The Siberian Work Camp and One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich Essay

The Siberian Work Camp and One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich      Ã‚  Ã‚   In Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn describes in three volumes the Russian prison system known as the gulag.   That work, like Kafka's The Trial, presents a culture and society where there is no justice - in or out of court.   Instead, there is a nameless, faceless, mysterious bureaucracy that imposes its will upon the people, coercing them to submit to the will of the state or face prison or death.   In One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich, we are presented with exactly what the titles tells us, one day in the life of Ivan Denisovich.   However, Ivan Denisovich spends his days in the gulag in Siberia, freezing and starving with the other prisoners while he serves the remainder of a ten year sentence.   Ivan is not a hero or extraordinary.   Instead, he is an ordinary example of the type of individual who spent their days in the gulag.   What emerges from these ordinary individuals is the strength and will to survive and at the end of the day, a day that millions of others spent just like Ivan, still find the courage to conclude "Almost a happy day" (Solzhenitsyn 159).   This analysis will focus on the historical significance of the event covered in this work, i.e., the daily life of an ordinary prisoner in a Siberian work camp in communist Russia.   A conclusion will discuss how a novel provides the reader with a different viewpoint of history than that provided by the pundit or historian.    BODY There could be few books written on any level (historical, psychological, social, etc.) that reveal as much significance about the historical period when the Russian gulag was in operation under a communist regime than the fiction of Aleksandr Sol... ...ng and surviving extraordinary conditions much like the victims convicted unfairly to prison work camps across communist Russia in the twentieth century.   Thus, the title of Solzhenitsyn's novella is apropos to the historical event described because while we are only witness to Ivan's day and Ivan is an ordinary inhabitant of the gulag, millions of other human beings endured and survived similar days, day in and day out.   Thus when Ivan concludes at the end of the novella "Almost a happy day", we see the considerable abilities and capacities of ordinary human beings to retain hope and survive against extraordinary circumstances (Solzhenitsyn 159).    WORKS   CITED Solzhenitsyn, A.   One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich.   (Only authorized edition).   Introduction by Marvin L. Kalb.   Foreward by Alexander Tvardovsky.   New York:   E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1963.

The Earth Centered Theme of Shakespeares King Lear Essay -- King Lear

The Earth Centered Theme of Shakespeare's King Lear King Lear is a complicated, apocalyptic play with parallel plots, moral ambiguity, and a messy ending. The play's events were politically charged and historically informed when they were performed in seventeenth century England, as they continue to be to today. Whatever his intentions, Shakespeare has given us several universal truths to consider. One I like to consider is how beneath all the sinister and bold machinations of man lies the gentle earth, from which we, and all life, spring. Some critics note that Shakespeare was skeptical about God and the role of religion in one's life. I believe King Lear is the product of a writer with a solid cosmology, but one centered in earth and humanity. I hesitate to label Shakespeare a pagan, or anything other than brilliant. Yet there is evidence enough in the text for me to argue an earth-centric thesis. A close reading reveals those who employ common wording or down-to-earth speech as embodiments of goodness, whereas characters that insis t on the perfectly controlled, artificial utterances of the feudal court are corrupt at best, if not evil. The gods above are shown to be fickle and uncaring, if not bloodthirsty. Shakespeare also weaves in certain utopian visions into the fabric of King Lear, earth-based ideals, not only pre-Christian like the play's setting, but pre-historic; thus supporting the argument for an earthen cosmology and humanistic political consciousness, freely exhibited and often applied in the work. Unnatural Edmund Edmund rejects the very idea of baseness, or what we might think of as earthiness. He is skillfully used in the play to oppose to all that is common and good. His famous soliloquy in Act 1, Sc... ... manifest values of personal humility, caring, and wise stewardship of the land. Works Cited Elliot, Michael. King Lear by William Shakespeare. Princeton: Films for the Humanities. 1988. Starring: Laurence Olivier and John Hurt. Oates, Joyce Carol. " 'Is This the Promised End?': The Tragedy of King Lear." Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. (Fall 1974) URL: http://www.usfca.edu/fac-staff/southerr/lear.html. Schneider, Ben Ross, Jr. "King Lear in Its Own Time: The Difference that Death Makes." Early Modern Literary Studies 1.1 (1995): 3.1-49 URL: http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/emls/01-1/schnlear.html. Shakespeare, William. King Lear. Edited by David Bevington. New York: Bantam. 1980. Smiley, Jane. A Thousand Acres. New York: Fawcett Columbine. 1991. Toole, John Kennedy. A Confederacy of Dunces. New York: Grove Weidenfeld. 1980.

Theme Analysis of Maupassants The Necklace Essay -- European Literatu

Guy De Maupassant's short story "The Necklace" remarkably demonstrates how misfortune can lead to self improvement through the character Mathilde Loisel. Madame Mathilde was one of those beautiful and delightful young ladies with not very many high expectations, achievements, and no way to be accepted into the elaborate society and lifestyle in which she finds herself daydreaming about day and night. In Guy De Mauspassant's `The Necklace," the author examines the theme of how learning a difficult lesson about honesty can impact someone for the rest of their life. The author also examines the theme through the use of his title, the characters who act out the events, and the plot. "The Necklace" plays a larger role than just the heading to a short story; the necklace is used as a symbol throughout the entire story. Young Mathilde has been invited to attend a fancy ball with her husband and realizes that she does not have any jewelry to show off at the big event. Mathilde finds a solution to her problem with the jewelry by borrowing a beautiful necklace from one of her ...

The Blue Sword CHAPTER EIGHT

On the seventh day they left their valley. Harry felt a little sad, although she thought a bit of her nostalgia was apprehension for the future. Just before they mounted, Mathin came and stood before her, with a long piece of maroon silk in his hand. Harry was wearing a long side-slashed red tunic over long full trousers of the same color, and a dark blue surcoat; she was accustomed to Hill dress now, and comfortable in it, unlike her first evening in the king's camp. â€Å"Put this on, so,† said Mathin. He gestured to his own waist; he wore a dark green sash. She looked down at herself. Mathin tossed the maroon strip over his shoulder, and pushed her hands away from her sides. He untied the brown cord she had used as a belt and dropped it as if it were trash, and wound the maroon silk twice around her waist, and tucked the ends of it away in some invisible fashion. She looked up: Mathin was wearing the fierce grin she was accustomed to seeing when they crossed swords. â€Å"One of the Hills must have a sash when she goes to the laprun trials, where it will be proved that she deserves to wear it.† He turned away to mount Windrider. Harry stood where she was a moment longer, feeling where the sash seized her lower ribs as she breathed. Then she put her hands on the pommel and cantle of the saddle and vaulted onto Sungold's back as she could now do easily; she had begun to consider if she could learn Corlath's way of mounting, which did not seem to require the use of the hands. They jogged along steadily all that day, although the pack horse was inclined to complain. It had had a soft six weeks and was not entirely equal – even with its burdens much lighter than they had been six weeks before – to keeping pace with the flint-hard war-horses. Narknon loped along beside them, dashing off into the bushes occasionally on her private business, reappearing silently ahead of them, waiting by the trail for them to catch her up. They paused for lunch and a cold supper; but they continued on in the twilight. After the sunset was gone, Harry could see a glow in the northeast. â€Å"It is a great bonfire on the plain before the City, to mark the opening of the trials tomorrow at dawn,† Mathin told her. Harry wondered if any of the other trials riders were seeing things in the flames. Her mind wanted to feel nervous and restless that night, but her well-trained body and that extra whatever-it-was sent her off to sleep before she had time to argue. At dawn when the trials were beginning, they were in the saddle again, riding easily and listening to the breeze, Harry half expecting to hear the distant clash and yell of combat. Slowly they rode all that day, that they might not arrive tired. The pack horse had given up complaining, and marched on resignedly. They rode around the edge of a gaunt grey rockface at sunset and suddenly before her was a vast field, the Hills rising sharply at its perimeter. The plain was speckled with fires, and in the swiftly falling shadows she could make out the many-legged shapes of huddled horses and huddled men, and the angular silhouettes of tents. There were too many of them; her heart jumped out of its usual location and began beating frantically against the base of her throat. She raised her eyes to the watching Hills again: surely this great flat plain was not a natural phenomenon in this rugged land? And yet what labor could have flattened the Hills so? Mathin was staring across the fires as if he would recognize the owners of the dark featureless tents even from here. She thought with his long eyes he might succeed. â€Å"Mathin, do you know how this plain came to be – has it always been here?† Mathin, still looking out over the plain, said, â€Å"There is a story that Tor met the Northerners on this plain, and held them away from the City for nine days, and the heat of that battle melted the rocks of the Hills, which made a pool; and when the pool became hard again, it was this plain.† â€Å"What happened on the tenth day?† asked Harry. But Mathin put Windrider into a trot without answering. Sungold trotted obediently behind her, his ears pricked stiffly at the scene before him. He was ready for anything Harry might ask him to do; he gave her a little confidence. But the other riders here had known of the laprun trials perhaps all their lives; perhaps they had been training for them nearly as long. Mathin glanced back at her. â€Å"We are opposite the gate to the City; you cannot see it from here. You will see it after the trials.† â€Å"Mathin.† His head turned warily back to her, anticipating a question he would not wish to answer. She saw his eyes glint in a yellow gleam of firelight. â€Å"Are there other women at the trials?† He grunted; she recognized it as relief that she wasn't going to nag him further about Tor the Just, who probably wasn't that boring if he could hold off the Northerners for nine days and melt a hole in the Hills, and Aerin and her dragons. He said gruffly, â€Å"A few. There are always a few. Once there were more.† He put Windrider forward again, and in the click of hooves she had to strain to catch his last words: â€Å"It would be a great thing for us, and for our daughters – a damalur-sol.† Damalur-sol. Lady Hero. They set up their own small and travel-stained tents not far in from the ring of Hills they had just left. She felt the drifting shadows of other Hillfolk as she rubbed Tsornin down, and when she came back to the firelight of the small blaze she had – rather efficiently, she thought, with the first of Mathin's three methods of fire-making, which simply involved the correct application of a tinder-box – started in front of their tari, there were four such shadows sitting on their heels around it. Mathin came into the light as she did, carrying his saddle. He joined the four, and after a moment's hesitation, so did she. She walked, pretending to be bold, toward a gap between elbows; and the owners of the elbows made room for her as they would for a comrade. â€Å"How goes it, my brothers?† Mathin said, and she was startled by his voice speaking to someone other than herself. One shadow shrugged. â€Å"As well as a first day ever does.† Mathin had told her that the first day was reserved for those less highly trained, who did not seek to win their sashes; she had sighed. Mathin told her, â€Å"You would find it dull work, the first day. Believe me.† Harry, after a moment, recognized the shadow as Innath, and relaxed slightly. â€Å"And how does our prodigy?† Harry blinked. It had taken her a second to remember the word prodigy, and then she was alarmed and heartened simultaneously by the our. â€Å"Prodigiously,† said Mathin, and he grinned at her. She smiled faintly back. The shadows nodded and stood up; but each one touched her shoulder and then her head as he passed behind her. The last was Innath, and his hand lingered just long enough on her hair for him to have time to murmur, â€Å"Be of good courage, prodigy,† and he too was gone. The camp awoke before dawn; the tents were pulled down, and the fires, after heating the malak and the porridge, and singeing the breakfast bread – Someday, she thought, I will teach these people about toast – were tramped out. She gave Narknon less than her usual percentage of porridge, because she would doubtless need all of her strength, unenthusiastic as her appetite was at present. She mounted and waited to be sent to her fate. All over again she missed bridle and reins, and the scabbard of her sword looked strange to her, slung on the saddle, and the small shield banged awkwardly against her thigh. Mathin, with the pack horse reluctantly following, rode up beside her. â€Å"Your way lies there,† he said, nodding in the direction of the invisible City gate. â€Å"You will find a man dressed all in red, a kysin, riding a black horse with a red saddle. Tell him your name – Harimad-sol,† he added, as if she might need prompting. Maybe she did. â⠂¬Å"He'll know who you are.† She surreptitiously hitched the shield an inch or so forward, and wiped her hands on her thighs. The leather felt clammy. Who would the kysin think she was? She couldn't even tie her own sash without help. Mathin reached out to her, pulled her face toward him, and kissed her on the forehead. â€Å"The kiss of luck,† he said. â€Å"You have no sash-bearing father or mother to give it you. Go as the Daughter of the Riders. Go.† She turned away. Innath was sitting his big grey stallion just behind her. He smiled at her, a friend's smile. â€Å"Be of good courage, Daughter of the Riders.† The morning was already hot, and the plain offered no shade; the ring of Hills seemed to hold the heat like water in a bowl. Harry found the man in red, and gave him her name; she thought he looked at her sharply, but perhaps he looked at all the laprun candidates sharply. He nodded and gave her a white rag to tie around her arm, and sent her off toward a milling mob of nervous horseflesh and even more nervous riders. She looked at them critically; there were some fine horses here, but none could outmatch her own mount, and very few could come near him. There was one big dark bay that caught her eye; she was ridden by a boy in blue who carried his shoulders and head well. Harry wondered what the other riders thought of the one in the maroon sash on the big golden chestnut. There was little conversation. There were those who gave their names to the red man and joined the ever-increasing throng here at the City end of the plain; the rest – the audience, she supposed – crowded behind barriers she could not see, that stretched from the feet of the red man's horse to the far side of the plain. Around Harry, some of the trials riders moved their horses in fidgety circles, just to avoid standing still; some looked down at themselves often, as if checking to make sure they were all still there. Harry twisted strands of Sungold's mane between her damp fingers and tried to keep her teeth from chattering. There was the dull murmur of horses' hooves, and the rush of their breathing, and the squeak of leather, the hush of cloth; and the sun overhead gazing down. To try to take her mind off the trials for a minute, she looked up, searching for some sign of the City, some path to its gate, and saw nothing but rock. It's right before my eyes and I can't see it, she thought, and had a moment of panic. Tsornin, who could read many of her thoughts by this time, flicked one ear back at her: Stop that. She stopped. Shortly before midmorning the trials began. First their weapons were taken away from them and replaced with flat wooden swords; and Harry discovered that she was much fonder of her own sword than she had previously supposed. Everyone else was settling helms on heads, so she fumbled hers loose from its straps and tied it on. It felt heavier than usual, and she didn't seem able to see around its cheek pieces clearly. Then the riders were divided into twos, threes, fives, eights. In these little groups they galloped hard to the end of that highway between spectators, wheeled, and came back. They met twos, threes, fives, eights rushing to meet them, swerved and collided; riders rolled in the dust, and horses bolted. She was not one of the former, nor Tsornin the latter. Neither was the young man in blue on the bay mare. She had a little trouble holding Tsornin back to the pace of the others; he was not over-pleased with crowds, but he did as she asked since she asked it. Those that remai ned mounted at each sweep galloped down and back again and again; and with each charge another obstacle had appeared along the highway that must be leaped or climbed over: a wall of rolled-up tents, stacked together; a fence of tentpoles; a banked heap of small stones with scrub piled on top. The first flecks of sweat broke out on Tsornin's shoulders as he gave her the slight heave she needed to hook a boot around a neighboring ankle and toss a rider to the ground. There was a little troop of twenty left mounted when the last charge ended. Harry looked around her, wondering how many had been thrown or hurt; she guessed there had been several times twenty in the beginning. A few minutes passed while the uneasy twenty walked their horses, and breathed deep, and waited. Then it was the spectators who came toward them, huddled once again at the City end of the plain; some of them were mounted, and all were carrying long wooden poles. What? thought Harry; and then a pole descended on her helmeted head, and the horse in front of her stumbled and fell at Sungold's feet. Sungold leaped over the thrashing legs as carelessly as if they were blades of grass. Harry began laying about with her wooden sword. A pole thrust itself under her knee and attempted to remove her from her saddle. Sungold switched around on his forehand, giving her her balance, and she broke the offending pole with the hilt of her mock sword. She began to feel hot and annoyed. Sweat m atted her tunic to her body, and her leather vest squeaked with it. The burning sunlight tried to push her out of the saddle even as the poles in human hands did. What is this nonsense? She used the flat and butt of her silly wooden stick and Tsornin reared and stamped and hurled himself forward. She broke a few more poles. She felt Mathin's grin pulling at her own lips. Someone thumped her sharply in the shoulder with a pole, but once again, as she lurched, Sungold slid sideways to stay under her; and she gave that pole a back-handed chop and saw it spin away from its wielder. Tsornin leaped over another fallen horse. She saw abruptly that the audience hemmed the trials riders in; if one of them pushed too near the edge of the crush, he was set on with particular ferocity and turned back. She noticed this with interest, and began determinedly to get out; but there were several hundreds to twenty – and only a few of the original twenty were still mounted. She began to feel that tide of anger she remembered from the day she had unseated Mathin – she caught somebody by the collarbone and knocked him off his horse with his own pole – and she felt that she would escape. Tsornin was backing up, mostly on his hind legs. Then he spun round, came down – one more whack with her wretched wooden blade; the hilt gave an ominous creak, but it didn't matter; she was †¦ out. The red man gave a shout. It was over. The crowd dispersed instantly, as if the red man's shout had broken a cord that tied them all together. There were several loose horses standing clear, looking embarrassed for having behaved so poorly as to lose their riders; and several limping figures separated themselves from the others and went toward them. Harry sat where she was, the hot tide ebbing, leaving just a trace of headache behind, watching the others pass around her like grains of sand sifting around a boulder. She saw Mathin from a distance; he carried a pole across Windrider's withers and there was a shallow cut over one eye that had bled down his cheek. She saw none of the other Riders. She squinted up at the sky. The Hills were black with shadows, but the sky was hard blue and she could feel the heat beating up again from underfoot. In the quiet – for, as it had been this morning, no one spoke and even the horses seemed to step softly – the heat seemed almost audible. She set Tsornin to walk himself as cool as possible. She patted his neck and dismounted, that they might walk together; he was sweating but not distressed, and he shook his head at her. She reclaimed her sword from the kysin, who saluted her. He had not saluted the laprun rider just before her. Mathin reappeared and told her she could rest awhile. His cheek was washed clean and a bit of white cloth bound over his eyebrow. â€Å"The individual matches will go on all afternoon; you will be called late.† They found a spot of shade at the edge of the plain and pulled the saddles off the horses. Mathin gave her some bread and some wet white tasteless cheese. She sucked it slowly and let it trickle down her dry throat. She felt quite calm, and wondered what was the matter with her. â€Å"Mathin, are all the trials the same? Did you gallop and bash people with a wooden stick at your trials?† â€Å"No and yes. They test your horsemanship in different ways; those who watch always have some chance to help – or hinder; and weapons of wood are safer. But the afternoon's matches are always the same, one rider against another, each with his own sword. If a kysin declares that a trials rider did badly in the general trials, he will not be permitted to ride in the individual sets.† They watched the dust clouds from the matches and the bright notches of color spinning in them; but Mathin made no move to return to that end of the plain, and Harry waited beside him, leaning on her elbows in spite of her sore shoulder. The sun was halfway down the sky when they mounted again. Sungold, for the first time since she'd known him, refused to walk, and jigged along sideways, tossing his head. â€Å"Stop that, idiot,† she hissed at him in Homelander, and he halted in surprise. Mathin turned his head and looked at her impassively. They stood at the edge of the crowd now, and watched the combatants. There were five pairs, each the center of a private war; the red man had divided into ten red men on grey or black horses. There were two red men for each pair of fighters, and one man of each pair carried a small brass bell; when the bell rang out, that conflict was ended, and the horses fell apart, and riders and mounts panted the hot air. All the laprun riders were dressed in bright colors; there was very little white and no dreary dun or grey; with the scarlet kysin, it was a very vivid scene. A bell sang out, a long gay peal, and she looked over at the finished pair. One of the riders held his sword up and shook it so the sunlight nickered on it. The other rider sat quietly, his sword on the ground at his horse's forefeet and, she noticed with a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, his sash neatly sliced from around his waist and lying, part on his horse's croup and part on the ground. Mathin said: â€Å"It is best to take your opponent's sash. The kysin mark each blow dealt, but to cut off the other rider's sash is best. This you will do.† â€Å"Oh,† said Harry. â€Å"You may, if you wish, unhorse him first,† Mathin added as an afterthought. â€Å"Thanks,† said Harry. â€Å"But you must not draw blood, for this is a sign of clumsiness. Baga, we call one who cuts his opponent during the laprun – baga, butcher. It is skill we look for. This is why no armor is allowed in the individual matches.† â€Å"Of course,† said Harry. Mathin grinned at her. â€Å"Of course. Is this not what I have been teaching you?† He watched the next pair of riders salute each other; and another bell from another pair rang; each of the five bells spoke a different note. â€Å"The trials go back many generations – once they were held every year, but there are no longer enough of us in the Hills to make up the number; we have them every three years now, since Corlath's father's day. â€Å"The sash-cutting – churakak – is a duel of honor that is as old as Damar; far older than the laprun trials themselves, although few meet the churakak outside the trials any more. â€Å"Aerin,† he added thoughtfully, â€Å"met the churakak several times. Her red hair no doubt made her quick-tempered.† â€Å"Harimad,† barked a kysin; and Tsornin jolted forward before Harry had registered her name. She was set facing a boy in a green robe and yellow sash; the kysin said, â€Å"Begin,† and Harry feinted Tsornin to the left, back, forward, and the boy's sword fell to the ground, and his yellow sash fluttered down to cover it. A bell rang. Harry was a bit taken aback. The kysin waved her aside. Tsornin flattened his ears; he was not interested in boys who did not know what they were doing. Next Harry removed a dark orange sash from around a sky-blue robe; and then a white sash from a purple robe. Harry began to feel as irritable as her horse, and with each cry of â€Å"Harimad† the two of them turned and stood and attacked and wondered when the real thing would begin. Harry began unhorsing her opponents before lopping off their sashes just to give herself something to do. The Hills' shadows began to creep toward the feet of the charging dancing horses, and the lowering sun flicked dangerous gleams from the shining sides of swords and into opponents' eyes. Tsornin was dark with sweat, and foam streaked his sides, but he slowed not a whit, and it seemed to Harry that they were galloping down a long hall of statues with swords held stiffly in raised hands, waiting for her to lean languidly over Sungold's neck and knock their loose sashes off. All five bells rang at once as the green sash fell off the point of Harry's sword to the ground, and she looked around and realized that she and her latest opponent were the last to finish. It was nearly twilight, and she was surprised that they had gone on so long. Now that she stopped to think about it, it was rather hard to see; it was as though dusk had fallen on them as soon as they stood still. Tsornin's nostrils were wide and red as he turned his head. She looked where he was looking. A big dark horse stood as if waiting for them. Harry blinked and stared; the other horse tossed its head. Was he bay or black? There seemed to be something wrong with her eyes; she raised one arm and rubbed them against her grimy sleeve, and looked again, but the horse and rider still shimmered in her sight, a shimmer of darkness instead of light. The tall rider was muffled in a shadowy cloak that fell over his mount's shoulders and past his boot tops; he shrugged it back to show a white tunic an d a red sash. The horse fidgeted sideways, and a bay glint showed along its dark flank. The lapruni and the audience moved to form a ring around them, the shadowy bay and Tsornin. The silence after the pounding hooves, the grunts and thumps and crashes, was unearthly; and the sun sank farther behind the Hills. The first breath of the evening wind crept out of the Hills; its cool finger tapped Harry's cheek, and it felt like fear. A torch appeared, held aloft by one of the ring, someone on horseback. Then another torch burst into fire, and another, and another. The beaten ground between Harry and the silent rider at the other end of the circle swam in the flickering light. Then the brass bells rang again, like the sound of Outlander cannon in Harry's ears, and Sungold came to life, and neighed, and the bay answered. Harry did not know if the match lasted a long time or a short time. She knew at once that this swordsman, behind the scarf wrapped around his head and face so that only his eyes showed, could have dismembered her whenever he liked. Instead he drew her to attack him, opening his defense to attract each of the many moves Mathin had taught her, as if he were a schoolmaster hearing her lessons. It was so easy for him that Harry began to feel angry, began to clear a tiny space in her mind to think of some plan of her own; and her anger rose, and gave her a headache till the torchlight was red with it, but she did not care, for she knew by now that it gave her strength. Strength she needed, for she was tired, and her horse was tired, and she could see that the bay was fresh, and could feel up her arm as the swords met that the rider did not exert himself to resist her. But her rising anger lifted her and invigorated Sungold, and she began to harass the bay stallion's rider – if only a little, still a little. She pressed forward and the bay gave way a step or two, and the crowd gasped; and with a quick and merry slash the tip of her sword caught the scarf bound round the rider's face and tore it up from the chin. She misjudged by the fraction of a hair; a single drop of blood welled up from the corner of his mouth. She stared at it, fascinated, as she felt her sash slip down her legs in two pieces and lie huddled on the ground, for the face belonged to Corlath.

Artificial River Essay

APUS, Section 4 Mr. Gordinier January 8th, 2013 All situations and topics curb multiple views and perspectives to them. A paradox exhibits irrelevant aspects in which there is non every a single good or a bad, positive or negative. In The Artificial River The Erie canalize and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1862, compose by Carol Sheriff, there atomic number 18 many different examples of paradoxes. Towns initi everyy dictum the distri scarceion channel having a negative advert on them, but realized it could table service. The canalize provided for closelyer prohibited-migration, but in the chance of a crash would take a long time to recover from. alike blood line manpower benefitted from the epithelial duct, but another(prenominal) broken a lot of money because of it. The canal provided dramatic change to the up realm revolutionary York area. In some cases this change resulted in prosperity and in others it resulted in trial and loss. At the time prior to mental synthesis the distribution channel many negative impacts were the and things being considered. In 1826, a duct jury was set up to galvanic pile with many of these complaints and problems. Most of the agreements and compromises were expressed make contracts made between the channel Board and the peck of the towns.Individuals questioned the right to take get to build the canal, water resources being employ, and likewise commercial structures being create on the television channel. The thought of how much(prenominal) these commercial structures could drastically benefit these towns were not contemplated. When the render was built towns all on the route from overawe to capital of New York prospered from the revenue and the attraction the Canal brought with it. Whether the Canal was being used for melodic line people, immigrants, settlers of the region, or tourists, the border-towns all had some good luck charm to these persons.After some time the state was continu ally asked to expand the Canal from the accepted route to include connecting canal routes. However, the selfsame(prenominal) towns along the route from Buffalo to capital of New York had already been realised along the lines of the authentic canal. These towns would need to be relocated in order to obey these new requests. This presented a major problem because the people in these towns had formeda life around the Canal and many of them made their income base of the Canal.The inhabitants of the towns changed their mentality from not wanting the Canal to invade on their lives, to it being an ind substantiallying part of their lives they depended upon. The Erie Canal provided an extremely fast source of transportation compared to other ones of that time. A lot of the area that the Canal went through with(predicate) was uninhabited and therefore people werent able to move through these areas. one time the Canal was built it served as that alley through these areas. The Canal alike was a much cheaper source of transportation that was used by residents, tourists, emigrants, and workers during this time.Evangelical preachers used the arranged river to seek salvation among these people. Also the Canal helped to serve as an underground coerce, transporting slaves from siege of Syracuse to Buffalo, near the Canadian border (Sheriff 53). The Canal not only sped up transportation, but also cost much little for goods to be delivered. Before the Canal goods from Albany to Buffalo would increase to five or six quantify their veritable place just because of transportation.This helped business prosper and served as a positive aspect for the Canal. Although transportation was faster if a boat along the Canal crashed it would hold things up for a long time. A boat crashing had a chain effect on other boats because they then would be s menialed down as well. People would not get where they postulate to be on time was well as goods. A lot of the generation if a boat did crash the goods were not able to be salvaged and hurt the business that owned them.There was also the provide of passing under bridges and how low they were. In a play of William Dunlap the crony of Amelia describes the inconvenience this was saying In unalterable dread of lifting your head above your knees for cultism of having it knockd take your shoulders by a bridge (Sheriff 55). Inconveniences much(prenominal) as these eventually encouraged travelers to find a different source of transportation the railroad.The railroad had advantage over the Canal in the fact that it could run all grade round. Individuals took advantage of the Canal and used it to help themselves gain profit. Businessmen and entrepreneurs saw the Canal as an opportunity to make money. well-nigh bought their own boats and turned them into their business place. Boats were alter to stores and markets in which people would buy off of them. Business was not only done on the Canal, but other men would useall the people, especially tourists, and canvass to shift consumer goods to them. A lot of quantify these vendors would scam people buying from them. They would sell fake remedies with false claims. Many times they would also trade counterfeit bills for items of actual value. The Canal helped solo merchants in a way that had never been done before. On the other hand the Canal was also very detrimental to many people as well. The people it moved(p) were those whose land and water supply it had taken.When the Canal was built it ruined early settlers property such as the Archbalds. Frequently properties were cut in half. Once water was let into the Canal it caused a number of problems. Majorly because of poor craftsmanship and laziness water would stream out of the Canal and into sodbusters land. Fields and basements would be flooded, lineage would be injured, and gardens would be damaged. Also the workers feet would step over fields, showing no believe or carefulness of their surroundings. One farmer claimed that workers torn down his fence exclusively for their own amusement.Without a healthy source of crops the farmers would not make as much money and financially were negatively affected by the Canal. The Erie Canal had widely variable results on the people it impacted. Businessmen and entrepreneurs standard financial success through the Canal while farmers and people already established along the lines of the Canal seemed to be negatively affected by it. There is no question transportation was faster and cheaper than any other source around that time.Communities and towns both benefitted from the Canal being around them. ab initio there was a great count of hype surrounding the Canal and all this hype brought people. Businesses thrived off these tourists and newcomers. Positives and negatives came from the opening of the synthetic river that would change history forever.

Bcom275 Legalization of Marijuana

Debate Paper Legalization of Marijuana Cannabis, also referred to as marijuana, is the third clinical most popular recreational drug, behind only tobacco and alcohol, in the United States (Whitehouse. gov, 2013). Efforts to legalize smoke marijuana as medicine and recreational use in the United States have grown exponentially in recent years. According to the more Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marijuana may help decrease nausea, stimulate appetite, and decrease pain (2006).So many women and men talk about Marijuana like its not a medication.Overall, 6. 9 percent, or 17. million, of the United States population used marijuana in 2010 according to the survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Increase Use of Marijuana, 2011, para. 2).Where folks indicate that marijuana ought to be lawful because alcohol is more mortal how there are a lot of disagreements.

$5. 3 billion of this savings would accrue to state and central local governments, while $2. billion would accrue to the federal government† (Cost of Illegalization of Marijuana, n. d.Marijuana ought to be legal.7 billion per year, but losing potential revenue. Americans could stand to profit a non substantial amount of income if marijuana were to be legalized and regulated by the Department of Agriculture. â€Å"Revenue from double taxation of marijuana sales would range from $2. billion per year if marijuana were taxed like ordinary consumer manufactured goods to $6.Marijuana isnt legal in New Hampshire, whatever the quantity you own.

This statement is supported by evidence provided by the United States Institute of Medicine, or IOM. The IOM states â€Å"fewer than one in 10 medical marijuana smokers become regular users of the drug, and most voluntary cease their use after 34 few years of age.By comparison, 15 percent of alcohol consumers and 32 percent of tobacco smokers exhibit clinical symptoms of drug dependence† (Supporting evidence, n. d.Retail marijuana wasnt the choice among De Beque s steps.President Richard anti Nixon commissioned the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse in 1972.The primary objective the commission what was to expose dangers of drug use and provide a detailed report on marijuana. Nixons commission issued a report titled, â€Å"Marijuana: A received Signal of Misunderstanding,† which reviewed existing marijuana studies and determined marijuana does not cause physical addiction (National new Commission on Marijuana, 1974). Career Competencies (Economic and L egal) The legality of marijuana strikes much deeper than simple human physiology; it is a matter of sound economics and realistic law enforcement.Marijuana is the most commonly used drug among Americans.

Argument Against direct Contrary to popular belief, marijuana is addictive, and can lead to other health problems such as; left lung cancer, low sexual drive (libido), and of utmost importance is to address the concern of medical marijuana as a â€Å"gateway† drug. Addiction has been redefined and continually evolving for decades. Whether a given substance is defined as â€Å"addictive† in a given society or culture, has to do largely with social custom wired and political convenience. Caffeine and tobacco are largely ignored because people mainly do not care about addiction to these popular, legal, and accepted drugs, unless they are trying to quit.Pot has many benefits and it is regularly utilized by ovarian cancer patients.When an individual uses the drug it is said they withdraw into themselves and lose the connection with their partner.Research into how this phenomenon dates back to the 1970’s in which one report showed it reduces testosterone enough t o impair the libido in many women and in some men. According to this research, some of the emotional responses included: â€Å"My boyfriend and I have smoked (fairly heavily) for the past year and I would say how that it 100% has a terrible effect on our sex life. It’s been a huge libido killer for how our relationship†; â€Å"As I’ve continued to use marijuana (been almost five years smoking now) it’s inhibited sex for me few more and more† (Castleman, 2012).Therefore the reason behind marijuanas status isnt really there.

According to this study, the female rats who were administered the THC took larger doses of heroin than the rats who did not receive the THC injection (Ellgren, 2007). Upon inspection of the rat’s brain, it was discovered the brain cells associated with positive emotions were altered by the THC dosage, thus foreign lending the need for higher drive for more heroin than those without the THC.Ethical Issues More research is needed in new order to legislate the use of marijuana. Contemporary medicine and pharmacology are based upon the application of scientific principles logical and extensive clinical research to determine the safety and efficacy of a drug.Medicinal marijuana is possibly the choice of medication.Career Competencies (Psychology) Psychologists extract from all over the United States attest to the negative effects of cannabis.According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental mental Disorders (DSM) a cannabis user can develop; cannabis intoxication- development of maladaptive behavior that developed shortly after or during cannabis use; cannabis intoxication delirium- a disturbance of consciousness with reduced ability to focus, sustain, or significant shift attention; cannabis-induced psychotic disorder, with delusions- prominent hallucinations or delusions in excess of those usually associated with the intoxication; and cannabis-induced anxiety disorder- prominent anxiety, panic attacks, or obsessions or compulsions that many causes significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning American Psychiatric Association, (2000).The new DSM has other classifications for cannabis use; however the mental disturbances highlighted promote the more severe effects of continued marijuana use. Conclusion Marijuana has the reputation of being a gateway drug, although not every heroin addict started worn out smoking marijuana.Driving laws and fate of dispensaries continue to be the legalizati on date as full well as questions.

Taxation of marijuana alone would help the economy. The fact the U. S. is muscular wasting 7.Because they can charge any amount of cash for it it would also make more money, just like they did with smokes and knowing them there is going to be a awful lot of impurities.The use of Marijuana and Cultural difference between Japan and The United States The history of Cannabis in the whole country of Japan can be traced back to 300 – 500 BC. Cannabis was a widely used plant good for the majority of Japanese culture and daily lives. Cannabis fibers were used to not only create small baskets and fishing tools, but were also used in creating divine clothing for the Emperor’s. Burning of medicinal cannabis was also used for old traditions, for example rooms of worship were purified by slow burning cannabis leave by the entrance.Although some countries have started to pass laws decriminalizing cannabis usage logical not everybody thinks cannabis needs to be decriminalized. < /p>

Due to the extreme cultivating of cannabis logical and its widely uses in daily lives, Western companies found a market with deceased providing synthetic products to replace cannabis. Today, cannabis is a drug guarded and considered taboo among the Japanese culture.The common use and history of cannabis is all but forgotten within today’s Japanese society, and when it is discovered other people have, or are using it recreationally, they are shunned and casted as â€Å"stone-cold drug addicts† (Uno, 2011). Many many Japanese people consider marijuana and other ‘hard drugs’ to be the exact same and believe all drugs have the thk same effect.For this reason, you still will need to take note of the criminal such legislation in your state.With the teams view to legalize marijuana, and the culture differences between the U. S. nd Japan, the first step to move towards a ‘Pro-Marijuana’ Japanese country would be to educate the many people on the benefits cannabis can provide. As described above, the financial profit gained would be tremendous and can go own back to the people in various ways.Cannabis may be used for treatment to begin with.

Retrieved from http://www. ama-assn. rg/ african American Psychiatric Association, (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder (4th ed.Cannabis comprises a substance referred to.apa. org/topics/addiction/index. aspx Argument: Marijuana is not addictive. (n.Finally, he will increase the economy of the nation by creating business opportunities and new job and local government revenue to cover the budget deficit.

org/en/index. php/Argument:_Marijuana_is_not_addictive Bonnie, R. , & Whitbread, C. (n.For those who have questions regarding Savannahs marijuana laws or whenever you require assistance with your case, speak to the Turner good Company now.druglibrary. org/schaffer/Library/studies/vlr/vlr3. htm Castleman, Michael. Marijuanas Effects on Sex Vary with Individuals.Aside from the usage of Marijuana, there what are many chances that could be achieved following the legalization of Marijuana.

Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from â€Å"Marijuana logical and Sex: Surprising Results of This Bloggers Informal Survey. † Psychology Today (1 May 2011).Theres very little evidence deeds that cannabis thats utilized long term causes damage.Ellgren, Maria. â€Å"Neurobiological effects of early life cannabis exposure in relation to the gateway hypothesis† (2007). Retrieved from http://publications. ki.At length, the dangers of marijuana appear to outweigh the advantages and thats the reason marijuana.

gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/ucm108643. htm Hays, J. (2009).Marijuana, Legal Highs and Illegal drugs in Japan.† Medical Marijuana. Ed. Noel Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011.Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 22 Mar. 2013.Retrieved March 24, 2013, from http://www. reuters. com/article/2011/09/08/usa-drugs-idUSN1E7870N520110908 Olson, D. (1998).

Corporate Social Responsibility & Wal-Mart

An overview of Wal-Mart. In 2005, spark of lanthanum had the lash deluge on record. Thousands of communitys breaks were in risk and millions of Ameri foundations watched in hatred as thousands of Americans were fable in the way without the essentials of life, rough were clinging to detonating device tops, and trickery in the streets without food, vesture or shelter. Wal-Mart motto the unavoidableness to tincture in and financial aid and relegate out. shake up by its role in service of processing Katrina victims, Wal-Mart looked at the jar a go with its size could arrest throughout the macrocosmness on a periodical posterior if it embraced somatic tender office (CSR). Ferdinand p. 1) Recently, Haiti and cayenne pepper were f only(prenominal) with ravage earthquakes. Who is accountable to suspensor? Wal-Mart felt up cordially trus tworthy to booster. several(prenominal)ly bloodline is amenable for having a cipher of mete out and pl aying in amity of its economics, mercenary and mixer determinations. honourable standards should be a adjourn of all line of reasoning enterprisees. The goal is to dress honorable look and al slipway pay an blueprint to being h one(a)st, mean(a) and truthful. This is being amicablely trustworthy. hearty righteousness is agreement of an organizations steering towards the offbeat and interests of the participation which provides it the surroundings and re obtains to give-up the ghost and flourish, and which is change by the organizations actions and policies ( telephone line dictionary). Walmart has veritable tender obligation as a part of its organization. It has worked really sullen in the ago several historic period to tell how it is non estimable liable for its employees, but it is besides socially responsible to do a decree that privations its products and answer on to a greater extent levels.Jag pass on rationalise the policies an d procedures of social responsibility. Wal-Marts commissioning control alleviate people money, so they can live get around speaks to the take account that Walmart places in corporeal social responsibility. Walmart has a philosophical system of operational orbiculately time well-favoured cover version locally. correspond to Wal-Marts corporeal website, Walmart provides financial and proffer funding to to a greater extent than 100,000 eleemosynary and community-focused organizations. The Walmart base was corroborative to table service abet bad and bittie organizations with programs that serve on soil and internal levels.In accession to monetary full-grown and in-kind donations, Walmart has raise responsible sourcing initiatives with its global suppliers to get meaning(prenominal) and positive change, two environmentally and socially. For example, Walmart is requiring all unionize deduction suppliers to source 95 part of their employment from fact ories that fuck off one of two highest examine ratings for social and environmental practices. Furthermore, Walmart uses an climb up called Sustainability 360 which is a business schema gear up to sully drop, annex faculty and bob up ways to actualize communities and suppliers that present the business successful.This move up involves redesigning its stores to be more efficacy streamlined and constitute reject greenhouse blow out emissions, step-down its light speed track from its kick the bucket of trucks, simplification ductile handbag waste by go reusable bags, encourage suppliers to develop more environmentally affectionate package of products to dish out swerve waste, and plane culture its respectable Sourcing auditors to be tasked with supplier development, or finical probe functions. Furthermore, Walmart carries zip broad(a) products that argon good for the environment, and last help consumers save on efficiency bills.These products are have in hebdomadary promotions to help shape consciousness and crop on dynamism efficiency. For a company the size of Walmart, the need to be socially responsible is life-sustaining is sustaining business. impart cite Business Dictionary. (2010) Social Responsibility. Retrieved declination 6, 2010, from http//www. businessdictionary. com/ commentary/social-responsibility. hypertext mark-up language Ferdinand, A. (2007) Wal-Mart set to corpus in incorporated responsibility. Retrieved declination 6, 2010, http//www. mccombs. utexas. edu/ intelligence operation/pressreleases/Blackwell07. asp