Thursday, December 26, 2019

The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald - 1714 Words

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is full of extravagant mansions, wild parties, fancy cars, and outrageous spending. It could be easy to mistake this extreme flaunting of wealth as an attempt to support the capitalist system, but when reading the book, there are many contradicting tones. The narrator, Nick Carraway, constantly criticizes the upper class and sneers at their indulgent, careless ways of living. At the same time, all of the characters, including Nick himself, are seduced by the American Dream and its deceiving glamor. Though the book may seem as if it endorses the class structure, ultimately Fitzgerald uses connotation, the personalities of his characters, and examples of failure of the American Dream in order to show the deficiency of the capitalist system and the class structure. The Great Gatsby is bursting with hidden meanings. Fitzgerald writes something that seems to have a literal meaning but in reality, his words are purposely designed to make additi onal ideas that oppose the denotation pop into the reader’s head. Take for example the quote, â€Å"I went with them out to the veranda. On the green sound, stagnant in the heat, one small sail crawled slowly toward the fresher sea. Gatsby’s eyes followed it momentarily; he raised his hand and pointed across the bay ‘I’m right across from you’† (Fitzgerald 124). Though it may appear as if Gatsby is plainly stating that his residence is across the bay from Tom’s, in reality Gatsby is trying to convey that heShow MoreRelatedThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald1393 Words   |  6 PagesF. Scott Fitzgerald was the model of the American image in the nineteen twenties. He had wealth, fame, a beautiful wife, and an adorable daughter; all seemed perfect. Beneath the gilded faà §ade, however, was an author who struggled with domestic and physical difficulties that plagued his personal life and career throughout its short span. This author helped to launch the theme that is so prevalent in his work; the human instinct to yearn for more, into the forefront of American literature, where itRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1343 Words   |  6 PagesHonors English 10 Shugart 18 Decemeber 2014 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story, a mystery, and a social commentary on American life. The Great Gatsby is about the lives of four wealthy characters observed by the narrator, Nick Carroway. Throughout the novel a mysterious man named Jay Gatsby throws immaculate parties every Saturday night in hope to impress his lost lover, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby lives in a mansion on West Egg across from DaisyRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1155 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Gatsby The Jazz Age was an era where everything and anything seemed possible. It started with the beginning of a new age with America coming out of World War I as the most powerful nation in the world (Novel reflections on, 2007). As a result, the nation soon faced a culture-shock of material prosperity during the 1920’s. Also known as the â€Å"roaring twenties†, it was a time where life consisted of prodigality and extravagant parties. Writing based on his personal experiences, author F. ScottRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1166 Words   |  5 Pagesin the Haze F. Scott Fitzgerald lived in a time that was characterized by an unbelievable lack of substance. After the tragedy and horrors of WWI, people were focused on anything that they could that would distract from the emptiness that had swallowed them. Tangible greed tied with extreme materialism left many, by the end of this time period, disenchanted. The usage of the literary theories of both Biographical and Historical lenses provide a unique interpretation of the Great Gatsby centered aroundRead MoreThe Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald845 Words   |  3 PagesIn F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, colors represent a variety of symbols that relate back to the American Dream. The dream of being pure, innocent and perfect is frequently associated with the reality of corruption, violence, and affairs. Gatsby’s desire for achieving the American Dream is sought for through corruption (Schneider). The American Dream in the 1920s was perceived as a desire of w ealth and social standings. Social class is represented through the East Egg, the WestRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay970 Words   |  4 Pagesrespecting and valuing Fitzgerald work in the twenty-first century? Fitzgerald had a hard time to profiting from his writing, but he was not successful after his first novel. There are three major point of this essay are: the background history of Fitzgerald life, the comparisons between Fitzgerald and the Gatsby from his number one book in America The Great Gatsby, and the Fitzgerald got influences of behind the writing and being a writer. From childhood to adulthood, Fitzgerald faced many good andRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald2099 Words   |  9 Pagesauthor to mirror his life in his book. In his previous novels F. Scott Fitzgerald drew from his life experiences. He said that his next novel, The Great Gatsby, would be different. He said, â€Å"In my new novel I’m thrown directly on purely creative work† (F. Scott Fitzgerald). He did not realize or did not want it to appear that he was taking his own story and intertwining it within his new novel. In The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, he imitates his lifestyle through the Buchanan family to demonstrateRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1607 Words   |  7 Pages The Great Gatsby is an American novel written in 1925 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. One of the themes of the book is the American Dream. The American Dream is an idea in which Americans believe through hard work they can achieve success and prosperity in the free world. In F. Scott Fitzgerald s novel, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream leads to popularity, extreme jealousy and false happiness. Jay Gatsby’s recent fortune and wealthiness helped him earn a high social position and become one of the mostRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1592 Words   |  7 PagesMcGowan English 11A, Period 4 9 January 2014 The Great Gatsby Individuals who approach life with an optimistic mindset generally have their goals established as their main priority. Driven by ambition, they are determined to fulfill their desires; without reluctance. These strong-minded individuals refuse to be influenced by negative reinforcements, and rely on hope in order to achieve their dreams. As a man of persistence, the wealthy Jay Gatsby continuously strives to reclaim the love of hisRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1646 Words   |  7 PagesThe 1920s witnessed the death of the American Dream, a message immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Initially, the American Dream represented the outcome of American ideals, that everyone has the freedom and opportunity to achieve their dreams provided they perform honest hard work. During the 1920s, the United States experienced massive economic prosperity making the American Dream seem alive and strong. However, in Fitzgerald’s eyes, the new Am erican culture build around that

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Important Elements Of Art - 1423 Words

Art historians work just like real detectives, they quest for valuable information about a work of art and its history. The detective work is very vital for many reasons for example information about a work of art can help determine the value of the art as well as its meaning. One the other hand, the human eye is incredible sometimes we take for granted because it allows us to see pictures as a whole rather than in parts. And yet, images like painting and drawings can be broken down into specific elements and these elements allow us to see things in an object form. In this compare and contrast essay we will work like an art historian detective to examine four very important elements of two specific work of art. We will examine two†¦show more content†¦Refer to page 5 of this paper to see each figures of the two artist to gain an overall understanding of this paper. Tension is essentially vital when it comes to art because it is tension that makes art look beautiful, for exa mple tension is created in music, when a soft and gentle sound competes with a loud one. Tension has the ability to speak to both the bad and good, what is difficult and easy in life (Richard Jewell). These two artist illustrate tension in their own way. For example, Edward’s painting the peaceable Kingdome shows how gentile and soft the painting is. Not only that, it shows peace and love that is occurring between the different types of animals as well as human beings gathering together. On the other hand, Joseph’s work shows how something beautiful can look like a chose and can fall apart. Just like the angel and the horse are missing parts. This is why tension is important in art and why it is special to us because our lives are filled with opposite just like how we explain our own emotions angry and happy. This what good artist do just like Edward and Joseph they echo what we feel in our lives and help us learn to deal with these opposites feelings. These two artist help us understand why tension is important to them because it improves and speaks to us in ways that a regular language often cannot speak to us (Richard Jewell). These two

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Clostridium Difficile Case of James Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Clostridium Difficile Case of James. Answer: In the recent years, Clostridium difficile (C-Diff) has emerged as major source of morbidity among the older adults in long-term care (Lessa, Gould and McDonald 2012). The clinical manifestations range from diarrhoeal illness to toxic megacolon and pseudomembranous colitis. It is the most common infectious disease that is transmitted through spores in the stool and can persist for weeks in the environment after infection (Blakney et al. 2015). Therefore, environmental modification is required to decontaminate and reduce the severe infection. Similarly, the given case study involves the in-depth analysis and nursing care plan for Mr. James, an 82-year-old male admitted with C-Diff infection. He is currently showing symptoms of abdominal pain, watery diarrhoea, loss of appetite, sudden weight loss and has an elevated temperature of 38 degrees as the colon has inflamed forming raw tissues producing pseudo membranous colitis. He is also complaining of lethargy affected by C-Diff that ind icates severe dehydration. There is lack of ability to perform the daily activities due to the severe infection and so he requires assistance with activities of living (AoLs) (Rao et al. 2013). Personal dressing, cleaning, safe environment, eating, drinking, elimination are some of the AoLs that require modification for Mr. James. Apart from AOLs modifications, proper nursing care plan is also required for the proper management of the infection by identifying the risk factors, signs, symptoms, nursing and medical management of the patient. However, there are issues related to these AoLs and so, plan is necessary for Mr. James. Therefore, following discussion involves the modifications in AoLs, the issues observed and proper nursing care plan for Mr. James in the proper management of infection and patient care. Eating and drinking is affected in Mr. James as due to diarrhoea, there is frequent active fluid volume loss resulting in deficit in fluid volume. There are complications of diarrhoea that compromises the health of the infected patient. Severe diarrhoea results in metabolic, haemodynamic instability, and that result in lethargic condition and poor drinking and eating patterns. The rapid propulsion of the intestinal contents through small bowels from the body results in serious fluid deficit in the body. Moreover, the body wants to expel the foreign material so that the body regains its normal digestion, however, the organs are unable to absorb excess fluids that can absorbed by normal body. There is dehydration, impaired skin integrity due to loss of moisture because of loose liquid stools (Surawicz et al. 2013). Similarly, the infection has made him lose the ability to absorb the nutrients properly and that resulted in loss of appetite and sudden weight loss. He is unable to digest the hard foods that irritate stomach like spicy foods or raw vegetables. This depicts that nutrition plays an important role that has an impact on James health as the infection resulted in dehydration being a common side effect of severe diarrhoea. Another side effect of C.Diff infection that results in poor appetite and loss of weights is malabsorption of nutrients. There is lack of nutrients like vitamin, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium that result in weakness. This shows that dietary changes are required for Mr James to regain weight and appetite (Leffler and Lamont 2015). Nutritional screening can be used for the assessment of nutrition and fluid intake of James. Nutritional screening tools like Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) can be used for him, as it is a very reliable way for screening nutritional status and adding nutritional component to the geriatric assessment. It identifies the nutritional status in him that identifies malnutrition with a sensitivity of 98%, specificity 100% and 99% diagnostic accuracy among the individuals above 65 years of age (Cereda 2012). Another screening tool Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) also assess nutritional level on three criteria; unintentional weight loss, BMI and acute effect of disease that causes poor appetite and sudden weight loss (Poulia et al. 2012).nursing care Thenursing assessment comprises of the abdominal discomfort, cramping, frequency, liquid stools and pattern of defecation. This assessment is important for knowing the eating patterns as these symptoms are linked to diarrhoea. Moreover, food intolerances, medications, changes in eating pattern, tolerance to dairy products are also important for the assessment of alterations in eating patterns that can cause intestinal function changes leading to diarrhoea. Assessment is also required for hydration status as diarrhoea results in profound dehydration like input and output, mucous membrane moisture and skin turgid (Shimizu et al. 2012). Due to dehydration, there is dryness in the mucous membrane and decrease in skin turgidity along with skin tenting. The nursing care plan for AoL issue in eating and drinking comprises of maintaining the normal fluid volume at the patients functional level so that he remain hydrated, maintain normal skin turgid and diet intake is equal to the output. The modifications are required in diet that comprises of easily digestible foods and proper fluid intake so that electrolyte balance is maintained in the body. Nurse also needs to look for lactose intolerance that is common side effect of C. Diff along with gluten intolerance (Hooper et al. 2014). Personal cleansing and dressing activities require modifications as they require attention to reduce the transmission of infection and disease progression. As the infection spores are persistent and viable in the environment, it is important to look for the personal hygiene like hand hygiene, cleaning, dressing and personal protective equipments (PPEs). Due to diarrhoea, James uses toilet frequently that may infect hands and it can spread through hand contamination. This bacterium resides in the bowel and its multiplication produces toxins that cause diarrhoea. It is highly infectious and spread rapidly through hand contamination, therefore, the strict hand hygiene is required to reduce the spreading of germs and spore transmission through hands. Personal dressing should also be clean and hygienic so that there is reduction in infection transmission and spread of spores (Jetha 2014). Personal hygiene assessment can be done through assessing the unwillingness or inability of James to perform personal hygiene measures that would reflect self-care deficit. Good hygiene like flossing, brushing, bathing should be assessed in James so that there should be reduction in contamination of body fluids and transmission of pores. It can also be assessed that PPE are being used James; hand washing is being performed by him after using toilet and before eating (Farthing et al. 2013). All these assessments help to evaluate the personal hygiene compliance in James. Functional Independence Measures (FIM) can be used for assessing self-care items like dressing, bathing, brushing, grooming, bowel movement and toileting (Turolla et al. 2013). The nurse should help James to maintain good personal hygiene by washing hands thoroughly using soap and water that removes the spores from the hand. Alcohol hands gels can also be used to reduce the germ spreading before and after eating food. It prevents the spread of infection as the spore transmission is prevented and as a result, the risk of getting C.Diff infection would be reduced. The nurse should ensure that he uses gloves and decontaminate hands after gloves removal with soap and water and should be encouraged to wash hands regularly, nails kept clean, and short. Therefore, the nurse should evaluate his adherence to good hand hygiene practices by performing hand washing that can reduce the incidence of spore transmission and contamination (Dubberke et al. 2014). The defecation or elimination is important in clostridium-infected patients as the stool contains the spores. The safe disposal of the excrement is important as it helps in the prevention of contamination of the patients clothing, hands and environment. The transport of the waste and urine of the patients may contaminate the surrounding people and environment. This depicts that elimination and disposal of waste should be safe through bedpans and urinals for proper disinfection and cleaning. The stool contains spores in large amount that can infect healthy people. Effective elimination of spores is important, as it can be helpful in the transmission of spores and infection spread. There can also be abdominal tenderness that causes cramps and pain due to continuous liquid bowel movements and so promotion of comfort is important for James as it can result in emotional distress (McCune, Struthers and Hawkey 2014). The assessment of elimination excrements and nursing care can be done through safe disposal of waste and proper faecal transplantation. This is of critical importance by the nurse for the prevention of contamination and soiling of hands, personal clothing and environment by spores. Nurse should look that the excrements should be disposed safely to the soiled service room and proper disinfection and cleaning of the patient after defecation. The nurses and midwives should use washers and disinfectors after the elimination of waste and hand washing. The nurse should teach James about hand washing after using toilet by using soap and water. In this way, the nurse can provide care to James in the prevention and control of the spread of infection. Bristol stool chart is important for the stool consistency pattern and in tracking daily bowel movements as these are linked to diarrhoea (Burke and Lamont 2013). From the above AoLs in the given case study, there are issues that require nursing goals and interventions for the reduction of the infection spread and ensure patient care. There is issue of diarrhoea in regards to eating and drinking of the patient in the case study. Nursing goals, proper nursing interventions are required to restore the fluid and electrolyte loss and gain normal appetite (Mitchell, Russo and Race 2014). Diagnosis Nursing Goals Nursing interventions Rationale Evaluation Eating and drinking The diagnosis is required for abdominal pain, cramping, bowel movements, frequency and urgency of liquid or loose stools as these are linked with diarrhoea. The pattern of defecation needs to be evaluated, as it is important to direct treatment. Food intolerances, tolerance to dairy products, changes in eating pattern as it can cause intestinal function changes leading to diarrhoea. The expected nursing goals comprises of more consumption of liquids ~1500-2000 mL within 24 hours. The reporting of less diarrhoea within 36 hours and the patient defecates soft and formed stool that reliefs cramping, abdominal pain with less or no diarrhoea. The nurse should weigh James weight daily and should note the decrease in weight. Dietary alterations are important for the patient: Easily digestible foods are important that contain- Bulk fibre like grains, cereals and Metamucil Natural bulking agents can be used like rice, apples There should be avoidance of stimulants like caffeine. The nurse should encourage the patient to intake fluids 1.5 to 2 L/24 hr and 200 mL that provide nutritional support. The nurse should encourage the patient to eat frequent, but small meals that can be easily digestible by him and causes constipation. For controlling diarrhoea, the nurse should make dietary changes like avoidance of spicy foods, fried and encourage boiled or braked foods. This is important, as accurate weight measurement is an indicator of water and fluid balance in the body (Hall et al. 2012). These dietary fibres and bulking agents are important as it absorb fluids from stool and thicken it (Dhingra et al. 2012). These stimulants are harmful as it increase the mobility of gastrointestinal tract and worsen the diarrhoea condition. This increased fluid intake replenishes the fluid loss due to continuous liquid stools. Starchy and blanchy foods are recommended before starting to eat normal food again (Slavin 2013). These dietary modifications aid in slowing down the passage of stool through colon and help to eliminate or reduce diarrhoea (Mudgil and Barak 2013). The nurse would evaluate that James consume clear liquids and look for improvement in skin turgidity, moisture and weight. The stool becomes soft and formed and ensures that rectal area is free from irritation and cramping with no negative stools. Personal cleansing and dressing The diagnosis is required for the self-care activities like disorderly appearance, ambulation, grooming and bathing self-independently, dressing and feeding independently and autonomously, finishing of toilet tasks and maintaining personal hygiene. The ability to perform tasks like taking off and wearing clothes, grooming also needs to be assessed for the patient. The nursing goals comprises of the optimization of independence in performing activities of personal dressing and cleansing. The patient can execute activities of personal care within his ability and be able to meet his self-care needs. The nurse should promote privacy during dressing. Frequent encouragement needs to be given so that it can aid him in dressing. The clothing size should be one size longer. The use of assistive devices for dressing by nurse can help the patient in self-care tasks. The assessment of toileting pattern is important for the patient. The assessment of James ability to verbalize necessitates voiding the use for bedpan or urinal. The patient needs to be aid in the changing or elimination of soiled clothing. The nurse should observe patient for fall or balance loss during toileting. Encourage patient to use soap and water for washing hands before and after eating and toileting. This privacy need is important for James, as it is fundamental for him, as he may fear of privacy breaching. This assistance can be helpful so that his tasks are smooth and do not negate the attempts of the patient. This imparts comfort and easier dressing. This intervention can help James to continue independence and autonomy in self-care activity. This would help to improve the efficacy of bladder movement and bowel movement patters are taken into consideration (Keller and Surawicz 2014). This helps in the recovery state and help to recover the patient and gain independence. Independence in personal dressing is important as inability to dress compromises capability to be continent. The patient may hurry to toileting due to fear of soiling and as a result, may face a risk for fall or loss of balance (Podhorecka et al. 2016). The evaluation can be done by looking into optimization of independence and autonomy. There are lifestyle changes so that James is able to meet the self-care needs and able to recognize individual needs or weakness. The tasks include ability to feed, dress, bathe, groom, independently and maintain personal hygiene like finishing of toilet tasks and cleaning. The patient is able to execute self-care tasks with utmost capacity. Elimination The nurse needs to diagnose for the frequency, urgency and faecal volume of the patient for the control of diarrhoea. Observation of lethargy, fever is important for the evaluation of bowel elimination alterations for the patient. The minor evaluation of symptoms like abdominal pain, stool volume, cramping and urgency is also important for the patient. The nursing outcome comprises of proper bowel elimination for the bowel sounds, distension and abdominal pain assessment as these are contributing factors in diarrhoea. The nurse would be able to encourage patient to verbalize the void feelings and gain self-control for proper bowel elimination and fluid intake. Recording of input and output urine and bowel movement Stool softeners should be given. The nurse should keep a check on the time, stimulus, amount, consistency, urgency and frequency of stool. The elimination of stool should be safe, proper disinfection and cleaning of the patient after defecation. After bowel movement, clean with mild cleansing agent and use of wound hydrogel for perineal care. This can help to assess the extent of diarrhoea severity and its contributing factors. This helps to institutionalize normal bowel functioning without any irritation (Martnez et al. 2012). This helps to evaluate the elimination pattern that can direct the course of treatment (Smits et al. 2016). This would help to reduce the transmission of spores and spread of infection through faeces (Kassam et al. 2013). Perineal care is important as continuous bowel movement can cause excoriation and tearing of skin (Hussein and Anaya 2013). The nurse should evaluate the decrease in incidence of diarrhoea, safe disposal of waste, rectal area free from irritation and softening of stool for easy defecation. From the above discussion case study of James, it is evident that Clostridium difficile is highly infected disease that affects elderly population in long-term care facilities. It is transmitted through defecation that contains spores, being highly infectious. Diarrhoea condition is highly severe where the patient manifests signs and symptoms like abdominal pain, cramping, fever, lethargic condition. The patient also manifests issues in AoLs like personal hygiene, elimination and eating and drinking. Proper nursing diagnosis, nursing care plan, interventions and evaluation is important to direct proper treatment and management of the disease. This case study provided an in-depth knowledge about spread of Clostridium infection and nursing care plan for the infection control and management. References Blakney, R., Gudnadottir, U., Warrack, S., OHoro, J.C., Anderson, M., Sethi, A., Schmitz, M., Wang, J., Duster, M., Ide, E. and Safdar, N., 2015. The relationship between patient functional status and environmental contamination by Clostridium difficile: a pilot study.Infection,43(4), pp.483-487. Burke, K.E. and Lamont, J.T., 2013. Fecal transplantation for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in older adults: a review.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,61(8), pp.1394-1398. Cereda, E., 2012. Mini nutritional assessment.Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition Metabolic Care,15(1), pp.29-41. Dhingra, D., Michael, M., Rajput, H. and Patil, R.T., 2012. Dietary fibre in foods: a review.Journal of food science and technology,49(3), pp.255-266. Dubberke, E.R., Carling, P., Carrico, R., Donskey, C.J., Loo, V.G., McDonald, L.C., Maragakis, L.L., Sandora, T.J., Weber, D.J., Yokoe, D.S. and Gerding, D.N., 2014. Strategies to prevent Clostridium difficile infections in acute care hospitals: 2014 update.Infection Control Hospital Epidemiology,35(S2), pp.S48-S65. Farthing, M., Salam, M.A., Lindberg, G., Dite, P., Khalif, I., Salazar-Lindo, E., Ramakrishna, B.S., Goh, K.L., Thomson, A., Khan, A.G. and Krabshuis, J., 2013. Acute diarrhea in adults and children: a global perspective.Journal of clinical gastroenterology,47(1), pp.12-20. Hall, K.D., Heymsfield, S.B., Kemnitz, J.W., Klein, S., Schoeller, D.A. and Speakman, J.R., 2012. Energy balance and its components: implications for body weight regulation.The American journal of clinical nutrition,95(4), pp.989-994. Hooper, L., Bunn, D., Jimoh, F.O. and Fairweather-Tait, S.J., 2014. Water-loss dehydration and aging.Mechanisms of ageing and development,136, pp.50-58. Hussein, Q.A. and Anaya, D.A., 2013. Necrotizing soft tissue infections.Critical care clinics,29(4), pp.795-806. Jetha, Z.A., 2014. Nursing Care in the Lance of Florence Nightingale.i-Manager's Journal on Nursing,4(4), p.32. Kassam, Z., Lee, C.H., Yuan, Y. and Hunt, R.H., 2013. Fecal microbiota transplantation for Clostridium difficile infection: systematic review and meta-analysis.The American journal of gastroenterology,108(4), p.500. Keller, J.M. and Surawicz, C.M., 2014. Clostridium difficile infection in the elderly.Clinics in geriatric medicine,30(1), pp.79-93. Leffler, D.A. and Lamont, J.T., 2015. Clostridium difficile infection.New England Journal of Medicine,372(16), pp.1539-1548. Lessa, F.C., Gould, C.V. and McDonald, L.C., 2012. Current status of Clostridium difficile infection epidemiology.Clinical Infectious Diseases,55(suppl_2), pp.S65-S70. Martnez, C., Lobo, B., Pigrau, M., Ramos, L., Gonzlez-Castro, A.M., Alonso, C., Guilarte, M., Guil, M., de Torres, I., Azpiroz, F. and Santos, J., 2012. Diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome: an organic disorder with structural abnormalities in the jejunal epithelial barrier.Gut, pp.gutjnl-2012. McCune, V.L., Struthers, J.K. and Hawkey, P.M., 2014. Faecal transplantation for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection: a review.International journal of antimicrobial agents,43(3), pp.201-206. Mitchell, B.G., Russo, P.L. and Race, P., 2014. Clostridium difficile infection: nursing considerations.Nursing Standard,28(47), pp.43-48. Mudgil, D. and Barak, S., 2013. Composition, properties and health benefits of indigestible carbohydrate polymers as dietary fiber: a review.International journal of biological macromolecules,61, pp.1-6. Podhorecka, M., K?dziora-Kornatowska, K., G?wczewska, J., G?bka, D., Sucharska-Szymkowiak, M., Ciesielska, N., Soko?owski, R. and Weber-Rajek, M., 2016. Falls in the elderlyrisk assessment and procedding.Medical and Biological Sciences,29(4), pp.5-11. Poulia, K.A., Yannakoulia, M., Karageorgou, D., Gamaletsou, M., Panagiotakos, D.B., Sipsas, N.V. and Zampelas, A., 2012. Evaluation of the efficacy of six nutritional screening tools to predict malnutrition in the elderly.Clinical Nutrition,31(3), pp.378-385. Rao, K., Micic, D., Chenoweth, E., Deng, L., Galecki, A.T., Ring, C., Young, V.B., Aronoff, D.M. and Malani, P.N., 2013. Poor functional status as a risk factor for severe Clostridium difficile infection in hospitalized older adults.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,61(10), pp.1738-1742. Shimizu, M., Kinoshita, K., Hattori, K., Ota, Y., Kanai, T., Kobayashi, H. and Tokuda, Y., 2012. Physical signs of dehydration in the elderly.Internal Medicine,51(10), pp.1207-1210. Slavin, J., 2013. Fiber and prebiotics: mechanisms and health benefits.Nutrients,5(4), pp.1417-1435. Smits, W.K., Lyras, D., Lacy, D.B., Wilcox, M.H. and Kuijper, E.J., 2016. Clostridium difficile infection.Nature Reviews Disease Primers,2, p.16020. Surawicz, C.M., Brandt, L.J., Binion, D.G., Ananthakrishnan, A.N., Curry, S.R., Gilligan, P.H., McFarland, L.V., Mellow, M. and Zuckerbraun, B.S., 2013. Guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Clostridium difficile infections.The American journal of gastroenterology,108(4), p.478. Turolla, A., Dam, M., Ventura, L., Tonin, P., Agostini, M., Zucconi, C., Kiper, P., Cagnin, A. and Piron, L., 2013. Virtual reality for the rehabilitation of the upper limb motor function after stroke: a prospective controlled trial.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation,10(1), p.85.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Mexican Relations Essays - Geography Of The United States

Mexican Relations Militarization of the U.S. Mexico Border By Joan J. Jaimes June 22, 2000 ?Corranle, all? viene la migra!, translated into English, this means Run, there comes immigration! This is what illegal immigrants shout everyday when they are about to cross the Rio Grande in search for better lives. Unfortunately, not many get through alive because of the militarization that has developed on the U.S. border with Mexico. Operation Rio Grande continues a process put in motion over a century ago by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. It tries to erase the reality of a social geographical order that defies neat national divisions and impose a narrow notion of citizenship on people on both sides of the international boundary. In the process, the U.S., like all countries to varying degrees, elevates national citizenship to a position of primacy and lessens the inherent humanity of those on the wrong side of the social and territorial boundaries. Operation Rio Grande, launched in August 1997, in Browns ville, Texas, was a special multi-year operation designed to gain and maintain control of specific border areas through a combination of new technology and additional staffing. At the start of the operation, 69 Border Patrol agents were detailed to Brownsville to intensify existing enforcement effort. In September of that same year, the Border Patrol deployed special response teams to those ports-of-entry where increased numbers of fraudulent entry was expected. In the Fiscal Year of 1998, 260 new Border Patrol agents were added to the McAllen Sector and 205 to the Laredo Sector. An important feature of Operation Rio Grande has been the integration of a broad range of INS enforcement operations. Studies show that the crime rate in Brownsville alone dropped by more than 20% in 1998. (U.S. INS) The origins of the U.S. Mexico boundary are to be found in the imperial competition between Spain, France, and Britain for possessions in North America. Lack of agreement between the three impe rial powers over the location of the boundaries separating their territories in North America led to disagreement between Mexico and an expansionist U.S. After Mexico gained its independence in 1821, many U.S. leaders argued for taking part or all of Mexicos territory. Numerous prominent U.S. politicians, driven by the ideology of Manifest Destiny, considered taking Mexico a divine right. (Acuna, 1988) As tensions mounted between the U.S. and Mexico over Texas, the U.S. deliberately provoked Mexico by sending troops into territory claimed by Mexico in early 1846. Battles between U.S. and Mexican troops ensued, quickly resulting in full-scale war. The war raged on for two years, largely in favor of the U.S., and ended with the U.S. taking over Mexico City. On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was signed, and Mexico was forced to cede half of its territory to the U.S. Under the treatys terms, the U.S. annexed a territory equivalent in size to that of Western Europe, an d absorbed 100,000 Mexican citizens and 200,000 Native Americans living in the territory. (Herzog, 1990) The decades following the imposition of the new U.S. Mexico boundary saw widespread violence as U.S. authorities and non-State actors established their dominance. The Mexican Revolution and the accompanying socio-political turmoil between 1910, and 1920, caused great concern for U.S. authorities. Tension along the boundary with Mexico quickly subsided thereafter. (Griswold, 1990) Pacification did not mean control by the U.S. Migration between the U.S. and Mexico long preceded the imposition of the modern day boundary. Mexican migration to the U.S. was not really significant in scale or in geographical extent until the 20th Century. In 1942, the Bracero (Bra-zeh-roh) Program was implemented. It was a contract labor program in response to labor shortages brought about by the U.S. entry into World War II. (The Bracero Program, 1996) Furthermore, the INS practice of legalizing unaut horized migrants and turning them into braceros, or drying out the wetbacks, increased unauthorized immigration from Mexico as the news spread that the easiest manner to obtain a bracero contract was to enter the U.S. illegally. When the U.S. Congress officially ended the program in 1964, the previously legal migratory flow simply went underground. As the 1970s approached, calls to enhance enforcement along the U.S. and Mexico boundary

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Living Life to the Fullest essays

Living Life to the Fullest essays Giving up philosophy, exhorting the judges and declaring the truth to everyone whom Socrates meets is something he wouldnt sacrifice. He strongly stuck to his views, ideas and thoughts, which declared him as a strong independent person. Socrates believed that he should spend his whole life persuading people to give their first and greatest care to the improvement of an individuals soul. (XVII, 36) The author interpreted the soul as the building block of life; without believing in yourself as a person and sticking true to your views, you are simply no person at all. Throughout the Apology Socrates remains true to his way of life even though he is on trial for his life, and will probably be sentenced to death. We know nothing of death according to Socrates, and therefore it is irrational to fear it. (XX, 38) Fearing the unknown is a human instinct, but as human beings we have no idea what death is like; therefore its crazy to worry and stress on matters like such when enjoying life is the main priority. Socrates also states that his service to the God is more important than having the support of Athenians, money, or even a better lifestyle. The author does make it completely clear that Socrates never meant to impose his thoughts to anyone, but instead to simply enjoy the company of interesting people and the opportunity to learn from others thoughts and conversations. This passage really reached out and made me think about the meaning of life and being true to oneself. Once a person has found passion in life, as Socrates found in philosophy, it would be wrong to take into account the risk of life or death that such a passion might involve. A person should care more for being a good and upright person that being popular with the people. The novel tries to express that a person should care for the pursuit of knowledge over the pursuit of success and wealth. Without a doubt a perso ...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Presentation essays

Social Issue Research/Presentation essays Marijuana ( aka grass, pot, weed) is the common name for the crude drug made from the plant, Cannabis sativa. Over 400 chemicals are in marijuana, including the main mind altering ingredient, THC. The amount of THC in the marijuana determines how strong the effects will be. Factors of the strength of the marijuana is, the type of plant, weather, soil, and the time of harvest. Another form of marijuana is a joint. A joint is a cigarette made from the dried particles of the plant. Hashish or hash, is made by taking the flowers of the marijuana plant and the resin from the leaves and pressing it into cakes or slabs. Hash is usually stronger than regular marijuana, containing five to ten times as much THC. Pure THC is almost only available though research, so substances sold on the street claiming to be THC can turn out to be something else like PCP Not everyone uses marijuana just to get high. Marijuana can be used as medicine, helping cancer and AIDS patients gain appetite and relieve nausea. If marijuana was legal, the government would be able to enact standards of quality and purity of the drug. Eliminating the street drug which is often contaminated or extremely potent, causing disease and sometimes death for those who use it. But the most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there is no reason for it not to be. Individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. Last time i checked the government only have a right to limit those choices if the individual's actions endanger someone else. And this does not apply to marijuana, since the individual using it is doing it according to his or her free will. The second important reason that marijuana should be it that there is not good evidence that prohibition decreases drug use, in fact in some cases it might increase drug use. One unintended effect o f the prohibition of marijuana is the popularity of it in high schools. It is actually easier f...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Crime rate in Accra Ghana and its contributing factors Essay

Crime rate in Accra Ghana and its contributing factors - Essay Example The recent increase in horrendous crime in Accra present an issue of major concern demanding global attention because armed robberies, rapes, murders, and burglaries occur on daily basis now. The list of horrific atrocities committed by active criminals in Accra goes on and on and the societal structure is being deteriorated more and more, eventually. Both local citizens and expatriates are badly offended and affected by this phenomenal increase in crime rate, and no one can remain oblivious to this strengthening societal evil. The growing crime pattern largely depicts the devastated economic conditions that are prevalent in Accra. With the population of the Accra city recorded to be 4.5 million as of 2011, Accra represents the largest metropolitan assembly in Ghana. (Vanderpuije). Crime is a major challenge to the administrative team of Accra owing to the high density of population in the city. As the city of Accra is considered to be the hub of Ghana due to its massive population, this place has also become the hub of criminal activities as well. Urban growth has brought with itself the problems of low economic conditions, unemployment, lack of educational oppurtunities, and poor infrastructural state. (Adu-Mireku 153-168). The combination of giant population and poor economic state proves to be lethal for the suture potential of any place. This is because many facilities needed ferociously for the giant population are cancelled out by low economic state of a city. The case of Accra is just the same because more and more employment opportunities are demanded by the local citizens and in response to minimal employment opportunities, the youth promptly falls in the silken snare of crimes. Unemployment and lay-offs are terrifically common in Accra thus boosting the crime level. The present state in the capital is that the organized crime knows no boundaries and much of the crime is accentuated by poor socio-economic conditions. The incidence of burglary, which i s an ubiquitous crime, is highly distressing while the heads of the family are outside at the workplaces. The crime of car theft is so common in Accra that the police force has repeatedly issues warnings to the local citizens to have parts of their cars engraved in an order to make their cars more identifiable once stolen, which is highly common in Accra these days. This step has slightly reduced the rate of car theft because â€Å"the most up-to-date figures put car thefts in 2008 at 131 compared with 146 the previous year.† (Wanted in Africa). The demographic and gender makeup of any place is very necessary to scrutinize when discussing crime rate and its patterns. Age, race, gender, and marital status are the most important predictors for explaining crime trends, patterns, and its distribution in the society. According to (Ghana  Police  Headquarters, cited in Appiahene-Gyamfi 20), â€Å"Accra data showed a progressive concentration of crime among young males aged bet ween eighteenand  thirty-six  years.† Most of the criminals caught by the police force are single and appear to have little or no educational knowledge. They also do not have any employment records owing to their minimal education. Age differences are also highly related to the type of criminal activities performed. Car thefts and robbery incidents are more common among the younger age group in Accra and operating burglaries involving residential places of expatriates is more common among the middle age group. A study conducted between 2004 and 2005 by (Adjei et al. 594) reveals that the most

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Appraisal and Social-Cultural Factors Research Paper

Appraisal and Social-Cultural Factors - Research Paper Example A reading score that is two standard deviation below the mean implies that the student belongs to the bottom 3% of the grade sevens, implying that close to 97% of the grade sevens are ahead of her in the test. In what may be clearer terms, this means that if there are only 20 grade seven students, the student who scored two standard deviations from the mean in Reading means that she is about only as good as the slowest academic performer in 20 students. Make the students 100 instead of 20, a two standard deviation score below the mean score in reading means that she is about as good as third slowest academic performer in a reading if there only 100 grade seven students. These discussions are not very accurate, however, and were meant to impress important mental images of the situation. Table 1 refers to select portions of the normal curve. A test score that is two standard deviation from the mean imply a z-Score of -2.0 that is associated with -2.00. The numeral -2.00 follows through the intersection of the row of -2.0 in the z column and the column associated with .00 of the table. In turn, following protocols followed for the table of the normal curve, the numerals mentioned earlier are associated with the value of 0.0228 that gives area under the normal curve. The area of normal curve 0.0228 is associated with the probability associated with the lowest scorer with the score associated with two standard deviations below the mean. This means that more precisely the student we are discussing belong to bottom 2.28% of the grade sevens, following the association of 0.0228 with 2.28%. Meanwhile, a score of 115 given of 100 and standard deviation of 15 imply a z value of 1.15 following standard transformation formation protocols. In turn, the z-score of 1.15 is associated with the area 0.8749 under the normal curve based on Table 1. This means that the student we are

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Economics light Essay Example for Free

Economics light Essay Q1. Mention the problem? The problem of that case study is the organizational conflict i.e. every functional manager is trying to get his own interest; therefore, the working climate became disturbed. In other words, it is possible to say that it is a communication issue. Q2.What did sales managers do? The problem of the sales manager lies in focusing on getting more customers more than thinking of getting more profitable orders. Q3. What did manufacturing managers do?  The problem with the manufacturing managers consists in disordering of work steps, light color orders and dark color orders, which in turn wastes time and money. Q4. State your opinion to solve the problem? SOLUTION 1. Sales manager: He should modify the pricing policy for rush orders in a way that enables the company to exceed its breakeven point and get at least its profitable processing .i.e. to make a special price for rush orders. 2. Manufacturing manager: He should review the cleaning process and try to implement a more cost reducing efficient method. 3. General manager: * He should consider introducing a new machine, one for light color and the other for dark color, hence, reducing the cost of getting a new machine will be covered by eliminating the cost of cleaning and cost of time wasted. * He should ensure that the 250 workforce are aware of that every workers effort and role is step in many pre and post steps. Hence the notion of teamwork will prevail. * Every worker should be aware of not only his own task but also the tasks of all his coworkers to get the value of his own role and appreciate it so self esteem will prevail. * As for , the functional managers, especially, the manufacturing and sales managers should be aware of their critical position and try to be farsighted to the long run  objectives not only the short run. They should get rid of their personal interests and vision. They should cooperate and try to implement an overall objective. Done by Abdulla Talal Alsada BH05501669 SBI((FF))

Friday, November 15, 2019

Essay --

I have grouped some past literature on the topic and investigations I will be pursuing. Economic growth and how conflict affects GDP per capita growth will be discussed theoretically and through previous empirical analyses. Observations will be made on the assumptions they reach and what they indicate for this paper. 2.1 Economic Growth I first look into the theory and previous studies on economic growth. The reason behind this is to get an idea of what model I will use and which variables to include in my regressions. There have been many empirical studies analysing possible variables which are significant to economic growth. Barro, QJE 1991 uses the neoclassical Solow model (Solow, 1956 and Mankiw et al., 1992) to test for the theory of convergence which states that countries with an initial lower GDP grow more rapidly. This makes economic sense as the country that has been involved in the conflict has a greater amount of growth potential. The country will simply need to recover its lost resources and will fulfil conditional convergence. The neoclassical theory states as a country reaches the steady state an increase in investment will result in diminishing returns on capital. Poor countries, which have lower capital and higher rates of return on capital, will pull alongside to the income levels of rich countries with faster growth rates. As for the variables tested, for 98 countries in the period 1960-1985, the growth rate of GDP per capita is positively related to initial human capital and negatively related to the initial level of real per capita GDP. Growth is inversely related to the share of government consumption in GDP. Growth rates are positively related to measures of political stability and inversely related to a... ...nds. As for the previous empirical studies according to Koubi, there are three different studies conducted on the topic. The existing empirical studies of the relationship between war and economic performance are one of three types: a) Those that study the unconditional relationship between war and economic growth. b) Those that examine the conditional relationship. And c) those that attempt to identify the mechanisms through which war affects economic growth (Koubi, 2002). My particular study focuses more on the first type as I am not particular examining the intensity, duration or severity of war, however focusing on a particular region and the different effects of civil war within the countries and interstate wars within the region. I will also observe previous studies of another topic that may become of interest as my paper progresses, the spill over effect.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Diagnostic Essay

Of all the things high school students complain about, being sleep deprived and tired ranks first as most problematic. The issue isn't that kids simply choose not to get enough sleep; it is that the majority genuinely cannot. Students are constantly being badgered by parents, doctors and school faculty to get at least eight hours of sleep, but with school starting as early as 7:20, that makes getting a decent amount of sleep an almost impossible task.Though there are numerous other reasons as to why students are lacking leap, the start time of school is ultimately the main contributor and leads to many severely negative results. A policy causing high schools to start at 8:30 instead would greatly improve the number of better rested students. Firstly, there are a plethora of other variables preventing students from adequate sleep. Such examples include an excruciating amount of homework, extra-curricular activities and striving to maintain the Triangle Of Health. These additional issu es make It even more difficult to get enough sleep.The large amount of homework sometimes has students staying up all hours of the night. Some might argue that if students manage their time efficiently they should be able to go to sleep at a reasonable hour, but even the most organized, intelligent students have trouble completing their huge quantity of homework by the time recommended getting to bed. Next, students are greatly encouraged to participate in after school activities, however, enough sleep is practically impossible to attain when most activities run until five and time is lost to complete work.Finally, students are educated in health class to maintain the Triangle of Health, a diagram representing three crucial elements to being an overall healthy person – physical, mental, and social health. So, students are trying to maintain each form of health by attempting to make time for friends and family, hobbies, at least a half hour of exercise, and stimulation of the mind through education. Overall, when students have these other things to worry about, the early start of school is really an issue when endeavoring to get enough sleep.Secondly, students' lack of sleep affects their overall performance in school, academically and physically. Inadequate sleep in adolescents, defined as less than nine hours per night, is a known problem and a major public health concern. Sleep is food for the brain. Without the nourishment of enough sleep one can look awful, feel moody, and perform badly. While it's true that delaying school would cause complications in bus runs and after school activities, there are many convincing reasons to do so. A study made by Dry.Kyle Hailstorm at the University of Minnesota, saw an improvement in attendance and enrollment rates, increased daytime alertness, and decreased student-reported depression in seven schools whose start time changed from 7:15 to 8:40. Other studies have shown less likelihood of experiencing depressed m oods, reduced possibility for tardiness, reduced absenteeism, better grades, reduced risk of drowsy driving, and reduced risk of metabolic and nutritional deficits associated with insufficient sleep, including obesity. Another doctor, Judy Owens, MD and sleep expert undertook studies as well.She found that there was a significant average increase in sleep duration on school nights of 45 minutes across all grades nine to 12 after the change in the school start time. Her report also showed a drastic decline in students who said they rarely or never got enough sleep. The pros more than surpass the cons when it comes to a delayed school start time. All in all, if a little time and effort was put into finding solutions to the few complications that might arise in school starting at 8:30 rather than 7:20, students overall health and academic performance would improve aromatically.If there is one thing students are lacking in their lives, it is most definitely sleep and unfortunately it is a major issue. With all the incredible benefits of suitable sleep and depressing negative effects of not enough, if given the option, students would most definitely choose to sleep rather than be working on hours of school work and staying at after school activities. But, when the start time of school is as early as 7:20, students will be continuing to be sleep deprived and performing the tiring ritual of complaining of lack of sleep. Diagnostic Essay English class that I will have to take I am excited; I come with a great expectation of leaving behind my bad writing experiences; although a kind of weakness opaque my writing strengths I am going to take full advantage of each and every concept learn during the English 1301 class. First of all, I come with a great expectation of leaving behind my writing experiences presented in my lasts English classes.The memory of the first official essay that I wrote in life is enormously disturbing. Do not remember err well the date but it is truly an experience that will always be impossible to forget. It all started when the professor assigned to each one of us a topic from which we had to develop an essay. I have to mention that the word â€Å"plagiarism† was not in my vocabulary, so I immediately went into the site of lazy people called â€Å"Wisped† and started to copy and paste all the useful information that I found.That way my worked was finished in less than 10 minutes. As well, it was no longer necessary to put attention to the professor essay explanation. Consequently, the teacher did not even take ten seconds o detect my cheat when she was grading my work. After a horrible F in my grade and after a great shame in front of everyone in my class, I realized that the lessons that the teacher had given during the class was going to help me write my essay and obviously what I did was wrong and it was considered â€Å"plagiarism†.Above all, the positive part of this bad writing experience is that promised that will never do it again, and that I was going to use every skill learned in each and every English class in order to be able to develop perfect essays without any plagiarism. On the other hand, especially in this class, a weakness opaque my writing retries; this is due to the fact that English is considered my second language. I come from Monterrey, Mexico and I moved 3 years ago to this country. My first language is Spanish.All my thoughts and ideas in my head are produced in Spanish and in a matter Of seconds I translate it into English. Of COUrse, that point that I see it as a weakness will only disappear if I give the double of the effort. However, through the pass of the years realized that one of my greatest virtues is my agility in the development themes, especially if the theme has to do with science or social problems. As a matter of fact, spent woo to three hours every day reading science magazines or books, and that has helped me when need to develop essays.That's exactly what will do in this English 1301 course; I am going to squeeze 100% each and every knowledge given by the teacher. Improving and enhancing the area of reading comprehension through the ‘Mercury Reader book As well as learning how to adequately answer each and every question used to complete the journals. My goal is to get into the nursing program. Come with the clearly idea that every lesson, every concept learned in this course dur ing this semester will have a positive impact on my future.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Coyote Blue Chapter 1~2

Part 1 Epiphany CHAPTER 1 Life Will Find You Santa Barbara, California While magic powder was sprinkled on the sidewalk outside, Samuel Hunter moved around his office like a machine, firing out phone calls, checking computer printouts, and barking orders to his secretary. It was how he began every business day: running in machine mode until he left for his first sales appointment and put on the right persona for the prospect. People who knew Sam found him hardworking, intelligent, and even likable, which is exactly what he wanted them to find. He was confident and successful in business, but he wore his success with a humility that put people at ease. He was tall, lean, and quick with a smile, and people said he was as comfortable in a Savile Row suit before a boardroom of businessmen as he was lounging in jeans at Santa Barbara's wharf, trading stories and lies with the fishermen. In fact, the apparent ease with which Sam mastered his environment was the single disturbing quality people noticed in him. How was it that a guy could play so many roles so well, and never seem uncomfortable or out of place? Something was missing. It wasn't that he was a bad guy, it was just that you could never get close to him, you never got a feel for who he really was, which is exactly how Sam wanted it. He thought a show of desire, of passion, of anger even, would give him away, so he suppressed these emotions until he no longer felt them. His life was steady, level, and safe. So it happened that on an autumn-soft sunny day, not two weeks after his thirty-fifth birthday, some twenty years after he had run away from home, Samuel Hunter stepped out of his office onto the sidewalk and was poleaxed by desire. He saw a girl loading groceries into an old Datsun Z that was parked at the curb, and to the core of his being, Sam wanted her. Later he would recall the details of her appearance – a line of muscle on a tan thigh, cutoff jeans, the undercurve of a breast showing below the half shirt, yellow hair tied up haphazardly, tendrils escaping to brush high cheekbones and wide brown eyes – but her effect on him now was like a long, oily saxophone note that started somewhere in that lizard part of the brain where the libido resides and resonated down his body to the tendons in his groin and back into his stomach to form a knot that nearly doubled him over. â€Å"You want her?† The question came from beside him, a man's voice that startled him a bit, but not enough for him to tear his eyes from the girl. The question came again. â€Å"You want her?† Already off balance, Sam turned toward the voice, then stepped back in surprise. A young Indian man dressed in black buckskins fringed with red feathers sat on the sidewalk by the office door. While Sam tried to regain mental ground, the Indian dazzled a grin and pulled a long dagger from his belt. â€Å"If you want her, go get her,† he said. Then he flipped the dagger across the sidewalk into the front tire of the girl's car. There was a thud and a high squealing hiss as the air escaped the tire. â€Å"What was that?† the girl said. She slammed the hatchback and moved to the front of the car. Sam, in a panic, looked for the Indian, who had disappeared, and then for the knife, which had vanished as well. He turned and looked through the glass door into his outer office, but the Indian wasn't there either. â€Å"I can't believe I manifested this,† the girl said, staring at the flattened tire. â€Å"I've done it again. I've manifested failure.† Sam's confusion blossomed. â€Å"What are you talking about?† The girl turned and looked at him for the first time, studied him for a second, then said, â€Å"Every time I get a job I manifest some kind of tragedy that ruins my chances of keeping it.† â€Å"But it's just a flat tire. You can't manifest a flat tire. I saw the guy that did this. It was†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Sam stopped himself. The Indian in black had triggered his fears of being found out, of going to prison. He didn't want to relive the shock. â€Å"It was probably some glass you picked up. You can't avoid that sort of thing.† â€Å"Why would I manifest glass in my tire?† The question was in earnest; she searched Sam's face for an answer. If he had one, he lost it in her eyes. He couldn't get a grip on how to react to any of this. He said, â€Å"The Indian-â€Å" â€Å"Do you have a phone?† she interrupted. â€Å"I have to call work and tell them I'll be late. I don't have a spare.† â€Å"I can give you a ride,† Sam said, feeling stupidly proud of himself for being able to speak at all. â€Å"I was just leaving for an appointment. My car's around the corner.† â€Å"Would you do that? I have to go all the way to upper State Street.† Sam looked at his watch, out of habit only; he'd have driven her to Alaska if she had asked. â€Å"No problem,† he said. â€Å"Follow me.† The girl grabbed a bundle of clothes from the Datsun and Sam led her around the corner to his Mercedes. He opened the door for her and tried not to watch her get in. Whenever he looked at her his mind went blank and he had to thrash around looking for what to do next. As he got in the car he caught a glimpse of her brown legs against the black leather seat and forgot for a moment where the ignition slot was. He stared at the dashboard and tried to calm himself, even as he was thinking, This is an accident waiting to happen. The girl said, â€Å"Do you think that the Germans make such good cars to atone for the Holocaust?† â€Å"What?† He started to look at her, but instead turned his attention to the road. â€Å"No, I don't think so. Why do you ask?† â€Å"It doesn't matter, I guess. I just thought it might bother them. I have a leather jacket that I can't wear anymore because when I have it on I have to drive miles out of my way to avoid going by cow pastures. Not that the cows would want it back – zippers are hard for them – but they have such beautiful eyes, it makes me feel bad. These seats are leather, aren't they?† â€Å"Vinyl,† Sam said. â€Å"A new kind of vinyl.† He could smell her scent, a mix of jasmine and citrus, and it was making driving as difficult as following her conversation. He turned the air-conditioning on full and concentrated on timing the lights. â€Å"I wish I had calf eyes – those long lashes.† She pulled down the visor and looked in the vanity mirror, then bent over until her head was almost at the steering wheel and looked at Sam. He glanced at her and felt his breath catch in his throat as she smiled. She said, â€Å"You have golden eyes. That's unusual for someone with such dark skin. Are you an Arab?† â€Å"No, I'm†¦ I don't know. I'm a mongrel, I guess.† â€Å"I never met a Mongrel before. I hear they were great horsemen, though. My mother used to read me that poem: ‘In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a stately pleasure dome decree†¦. I don't remember the rest. Someone told me that the Mongrels were like the bikers of their time.† â€Å"Who told you that?† â€Å"This person who's a biker.† â€Å"Person?† Sam knew there was some reality to grab on to somewhere, a position from which he could regain control, if only he could get a straight answer. â€Å"Do you know where the Tangerine Tree Cafe is on upper State? That's where I work.† â€Å"Just tell me a block or so before we get to it.† Even after twenty years Sam found it impossible to distinguish one area of Santa Barbara from another. Everything was the same: white stucco with red tile roofs. The city had been partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1925, and since then the city planners had required all commercial buildings to be built in the Spanish-Moorish style – they even dictated the shade of white that buildings were painted. The result was a beautifully consistent city with almost no distinctive landmarks. Sam usually spotted his destination just as he passed it. â€Å"That was it back there,† the girl said. Sam pulled the car to the curb. â€Å"I'll go around the block.† She opened the car door. â€Å"That's okay, I can jump out here.† â€Å"No! I don't mind, really.† He didn't want her to go. Not yet. But she was out of the car in an instant. She bent back in and offered her hand to shake. â€Å"Thanks a lot. I work until four. I'll need a ride back to my car. See ya.† And she was gone, leaving Sam with his hand still extended and the image of her cleavage burned onto his retinas. He sat for a moment, trying to catch his breath, feeling disoriented, grateful, and a little relieved, as if he had looked up just in time to slam on the brakes and avoid a collision. He took his cigarettes from his jacket and shook one out of the pack, but when he reached for the lighter he noticed the bundle of clothes still lying on the seat. He grabbed the clothes, got out of the car, and headed down the street to the cafe. The doors to the cafe were the big, heavy, hand-carved, pseudo-Spanish iron-banded variety common to almost all Santa Barbara restaurants, but once through them the decor was strictly Fifties Diner. Sam approached a gray-haired woman in a waitress uniform who was manning the cash register at the head of the long counter. He didn't see the girl. â€Å"Excuse me,† he said. â€Å"The girl that just came in here – the blonde – she left these in my car.† The woman looked him up and down and seemed surprised at his appearance. â€Å"Calliope?† she said, incredulously. Sam checked his tie for spots, his fly for altitude. â€Å"I don't know her name. I just gave her a ride to work. She had a flat tire.† â€Å"Oh.† The woman seemed relieved. â€Å"You didn't look like her type. She went to the back to change. I guess she won't get far without these.† The woman took the clothes from him. â€Å"Did you want to speak to her?† she asked. â€Å"No, I guess not. I guess I'll let her get to work.† â€Å"It's no problem, that other guy is waiting for her too.† The woman nodded down the counter. Sam followed her gaze to where the Indian was sitting, smoking a cigarette and blowing the smoke in four directions with each drag. He looked up at Sam and grinned. Sam backed away from the counter and through the doors, tripping on the step down to the sidewalk, almost falling, but catching himself on the wrought-iron railing. He leaned on the railing feeling as if he had just taken a hard shot to the jaw. He shook his head and tried to find some sort of order to what was happening. It could be some kind of setup; the girl and the Indian in it together. But how could they know who he was? How did the Indian get to the cafe so fast? And if it was blackmail, if they knew about the killing, then why be so sneaky about it? As he climbed back into the Mercedes he tried to shake off the feeling of foreboding that was creeping over him like a night fog. He'd just met the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and shortly he would see her again. He had come to her rescue; what better first impression? Even if he hadn't planned it. The Indian was a coincidence. Life was good, right? He started the car and put it into gear only to realize that he couldn't remember where he was going. There had been an appointment when he left the office. He drove several blocks trying to remember the appointment and who he was going to be when he got there. Finally he gave up and pressed the autodialer on his cellular phone. As the phone beeped through the numbers to his office it hit him: the source of his discomfort. The Indian had had golden eyes. In the time it took for his secretary to answer, twenty years of his life, of denial and deception, was pulled away in a stinging black undertow, leaving him feeling helpless and afraid. CHAPTER 2 Montana Medicine Drunk Crow Country, Montana Black Cloud Follows thundered across the dawn silence of a frost-glazed Little Bighorn basin, out of Crow Agency, under Highway 90, and into the gravel parking lot of Wiley's Food and Gas. A 77 ocher-colored Olds Cutlass rattletrap diesel, Black Cloud Follows stopped, coughed, belched, and engulfed itself in a greasy black cloud of exhaust. When the cloud moved on, wafting like a portable eclipse through the golden poplar and ash trees on the Little Bighorn's banks, Adeline Eats stood by the Cutlass twisting the baling wire that held the driver's door shut. Adeline's blue-black hair was layered large and lacquered into a flip. A hot-pink parka over her flannel shirt and overalls added a Michelin Man concentric-circle symmetry to her oval shape. As the Cutlass chugged and bucked – the thing that refused to die – Adeline lit a Salem 100, took a deep drag, then delivered a vicious red Reebok kick to Black Cloud Follows's fender. â€Å"Stop it,† she said. Obediently, the car fell silent and Adeline gave the fender an affectionate pat. This old car had been indirectly responsible for getting her a husband, six children, and a job. She couldn't bring herself to be mean to it for long. Walking around to unlock the back door, she noticed something lying in a tuft of frost-covered buffalo grass: something also frost covered, that looked very much like a body. If he's dead, she reasoned, he can wait until I've made some coffee. If he ain't, he'll probably want some. She let herself into the store and waddled around turning on lights and unlocking doors, then started the coffee and went out to unlock the laundromat, another of the cinder-block buildings in the Wiley's Food and Gas complex, which also included an eight-room motel. Crunching back through the grass, she looked at the body again, which hadn't moved. But for the frost, Old Man Wiley would have been out at dawn setting gopher traps all over the grounds and would have taken care of the body problem. He would have also given Adeline no end of shit about Black Cloud Follows, which he had been doing for fifteen years. It had been Wiley, a white man, who had named the car in the first place. It was not the Crow way to name cars or animals, but Wiley missed no chance to get in a dig at the people from whom he made his living. Maybe, Adeline thought, a morning of peace was worth dealing with a body. When the coffee was finished, she filled two large Styrofoam cups (one for her and one for the body) and poured a generous amount of sugar in each. The body had long braids, so she assumed he was Crow and would probably take sugar if he was alive. If he was dead Adeline would drink his, and she definitely wanted sugar. Back in the buffalo days, the Cheyenne prophet Sweet Medicine had seen a vision of men with hair on their faces who would come bringing a white sand that was poison to Indians. The prophecy had come true, the white sand was sugar, and Adeline blamed the white man for poisoning her right up to two hundred pounds. She took the coffee, butt-bumped through the back door, and crunched through the grass to where the body lay. He was facedown and his Levi jacket and jeans were crystalline blue with frost. Adeline nudged him in the ribs with her foot. â€Å"You froze?† she asked. â€Å"Nope,† the body said into the ground; a little dust came up with the steam. â€Å"You hurt?† â€Å"Nope.† More dust. â€Å"Drunk?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"You want coffee?† Adeline sat one of the cups by his head. The body – she was still thinking of him as the body – rolled over and she recognized him as Pokey Medicine Wing, the liar. Creaking, Pokey sat up and tried to pick up the coffee, but couldn't seem to get his frozen hand to work. Adeline picked up the cup and handed it to him. â€Å"I thought you was dead, Pokey.† â€Å"I might have been. Just had me a medicine dream.† As he raised the cup to his lips the shakes set in and he had to bite the edge of the cup to steady it. â€Å"I died twice before, you know†¦.† Adeline ignored the lie and pointed to one of his braids, which had fallen into his coffee cup. Pokey pulled the braid out and wiped the beaded band around it on his jacket. â€Å"Good coffee,† he said. Adeline shook a Salem out of her pack and offered it to him. â€Å"Thanks,† he said. â€Å"You gotta offer a prayer after a medicine dream.† Adeline lit his cigarette with a Bic lighter. â€Å"I'm a Christian now,† she said. She really hoped he wouldn't use the cigarette to carry a prayer. She'd only been a Christian for a few weeks and the old ways made her a little uncomfortable. Besides, Pokey was probably lying through his tooth – he had only one – about the medicine dream. Pokey squinted up at her and grinned, but did not pray. â€Å"I saw my brother Frank's boy, the one with the yellow eyes who threw that cop off the dam. You remember?† Adeline nodded. She really didn't want to hear this. â€Å"Maybe you should tell a medicine man.† â€Å"I am a medicine man,† Pokey said. â€Å"Just no one believes me. I don't need no one else to tell me about my visions. I saw that boy with Old Man Coyote, and there was a shade with 'em that looked like Death.† â€Å"I got to go to work now,† Adeline said. â€Å"I need to find that boy and warn him,† Pokey said. â€Å"That boy's been gone for twenty years. He's probably dead. You was just dreaming.† Pokey was a liar and Adeline knew that there was no reason that she should let his ravings bother her, but they did. â€Å"If you're okay, I got to go to work.† â€Å"You don't believe in medicine, then?† â€Å"Mr. Wiley will be coming in soon. I got to open the store,† Adeline said. She turned and started back toward the store. â€Å"Is that a screech owl?† Pokey shouted after her. Adeline dropped her coffee, fell into a crouch, and scanned the sky in a panic. In the old tradition the screech owl was the worst of omens; vengeful ghosts lived in screech owls; seeing or hearing one was like hearing the sound of your own death. Adeline was terrified. Pokey grinned at her. â€Å"I guess not. It must just be a hawk.† Adeline recovered and stomped into the store, praying to Jesus to forgive Pokey for his sins, but adding to her prayer a request for Jesus to beat the shit out of Pokey if He had the time.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Eve kept Essays

Eve kept Essays Eve kept Essay Eve kept Essay There are a lot of things in my room but if my house was on fire, and I was allowed to save 3 things, aside from my dogs and my laptop, they would be these things. The first thing I would save is a stuffed bear that was given to me when I was a baby by my grandmother. Apparently I would throw tantrums when I was not being carried by someone so when my parents would put me to sleep in my crib they would put the ear on my back to trick my into thinking I was being touched and eventually I would fall asleep. The second thing I would save is my high school diploma. Obviously it isnt a very unique thing to have considering millions of people get one when they graduate but It took 12 years to earn that little piece of paper so for that reason it means a lot to me. Lastly, I would save a pair of glasses that were owned by my grandfather who passed away when I was about 8. He asked me to hold them for him before right before he passed and Eve kept them ever since. Magic BAG There are a lot of things in my room but if my house was on fire, and I was allowed to save 3 things, aside from my dogs and my laptop, they would be these things. The first thing I would save is a stuffed bear that was given to me when I was a baby by my grandmother. Apparently I would throw tantrums when I was not being carried by before right before he passed and Eve kept them ever since.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How the Qin Dynasty Unified Ancient China

How the Qin Dynasty Unified Ancient China The Qin dynasty surfaced during China’s Warring States period. This era spanned 250 years- 475 B.C. to 221 B.C. During the Warring States period, the city-state kingdoms of ancient China’s Spring and Autumn period consolidated into larger territories. The feudal states fought each other for power during this era characterized by advances in military technology as well as education, thanks to the influences of Confucian philosophers. The Qin dynasty came to prominence as the new imperial dynasty (221-206/207 B.C.) after conquering rival kingdoms and when its first emperor, the absolute monarch Qin Shi Huang (Shi Huangdi or Shih Huang-ti) unified China. The Qin Empire, also known as Chin, is likely where the name China originates. The Qin dynasty’s government was Legalist, a doctrine developed by Han Fei (d. 233 B.C.) [source: Chinese History (Mark Bender at Ohio State University)]. That held the power of the state and its monarchs interests paramount. This policy led to a strain on the treasury and, ultimately, the end of the Qin dynasty. The Qin Empire has been described as creating a police state with the government holding absolute power. Private weapons were confiscated. Nobles were transported to the capital. But the Qin Dynasty also ushered in new ideas and inventions. It standardized weights, measures, coinage- the bronze round coin with a square hole in the center- writing and chariot axle widths. Writing was standardized to permit bureaucrats throughout the land to read documents. It may have been during the Qin Dynasty or late Han Dynasty that the zoetrope was invented. Using conscripted farm labor, the Great Wall (868 km) was built to keep out northern invaders. Emperor Qin Shi Huang sought immortality through a variety of elixirs. Ironically, some of these elixirs may have contributed to his death in 210 B.C. Upon his death, the emperor had ruled for 37 years. His tomb, close to the city of Xi’an, included an army of more than 6,000 life-size terracotta soldiers (or servants) to protect (or serve) him. The first Chinese emperor’s tomb remained undiscovered for 2,000 after years his death. Farmers unearthed the soldiers as they dug a well near Xi’an in 1974. â€Å"So far, archaeologists have uncovered a 20-square-mile compound, including some 8,000 terracotta soldiers, along with numerous horses and chariots, a pyramid mound marking the emperor’s tomb, remains of a palace, offices, storehouses, and stables,† according to the History Channel. â€Å"In addition to the large pit containing the 6,000 soldiers, a second pit was found with cavalry and infantry units and a third containing high-ranking officers and chariots. A fourth pit remained empty, suggesting that the burial pit was left unfinished at the time the emperor died.† Qin Shi Huang’s son would replace him, but the Han Dynasty overthrew and replaced the new emperor in 206 B.C. Pronunciation of Qin Chin Also Known As Chin Examples The Qin dynasty is known for the terracotta army put in the emperor’s tomb to serve him in the afterlife. Sources: Minnesota State University Qin DynastySarah Milledge Nelson, Brian M. Fagan, Adam Kessler, Julie M. Segraves China The Oxford Companion to Archaeology. Brian M. Fagan, ed., Oxford University Press 1996.Cultural China: Kaleidoscope Science and InventionHistory Channel: The Terra Cotta Army

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Storm Over Everest (May 13, 2008) short essay ethical system analysis

Storm Over Everest (May 13, 2008) short ethical system analysis - Essay Example A team was hired to be a guide in an expedition in one of the highest mountains on earth. Near the summit, passed the mountain’s death zone, one of the clients passed out. Everyone in the team is too weak to carry the client; they are almost running out of time, and a storm is already on its way. In addition to the weak client, the most experienced leader and the weakest climber is also in their weakest state, and is already showing signs of High Altitude Cardio Edema (HACE). The team only has one injection of Dexamethasone (Dex), which will slightly help only one of the three weak people to ease his or her pain. Each person in the team is left with one tank of oxygen, which is only good for four hours; however, the steep descend will take the team six hours. It is up to a member to decide to stay with the client or continue to descend. In the Kantian perspective or in ethical formalism, good will is the only thing that is good. Good actions done out of good will, whatever the results may be is a moral act, and whatever you do wrong, even with a good result is still not moral (Pollock, 2012). In the scenario above, the other members must continue to descend to camp. You should stay with the client who had passed out in order to look after him or her. The Dex must also be injected to the client who had passed out because he needs it the most. In the utilitarian perspective, an act must consider the whole and not just an individual. In this system, it is allowed to harm a person or a small part of the whole for the goodness and benefit of the remaining or bigger parts (Pollock, 2012). In the scenario above, if the utilitarianism ethics is used, the client who had passed out and the weakest climber must be left behind by the team for a lesser burden on the other members. This action will allow the others to descend faster and will also be able to maximize their oxygens. The Dex will also be injected to the most

Friday, November 1, 2019

Critical evaluation of the impact of the global financial crisis on Coursework

Critical evaluation of the impact of the global financial crisis on worker migration - Coursework Example 21-23). In addition, millions of jobs were lost by people, many lost their life time savings and earnings, and many dreams shuttered. These impacts of global financial crisis make my topic important and interesting to study. Everyone wants to know how worker migration was affected, the implication, and probably the causes of the financial crisis. That is what my study is seeking to achieve. Aims and objectives of the study The aim of this study is to critically evaluate the impacts of global financial crisis on the worker migration. In order to achieve this, the following objectives will be met by the study: 1. To identify the effects of global financial crisis on worker migration 2. To identify factors that caused the global financial crisis 3. To determine the implications of global financial crisis on the world economy and the job market 4. To assess and evaluate the rationale of the global financial crisis Literature review Financial crisis is a situation in which the values of f inancial assets or institutions falls rapidly; it can also be applied widely to various situations in which some financial assets all over sudden lose a very big part of their nominal value. Many financial crises are associated with banking panics- a situation where by a bank suffers a sudden rush of withdrawals by depositors and many recessions coincided with the panics. There are other situations that can also be termed as financial crises; stock market crashes- a sudden dramatic turn down of prices of stock in a significant stock market cross section that leads to a significant loss of paper wealth. Therefore global financial crisis means a worldwide period of economic difficulty experienced by consumers and markets. It is a difficult business environment where by potential consumers reduces their purchase of goods and services until the economic situation improves (Morris 2008, p. 24-25). The global financial crisis expressively impacted on the world leading to worker migration. United States of America is basically in control of the world and financial crisis that took place due to the decline in moral values specifically the economic and political power (Longstaff 2008, p. 19-20). In the second half of 2008, the financial markets of the United States, and ultimately all main financial markets of the world, were distraught by the repercussions of the unethical practices of lending carried out by the major lending institutions. The unethical loans were conducted at the height of the bubble real estate in the U.S. Aggressive and destructive lenders engaged in sub-prime mortgage loans (Cooper 2008, p. 17-19). These were extremely high risk mortgages and most of them were found in the violation of the standards of traditional underwriting practice for the industry. Ethics and prudence were ignored and greed dominated the ethical judgment among nationwide mortgage lenders. This problem was entirely aggravated by leveraging and packaging of such loans by the fi nancial companies of the Wall Street. Workers began a massive migration in search of greener pasture. They could no longer afford the cost of living (Cassidy 2009, p. 30-33). Global financial crisis occurred in the US in the year 2007 and spread to a number of other advanced economies through a combination of direct exposure to subprime assets which led to gradual loss of confidence in a number of asset classes and the drying up of wholesale

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Panama Canal Lock Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Panama Canal Lock - Case Study Example The whole of the Guton Lock system works in three steps. The ship enters the first chamber at the Guton lock which is at the sea level on the Atlantic side. The water tight gates are closed after the ship get in to the first chamber. A valve is the opened to allow water from the second chamber into the first chamber until both chambers the water levels up. Following this equalization of the levels of water, the valve is the closed and the gate between the first and second chamber is opened for the ship to move to the second chamber (Sherman 35). The first operation is repeated between the second and third lock to move the ship into the third lock which raise the ship to the Guton Lake water level. After closing of the final valve and opening of the final gate, the ship will have been raised up to 85ft to the Pacific Ocean water level. The forces that act on the first lock on the pacific side are majorly from the water in the Pacific Ocean that exerts pressure on the first gate. In the subsequent locks, forces act from both sides of the gates due to the water that is held inside the chambers. The Key factor in the design of the Guton lock was the water. The lifting of the ships in the lock to the level of the Guton Lake is done by water (Ulrich 9). The water in the lock lifts the ship up to 85feet and floats the ship across the divide. After crossing the continental divide, the water is again used to lower the ships to the sea level in the opposite side of the ocean. This therefore means that water was the major important consideration in the construction of the Guton Lock just like in the other three locks of the Panama Canal. In the design therefore, it was important to consider the force that the water exert on the locks. As more water is allowed inside the chamber of the lock, it exerts pressure to the walls. Another source of force on the walls of the lock chamber is the weight of the ship that is being raised by the lock up to 85 feet above sea

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Oliver Twist Essay -- essays research papers

Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist, in 1883, to show the reader things as they really are. He felt that the novel should be a message of social reform. One of its purposes was to promote reform of the abuses in workhouses. In no way does Dickens create a dream world. His imagination puts together a bad place during a bad time; an English workhouse just after the Poor Law Act of 1834 (Scott-Kilvert, 48). In the first chapter of Oliver Twist, Dickens moves from comedy to pathos and from pathos to satire. He takes us from the drunken old woman to the dying mother to the hardened doctor. Such rapid switches help in all the later novels to hold together disparate effects, to provide variety and unity, and to give that double opportunity for comedy and pathos that Dickens admired in stage melodrama (Scott-Kilvert, 47). In this first chapter, Dickens also captures life and death in a single sentence, "Let me see the child, and die." (Dickens, 2). This sums up the mother's will to see the newborn baby, and takes a short stride from birth to death. Dickens seems to create his characters to open the reader's eye's to the true characteristics of their nature. One of his subjects are conditioned human nature and the relationship of the individual to his environment (Scott-Kilvert, 47-48). In Oliver Twist, Dickens attempts to free his characters of any influence of their environment. He muddles the message of the novel by making Oliver immune to an environment which is denounced as necessarily corrupting (Price, 86). Dickens created Oliver's character to be virtuous and innocent. He put many stressed tests on him in the course of the book. Dickens comes close to endangering Oliver's idealized virtue, though; in the great temptation scene in Chapter 18 (Scott-Kilvert, 49). This is where the child is being carefully brainwashed, first cunningly cold-shouldered and isolated, then cunningly brought in the deadly warmth of the thieves' family circle (Scott-Kilvert, 49). Oliver was but too glad to make himself useful; too happy to have some faces, however bad, to look upon; too desirous to conciliate those about him when he could honestly do so; to throw any objection in the way of this proposal. So he at once expressed his readiness; and, kneeling on the floor, while Dodger sat upon the table so that he could take his foot in his lap, he applied himself to... ...uous are prosecuted by the rich and corrupt (Gerould, 287). The motive force of melodrama is the villain. The dynamic and sinister figure recognized by the audience as the embodiment of evil (Gerould, 287). The result is usually a happy one for the sympathetic character, resulting in just rewards and punishments and affirming the laws of morality and the benevolent wakings of providence (Gerould, 287). This is so true of the literary work of art of Oliver Twist. Dickens allowed virtue and good prevail over crime and evil. This book was clearly made to show the reality of the world. Dickens does not create a dream world that captures the optimism of readers. He is truly showing things as they really are; how hte world really is. He carefully planned his setting and his description of places so theat he could capture every detail of the hard life. As Martin Price put it in Dickens, "Oliver Twist is not a satisfying novel-it does not liberate us" (Price, 84-385). Dickens' purpose was to spark a sense of rage through peoples hearts towards the English workhouses. He was promoting reform by getting the people "involved" in the melodramatic novel of Oliver Twist.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

In the arms of sleep

It happened again last night. Just like before. It began slowly, with little things. Then it got worse. Much worse. I suppose this is your way of punishing me. If it is, it's working. If it's not when I'm awake, it's when I'm asleep. Mad isn't it? That's what most people think anyway. Sometimes I think I'm going mad. Am I? No. I can't be. It's so real. I can feel it. It is more than a nightmare. Trapped. Trapped under the hideous black carpet that chokes the sky. Darkness complete. Shadows begin to move, writhing, with an eerie shrill sound of the sucking of the air. Unmoving, I watch. Without breathing. Without thinking. The wind pounds against my face like a thundering waterfall. My breath illuminates the sky in a vivid cloud of white smoke. A trail of ivy cradles gravestones like newborn babies. An ominous feeling of dread seeps through my bones. I am in a churchyard. This is no ordinary churchyard. This is where it happened. He was standing over there. I remember now. Right next to that cross. I shouldn't have done it should I? But I had no choice. There was no way out at the time. I can feel him now. Watching me like a hawk. His hot breath creeping up my neck. Hark! What was that? Did you hear it? There it is again. I turn my head slowly to locate the sound. It's coming from the church. The sound is distant and musical – almost menacing. The organ! It plays on like an instrument of torture. I hold my breath. It stops. One . . . two . . . three. There it is again. Calling me. Calling me so softly at first; so softly it could be the blood rushing to my ears. I can hear the words. Katherine . . . Katherine. Come and find me. You know you want to. I'm walking. Walking. My feet have a mind of their own. Uncontrollable. Eyes glued in front of me. I feel like a ventriloquist's dummy. The church door lies in front of me, like the gateway to hell. My hand trembles violently as I push the heavy iron handle forward. Then the door slams behind me with a metallic slice, like a falling guillotine. Silence. Nothing can be heard except the soft pit-pat of rain. The stillness is worse than noise. I know he's in here. I can feel his eyes – watching me. Stalking me. I can smell him. The smell of decay and dried blood wafts up my nose like rotten eggs. I feel sick. A thin hot trail of sweat runs down my temple. I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here now! But where is the door? It was behind me. That noise. There it is again. That faint tune. Sheer black terror is sweeping though me, every hair on my body erected. It is dark. So dark. Too dark. My entire body goes cold with terror. Something is watching me. Something is hunched over the organ. Something is there. No. It can't be. Can it? Just one yard away from me. On my feet, skin crawling and body washed with adrenaline. He plays on. Back turned, but I know he is aware of my presence. My neck prickles as I edge away. The music stops. I walk backwards. Away. Going nowhere. My eyes afraid too – open painfully wide, then narrow – struggling to focus. My eyes close in the terrifying reality of it, lips mouthing frantic prayers, teeth clenched. I dare not look upon his face. I can smell his breath; making me feel nauseated. Heart banging like a drum. I can't stand much more of this. I've got to get out of here. I must open my eyes. I must go. He breathes hard, and a raging movement disturbs his limbs. His yellow skin has sunk into his body, showing the crevices of his bones. His hair, of a lustrous black, reminds me of a beetle. These features only form a more revolting contrast of his eyes. They glow in their own light, like fire fox. They are cold, ravenous. So different. Every shred of decency, kindness, forgiveness and passion, is gone. Replaced by the unmistakable look of a predator. His jaw opens, saliva dripping down his chin. He breaks into a fiendish grin. He cackles loudly, echoing across the hollow room. Stop! Make him stop. Make it go away. Make him disappear. I never could've imagined . . .never dreamed of such a foul creature. The devil of devils. I've never looked him directly in the face before. His gaze is hypnotic, mesmerizing. He lifts his arm up, his long knifelike fingers pointing towards the ceiling – clenches his fists, so tight – a trail of blood slowly trickles down, like a falling raindrop. He thrusts his arm down in anger; causing a sickening crack as it hits the organ. I shudder violently. He wants to punish me. He's going to do it properly. Whimpering, I move away. I can't watch this wretch lead me to my merciless death. I'd rather die with my dignity left alone. A scorched, rotting smell fills my lungs. I can't breathe. Gagged. I am going to die. No! I will run. I will save myself. I can't. He is too strong. He throws back his demon head, and lets out a howl of laughter. I look away. Trying not to look upon his face. I can feel fear ripping; opening my chest. Can he not see that I have suffered enough? Can he not see I am sorry? I can feel a surge of dizziness rush through me as my eyes rush in and out of focus. I stand still, very straight, as if paralysed. He rests his cold, lifeless hands on my cheek. My heart contracts with sorrow and pain. My knees buckle. I grab the organ to stop me from falling. This is not happening, I'm thinking. Why? Why are you doing this? Have you no heart? No soul? You did . . . once. But now it is long gone. Buried forever. Now leaning over, to kiss me goodbye – lips purple and cracked, flesh peeling off his face like the petals of a rose. His eyes glittering. A gust of wind whips my hair, stinging some feeling back into my cheeks – some coherence back into my brain. He puts his hands round my neck. Gasping for breath. I feel like a stuffed animal. Like a balloon about to pop. He is angry. He is not going to let go. Please . . .God no! I wake up. Neck throbbing with pain. Sucking in every ounce of air. Relieved. The wind wails as it bangs against the cold glass window. A faint knocking on the door, a gentle rattle of the knob. My door creaks. I stare into oblivion as my life flashes before me. I can feel him. Watching me. Trapped.