution. Mary Wollstonecraft was born in 1759 to John Edward Wollstonecraft, who was a tyrant and a bully, and Elizabeth Dixon. She was the second child of six. She had an elder brother; Edward and four other siblings were born after her, James, Charles, Eliza and Everina. They were brought up as Anglicans. Wollstonecrafts paternal grandfather owned a silk weaving business, and her maternal grandfather was a wine merchant. In 1765 her paternal grandfather died leaving the silk weaving business to her father. However her father was a bit of a snob and he didnt care very much for being a tradesman, so he took the money from the business and invested in farming. This had disastrous consequences as her father knew nothing of farming, and the family spent their time moving from one farm to another, leaving their debts behind them. Between the years 1759 and 1776 they had moved about the country on numerous occasions and tried their hand at farming at places such as Epping, Whalebone, Essex, Yorkshire and Wales. By the end of the 1770s the family fortune was at very low ebb. In 1775 Mary Wollstonecraft met Francis (Fanny) Blood, who became her closet friend and companion until her death in 1785. Her mother died in 1782, and in 1784 Mary Wollstonecraft, her sister Eliza, and Fanny opened a new school in Islington, where they were joined by her other sister Everina. After Fanny Bloods death Wollstonecraft returned to find the school had suffered in her absence, so she closed it and turned her mind to writing by way of making a living. In 1786 she earned herself ten pounds after her first publication, which was a pamphlet entitled Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. Mary Wollstonecrafts life was changed, as was most of the world, by the French Revolution in 1789, and went to live in Paris in 1792 to witness first hand the effects of the French revolution. Wollstonecraft went on to produce many more important writings during her lifetime, one of her most famous being A vindication of the rights of women. Wollstonecraft died on 10th September 1797 of childbed fever 11 days after her second child was born. In 1798 William Godwin, her husband published a book called Memoirs of Mary Wollstonecraft, which seemed to have a negative effect on her popularity. Jean-Jacques Rousseaus ideas on childhood and education were considered quite revolutionary at the time, and even today they continue to be quite controversial. Rousseau was famous for being a social critic; he felt that social life corrupted human nature. Rousseau strongly believed that: We are all born good, but civilisation turns us all into moral slaves. (Lecture notes, 13/10/03) It is upon this belief that Rousseau wrote one of his most controversial pieces in 1762, which was a novel called Emile. This book was based on Rousseaus thoughts that people developed through various stages and that different forms of education may be suitable to each specific stage. Rousseau alleged it was possible to sustain the original nature of the child by careful control of his education and environment. This was done through a close investigation of the different physical and emotional stages through which the child passed from birth through to maturity. Geraint Parry mentions in the book Emile: Learning to Be Men, Women, and Citizens that: It is intended to portray an ideal of education that is as close to nature as it is possible to attain in the world as we now find it. (The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau, 2001, pp249) In Emile, Rousseau divides the childs development into five stages, and a book is devoted to each. The five stages are: Stage one Infancy (birth to two years), Stage two The age of Nature (Two to Twelve years), Stage three Pre-adolescence (Twelve to Fifteen years), Stage four Puberty (Fifteen to Twenty years) and Stage five Adulthood (Twenty to Twenty Five years). (www. infed. org) The books that are most fundamental to Rousseaus belief of childhood being a crucial phase of self-development are books one, two and three. Rousseau attempts to show the reader how a persons self-development can be determined by the way he is educated in his childhood. Rousseaus belief that society was corrupt fuelled his ideas on education. Geraint Parry mentions in Emile: Learning to be Men, Women, and Citizens that The significance of education for Rousseau is that it seems to offer a means of solving one of the central dilemmas of his social and political thought. A fundamental objective is to create a virtuous circle in which transformed human beings could live in a transformed society (The Cambridge Companion to Rousseau, 2001,pp248) Rousseau says in book one of Emile: We are born sensitive and from our birth onwards we are affected in various ways by our environment. As soon as we become conscious of our sensations we tend to seek or shun the things that cause them, at first because they are pleasant or unpleasant, then because they suit us or not, and last because of judgements formed by means of the ideas of happiness and goodness which reason gives us. (Emile, 2003, pp7) Rousseau backs this idea up when he writes his Confessions later in his life when he recalls some of his childhood memories, one in particular of his time at Bossey when he was chastised by Mlle Lambercier for a wrong doing and found that the experience of being beaten by her wasnt as bad as he had first thought it would be, and he goes on to say: Who could have supposed that this childish punishment, received at the age of eight at the hands of a woman of thirty, would determine my tastes and desires, my passions, my very self for the rest of my life,.. (The Confessions, book one, Penguin 1953, pp26) It is clear from Rousseaus writings that he strongly believed that Childhood is a crucial phase of self-development. Much of his work was read and admired by Mary Wollstonecraft. She was born nearly fifty years after Rousseau, but his writings on education were something that Wollstonecraft admired: the ideas she had begun to acquire about education, filtered down from Rousseau (The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft, Claire Tomalin, Penguin 1992, pp49) Wollstonecraft was seen as very insightful, in the sense that she longed to bridge the gap between mankinds present circumstance and an ultimate perfection. She was beyond doubt, a child of the French revolution. She saw a new age of reason and compassion close at hand. Wollstonecraft, in her writings, attempted to undertake the huge task of helping other women. Helping them to fight for a better education did this. Which in turn helped them to achieve a better life, not just for themselves, but also for their children and even their husbands. In reality it took more than a century before society sat up and took notice of her beliefs and put her views into effect. Mary Wollstonecrafts experience in childhood and as a young woman, in a class-bound and male-dominated society, influenced and shaped the ideas she would later develop into a feminist argument. (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 1992, pp2) It is possible to see that Wollstonecrafts own childhood experiences have shaped her beliefs on childhood as a crucial phase of self-development. Unlike Rousseau, however Wollstonecraft is primarily concerned with the childhood and education of females. This is because in 1784 she opens a school for girls in Newington Green, near Islington. Wollstonecraft quickly became convinced that the young women they were trying to teach had already effectively been enslaved into submissiveness to men through their previous social training. As there were no qualifications that were needed to become a teacher sadly this venture failed, but it did lead her to start writing about her ideas on childhood and education, especially for women and girls. In 1786 Wollstonecraft was published for the first time. She earned herself ten pounds from the publication of a pamphlet called, Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. In this publication she proposed to intentionally explore the enlightenment ideals to include education for women; because she believed their rational natures were no less capable of intellectual achievement than were those of men. Wollstonecraft was for a short time a Governess to the Kingsborough family in Ireland. The position of a Governess was a hard one. She was employed to bring up the children of the Kingsborough family. Wollstonecrafts experiences in her childhood and as a young adult no doubtedly had an effect on her ideas about childhood being a crucial phase of self-development. In the introduction to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman it states; Mary Wollstonecraft may have been recalling her own childhood when her narrator in Maria The Wrongs of Woman says that her mother was a vague and uncertain figure. She seemed to dote on her oldest son, a boy, (Penguin 1992, pp3) it is clear from this quote that Wollstonecrafts childhood experiences, especially those with her mother and father have stayed with her into her adult life. It has shaped her very ideas and thoughts on how parents should show affection and bring up their children. She has dedicated a whole chapter to Parental Affection in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Wollstonecraft writes very clearly about parental affection, and she also makes it clear where she believes parents are going wrong with their children; Parents often love their children in the most brutal manner, and sacrifice every relative duty to promote their advancement into the world. (Penguin 1992, pp270), Wollstonecraft is trying to make the point to her readers that the child will only suffer if it is brought up in this manner. The parents will rob the child of the vital stage of having a proper childhood if they neglect everything else while pushing their children to become the child genius they dream of them becoming. Wollstonecraft goes on later in the chapter to describe the qualities of a good mother, which she lists as; To be a good mother, a woman must have sense, and that independence of mind which few women possess who are taught to depend entirely on their husbands. (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 1992, pp272), Wollstonecraft is trying to reiterate that to have any hope of being a good effective mother, a woman must be in possession of good sense and have her own mind. A woman must also be independent from her husband, Wollstonecraft felt that if a woman relied too much on her husband it would effect her abilities as a mother, this is backed up by what she states later in the chapter; Meek wives are, in general, foolish mothers; wanting their children to love them best, and take their part, in secret, against the father, who is held up as a scarecrow. (A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Penguin 1992, pp272). In conclusion it is clear to see from both Jean-Jacques Rousseaus and Mary Wollstonecrafts writings that they both believed that childhood was a crucial phase in a persons self-development. It was important for them to try to relate their beliefs to the general public which is why they emphasise it in their books, and also the reason that they write about it so successfully is because of their own personal experiences in their own childhood which seems to have provided them with a solid base to work upon in their adult life.

The Short Game Story in Sportswriting

The Short Game Story in Sportswriting There are lots of different kinds of stories you can write on the sports beat, but probably the most basic is the short game story. A short game story, usually 500 words or less, follows a straightforward format that can be applied to any game you cover. The Lede The lede of your story should include the final score and some details about what made the game interesting. Generally, this means focusing on the efforts of an individual player. Let’s say a team’s star athlete is injured and a previously unheralded player comes into the game as a substitute. Not much is expected of this rookie but he defies expectations and plays a great game, leading the team to victory. Example 1: Second-string quarterback Jay Lindman, who had never played a down for Jefferson High School, came off the bench after star QB Fred Torville was injured Friday night and threw three touchdown passes to lead the Gladiators to a 21-14 victory over the McKinley High School Centurions. Or maybe the game is a close, seesaw battle between two evenly matched opponents, and is won in the final seconds by an especially dramatic play. Example 2: Second-string quarterback Jay Lindman threw the game-winning touchdown with just 12 seconds left to lead the Jefferson High School Gladiators to a 21-14 victory over the McKinley High School Centurions Friday night. Notice that in both examples we focus on the efforts of an individual athlete. Sports is all about the human drama of competition, and focusing on a single person gives the game story a human interest angle that readers will enjoy. The Body of the Story The body of your story should basically elaborate on the lede. If your lede was about the benchwarmer becoming the game’s star, then the body of the story should go into more detail about that. Often a simple chronological account works best. Example: Torville’s ankle was sprained when he was sacked in the first quarter. Lindman came into the game with low expectations but threw his first touchdown pass in the second quarter with a high, floating ball that receiver Mike Ganson snagged in the end zone. In the third quarter, Lindman was forced to scramble out of the pocket to avoid the rush but managed to fire a bullet to receiver Desean Washington, who made a diving catch at the goal line. The Wrap Up The wrap-up, or ending, of your story usually centers on quotes from the coach and players gleaned from post-game interviews or press conferences. Getting great quotes for sports stories can sometimes be tough- coaches and athletes often speak in clichà ©s- but a snappy quote can really be the icing on the cake of your game story. Example: â€Å"I knew Lindman could play but I didn’t know he could play like that,† said Gladiators coach Jeff Michaelson. â€Å"That was one heck of a game by a young guy who showed a lot of heart.† Washington said Lindman exuded confidence even in the huddle before his very first snap. â€Å"He just said, ‘Let’s do this to win,’† Washington said. â€Å"And he went out there and did it. That boy can throw the ball.†

TRANSFER STUDENTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

TRANSFER STUDENTS - Essay Example In response to the opportunities to learning and exploration, I look forward to actively participate in every activity offered in the school that is related to Software Engineering. I believe that experiencing the theories taught in school will enhance my understanding and might even help me to discover other things. Moreover, working with other students will be a means of sharing what they understood and could be a way of verifying what is not clear during class discussions. Watching is an easier and more interactive way of learning than just reading and listening to lectures so it is my aim to learn as much as I can from hands on experiences by actively engaging myself with the activities. Research is another field that could be interesting to learn from as it challenges individuals to think critically. Doing research with the faculty will not only open me to educational experiences but will also encourage me to share what I have in mind. This is an opportunity that I see could always drive me to study harder, learn and think

Global Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Global Marketing - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that organizations, which are operating in any industrial sectors including in the sector of Information Technology (IT), would want to expand their operations into foreign territories due to various factors. That is, organization could think about entering foreign markets if they have achieved optimal success in the home market, or due to heightened competition or saturation in the home market, or due to good opportunities in the foreign market, etc, etc. Whatever is the motivation for the firms to enter foreign territories, it is paramount on the part of the organization to study the foreign market in an in-depth as well as extensive manner. Various factors will be at ‘play’ in those foreign markets, and those factors will either aid the entering organization or will pose a major challenge to the organization. These factors will be visible both in the macro as well as in the micro environment of the organization. In the macro -environment, factors including political, social, cultural, economic, etc., could impact the entering organization. In the micro or in the immediate environment of the firm, market factors including competitors, recent trends, etc., will impact the organization. After analyzing these factors, the firms have formulate a set of objectives, so they have can have a clear path, regarding what to achieve and how to achieve those objectives. The next key process is analyzing the various entry modes and finding out the best entry mode. The firms should also plan out the marketing strategies that have to be implemented in the entering countries before-hand, so they can aptly reach their products or services to the intended customers. All these key processes will be applicable to our software development firm as well. Our company is a medium sized software firm developing software for applications in many sectors particularly electronics and communications sector. In our home operations in U K, we have around 2000 employees working in our various offices in number of cities. We are achieving optimal success and good profits in the UK market, but still some competition is emerging. Although, we can aptly fight the competition, with the intention to grow further, we are looking at foreign expansion. So, after achieving great success in the UK market, our firm has decided to broaden our horizons and target, initially the two foreign markets of Brazil and India. This report will first do an environmental audit of both the countries through the PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces tool, and by focusing on the market as well as the competitors. Secondly, the report will set the SMART global marketing objectives for going international, then will discuss about the entry modes, finally ending with the discussion about the marketing strategies that has to be implemented for optimal success. Environmental Audit Every market or country including Brazil and India has certain uniq ue or common political, social and economic conditions, along with different clients’ base, consumer behaviour and competitors. These distinct aspects could aid as well as impede the organisations’ entry into that particular market as well as the resultant success. So, understanding and analyzing these aspects behaviour in relation with the product or service is a key necessity. Based on this analysis only, the marketing strategies need to be formulated, so that organisation can reach maximum customers, entice them and importantly build long-term relationship, thereby retaining them. As the above mentioned country specific aspects need to be mainly analyzed in relation with the product that is going to be launched, the product’s profile should ‘fit’ with the consumer of that particular market. Although, it applies to all product range, it is of utmost importance to the firms dealing in the IT sector. So, from the above understanding, it is clear tha t, the macro and the micro environment for the software firms as well as the consumer behaviour in the Brazilian and Indian market has to be analyzed, based on

Bitter Stereotypes :: Essays

Bitter Stereotypes From the writer: When I was in high school, I was very involved with Amnesty International. Ever since then, the concern about basic human rights has been a vital part of my outlook on life. I chose Elisabeth Rosenthal's article because I liked the challenge of analyzing the complicated and sensitive issue of human rights in China. The realization that most people couldn't care less about the topic pushed me. I hope that by choosing Rosenthal's article, I have made at least one person more aware of the need to protect human rights. From the teacher: The writer's sense of justice and humanity comes across clearly in this essay. This transitional studio assignment asked students to examine a mass media article for its hidden motives and subtle uses of rhetorical devices. Angie reaches beyond the assignment with her suggestion that the setting (a Western publication) may limit even the potential validity of such a story, due primarily to what constitutes proof in this setting, and that proof's disconnection from the reality of the issue. From the editors: What drew us to this piece was how passionately Haupt critiques the validity of a strictly Western explanation for the problem of suicide among women in rural China. She points out that such stories may best be told by those closest to the issue. We agree. The prevailing Western stereotype of Chinese society is that it is cold, harsh, and backward. Our whole image of China is tainted. We associate China with the ridiculousness of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, with the brutality of the Tiananmen Square massacre, with the horrors of human rights abuses in Tibet and in mainland China, with the fortune cookie, and with the phrase "Confucius says" (even though only a handful of us could explain who Confucius was and what he said). Therefore, it is not surprising that the media tends to over-simplify Chinese issues, so that they can fit with our (mis)understanding of Chinese society. I believe that Elisabeth Rosenthal's article, "Suicide Reveals Bitter Roots of China's Rural Life," (New York Times 24 January 1999: early ed. Sec. 1: 1+) fell into the stereotype trap. Rosenthal's article is about the unusually high rate of suicides among China's rural female population. The title promises to explain the phenomena: "Reveal Bitter Roots." And yet, only six short paragraphs (in a five-page story) address the possible causes (roots) of the problem. Bitter Stereotypes :: Essays Bitter Stereotypes From the writer: When I was in high school, I was very involved with Amnesty International. Ever since then, the concern about basic human rights has been a vital part of my outlook on life. I chose Elisabeth Rosenthal's article because I liked the challenge of analyzing the complicated and sensitive issue of human rights in China. The realization that most people couldn't care less about the topic pushed me. I hope that by choosing Rosenthal's article, I have made at least one person more aware of the need to protect human rights. From the teacher: The writer's sense of justice and humanity comes across clearly in this essay. This transitional studio assignment asked students to examine a mass media article for its hidden motives and subtle uses of rhetorical devices. Angie reaches beyond the assignment with her suggestion that the setting (a Western publication) may limit even the potential validity of such a story, due primarily to what constitutes proof in this setting, and that proof's disconnection from the reality of the issue. From the editors: What drew us to this piece was how passionately Haupt critiques the validity of a strictly Western explanation for the problem of suicide among women in rural China. She points out that such stories may best be told by those closest to the issue. We agree. The prevailing Western stereotype of Chinese society is that it is cold, harsh, and backward. Our whole image of China is tainted. We associate China with the ridiculousness of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, with the brutality of the Tiananmen Square massacre, with the horrors of human rights abuses in Tibet and in mainland China, with the fortune cookie, and with the phrase "Confucius says" (even though only a handful of us could explain who Confucius was and what he said). Therefore, it is not surprising that the media tends to over-simplify Chinese issues, so that they can fit with our (mis)understanding of Chinese society. I believe that Elisabeth Rosenthal's article, "Suicide Reveals Bitter Roots of China's Rural Life," (New York Times 24 January 1999: early ed. Sec. 1: 1+) fell into the stereotype trap. Rosenthal's article is about the unusually high rate of suicides among China's rural female population. The title promises to explain the phenomena: "Reveal Bitter Roots." And yet, only six short paragraphs (in a five-page story) address the possible causes (roots) of the problem.

Overpopulation: The Underlying Cause of Most Environmental Issues Katie Caputo Essay

There are so many environmental issues that are affecting the entire globe today. People often speak of environmental issues as if they have no control over making them better or worse, however, environmentalists feel that many if not all of the environmental problems that we are facing â€Å"are either caused or exacerbated by population growth† (West, 2009). That means that people themselves are the very ones causing harm to the environment. What we do or don’t do about the issue of overpopulation will determine the very fate of the environment in the future. This presents the need for ethical decision making. Global environmental problems are ethical problems† (Brown, 2009). Each and every person has a moral and ethical responsibility toward the environment, the problem is that people often ignore that responsibility, especially when it presents other ethical dilemmas. Defining Ethics To begin, I would like to define ethics. A definition taken from the National Academy of Engineering states â€Å"ethics is concerned with what is right or wrong, good or bad, fair or unfair, responsible or irresponsible, obligatory or permissible, praiseworthy or blameworthy† (2006). So what does ethics have to do with overpopulation and other environmental issues? If we know that overpopulation is the direct cause of many of the environmental issues that are affecting the entire globe, ethically, it is our responsibility as humans to come up with a solution to the problem. Population Growth â€Å"Over-population is the term that refers to a condition by which the population density enlarges to a limit that provokes the environmental deterioration, a remarkable decline in the quality of life or a population collapse† (Biology Cabinet Organization, 2003). In around 1963, the global rate of human population growth peaked, but the number of people living on Earth has grown by more than two-thirds since then, topping out at over 6. 6 billion today (West, 2009). Every year, more than 81 million people add to the world-wide population. Every 10 years almost one billion inhabitants are added to the world’s population (BCO, 2006). By the year 2050, the human population is expected to exceed nine billion (West, 2009). What affect does this have on the environment? Effects of Over-population Global Warming Global warming is considered to be one of the top environmental issues today. Scientists have determined that it is mostly human activities that are contributing to global warming by adding excessive amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, accumulate in the atmosphere and trap heat that would normally exit into outer space. Many greenhouse gases occur naturally and are needed to create the â€Å"greenhouse effect† that keeps the Earth warm enough to support life, but it is human use of fossil fuels that cause the excess greenhouse gases. By driving cars, using electricity from coal-fired power plants, or heating our homes with oil or natural gas, we release carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere (West, 2009). Deforestation Deforestation is another environmental issue and is a significant source of greenhouse gases because fewer trees mean less carbon dioxide conversion to oxygen. â€Å"The most important direct causes of deforestation include logging, the conversion of forested lands for agriculture and cattle-raising, urbanization, mining and oil exploitation, acid rain and fire† (World Rain Forest Movement, 1998). Deforestation and forest degradation occurs both in Northern and Southern countries and its underlying causes also originate in both, although with varying degrees of responsibility. Industrialized countries have not only cut down or degraded their own forests in the past; many are still doing so today. This occurs either through large-scale clear-cutting (as in many areas of Canada, the US or Australia) or through the thinning and therefore degradation of forests, reducing them to a few commercially valuable species at the expense of biodiversity (such as in Sweden, France or Finland) (World Rainforest Movement, 1998). The root of the problem is trying to keep up with the demand of the ever-growing population. Biodiversity Biodiversity is defined by the Washington Biodiversity Council as â€Å"the full range of life in all its forms† (2003). Biodiversity loss is largely a result of deforestation. The worldwide rate of extinction of plant and animal species is estimated to be 10,000 times as rapid as it was in prehistoric times, with more than 27,000 species becoming extinct every year. An example of the loss of biodiversity due to overpopulation is seen in the state of Washington. â€Å"Washington is one of the most biologically diverse states in the union. This is due to the state’s diverse topography, its exposure to Pacific Ocean currents and weather patterns, and its location on the migratory path of many wildlife species. † â€Å"Washington, in fact, contains most of the major ecosystem types found in the western United States, including two found nowhere else in the world: the Olympic rainforest and channeled scablands. However, â€Å"since statehood in 1889, Washington has lost an estimated 70 percent of its estuarine wetlands, 50 percent of its riparian habitat, 90 percent of its old-growth forest, and 70 percent of its native shrub-steppe and arid grasslands† (Washington Biodiversity Council, 2003). As the smallest and second most densely populated of the rapidly growing Western states, Washington’s population in 2008 was 6. 5 million according to the U. S. Census Bureau, and is expected to add over 21 percent by the year 2020 (2009). This puts Washington in great danger of losing much of its diversity of plant and animal life within the next few decades. Although scientists are not fully aware of all the consequences of the continual loss of biodiversity, they do know that a diversity of healthy, functioning ecosystems is essential to the environment. Water Shortages As we in water-rich countries take our daily showers, water the lawn or laze about in the pool, it’s easy to forget that fresh water is a life-or-death issue in many parts of the world. Of a population of roughly 6. 1 billion, more than 1 billion lack access to potable water. The World Health Organization says that at any time, up to half of humanity has one of the six main diseases such as: diarrhea, schistosomiasis, or trachoma, or infestation with ascaris, guinea worm, or hookworm which are associated with poor drinking water and inadequate sanitation. About 5 million people die each year from poor drinking water, poor sanitation, or a dirty home environment, often resulting from water shortage (University of Wisconsin, 2001). The water shortages are becoming more and more evident all over the world. For example: â€Å"Mexico City (home to 20 million people) is sinking because the city sucks out underground water faster than the aquifer can be refilled; Florida wants to refill it’s over pumped aquifer with untreated surface water, despite federal regulations to the contrary; Texas is moving toward private, for-profit water sales. The water will be ‘mined’ from aquifers that are disappearing fast. No word on what the private suppliers, including corporate raider T. Boone Pickens, will do once the aquifers run dry. Aquifers around the world are being over tapped for irrigated agriculture, which fills about 40 percent of the global larder; The Bush Administration has withdrawn a proposed tightening of the arsenic standard for drinking water. Critics say the old rule, dating to 1942, could allow thousands of cases of cancer and other diseases. Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, what’s been called the ‘largest poisoning of a population in history’ has 35 to 77 million people drinking arsenic-laced water;† and last but not least, â€Å"a showdown is looming over the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which originate in Turkey, then water both Syria and Iraq. If Turkey goes ahead with a series of dams, the downriver nations could starve. There are projections that three billion people, half of today’s population, will be short of water in 2025† (University of Wisconsin, 2001). Some Recommended Solutions for Overpopulation Being that this issue is one of such great importance, we need to be proactive at finding some kind of solution. There have been many different ideas that have been presented to try to get the population under control; however, thus far, most of the ideas have been just that- ideas, with no definite plan of action. Some of the proposed solutions, to name a few, have been: â€Å"making sure people around the world have access to family planning services; empowering women in developing countries economically, socially, and legally in a manner that results in them having an equal say (with their husbands) in reproductive decisions; modifying school curricula to include information on population levels and implications for the future; reforming tax laws in a way that encourages couples to have no more than two children. They would still be able to have as many kids as they want, but the tax code would no longer subsidize more than two)† (Jeantheau, 2005). The Need for Ethical Decision-Making People tend to be very opposed to the thought of their freedom being imposed upon, especially when it deals with the amount of children that they can or cannot have. Many people will argue from a religious standpoint that God specifically says in the Bible to multiply and subdue the earth. Some feel that the use of birth control is unethical and against Bible principles. The problem is that people do not want to do anything else about the issues at hand either. For example: If we were still living the way our ancestors did the amount of people living on the earth would not be a problem. Unfortunately, we are polluting the earth with our technology and over consuming our resources. So the argument can also be presented to those against birth control for religious purposes, that the Bible also says that we should not be gluttonous. But again humans tend to want what they want when they want it. Most only keep the Bible principles that suit them. In any case, as in many ethical problems we are faced with a moral dilemma. A moral dilemma is best described as when two or more obligations are in conflict. â€Å"The crucial features of a moral dilemma are these: the agent is required to do each of two (or more) actions; the agent can do each of the actions; but the agent cannot do both (or all) of the actions. The agent thus seems condemned to moral failure; no matter what she does, she will do something wrong (or fail to do something that she ought to do)† (McConnell, 2006). When presented with a moral dilemma, we need to decide which obligation is most important and give preference to the more important one. Unfortunately, when contemplating any solution for an issue such as overpopulation, we are going to be faced with moral dilemmas. Now we have to choose the lesser of two evils. Should we practice birth control even though it violates our moral principles or continue to allow the population to grow to numbers that the earth cannot sustain? Should we object to abortion when a woman does not want to have a child? Abortion may violate our own personal beliefs; however, if it is what the woman wants for herself and it will surely decrease the number of people being added to our population, shouldn’t we support that decision? Utilitarians view the best moral decision to be the one that brings about the maximum amount of pleasures and the least amount of suffering. They do not make decisions based on their own self-centeredness, they â€Å"insist that the joys and sorrows of others must be part of the calculation (when making any ethical decision)† (Waller, 2008). So, from the utilitarian standpoint, trying to find an answer to slowing the population growth would not be an intrusion or a violation of one’s rights, it would be welcomed to lessen the amount of suffering that is caused by the issue of overpopulation. In the very near future, we will have no choice but to make some very important decisions as to what we will do about the issues that plague the environment. Again, environmental problems are indeed ethical problems. The only way that things will get better in our environment is if we get the rate of growth of the human population under control. We can no longer ignore the moral and ethical responsibility that we as humans have toward the environment, regardless of the ethical dilemmas that we are presented with.