The Slaughter House Five Essays - , Term Papers

The Slaughter House Five THE NOVEL - THE PLOT - Billy Pilgrim, like Kurt Vonnegut, was an American soldier in Europe in the last year of World War II. If you come to know a combat veteran well- a veteran of that war, of the Korean War, or of the war in Vietnam- you will almost always find that his war experience was the single most important event in his life. The sights and scars of war remain with the soldier for the rest of his days, and his memories of death and killing help to shape whatever future career he may make. The same is true for Billy Pilgrim. What he saw and did during his six months on the battlefield and as a prisoner of war have dominated his life. Slaughterhouse-Five shows how Billy comes to terms with the feelings of horror, guilt, and despair that are the result of his war experiences. Billy does this by putting the events of his life in perspective. He reorganizes his life so that all of it occurs within the context of his days in Europe during the war. Thus the novel relates Billy's prewar and postwar history (including his death in 1976, which was many years in the future when Vonnegut was writing this book), but the real story of the novel is the story of Billy's wartime days. All the other events in Billy's life are merely incidental to his time as a soldier and a prisoner of war. You see them as events that come to his mind as he lives, or relives, the last months of the war in Europe. Billy reorganizes his life by using the device of time-travel. Unlike everyone else, Billy Pilgrim doesn't live his life one day after another. He has become unstuck in time, and he jumps around among the periods of his life like a flea from dog to dog. When you meet him in Chapter 2, it is December 1944 and Billy and three other American soldiers are lost in a forest far behind enemy lines. Billy closes his eyes for a moment, drifts back to a day in his past with his father at the YMCA, then suddenly opens his eyes in the future: it's 1965 and he is visiting his mother in a nursing home. He blinks, the time changes to 1958, then 1961, and then he finds himself back in the forest in December 1944. Billy doesn't have much time to wonder about what has just happened. He's captured almost immediately by German soldiers and put onto a train bound for eastern Germany. Aboard the train Billy has a great adventure in the future: on his daughter's wedding night in 1967, he is kidnapped by a flying saucer from the imaginary planet Tralfamadore. The aliens take Billy to their home planet and put him in a zoo. Then, as always seems to happen, Billy wakes up back in the war. The train arrives at a prison camp, and there a group of British officers throw a banquet for the American POWs. Before long he is traveling in time again, to a mental hospital in 1948, where he's visited by his fiance, Valencia Merble. As soon as he recovers from his nervous breakdown, Billy will be set up in business as an optometrist by Valencia's father. Billy is introduced to science fiction by his hospital roommate, Eliot Rosewater, whose favorite author is Kilgore Trout. Trout's writing is terrible, but Billy comes to admire his ideas. Billy travels in time again to Tralfamadore, where he is the most popular exhibit in the zoo. His keepers love talking to Billy because his ideas are so strange to them. He thinks, for example, that wars could be prevented if people could see into the future as he can. Next Billy wakes up on the first night of his honeymoon. After making love, Valencia wants to talk about the war. Before Billy can say much about it, he's back there himself. The American POWs are being moved to Dresden, which as an open city (of no military value) has come through the war unscathed, while almost every other German city has been heavily bombed. Billy knows that Dresden will soon be totally destroyed, even though there's nothing worth bombing there- no troops, no weapons factories, nothing but people and beautiful buildings. The Americans are housed in building number five of the Dresden slaughterhouse. Billy continues his time-travels. He survives a plane crash in 1968. A few years before that, he meets Kilgore Trout. And on Tralfamadore he tells his zoo-mate, Montana Wildhack, about the

Japanese Battleship Yamato in World War II

Japanese Battleship Yamato in World War II One of the largest battleships ever built, Yamato entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1941. The battleship and its sister, Musashi, were the only battleships ever constructed with 18.1 guns. Though incredibly powerful, Yamato suffered from a relatively low top speed as its engines were underpowered. Taking part in several campaigns during World War II, the battleship was ultimately sacrificed during the Allied invasion of Okinawa. Ordered south as part of Operation Ten-Go, Yamato was to break through the Allied fleet and beach itself on the island to serve as an artillery battery. While steaming to Okinawa, the battleship was attacked by Allied aircraft and sunk. Design Naval architects in Japan began work on the Yamato-class of battleships in 1934, with Keiji Fukuda serving as the chief designer. Following Japans 1936 withdrawal from the Washington Naval Treaty, which forbade new battleship construction before 1937, Fukudas plans were submitted for approval. Initially meant to be 68,000-ton behemoths, the design of the Yamato-class followed the Japanese philosophy of creating ships that were bigger and superior to those likely to be produced by other nations. For the ships primary armament, 18.1 (460 mm) guns were selected as it was believed that no US ship with similar guns would be capable of transiting the Panama Canal. Originally conceived as a class of five ships, only two Yamatos were completed as battleships while a third, Shinano, was converted to an aircraft carrier during building. With the approval of Fukudas design, plans quietly moved forward to expand and specially prepare a dry dock at the Kure Naval Dockyards for construction of the first ship. Veiled in secrecy, Yamato was laid down on November 4, 1937. Early Issues In order to prevent foreign nations from learning the actual size of the ship, Yamatos design and cost were compartmentalized with few knowing the true scope of the project. In order to accommodate the massive 18.1 guns, Yamato featured an extremely wide beam which made the ship very stable even in high seas. Though the ships hull design, which featured a bulbous bow and a semi-transom stern, was tested extensively, Yamato was unable to achieve speeds higher than 27 knots making it unable to keep up with most Japanese cruisers and aircraft carriers. This slow speed was largely due to the vessel being underpowered. In addition, this issue led to high levels of fuel consumption as the boilers struggled to produce enough power. Launched with no fanfare on August 8, 1940, Yamato was completed and commissioned on December 16, 1941, shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the beginning of World War II in the Pacific. Entering service, Yamato and its sister Musashi became the largest and most powerful battleships ever built.  Commanded by Captain Gihachi Takayanagi, the new ship joined the 1st Battleship Division. Fast Facts: Japanese Battleship Yamato Overview Nation: JapanType: BattleshipShipyard: Kure Naval DockyardLaid Down: November 4, 1937Launched: August 8, 1940Commissioned: December 16, 1941Fate: Sunk in action, April 7, 1945 Specifications Displacement: 72,800 tonnesLength: 862 ft. 6 in. (overall)Beam: 127 ft.Draft:: 36 ft.Propulsion: 12 Kampon boilers, driving 4 steam turbines and 4 propellersSpeed: 27 knotsRange: 7,145 miles at 16 knotsComplement: 2,767 men Armament (1945) Guns 9 x 18.1 in. (3 turrets with 3 guns each)6 x 6.1 in.24 x 5 in.162 x 25 mm anti-aircraft4 x 13.2 mm anti-aircraft Aircraft 7 aircraft using 2 catapults Operational History On February 12, 1942, two months after its commissioning, Yamato became the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. That May, Yamato sailed as part of Yamamotos Main Body in support of the attack on Midway. Following the Japanese defeat at the Battle of Midway, the battleship moved to the anchorage at Truk Atoll arriving in August 1942. The ship remained at Truk for much of the next year largely due to its slow speed, high fuel consumption, and a lack of ammunition for shore bombardment. In May 1943, Yamato sailed to Kure and had its secondary armament altered and new Type-22 search radars added. Returning to Truk that December, Yamato was damaged by a torpedo from USS Skate en route. Yamato and Musashi at Truk, 1943. Public Domain After repairs were completed in April 1944, Yamato joined the fleet during the Battle of the Philippine Sea that June. During the Japanese defeat, the battleship served as an escort in  Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawas Mobile Fleet. In October, Yamato fired its main guns for the first time in battle during the American victory at Leyte Gulf. Though hit by two bombs in the Sibuyan Sea, the battleship aided in sinking an escort carrier and several destroyers off Samar. The following month, Yamato returned to Japan to have its anti-aircraft armament further enhanced. After this upgrade was completed, Yamato was attacked by US aircraft with little effect while sailing in the Inland Sea on March 19, 1945. With the Allied invasion of Okinawa on April 1, 1945, Japanese planners devised Operation Ten-Go. Essentially a suicide mission, they directed  Vice Admiral Seiichi Ito to sail Yamato south and attack the Allied invasion fleet before beaching itself on Okinawa as a massive gun battery. Once the ship was destroyed, the crew was to join the islands defenders. Operation Ten-Go Departing Japan on April 6, 1945, Yamatos officers understood that it was to be the vessels last voyage. As a result, they permitted the crew to indulge in saki that evening. Sailing with an escort of eight destroyers and one light cruiser, Yamato possessed no air cover to protect it as it approached Okinawa. Spotted by Allied submarines as it exited the Inland Sea, Yamatos position was fixed by US PBY Catalina scout planes the next morning. Japanese battleship Yamato blows up, following massive attacks by U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945. An escorting destroyer is at left. Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane. US Naval History and Heritage Command Attacking in three waves, SB2C Helldiver dive bombers  pummeled the battleship with bombs and rockets while TBF Avenger torpedo bombers assaulted Yamatos port side. Taking multiple hits, the battleships situation deteriorated when its water damage-control station was destroyed.  This prevented the crew from counter-flooding specially designed spaces on the starboard side to keep the vessel from listing. At 1:33 PM, Ito directed the starboard boiler and engine rooms flooded in an effort to right Yamato. This action killed several hundred crewmen working in those spaces and cut the battleships speed to ten knots. At 2:02 PM, the admiral elected to cancel the mission and ordered the crew to abandon ship. Three minutes later, Yamato started to capsize. Around 2:20 PM, the battleship rolled over and began sink before being torn open by a massive explosion. Of the ships crew of 2,778, only 280 were rescued. The US Navy lost ten aircraft and twelve airmen in the attack.

Changes in Art History with Emphasis on the Mid-Twentieth Century Essay

Art during the mid-twentieth century contained some of the most important changes art history. These explosive times were counter-balanced with explosive popular culture. More historical events, abrupt changes, and turbulence occurred from the end of World War II until the height of the Vietnam War than in any time period. Before this time, styles of art had lasted generations. In the 1960’s numerous important art movements were happening at the same time. There were variations on variations, movements inside of other movements. Therefore, because of the amount of independent and integrated pieces of movements and styles, a lot can be missed in a short paper. The amount that happened in these twenty-five years is enough to fill volumes, and so, this is just a brief scraping off the top of what during these times—the most tumultuous times in American History. INTRODUCTION: The 1940’s through the 1960’s were not only some of the most socially and politically volatile times in American History, but were the catalyst for the numerous changes in which occurred in American Popular culture during these and following years. Instead of experiencing the trauma which resulted after World War I’s end, post-World War II United States returned fairly easily back to everyday life. Although there were some problems converting from a wartime to a peacetime economy in the late 1940’s, Americans took on the task and entered the 1950’s on a very auspicious high note. During the time period after World War II, the United States experienced many changes. Technology was abundant and the rate at which new inventions, industries and technologies came about was at a rate never seen before. From a television in every home to the first computers and ultimately space flight, these two decades after World War II were crowded with advancements. S ome of the most dramatic changes came in the field of art. What was once a single, slow road of popular culture advancement branched off into thousands of smaller, faster changing roads. Some of these â€Å"roads†, which can be seen as changing styles, or movements, in art, whipped Americans through a roller coaster of change in what they saw around them. The End of World War II: The major art movement taking place in the United States directly after World War II was ther in their concept. So as we start in a new millenium, we have to ask ourselves what will be the next great movement in art? Could there be anything again as influential as the times that existed here? Only time will tell. Bibliography: Cagle, Van M., Reconstructing Pop/Subculture: Art Rock and Andy Warhol, New York: Sage Publications, 1995 Yapp, Nick, Ed. The 1950s, Chicago: Konemann, 1998 Yapp, Nick, Ed. The 1960s, Chicago: Konemann, 1998 Reed, T.V., American Popular Culture. (online) Available: http://www.wsu.edu/~amerstu/pop/tvrguide.html, February 17, 2000 Seitz, William C., Art in the Age of Aquarius, 1955-1970, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992 Alloway, Lawrence. American Pop Art, New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1974 Dynamic Movements. (online) Available: Http://library.thinkquest.org/17142/dynamic-movements/ Jansen, H.W., The History of Art, New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1997, p. 914-915 Warhol’s Reflection of the Social Times. (online) Available: Http://vc.lemoyne.edu/ant305/students/7_abarnett/page3.htm Marcel Duchamp. (online) Available: http://www.peak.org/~dadaist/English/Graphics/duchamp.html

Open Table - Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Open Table - - Case Study Example Another reason is that the closest competitors such as MenuPages.com are limited in their services in that though they offer access to restaurant menus and reviews, the visitors to their site cannot make reservations and MenuPages site covers only eight U.S cities. OpenTable has also partnered with onetime competitor Urbanspoon, enabling it to acquire Urbanspoon’s reservation management system, Rezbook, thus becoming Urbanspoon’s reservation provider. Apart from that OpenTable is committed to shrewd technological investments such as mobile Web site, mobile applications that work on just about every Smartphone platform. It has introduced an iPad app that fully integrates with the ERB software and GPS enables mobile uses to locate and make reservations at nearby venues. A new addition has also enabled users to pay for meals with a credit card directly from its apps. 2. The following characteristics of restaurant market make it difficult for a reservation system to work; Foremost restaurant booking systems require a fully secure reservation and cancellation functionalities that should come with confirmation of e-mail. This particular feature is real time and ensures that you are keeping abreast with developments as they take place real time.Secondly,some user interface are difficult to use for the online visitors, making them to be not user friendly to any potential customer who may want to use them.Thirdly,the fact that while in the market of restaurant reservation system online, you require a system that is web based as compared to the one that is installed or rather upgraded on a physical machine makes it difficult for a reservation system to work. 3. OpenTable’s market is susceptible to network effects which means that the more people use it, the more utility the system delivers, which made OpenTable’s growth to continually provide diners with expanded choices. More diners have thus

Memo of the textbook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Memo of the textbook - Essay Example He intends to implement the remaining portion of patient protection and affordable care act. The current president also intends to solve the problems within the payments system that threatens physician’s reimbursement. The policy will reform the medical malpractices to reduce the frequent medical lawsuits without arbitrary caps that do not lower cost of care in any way. (Obama and Lisa 1) Obama believes in a service that is affordable to everyone. The health care benefits the people in that at 65 the people are legible for free health care and subsidized costs of drugs. The children or adults under the age of 26 are also legible to be covered under the parent’s health care. The costs of insurance will also be improved due to the health care credits. Most of the democrats have discussed this in the past. The major concern has been on how the lives of the common man can be improved so as to ensure equality in the provision of fundamental services. The health care program for Obama intends to extend the service to over 30 million Americans who cannot access the service due to its cost. The Obamacare offers middle class Americans an opportunity to purchase health insurance. When a plan which only solves the problem of a few tycoons around is adopted, it will translate to a reduced voter expectation from the middle class populace. If the reasoning is based on the impacts the care will have on the lives of the common population, then Obama care should be in a position to appeal to people. It will convince the common citizens since they feel it is part of them. The bill believes in the simple principality of equality when it comes to respecting the lives of the people. Various states should also focus their funding towards the health care plan. The team behind the plan is strictly following the implementation of the plan that will see Americans get quality and affordable health care services. (Obama and Lisa

Theoretical Framework Essay Example for Free

Theoretical Framework Essay Amongst the continued violence between Sudan government’s Army and Minnawi’s SLM/A, Minni Arcua Minnawi, was sworn as the senior assistant to Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir. This appointment was a result of the agreement that was signed by the SLM/A and the government in the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).   The Darfur Peace Agreement was signed on May 5, 2006 between the Sudan’s government and the various factions in the country that were involved in civil war since the last five decades. It would be worthwhile if we can go through the disturbing history of Sudan which has hardly known what peace is since its independence. â€Å" The Sudan Peace Process – A comparison of the Addis Abba Peace agreement of 1972 and the Comprehensive Peace agreement of 2005† by Sara Basha in March 2006 not only gives a comprehensive review of the violent past of the country but also compares the two most important peace agreements in the country that promised peace to its people. According to Sara Basha, the reason the tension started brewing in the country was the divided rule that the Britishers implemented. They had demarcated such a strong line between the north Sudan and South Sudan that people no more got along each other. The Britisher’s deliberate emphasis on the North in terms of governance, business and appreciation led to its growth as more developed and rich when compared to south. In fact, at the time of independence, there was only one school in the whole of south Sudan. Over time, religion and ethnic differences also contributed to the conflict thereby making it a North Arabs vs. South Christians war. Sara Basha’s review gives a clear outline of the two civil wars that was fought in the country. The first civil war broke out immediately after independence, i.e., from 1955 and it lasted till 1972 when the Addis Abba Peace Agreement was signed. There was period of ten years of null when the people of Sudan first tasted peace. The agreement was signed under the rule of General Jaffer Nemeiri who was quite instrumental and influential in Sudan’s political history. It was due to his compliance and non-compliance of the agreement that failed the whole peace process. The first civil war, as Sara Basha reveals, was fought for South Sudan’s autonomy from the oppressive North. The Addis Abba Agreement sought to address that issue and South Sudan was given regional autonomous powers. Peace, according to Sara, was brought in to the picture when both the parties dutifully observed the conditions in the agreement. However, from 1977, hitherto peace-engaging ruler, Nemeiri started Islamization of the whole country and in 1983, imposed some new decrees and division of the south Sudan into three provinces without even consulting the regional heads of the South. That proved the last straw and the second civil war broke out which lasted for twenty one painful years. As Sara mentioned, this time the reason cited was not autonomy but a â€Å"New Sudan†. The faction fighting wanted a united Sudan that would ensure a fresh beginning to the nation.   The war ended in 2005 when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed between the Government and SLM/A. This historical agreement was signed in January 2005. The review states the various provisions in the agreement that can work wonders if they were followed strictly. The review also questions how effective this peace process can be. Provided the non-compliance of the conditions in the previous peace agreement by the Government, the review does seem a bit pessimistic about the outcome of the process. It specially mentions the not-so-enthusiastic face the government has managed to put forth about the power sharing between the rebel factions and it. Moreover, the transition of the SLM/A from a rebel faction to a governing body was also under question. The current study seeks to fill this gap and gives the situation post-2005 when the implementation of CPA started. The Sara Basha’s review had come up with a hypothesis that the CPA can bring lasting peace in the country if both the sides adhere to it. The current study gives further credence to this hypothesis as it clearly explains the steps taken by the Sudanese government to implement the provisions. The election of Minnawi in the cabinet, the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), the efforts to resolve problems with the Eastern Front give weight to the whole peace process. There are, however, continued reports of deteriorating situation in the country where the human rights have been violated unabashedly. This partly answers the various questions and hypothesis raised by Sara Basha’s review. Though the current review does not explicitly state that the peace process would be a failure, the unabated violence in the country definitely leaves much to be desired. The current review cleared lot of gaps that Sara Basha’s review sought in future reviews. One of the main issues was the Darfur conflict and others that it could not cover. The current review not only covers that but also gives insights in to the latest developments in the issue. And the latest development doesn’t yet give promise of the lasting peace that Sara Basha’s review wished for.       References Basha, Sara. 2006. Sudan Peace Process: A comparison of Addis Abba Peace Agreement of 1972 and the comprehensive peace agreement of 2005. Online. Available from internet, http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/politics/depnews/ProposalPresentations/2006/Proposal%20Basha%20S%2017mar06.doc

The New York Yankees 98 Season :: American America History

The New York Yankees' 98 Season As anyone on the face of the civilized world knows by now , the New York Yankees have just completed one of the most dominating seasons in the history of professional sports. In the process, as many phemomenoms before them , sports or otherwise, they have captivated not only a city and a nation but much of the planet as well. I have seen Pakistani and Korean tourists visiting New York for the first time buying and proudly wearing Yankee caps and T-shirts. These people , obviously, know little or nothing about the game and are not truly baseball fans but are testimony to the Yanks compelling accomplishments. But the full appreciation of what this team has done in 1998 belongs mainly to the dyed in the wool baseball fan. The guy who's been following baseball as a religion , collecting cards , reading box scores and fantasying about being a big league hero long before his puberty began. It is among this elite group where now, in the afterglow of the success and celebration , that the endless debate over whether this is the greatest team of all time will rage in every locker room, bar room and office for most of this offseason. Many of the self proclaimed baseball gurus from all of the radio and TV talk shows and web sites have decided to take the politically correct approach and say that you cant really compare this team with the great ones of eras past. They say it's an "apples and oranges" comparison. I say this is a load ! You can , and if you're a true fan , should compare them. And you can draw definitive conclusions. I agree that the debate over the "greatest" in most arenas is hopelessly subjective. Who was a greater president , Lincoln or Roosevelt? If you ask who was the sexiest female screen star ever , depending on who you talk to and what their tastes were , you'd be as likely to hear Jean Harlow or Lana Turner as Sharon Stone. The key difference here is that these qualities cannot really be quantitatively measured. The fundamentals of being a great leader or being sexy have not really evolved over the centuries. Our interpretation of these things may have but not the fundamental qualities themselves. So comparing these qualities from different eras would be very very subjective.

Effects of Social Networking Sites Essay

Traffic to social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace has increased due to ongoing popularity with younger Internet users. Online villainy, such as cyber-bullying and sexting among the younger generations, has become alarmingly frequent through these sites. Recently, teenagers and tweens have not only been the victims, but also the perpetrators of these acts. This growing trend is said to be attributed to the amount of time these children spend on the Internet, mainly on social networking sites. The Internet provides a place where its users feel that their identity is concealed, allowing them to post or distribute harmful things that they wouldn’t normally do in a social setting. Through this younger generation, the online self has found a way to escape from its confinements on the web and work its way into society. Schools are struggling to discipline students who speak out of line to authorities and use crude language inside what is supposed to be a secure environment. Some say that the Internet is causing intelligence and mannerisms to decrease with extended use. Another problem, that is being brought to light, is the evolving form of bullying through the Internet. Parents and educators are having a hard time preventing this due to unfamiliarity they still consider bullying to be a violent act through physical contact. With the new generation, bullying is virtual as well as physical, flip-flopping between settings. The extreme contrast between these two different types of bullying makes the online one both hard to spot, and hard to discipline; the rules are different. Read more:Â  Social Networking Sites and its Impact on Youth The news has reported tragic stories of young adults committing rash acts after enduring online bullying that include: fighting back with escalated violence, sending computer viruses, dropping out of school and even committing suicide. A very small percent of children that are cyberbullied actually talk to their parents about the problem. With Internet violence rising with the increase in social networking sites’ members, younger Internet users must be educated on the dangers of the online world, and the emotional and mental affects that can come from Internet abuse.

Changing Landscape of Health Care Essay

Health care will always be a revolving door of change, and growth. With today’s voice in patient population it has been easier to guide where health care needs to fix itself. Technology and health care has been a positive collaboration thus far. This paper will discuss the shifts taking place in the health care market, the current and a potential challenge, how health care is handling challenges, and how has marketing changed? The major shifts that have been taken place are the hands on approach patients have with their own health care decisions and progress. With today’s health care challenges of managing electronic health records in the patients hands, many medical technology’s have been an interactive play ground in the digital health care age. This then allows the patient to gain and have more control in their health care process. Patients are able to see what they need to accomplish to better their health, and it allows for the patient to make the necessary changes to better their health care needs. The current changes are the interactive approach that the patient population will now have with their electronic health record. This allows the patient to see their history and what predisposed disease’s they should test for. Potential changes I can see coming is being able to pay medical bills through the patient’s electronic health care record. With the new addition of mobile phone applications this can help the patient to become more involved in their health care status. The challenges in electronic health care records will always be the concern of patient’s records being breached. This causes major red flags in electronic records software, with many firewalls and virus detectors in the previous medical records breach. These challenges will always be a concern in today’s digital age. The United States health care system has been prepared for any hackers and or system potential failures. Health care organizations have come to an understanding in making  electronics health records a number one priority today. In future years I see health care becoming a strong and efficient system, it will have its moments of pitfalls, but with consistency and determination as a country and health care system the United States electronic health care system can become a strong candidate for a great health care system.

Free Essays on The World Is Too Much With Us

worth’s argument is that, when these elements are considered, it can be seen that the beauty of the universe has a moral, that is, as we are more focused on materialism rather than our religious beliefs, we are becoming heathens, thus we must learn to ap... Free Essays on The World Is Too Much With Us Free Essays on The World Is Too Much With Us The Essence of Man In William Wordsworth’s sonnet "The World Is Too Much with Us," the author’s techniques enhance a feeling of not only hopeless despondency, but also forlorn dejection. Wordsworth presents first humankind's existing botched relationship to nature and quickly follows with his nostalgic idealization of our past rapport with it, the latter section being more immediate and personal. Wordsworth desperately longs for humanity to return to its once flourishing relationship with nature, ultimately becoming more true to our own quintessence. Wordsworth’s diction enhances a feeling of melancholy. For example, the author recognizes the vast potential for humankind, but the all too common mentality of â€Å"getting and spending† clouds the once perceptive outlook of humanity. The appetite the world has for devouring all that is around blinds all as to what is being sacrificed for the progress. Wordsworth’s powerful word choice reinforces the fact that mankind is jaded by materialism, thus destroying nature instead of embracing it. Wordsworth sees himself as having insight to the problems that exist between humanity and nature, warning that the materialistic progress being made by man is not without consequence. The destruction of the environment by mankind’s shortsightedness will continue as Wordsworth has foreseen. Wordsworth expresses to us that we are filthy animals and have betrayed nature; we have taken our love away from it and given it to getting and spending. He feels that as a result o f urbanization the beauty of nature that once many people possessed and saw everyday in their lives is now lost and in its place people find joy in getting and spending. Wordsworth’s argument is that, when these elements are considered, it can be seen that the beauty of the universe has a moral, that is, as we are more focused on materialism rather than our religious beliefs, we are becoming heathens, thus we must learn to ap... Free Essays on The World Is Too Much With Us Explication of â€Å"The World Is Too Much With Us† â€Å"The World Is Too Much With Us,† a sonnet written by William Wordsworth is about the disconnection of mankind with nature. He also writes about the carelessness and wastefulness of humans. Wordsworth continues with a plea to God that it be changed. Beginning with the title of the sonnet, â€Å"The World Is Too Much With Us,† implies that the world is too busy with people. Nature has been overlooked in the mist of everyone’s hectic lives. The title is repeated in the first line, then â€Å"late and soon.† These words suggest that the nature has been overlooked in the past, and will continue to be overlooked in the future. â€Å"Getting and spending† refers to the materialistic, commercialized world. Humans have become so involved in technology that they are ignoring the glorious natural world. In this line, when Wordsworth writes â€Å"we lay waste our powers,† he is directly stating that because of the â€Å"getting and spending,† humankind is not living up to its potential. â€Å"Little we see in Nature that is ours† reveals the disconnection humans have with nature. Furthermore, humans have no connection with God. Nature is a creation of God, and the two are one and the same, then mankind is disconnected with Him. Technology has replaced any type of a supreme being or faith in one’s spirituality. Only mankind’s love for obtaining things exist. Men no longer appreciate nature the way Wordsworth wishes. Wordsworth also believes that man have sold our souls when he writes â€Å"we have given our hearts away.† He calls this a â€Å"sordid boon.† Sordid means filthy or dirty. Webster’s Dictionary also defines the word as meaning â€Å"morally corrupt.† This obviously implies the hearts of men are morally degraded. A boon is a gift, so the corrupt hearts of men have been given away to some evil. When humans give their hearts away, they also give away their mo...

Act Three Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Act Three - Assignment Example Young Brian stands very still, men in FBI jackets moving around him until the front door opens and his mother comes through the door. He runs into her embrace, but his eyes drift up to a picture of his father, indicating that his father vanished. His father was gone. His mother had been taken as a distraction, dropped off not far from their home, but Brian’s father had simply vanished with no clues for the FBI to follow. Brian grew into man, his heart always having belonged to Sophie, but the memory of his father remained as well. Brian and Sophia planned their wedding for months. Although they have been high school sweethearts and had been together for years, their excitement about their relationship never faded. All classmates knew that their love was genuine. Sophia’s parents were well up than those of Brian; they bought her a vehicle as a birthday present. Every morning, she would pick up Brian, the love of his life, as they headed to school. Weekends were the best. They went out for ice cream, saw movies, and nurtured the love that grew between them It seemed like a dream if not a joke, as the classmates’ gossiped saying that this was stupid of you. â€Å"Life is short party with everyone, now that you are not yet married,† do you remember the critics? Welcome sweetheart. Sophia has also introduced me to her elder sisters. It was a joyous moment welcoming a young brother into the family. I think our wedding will be the best, following the fact that I have the support from my two sisters and mother. I pray to have a happy family. I wish our father was here. I cannot believe that I get to marry you. They all made fun of us and called it puppy love. We prove that early love is sweet. My mother is happy for us, as they want the best from their son and you now as her daughter, so she promised to support this wedding. Wonderful! I approached my mum privately asking her on how to treat my future husband. She was amused by the question, but it was

Guarani and Nationalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Guarani and Nationalism - Essay Example The country seemed to understand the idea of nationalism being among the first in West collectively. Apart from the nationalism, the country was long ago associated with industrialization, urbanization and modernization due to proper understanding of nationalism at an earlier stage. At the beginning of times in Paraguay, there was widespread racial mixing and contact with limited immigration trends, political isolation and geographic trends that produced a remarkable homogeneous population. These factors prevented the creation of the society that is stratified or the rise of the Spanish-speaking group. Geography and race together with the history repeatedly led to growth of the ethnic and language identity aspects to the foreground of the political life of the nation fostering and fueling the sense of distinctiveness that has not abated at backyard and intrigued and attracted the scholars from abroad. The Paraguay’s identification within its territorial integrity and linguistic patrimony is not recent. The background of the identification dates back to the countrys quest for its independence and the self-governance thereafter. This aspect was intensified by the onslaughts that suffered at the time of the War of the Chaco and the Triple Alliance that brought an abiding appreciation and espousal of its distinctive language and heritage. This allegiance culminated in the year of 1967 when Guarani was then declared the national language of Paraguay. Since then Joan Rubin the time when he did the pioneering work it has been assumed that Paraguay is the most bilingual nation in the world and by far its bilingualism is non-volatile rather than a shifting one (Ethnicity and Nationalism (second edition), 2010). The concomitant with the above phenomenon the two languages are supposed to be predominantly infused with positive effect. The Guarani language is